I almost had total failure with this project right after it started.
I went to the DMV Emissions Lab yesterday to talk to them about the rules for re-certification of the vehicle when swapping engines.
The first thing the guy brought up when I told him I bought an engine was: "Did you verify if the engine came from a HEAVY DUTY vehicle or LIGHT DUTY vehicle?"
I was under the impression that Heavy Duty meant Big Block V8 vs. Small Block... wrong.
He explained that if the engine was manufactured for a vehicle rated 8500+ Gross Vehicle Weight, then it's considered HD. If less than 8500, then it's LD.
So, unless I can prove that at least one vehicle produced with this engine had a rating of less than 8500 GVW, then I'd have to sell and recoup...
So on my way home, I told my wife what happened and she jumped on her iPad to search GVWs for the vehicles I knew of that had the LQ4 in 2005. (Hummer H2, Suburban, 1500HD, 2500HD, Express Van, Yukon Denali, etc..)
The ONLY one that is rated under 8500 was the Denali! It's rated at 7000. I pulled up multiple sites that showed 7000 and printed them out for backup.
The guy told me that I will need to provide documentation/proof for everything I do.
For example... one question I had for him was about the fuel pump. Can I use an aftermarket, in-line fuel pump. Answer: Yes, as long as it feeds the system properly, giving factory-like emissions.
Also, exhaust: Can I use aftermarket Catalytic Converters? Yes, as long as I provide a screen shot/print out from the web site showing that it is designed for my engine.
So, I'm pretty happy today. I get to continue!
The info I got from the guy eased my fears too. I've heard horror stories from projects in CA that were denied certification due to random things. It seems Nevada is a little more relaxed.
Update on engine progress:
I tested compression last night and today.
Last night (dry):
165 max psi, most at 150, and 95 least psi on one cyl.
I took some oil and poured it into the cylinder and tried again. I got it up to 152.
Then, I went to the store and bought an oil squirt can, then squirted oil into all cylinders (3 pumps). I let it sit until after work today.
Today (wet):
The one with issues last night had the highest number... 195 psi. The rest were all approx. 160-175.
So, I'm a little concerned about that 195 psi cylinder. I tested it multiple times too.
Overall I'm happy with the compression results. Per the shop manual, as long as they are over 100 psi, all is good. But, if there is a 10% separation between the numbers or more, then a rebuild is possibly needed.
I think I'm going to try to get the engine running on my trailer. I'll warm it up thoroughly through a few cycles, then retest. (at a much later date).
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Originally Posted by SilverBullet75
