Getting close!!!!

What weight oil in my ZZ4?? Thinking 10W-40 here in the Pacific NW.

How to get the carb full of fuel prior to cranking? I turned the motor by hand to set the initial timing, and did get some fuel in the fuel lines. I smelled it, one of my connections had a small leak! Is this even necessary?

Once the pre-lube is done, should I crank it before firing it up, or just let 'er rip? I don't have to break in the cam with the ZZ4.

Thanks, more to follow.

 

I started mine with 10-30. If you have a Q-jet, there's a larger tube just in front of the choke flapper. I used a turkey baster to inject some gas in there to fill the bowel.

You want to prime the oil pump and get oil throughout the motor before you start it. Pull the distributer and buy/rent/borrow the tool to run your oil pump with an electric drill. I borrowed one from a local shop, pulled the valve cover and ran it until the oil was free flowing through the rocker arms. Then you reinstall the dist and start it. You want it to start immediately, but you don't need to break in the cam with roller tappets which the ZZ4 has. You'll want to take it for a ride to seat the rings right away also.

 

Its a Holley...

I'll be sure to prime it thoroughly...

Its not really ready to drive yet, no interior. I have read that seating the rings isnt necessary with the crate engines, but I know alot of guys will disagree.

 

Sorry, can't help with a Holley but most likely there's a similar place on it. I've never heard that about not seating rings on a crate motor.

 

These are the directions I got with my Fastburn 385. We did steps 1-6 on a homemade setup complete with gauges, radiator, fuel, and key. Steps 7 on were done after the install, 6 years with no problems.

 

Got this from Pace Performance regarding crate engines. This is where I read about not having to seat the rings in today's crate motors.. I'll probably do it anyway, but thought this was interesting....

Recommended Crate Engine Start-Up Procedure

1. SAFETY FIRST! If the car is on the ground, be sure the emergency brake is set, the wheels are chocked, and the transmission cannot fall into gear.

2. Be sure to check the oil level in the engine and prime the oil system with an engine priming tool! This is the most important step! Your crate engine has most likely sat for a while and most of it's lubrication has drained back to the pan!

3. Quality 10W-30 or 10W-40 Oil is recommended for GM's Performance Crate Engines. Most Stock Factory replacement engines use either 5W-30 or 10W-30 oil. If you plan on running synthetic oils, we recommend that a new engine is first broken in with regular mineral type engine oil.

4. Adjust the distributor timing roughly by hand for quick start up and smoothest idle possible.

5. Set the ignition timing after engine starts.- Starting point for most carbureted crate engines is 10 degrees Before top dead center with vacuum advance disconnected. Computer controlled engines with a distributor are generally set at 0 degrees before top dead center with the set timing connector disconnected (refer to your vehicles service manual for details)

6. Flat tappet hydraulic cams only- (Such as the 250 hp-350, 290hp-350 & 330hp-350 Run the engine between 2,000 and 2,500 RPM's, with no-load on the engine for the first 30 minutes. This is critical to break in the camshaft.

7. Roller Cammed engines (such as the ZZ4, F.B. 385, 383's and big blocks) do not need to follow the procedure in step 6 because roller cams do not need to be broken in.

8. Remember that the cooling system on a fresh engine swap will have a lot of trapped air, which will lead to wild temperature gauge readings and possible water pump cavitation (water pump not moving coolant due to trapped air) To help avoid trapped air in the cooling system, try to fill the cooling system up with a 50/50 mix of quality coolant and water a few hours before you plan on starting the engine. Leave the radiator cap off during this time. This will tend to help purge a fair amount of trapped air before you start the engine. Specialty fill funnels can also be purchased from Listle tools and Snap-On dealers that help alleviate this problem. Also helpful during break-in is to use a Lever-Vent type radiator cap on your radiator in so that you can manually purge trapped air while engine is running- (use extreme caution to avoid being burned by hot coolant) Your normal cap can then be re-installed after engine cools off.

9. Drive the vehicle with varying speeds and loads on the engine for the first 30 miles. Be sure not to use a lot of throttle or high RPM.

The following 2 steps generally are not necessary due to our advanced piston ring sealing technology, but can be performed to help ring break in.

10. Run five or six medium-throttle accelerations to about 3000 RPM (40 to 50 MPH), then letting off in gear and coasting back down to 20 MPH.

11. Run a couple hard throttle accelerations up to about 5000 RPM (55 to 60 MPH), then letting off in gear and coasting back down to 20 MPH.

12. Let engine cool and change the oil and filter and check coolant level, top off if necessary.

13. Drive the next 500 miles normally, without high RPM's (below 5000 RPM), hard use, or extended periods of high loading.

14. Change the oil and oil filter again.- Keep an eye on oil level during the first thousand or so miles.

15. Your engine is now ready for many happy cruising miles!

 

Mako,

Interesting, sounds like good advice. I agree, I think I'd do it anyway. I follwed that same procedure pretty much and have never burned a drop of oil in mine and it runs excellent. I changed the oil after the first startup of about 10 nminute run time. Got all kinds of crud out of it, then changed after the first 1/2 hr drive.............much cleaner. Then changed after first 250 miles and it was clear. There's a magnetic pickup on the drain plug that catches the machining chips.

 

My REAL concern is...can I start the engine, move the car around the driveway, load it on a trailer....without damaging anything? It will be awhile before I can have the car ready to actually "road test" and properly run through the accelerations and compression braking cycles prescribed in then break-in procedures.

I just REALLY want to hear the engine run!!!!!

Thanks!

 

I wouldn't hesitate at all, no problem. Just do the startup routine and change the oil and filter after the first startup to get the crud out. You should be fine.

 

Start it up but I wouldn't let it run too long, then change the oil