How to run an engine outside of a vehicle to test

[trippyjoey]

So I'm hoping to start a new engine build, a ~400HP engine plus 100HP shot, for my truck in two weeks but since it's for my tbi 350 daily driver and I'm planning on running a mpfi tune on it I want to test it out outside of the vehicle first so the weekend I take it to get it dropped I can get it up and running ready to tune that same weekend. I'm planning on putting the engine on a stand with a 4L80e bolted on to it and a spare ecm and just do a short simple wiring harness to all the sensors and what not so I can at least tune the near idle ve table and to check that the repining of the ecm to a 4L80e works shifting it.
So besides a battery, a small fuel cell with a fuel pump, plumbing for the fuel, is there anything else I should plan for?

[Six_Shooter]

That's it. if you want to run it for any period of time, say up to operating temp to actually tune idle, then you will want a cooling system as well. A large container, like a 50 gallon drum of water would work, or a spare rad. with either electric fans forcing air through or set up in such a way that a mechanical fan draws air through like it would in a vehicle would also work.

[trippyjoey]

See I knew I was forgetting something lol.
I'm gonna upgrade to electric fans so I'll use those plus a stock radiator with no oil coolers.

[steveo]

in the end, the work you're doing to get cooling and exhaust hooked up outside the vehicle etc, could be spent getting it in the car, so you are not making the job easier/faster.

it's a cool idea... and you can tune idle, but not load.. so this is a bit useless without an engine dyno.

if you're feeling an epic project, you can build a loading device. just bolt something paddlewheel-like to the end of a driveshaft and surround it with a bunch of water somehow, and probably get a few vectors through VE to get a great baseline tune. if you do this, please take a video. it will be hilarious.

[trippyjoey]

It's mostly for the purpose of getting idle running right since I want to make sure I can get the engine to start on a tbi to mpfi tune with a 4l80e instead of the 4l60e. I don't want to put it in the truck, load the "base tune" into the ostrich 2.0 and then have an engine that falls on it's face the moment it tries to run.
I go to school Monday thru Thursday starting at 9am and work from Tuesday to Fridays an hour away a few towns over till 6pm so I don't have much downtime available on this project once the engine and tranny go in.

[tayto]

you'll need a rad or some sort of cooler to cool the transmission oil as well. this sounds like a horrible waste of time especially for a one-time-use. just get it in the truck and go from there. if you're planning on swapping in the engine, getting it tuned and sort out what ever other bugs pop up your setting yourself up for heartbreak.

[Six_Shooter]

in the end, the work you're doing to get cooling and exhaust hooked up outside the vehicle etc, could be spent getting it in the car, so you are not making the job easier/faster.

it's a cool idea... and you can tune idle, but not load.. so this is a bit useless without an engine dyno.

That was actually my thoughts also.

It's mostly for the purpose of getting idle running right since I want to make sure I can get the engine to start on a tbi to mpfi tune with a 4l80e instead of the 4l60e. I don't want to put it in the truck, load the "base tune" into the ostrich 2.0 and then have an engine that falls on it's face the moment it tries to run.
I go to school Monday thru Thursday starting at 9am and work from Tuesday to Fridays an hour away a few towns over till 6pm so I don't have much downtime available on this project once the engine and tranny go in.

To be quite frank, I've NEVER had an engine that I couldn't call drivable that took more than about 10 minutes of tuning, after that it would be fine tuning and high load tuning, that takes some time.

When I converted my Datsun to EFI using 1227749 and $59, which had NEVER been done before I had a driveable car in about 30 minutes, including sorting out a couple stupid mistakes I made initially on the install. I did about 10 to 15 minutes of idle tuning. To make a driveable tune took me all of about 100 feet down the street to get rid of a surge that it had, under light load/part throttle accel. ;)

I can understand the apprehension since it's an MPFI conversion as well on an ECM that was not originally offered that way. I'm still not sure I would go through the effort of doing the idle tuning outside of the vehicle.

[trippyjoey]

What about for testing if the repinning of the ecm that originally was meant for a 4l60e works on the 4l80e?

[Six_Shooter]

You won't truly be able to test that until it's in the vehicle anyway. A simple power up test should tell you if there are any transmission related codes, but as far as shifting and what not, there will be no load on it, so the shifting would be sparatic at best, and likely cause (misleading) codes.

just follow the pinouts for your particular year of 4L80E and be confident you got it right. Using a DMM here is the best tool, not no load testing. ;)

[trippyjoey]

Alright thanks for the help

[fastacton]

Just double or triple check your work. There aren't that many pins to change and shouldn't be that difficult to do in the vehicle if something isn't quite right.

[JeepsAndGuns]

I agree with the others. Spend the time actually putting it in and tuning, and not trying to run it outside the truck. If your worried about it being down/not drivable for too long, see if you can find a friend or family member with a vehicle you could borrow to drive for a couple days just in case. Worse come to worse, you might even be able to rent a car for not much.

[trippyjoey]

Well I found a nice Dynojet chassis that is an hour and a half drive which will be perfect since I need to tune a small nitrous shot too and it's conveniently a short drive from the local 1/4 track too. Also got invited by a friend of the founder and tuner of Kozmic Motorsports in Houston so I'll probably go and learn some more tuning basics with them over there over a weekend next month too.