Registry 8x Series V8 Swaps

[tmxmotorsports]

I am actually looking at the LQ9 which is a 6.0L out of the Silverado/Escalade. The 6 or 8 speed would be nice for that fuel economy but what are the comparisons between the 4L80 transmission as far as durability?

What are some of the common power adders people are going with? I am reading this LQ4/LQ9 modifications and trying to decide which came would be best along with the rest of the bolt on modifications.

I have driven both lq4 and lq9 fj60 powered with manual and auto transmission both very powerful and fast I don't see a need for more power unless your just that type of person granted was 60 series. I am doing a stage 2 texas speed camshaft 5.3 with manual transmission in a 94fzj80 for a customer just pulled it into the shop last night

 

[aktundra]

I second the suggestion, try and get all components (engine, tranny, ECU, pedal, harness) from the same donor vehicle. Otherwise there could be implementing complications & additional cost.

Also a word of caution about over spec’ing engine size. On the one hand, just about any of the gen IV & V engines will give a noticeable improvement in MPG & performance. On the other hand, if going to all that trouble may as well swing for the fences !!

 

[OffRoadScott]

I second the suggestion, try and get all components (engine, tranny, ECU, pedal, harness) from the same donor vehicle. Otherwise there could be implementing complications & additional cost.

Also a word of caution about over spec’ing engine size. On the one hand, just about any of the gen IV & V engines will give a noticeable improvement in MPG & performance. On the other hand, if going to all that trouble may as well swing for the fences !!

It would be nice to have a little more low/mid range power considering the weight of the 80 series.

 

[cruisermatt]

It would be nice to have a little more low/mid range power considering the weight of the 80 series.

LSA blower with a upper pulley and call Jakes or Tampa Performance for a torque converter

 

[White Stripe]

I am actually looking at the LQ9 which is a 6.0L out of the Silverado/Escalade. The 6 or 8 speed would be nice for that fuel economy but what are the comparisons between the 4L80 transmission as far as durability?

What are some of the common power adders people are going with? I am reading this LQ4/LQ9 modifications and trying to decide which came would be best along with the rest of the bolt on modifications.

Lq9 gives only like 10hp over the lq4. You can shave a lq4 head slightly and have the lq9 compression if you want. The 6 speed would be nice mainly for its low first gear. I kind of wish I had it since I tow a lot. I don't know if a 8 speed would make much difference. The 4l80e is quite strong. As far as power adders naturally aspirated a aftermarket truck cam can give more power after 3k rpm. For more torque early in the rpm range then 3k that is only gained by 2 ways, cubic inches and or vvti.

You could get a 408 stroker kit. Since this requires a rebuild of the shortblock you can buy a worn out lq4 to do it with. This turns a 6.0 into a 408 or 6.8 liter motor. Or install a 8.1 motor which will likely require hood modifications.

With vvti you get a newer ls out of a truck that has variable valve timing which gives more torque off the line. The LT motors also do this. I'm not real familiar with the LT motors.

 

[OffRoadScott]

LSA blower with a upper pulley and call Jakes or Tampa Performance for a torque converter

Good there, just looking to swap the cams out for something with a little low to middle range torque.

 

[cruisermatt]

Good there, just looking to swap the cams out for something with a little low to middle range torque.

only one cam in these engines.

The BTR truck cam is pretty good. plenty of vacuum and good idle and picks up pretty much everywhere.

If you have a gen 3 6.0 you can bolt on LS3-style rectangle port heads for $6-700 and a matching 2012-up truck intake/rails for under $200. Basically make your Lq4/9 into a LY6/L96. This would really wake it up.

 

[OffRoadScott]

What is everyone using for engine mounts? Is there a kit that does not require welding or they all pretty much weld in?

What about transfer case adapters? Marks4WD or?

Is the stock 4 speed that is in the Land Cruiser now too weak to use with say a LQ4/9?

What about engine controllers, transmission controllers, wire harnesses?

Has someone compiled a list of everything needed based off V8 with stock transmission, V8 with Chevrolet transmission/stock transfer case?

I know these questions are very vague, if you see something I missed please enlighten me.

 

[White Stripe]

What is everyone using for engine mounts? Is there a kit that does not require welding or they all pretty much weld in?

What about transfer case adapters? Marks4WD or?

Is the stock 4 speed that is in the Land Cruiser now too weak to use with say a LQ4/9?

What about engine controllers, transmission controllers, wire harnesses?

Has someone compiled a list of everything needed based off V8 with stock transmission, V8 with Chevrolet transmission/stock transfer case?

I know these questions are very vague, if you see something I missed please enlighten me.

You cannot use the land cruiser transmission. Basically get a notepad, start at the beginning of this thread and start taking notes. Also look at people's build threads they have of they're own v8 swap. Mine is in my sig.

 

[mudgrich]

You cannot use the land cruiser transmission. Basically get a notepad, start at the beginning of this thread and start taking notes. Also look at people's build threads they have of they're own v8 swap. Mine is in my sig.

x2^ I probably read through this thread a solid 20 times jotting down notes, taking pictures, and bothering people for info on their swaps. Go get a notebook and buckle down for a day or two, it is def worth it when all is said and done. Don't stress on the lq4 to lq9 debate, I think the only difference is the flat top pistons and higher compression. I used a lq4 out of a denali xl and the truck gets down now.

Marks adapter is the most common choice as it bolts directly to the crossmember and no welding is involved. The only thing I needed to weld was the t case shifter bracket but I believe you can get around it by sourcing an older 91-92 t case shifter. Northwest fab also offers an adapter I think but i believe you may need to alter the cross member. Plenty of motor mount options, I chose land cruiser shops as they are bolt in and it made it pretty stress free.

Just wire up the chevy pcm and you are good to go, pcm controls the motor and tranny and only a handful of wires needed for ignition, fuel pump and gauges.

 

[NCFJ]

Pretty much everything you need to know about how to do ANY swap in an 80 series is covered in the 131 pages of this thread. I have swapped stock iron block Gen 3 5.3L to LS3 6.2L crate motors and sure, the LS3 has gobs of HP and TQ but the real world truth is that that 5.3L from the local scrap yard will haul you around with a perma smile on your face.

AND, its a big AND, if you have that 5.3 and you decide that more power is what you want, it all pretty much bolts into the same place with maybe a couple changes in hoses and a little wiring.

 

[thatcabledude]

Read the thread.

 

[Burgman]

Read the thread.

Seems a little discriminative.

 

[Burgman]

Progress is being made. Motor and Trans, transfer case have been pulled. Need to find the motor and trans a new home and clean up the wiring and anything else I won't be using with the new setup. Get ready for a test fit so I can get the frame blasted and painted.

 

[BajaCruiser94]

How are you guys handling 4LO
When I shift my transfer case into 4Lo the transmission (4L60) shifts through the gears to fast and stays in the higher gears all the time.

So I found the "4WD Low" wire on the PCM (Pin 16, green plug) and added a pin. My understanding is that it should be grounded when in 4LO, and I intended to connect it to the 4LO switch on the transfer case. In the mean time, I manually grounded it when shifting to 4LO - and the truck ran like crap! Very rough, sometimes stalling at low RPM. Ran ok when you got past that, shifting was maybe better - not sure. After a bit, it set code P2771 4WD Low Switch Circuit. At that point it must ignore pin 16 because the rough engine went away and the shifting was crap again.

The wiring diagram I have isn't very useful - it just shows Pin 16 on the PCM connecting to Pin B5 4WD Lo Sig on the "Transfer Case Shift Control Module"

View attachment 2856867

Any idea what signal pin 16 is supposed to get? Maybe a momentary ground instead of constant ground? Any other way to convince the PCM to shift right in 4LO?

I had issues with my Pin16 setup; my 4L65 tranny and PCM was from a AWD application, had to do a segment swap thru HPTuners to have correct shifting on my swap; before that it shifted quickly to the last gear; and wouldnt downshift even at WOT.
To use the factory toyota signals you would need to add a relay to get the (-) signal.
I dont see why your engine would run rough with Pin16 grounded, it has no effect on engine management.

 

[EricG]

I had issues with my Pin16 setup; my 4L65 tranny and PCM was from a AWD application, had to do a segment swap thru HPTuners to have correct shifting on my swap; before that it shifted quickly to the last gear; and wouldnt downshift even at WOT.
To use the factory toyota signals you would need to add a relay to get the (-) signal.
I dont see why your engine would run rough with Pin16 grounded, it has no effect on engine management.

Yea, I don't get it either, but I've tried it a few times now and get the same result - runs badly then sets P2771

"To use the factory toyota signals you would need to add a relay to get the (-) signal."

So you think pin 16 needs a negative (12V or 5V?) signal for 4LO? Continuous or momentary? I have no problem adding a relay if that's what it takes. Even one of those programmable ones to get a momentary signal.

I also haven't anything in HPTuners to indicate if the ECU is in 4Lo mode. Would be nice to be able to try stuff without having to go out and drive it after each change.

Thanks!

 

[BajaCruiser94]

Yea, I don't get it either, but I've tried it a few times now and get the same result - runs badly then sets P2771

"To use the factory toyota signals you would need to add a relay to get the (-) signal."

So you think pin 16 needs a negative (12V or 5V?) signal for 4LO? Continuous or momentary? I have no problem adding a relay if that's what it takes. Even one of those programmable ones to get a momentary signal.

I also haven't anything in HPTuners to indicate if the ECU is in 4Lo mode. Would be nice to be able to try stuff without having to go out and drive it after each change.

Thanks!

My setup sends a continuos negative/ground to Pin16 while in 4Lo thru a Relay that gets the (+) signal from Pin9 on E7 connector (besides the glovebox).
Try a multimeter or a probe to make sure your getting correct signal to Pin16 while in 4Lo; the GM PCM is picky on resistance changes.

 

[Joshua Cole]

So I went through about 40 pages, and I can seem to find any info or pictures of the exhaust clearances. I want to do the swap but have to keep everything factory for CA emissions. is the a comment here in this post with said info?

 

[mudgrich]

So I went through about 40 pages, and I can seem to find any info or pictures of the exhaust clearances. I want to do the swap but have to keep everything factory for CA emissions. is the a comment here in this post with said info?

This stumped me for quite awhile. I was told ctsv manifolds would work but unfortunately for me I got a 2002 lq4 that still had the egr on the passenger side manifold so I don’t think I would have passed the ref with different exhaust manifolds.

I ended up getting a little sneaky and ordering a set of hooker headers and only using the driver side as that was where my clearance issues were. My buddy helped me weld on some nuts and made it incognito with the factory heat shields. Just be sure to paint both manifolds so they look the same.

I never got around to getting it reffed in California as we are moving to Washington in the next month or so. I don’t think they would have caught it though.

 

[Joshua Cole]

This stumped me for quite awhile. I was told ctsv manifolds would work but unfortunately for me I got a 2002 lq4 that still had the egr on the passenger side manifold so I don’t think I would have passed the ref with different exhaust manifolds.

I ended up getting a little sneaky and ordering a set of hooker headers and only using the driver side as that was where my clearance issues were. My buddy helped me weld on some nuts and made it incognito with the factory heat shields. Just be sure to paint both manifolds so they look the same.

I never got around to getting it reffed in California as we are moving to Washington in the next month or so. I don’t think they would have caught it though. View attachment 2894539View attachment 2894540View attachment 2894542View attachment 2894544

Was the interference with the steering? I’m wondering more on the cats and y pipe fitting inside the frame.