How to Prolong the Life of Your Engine

There are many things that you as a vehicle owner can do to prolong the life of your engine.  The most important thing is to perform all maintenance at the time or mileage suggested in your owner’s manual.  I suggest that you change your engine oil and filter every 3,000 miles no matter what your owner’s manual says.  If you own a newer Chevy the owner’s manual may tell you to change the oil every 5,000 to 7,500 miles.  If you are doing a lot of highway driving and very little city driving you could allow 4,000 miles between oil changes.  Engine oil protects the internals of your engine, once the oil is dirty or not golden colored anymore it will not perform like it should.  It is important to let your engine warm up, especially in the winter before you drive the vehicle, most internal engine wear occurs before the engine gets to operating temperature.  Another thing that I recommend is that you flush your antifreeze coolant when necessary.  This is important because when antifreeze breaks down it eats engine gaskets.  If you don’t change your antifreeze coolant it may cause a leak at the water pump, thermostat, or worse yet the intake gaskets.  There is always coolant in your engine so it is important to always keep fresh coolant flowing through the engine.  There are many other techniques that are suggested but I feel that these are the most important.

How to Replace a Power Steering Pump

The first step in replacing a power steering pump is to pop the hood and take the cap off of the power steering reservoir.  Use a fluid siphon to remove as much fluid as you can from the reservoir.  This step helps eliminate a mess of power steering fluid.  Power steering fluid is very slippery and makes it hard to work if you have it on your hands, on tools, or on parts you are working with.  The next step is to remove the serpentine belt, then use a “power steering pump pulley puller” to remove the pulley from the power steering pump.  The pulley must be removed from the pump first so you can get the bolts that hold the power steering pump to the bracket.  Once the pulley is off the pump the next step is to remove the high pressure line and the return line from the pump.  The high pressure line is a steel line with a nut that threads into the pump and the other end of the line threads into the steering box.  Once the lines are removed take the bolts out of the pump and remove it from the vehicle.  Then install the new pump.  Tighten all the bolts and put the high side pressure hose and return line back on.  Press the pulley back on the pump, install the serpentine belt, and fill the reservoir with power steering fluid.  Then start the vehicle and turn the wheel all the way to one side, and then all the way to the other side.  When doing this the pump may whine because it is bleeding the air from the pump.  Add fluid as necessary and continue turning the wheel until the pump is quiet and smooth.  When done check the fluid level and top off as necessary.

How to Change Valve Cover Gaskets

The first step is to pop the hood and remove valve covers from engine.  It is necessary to first remove air box and tubes going to the throttle body.  This will make the job a lot easier because it will expose the valve cover bolts, and make them more accessible.  Remove anything else that is necessary so that you can get a socket on all of the valve cover bolts and so that you can remove the valve cover from the engine.  Remove all bolts from the valve cover and pry the valve cover off the engine.  Be very careful not to bend the valve cover if prying is required.  Once the valve covers are removed from the engine the gasket must be taken out of the valve cover.  Sometimes the gasket is really stuck in the valve cover.  If this is the case you can either scrape the gasket out of the valve cover or use a torch to heat the gasket.  Once the gasket is warm it will usually pull out of the valve cover much easier.  If you choose to use the torch be careful not to light the gasket on fire or if there is oil on the valve cover or gasket.  Be sure to remember that engine oil is extremely flammable.  Always use torch with cast-iron.  Once the gasket is removed from the valve cover then place the valve cover on engine and start all bolts before tightening any.  Look up torque specifications to see how tight to make the bolts.  One the valve covers are installed, reinstall anything that you disassembled to remove the valve covers.  Once everything is reinstalled, before starting the engine for the first time make sure that the oil is full.  If necessary you may have to add some.  Then start the engine and let it run for about 15 minutes to make sure that everything is okay.

How to Replace Intake Gaskets

This job is not to be done by someone who doesn’t know much about engines, if you do though follow the steps/procedure to follow.  If you do not know much about engines it may be necessary to take you vehicle to a professional.  If you are doing the procedure yourself the first step is to pop the hood.  The next step would be to disconnect the fuel lines.  Be sure not to bend the steel lines if you don’t have to because it will be hard to reinstall them if they’re deformed.  Remove all vacuum hoses that are connected to intake and electrical connectors from the intake.  Next, remove both valve covers, then remove all bolts from intake and anything else connected to the intake.  Once the intake is loose remove it from the top of the engine.  Once it is off remove gaskets from the bottom of intake and install new gaskets.  Be sure to clean the gasket surface of engine to prevent any leaks.  Once the new gaskets are installed and gasket area is smooth and clean you can set the intake back on top of the engine.  Look up intake bolt torque specifications and be sure to tighten bolts according to specifications and in the order the specs tell you to.  Once the bolts are tight it is now time to install valve covers, if the gaskets are okay they can be re-used.  Then be sure to plug all electrical sensors in and put all vacuum lines where they belong.  Then reconnect the fuel lines.  Once everything is installed start engine and allow to run for about 15 minutes to make sure there are no problems.

How to Install a Camshaft

The first step to installing a camshaft is to do research and find out what all is involved because every model of Chevy is different.  For example to install a camshaft in your small block Chevy engine if you are a F. Body car such as a Trans Am or Camero from 1982-2002 you have to pull the engine out of the vehicle to replace a camshaft.  This varies greatly from older Camero’s or Firebirds because removal of the engine is not required.  Also, in a Chevy pickup truck removal of the engine is not required.  This is why looking up what is required is extremely important, the last thing you would want to do is pull the engine out if you don’t have to.  Basically what you have to do to  install the camshaft on a small block Chevy is to remove the timing chain, water pump, clutch fan if equipped, and serpentine belt.  You must first drain the engine oil and antifreeze coolant.  If you are installing a performance camshaft it is necessary that you pull the heads off the engine, and it may also be necessary to change pushrods and/or valve springs.  When using a performance camshaft it is usually recommended to use a stiffer intake and exhaust valve springs.  Once the camshaft is removed install the new camshaft and reassemble all of the parts that you took apart.

How to Replace a Water Pump

The first step to replacing a water pump is to drain the engine coolant.  You can usually do this by opening the petcock of the radiator.  It is important that you are very careful when opening the petcock because after time they become very brittle and break easily.  If the petcock seems like its going to break you can pull the lower hose off of the radiator to drain the coolant.  Once the coolant is drained from the engine, if you have a clutch fan that needs to be removed from the water pump pulley it is always one nut that you need to remove to remove the clutch fan.  If it is reverse thread it will say “reverse thread clutch fan” on the fan shroud.  If your vehicle has electric fans this step should be skipped.  Once the clutch fan is removed from the water pump pulley, then loosed the water pump pulley bolts.  Usually there is 4, 10mm bolts.  Once they are loosened, remove the serpentine belt, then remove the water pump pulley, and then the water pump.  Be sure to clean the old gasket off the engine block and install a new gasket.  Install the new water pump and then re-assemble in opposite order it was taken apart.  Fill radiator with new engine coolant.  The perfect scenario would be 60% antifreeze and 40% water.  Then run the vehicle until it reaches operating temperature.  Place cap on radiator.   Your job is now complete! Let vehicle engine run for about 15 minutes after done to make sure that everything is correct.

How to Get More Torque

There are many ways to get more torque out of your small block Chevy engine.  One of the best ways to get more torque out of your engine is to install a “Towing Camshaft.”  To see more information on camshafts visit my blog titled “How to Install a Camshaft.”  Programmers are another good investment to gain torque from your engine.  Most programmers have a performance setting called “Towing” or “Max Torque.”  These setting will gain a little horsepower and a good amount of torque.  Programmers are excellent for the person who wants more torque when towing, but that doesn’t tow every time the drive the vehicle.  This being because with a programmer you can always change the settings, so you could set it to towing or max torque when needed but you don’t have to have it set to that if you don’t want to or you are not towing anything.  Another good investment for gaining torque would be long tube exhaust headers.  If you visit summit racing or Jegs you will be able to see all the different types of headers offered for your small block engine.  Higher octane fuel will give your engine a little more torque because it has more btu’s and it burns hotter.  If you need more power and you don’t drive on the highway a lot you can gain a good amount of pulling power just by changing the gear ratio in the rear differential.  If you have a 4x4 this may be difficult because you have to change both differentials.  These are just some of the many ways you can gain torque from your small block Chevy engine.   

How to Increase Horsepower

There are many aftermarket parts that can bolt right on to a small block Chevy engine that increase horsepower.  It is best to research them though so you have a full understanding of which is best for your model car.  Some of the most common include a cold air intake.  K&N air filter is a very popular brand for this product.  Another popular horsepower increaser is a programmer which I talk about in my “How to Get Better MPG” blog.  They have different settings such as a fuel economy setting and a performance setting which would give you the most horsepower.  If you put yhe programmer on the performance setting it will change your computer tune for the engine and give you all available power.  The way I recommend adding horsepower is installing a new performance camshaft.  This will give you more horsepower by increasing your amount of intake and exhaust.  This will also give your car a nice “race car” sound.  To hear some sounds that aftermarket camshafts produce in a small block chevy you may have to do some research on the computer.  Here there will be sound clips that you can listen to.  To find out more information about camshafts, visit my “How to Install a Camshaft” blog.  Another popular horsepower adder is exhaust headers.  They gain the engine more horsepower by letting the engine breathe better.

How to Get Better Gas Mileage

When considering options to increase miles per gallon for your small block Chevy’s there are many aftermarket “add on” parts or replacement parts for small block Chevy engines that you should look into.   Some of the most common fuel mileage adders are programmers.  If that is the path you are thinking of taking there are multiple brands to choose from, brands such as Superchips, Bully Dog, and Hypertech.  These programmers can gain your vehicle 2-3 more miles per gallon depending on the persons driving style.  Superchips seem to be the most popular for the small block Chevy engine.  After making the decision and purchase, I recommend that if you are not knowledgeable about the vehicle you have someone install the programmer for you. Having someone install the programmer for you will help to ensure that it is properly installed and will give the best results.  A throttle body spacer is a popular add-on for this engine also.  They are also fairly easy to install, but you may still want to seek help for installation.  The throttle body spacer will increase fuel mileage a little but the programmer is definitely better, and will give you better results.  The programmers are more expensive than the throttle body spacers but will most likely save you more money in the long run. 

How to Replace Front Brake Pads

Start by raising and supporting the vehicle with jack stands and remove the two front wheels. Then remove the two bolts out of the brake caliber.  Pull the caliber away from the rotor, use a metal hanger or bungee to hold the caliber up without stressing the brake hose.  Remove the two brake pads by pulling them out.  Some vehicles may have a metal bracket that holds pads which is also held on by two bolts, these usually are larger than the caliber bolts.  Remove the two bolts and pull the bracket away from the rotor, slide the rotor off of the hub.  Slide the new rotor onto the hub, but be careful not to get dirt and grease on the new brake rotor or brake pads.  Clean the metal bracket that holds the brake pads with a wire brush if necessary and lubricate with a silicone based grease.  Set the new pads in the metal bracket, and slide the metal bracket back into place.  Put the two bolts back in and tighten them, and take the brake caliber off of the hanger or bungee.  Get a large C clamp or large pliers and push the piston back into the caliber.  Slide the caliber back into place over the brake pads.  Insert two caliber bolts and tighten the two bolts.  Make sure that there is no grease or dirt on the brake rotor, if there is spray with brake cleaner.  Put wheel and tire back on making sure to torque the lug nuts to specification.  Do the same procedure for the other side of the vehicle.  Make sure to pump brake pedal until it feels firm before trying to drive.

How to Change Engine Oil

 

You are first going to need to purchase the correct oil and filter for your vehicle.  Not all small block Chevy's take the same amount of oil, some even take different filters.  Once you get the correct supplies for your vehicle you may now begin the oil changing process.  Begin by engaging the parking brake, then properly jacking the vehicle using jack stands.  Then crawl underneath the vehicle and loosen the drain plug on the oil pan with a drain bucket underneath.  On a small block Chevy the drain plug is usually a 15mm bolt.  Pull the drain plug out and let the oil drain into the bucket below.  When oil is completely drained, thread the drain plug back into the oil pan and tighten.  Next, take off oil filter letting excess oil drain out of engine.  Be sure that the rubber gasket comes off of the engine with the oil filter.  Then get the new oil filter and lubricate the rubber gasket by rubbing oil on it.  Then thread the oil filter on the engine to a quarter turn past tight.  Clean off any excess oil under the vehicle.  Next, take the vehicle off of the jack stands and set it back on the ground.  Lift the hood of the vehicle and remove the engine oil cap from the valve cover.  Fill the engine with the correct amount of oil.  Then start the vehicle and allow it to idle for about 15 seconds and then shut it off.  Check the oil by pulling the engine oil dipstick out and check to make sure the oil level is correct.  Top off the oil if necessary.

How to Change Spark Plugs

First thing you need to do if you plan on changing the spark plugs in your small block Chevy is to open the hood of the vehicle.  Most vehicles have a hood release inside the vehicle, under the dash board, on the drivers side.  Then open the hood and get a 3/8 drive, 5/8 inch size socket, a 3/8 inch ratchet and an assortment of extensions.  For example 1 inch, 3 inch, and 6 inch extension would be a good choice for the job. (you can always put the 3 and 6 inch together if you need a 9 inch) Next you will have to pull the wire off the spark plug, start by twisting the boot of the wire to break free any corrosion, apply steady pressure and pull the boot off of the plug.  Then take your 5/8 inch socket and put it on the spark plug, it should fit snug around the hex of the plug, then put the ratchet on the socket (use extensions if necessary).  Twist counter clock wise to loosen the spark plug, and unthread spark plug all the way out of the head.  Once the old spark plug is completely out, get a new spark plug, check the new spark plugs gap to make sure it is correct.  This specification may be found underneath the hood, for a small block Chevy it is usually about .044 inch.  Thread in the new spark plug clockwise until the spark plug is tight.  It is the same procedure for all 8 plugs.