Registry 8x Series V8 Swaps (5 Viewers)

[thatcabledude]

I am a buyer if you bring it to market but I would need to find another shift lever..

Although a Trailblazer transmission cable will work, the gear shift side of the cable was designed to be inside the vehicle, not outside. I am not sure how long it will last being exposed to the elements.

Mine has been in use under the truck for nearly 100,000 miles. I had my trans and t-case out to rebuild both a week or so ago. That connection was just fine. It’s tucked so high up in the tunnel it can barely get dirty.

 

[Tinkertoy]

I 100% agree.

I went back and took some angle measurements of Toyota's gear lever in each position. I am measuring where the lever has a straight section at the bottom, relative the transmission console base plate. The straight section is obviously after an initial bend at the top. One could measure the angle of a straight line between the two pivots, but the way I did it was just easier for me for measure.

Also, assume there is error with the measurements but this is what I came up with for a 6L80/90e transmission with the spacing I posted originally. I doubt GM used different spacing with other transmissions, but I don't know.

The transmission cable needs to be attached to a new pivot point 96.1mm below the top pivot point (center to center). It should also be 129° to the final straight secition of the gear lever when it is in the Park position. Toyota's original spacing is 120mm center to center. A reduction of close to 24mm to work with a 6L80/90e.

Worse case: out 0.5mm in the last gear (L). That is within my measurement error.

At 129°, the transmission cable would have interference issues with the floor pan. This is what I original suspected. Which is why the @thatcabledude put the transmission cable in front of the lever as it would be pointing down, not up.

Cutting and rotating the transmission lever 61 23 degrees towards the front should put the transmission cable parallel to the floor pan.

YMMV..don't trust me...

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I have been thinking about this POV a lot.
I Do Cars on Youtube actually took the lever and moved it to the driver side to create a shift linkage instead of a cable.


My shifter I did with a cable kind of binds a bit...or is not as easy and smooth as I would like. Have you considered moving the lever to the driver side like this?

 

[NeverFinis]

I have been thinking about this POV a lot.
I Do Cars on Youtube actually took the lever and moved it to the driver side to create a shift linkage instead of a cable.


My shifter I did with a cable kind of binds a bit...or is not as easy and smooth as I would like. Have you considered moving the lever to the driver side like this?

I watched Eric's swap series long ago. That was some legit hacking in the video... About 1/2 through the video, he realized it wasn't just the distance to the shifter pivot point that mattered, but also the angle to which the rod or cable attached.

This is what I wrote about in my initial post: #3870:

The angle is critical because it impacts the distance the cable moves with each gear shift.

Eric ended up with a very hacked lever arm and hacked transmission tunnel. He still didn't get all the detents working, but did confirm PNRD worked. I think in a later video, not in the series, he mentioned that he was going to work on it further.

The complexity increases dramatically when using a relay rod over a cable. It is easy to set a cable at the correct angle, but you can't do that with a relay rod because it has to be attached to a fixed location on the transmission. This means the angle that you cut, shorten, and reattach the lever arm becomes super critical. Keep in mind that it is constrained by the distance from the pivot point. The correct angle might be out of the possible ranges that the gear shift lever can accommodate. I think this is unlikely...

I would have to model everything in CAD software to check angles, but at the moment, I am ok with the cable solution.

 

[Tinkertoy]

It's too bad my 80 series 6l80e bolt-on linkage isn't going to be ready for another few months. (4l60/80e) going to be available as well.

If you have samples. I am down to make a purchase.

 

[White Stripe]

I was under the impression everyone moved the lever to the driver side. A lot more space on the driver side.

 

[Tinkertoy]

I was under the impression everyone moved the lever to the driver side. A lot more space on the driver side.

No I am snakes to the passenger side. My cable binds a little so am considering reworking to the driverside.

 

[jdmblingn]

I'm not quite ready to call it done. But, I swapped from the trailblazer cable to a universal column shift linkage for my 4l60. I did swap my lever to the drivers side. The engagement is way smoother and positive, feels almost like stock. Just needs more adjustment and re-working to be able to get the full range of motion. Currently I can't get 1st.

Interested to see what you come up with @cruisermatt

 

[White Sheep]

Has anyone mounted thier fuse box and PCM inside of the cab? If so where?

I'm thinking inside of the glove box because this truck will be more of my "wheeler".

And suggestions?

 

[jdmblingn]

Has anyone mounted thier fuse box and PCM inside of the cab? If so where?

I'm thinking inside of the glove box because this truck will be more of my "wheeler".

And suggestions?

My PCM and Dakota digital box is in the glovebox area, fuse block is under the hood.

There is not a ton of room there for it. If you want the cleanliness of not having it in the engine bay and don’t mind losing the storage, its a nice way to go.

 

[daytonadogie]

I was under the impression everyone moved the lever to the driver side. A lot more space on the driver side.

No I am snakes to the passenger side. My cable binds a little so am considering reworking to the driverside.

I kept the lever on the passenger side, shortened it, and ran the Trailblazer cable forward into the engine bay. Looped it over, with a nice wide arc, to the 4L60E shift lever. Fabed a bracket to attach the cable to the bell housing, and fiddled with lever positions and motion ratios till I got all the gears to work nicely. I think this, and the exhaust system, was the hardest thing to do, without doing a major hack job that you end up putting up with.

 

[White Sheep]

I kept the lever on the passenger side, shortened it, and ran the Trailblazer cable forward into the engine bay. Looped it over, with a nice wide arc, to the 4L60E shift lever. Fabed a bracket to attach the cable to the bell housing, and fiddled with lever positions and motion ratios till I got all the gears to work nicely. I think this, and the exhaust system, was the hardest thing to do, without doing a major hack job that you end up putting up with.

I think I know what your saying, and probably going the same route. But do you have pictures? They are worth a 1000 words

 

[daytonadogie]

I’ll try to get some tomorrow, got A birthday party going on today.

 

[Tinkertoy]

I watched Eric's swap series long ago. That was some legit hacking in the video... About 1/2 through the video, he realized it wasn't just the distance to the shifter pivot point that mattered, but also the angle to which the rod or cable attached.

This is what I wrote about in my initial post: #3870:


Eric ended up with a very hacked lever arm and hacked transmission tunnel. He still didn't get all the detents working, but did confirm PNRD worked. I think in a later video, not in the series, he mentioned that he was going to work on it further.

The complexity increases dramatically when using a relay rod over a cable. It is easy to set a cable at the correct angle, but you can't do that with a relay rod because it has to be attached to a fixed location on the transmission. This means the angle that you cut, shorten, and reattach the lever arm becomes super critical. Keep in mind that it is constrained by the distance from the pivot point. The correct angle might be out of the possible ranges that the gear shift lever can accommodate. I think this is unlikely...

I would have to model everything in CAD software to check angles, but at the moment, I am ok with the cable solution.

Thanks. I just pulled my cable off and it doesn't even move smoothly off of the trans. Thinking I am going to get a different cable. I would think if you go the rod route. If both ends of the rod are threaded enough...couldn't you just then adjust and cut this rod to the length you need? (Once you got the angle figured out.) I am sure I am oversimplifying this.

 

[White Stripe]

I have no room on the passenger side. The trans and tcase wiring are on the passenger side along with the tcase linkage, cat, exhaust pipe, and driveshaft. Looking back I don't think it's worth keeping the stock shifter. To hard to get parts for them.

 

[daytonadogie]

I think I know what you’re saying, and probably going the same route. But do you have pictures? They are worth a 1000 words

Passenger side shifter, cable running forward to engine bay.

Driver side

Hope this helps!

 

[NeverFinis]

I designed a 3D part to capture the end of the transmission cable.

Printing it in ABS as I write this. Just make a sheet metal bracket to bolt it to.

 

[ajordan1975]

I have been thinking about this POV a lot.
I Do Cars on Youtube actually took the lever and moved it to the driver side to create a shift linkage instead of a cable.


My shifter I did with a cable kind of binds a bit...or is not as easy and smooth as I would like. Have you considered moving the lever to the driver side like this?

After messing with a trail blazer cable and the stock shifter for a while I gave up and bought a B&M gate shifter. Very happy with it.

 

[thatcabledude]

I honestly don’t understand why it’s been so aggravating for so many. My setup is stupid simple and has worked perfectly for a long time.

 

[thatcabledude]

Has anyone mounted thier fuse box and PCM inside of the cab? If so where?

I put a factory GM ECM under the dash of a vehicle one time strictly for aesthetics and swore never again. And this was in a much larger vehicle with more room under the dash than an 80.

 

[thatcabledude]

I designed a 3D part to capture the end of the transmission cable.

Printing it in ABS as I write this. Just make a sheet metal bracket to bolt it to.

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I can’t picture what this is for. Is it for this:

(Pic from @daytonadogie post above)