Builds Another LS swap? Really??? (4 Viewers)

[ARJMN]

Thanks for the update. The Casner Run is just Over a month away, hoping to see this Rad Ride by Jason in person.

That is the plan Steve. It seems like an endless stream of one more thing, one more thing........oh yeah one more thing.......

 

[ARJMN]

I got another goodie for the build on Friday. I wanted something actually usable as a center console and since I have it all apart swapping the tcase, I pulled the trigger on an 8.5 inch Tiffy radio console. This is one bomber unit. The shipping weight was 29lbs and I see why. I also have an Icom ham to throw in there courtesy of @D_Web. Many thanks my friend. I will have the tcase wrapped up tomorrow and will be hammering on the wiring cleanup and console install. I am sure I will be working down to wire right up until the Casner run. This is such a bigger project thanni ever thought or planned it to be, but I am gettting short on mods to perform. Still left are the on board air system, BIO step sliders, water tank, and a bunch on misc items like SS brakes lines, and better rotors....maybe a brake booster if needed. I am so deep in it at this point, what's a little more?.?.?

 

[ARJMN]

Annnnnnnndddd more stuff.

Got some more goodies in the mail this week. First, courtesy of Wits End, a set of 4" lift stainless steel brake lines. These are much needed as mine are original, and are cracked and swollen. Hopefully they will firm up the feel. Brake booster needs a good checking over too.

Secondly, I received a care package from the EAU. A fresh complete set of factory suspension bushings. These will pair up nicely with the castor corrections plates I have been sitting on for months. I think they are Slee...anyway, I will be happy to get the castor bushings ripped out and go back to OEM bushes and correct castor.

Does anyone have a set of press adapters for the 80 series bushes? It would save me having to make them.

 

[ARJMN]

@Saddletramp are you still happy with your BIO Step Sliders? I have been talking to Mike there, and they are 8-10 weeks deep on orders. I really like them, but I am not a fan of waiting so long for them. I hope to be putting real miles on the rig soon.

Mind posting a pic or three?

 

[Saddletramp]

First, I think that @Cruddz has the press and the bushing die but not sure that works for you. @ARJMN I believe someone in Tucson has the dies as well but not entirely positive.

Regarding the BIO step sliders, love em...could not be happier and I love using the step whenever I set up my tent. This also keeps a bit of the original look that I like.

I will post a picture or two.

 

[Saddletramp]

 

[ARJMN]

Very cool. That reinforces my decision to order them. I am on Mike's build list, and hopefully it wont be a full 10 weeks to get them.

 

[Saddletramp]

One week away, can’t wait to see this truck up close.

 

[ARJMN]

One week away, can’t wait to see this truck up close.

She aint perfect, but she is a performer.

 

[ARJMN]

I took the old girl out for her first real trip last weekend, and it was a great success. No majors, only a moderate list of minors to resolve. We did over 1000 miles and hardly a hiccup. The 6.0 LS is such an awesome motor and it really wakes the rig up. Doubling the HP and getting better fuel economy is a win-win. Across the board I got 3 mpg better than the 1FZ it replaced. I am not sure how bad off my 1FZ was, but when the current owner of it did a tear down, the #5&6 pistons were pretty bad off. The best I ever managed out of it was 13.5 mpg and I got 16.5 mpg on the leg from Flagstaff to the South Rim and around. That was mainly cruising at 55 mph or so, and it was very happy to lope along in 6th gear at low rpm. Once out on the highway at higher speeds, the mileage dropped off a good bit, and it averaged about 13 climbing the hills from Phoenix to Flagstaff, and from Page to the North Rim. The plus is that it can do it at 75 mph now, so if I had the patience to be calm and keep the speeds low, it'd get better mileage. One serious complaint I have, which is the same on most the GM trucks I have ever driven is that the cruiser control is too aggressive. If speeds drop 5 mph the dang thing will shift from 6th to 4th, or even third and rocket off to get back to speed. I looked over and the tach read 5200 rpm once. Not a pleasant sight. Another note, is that I installed a Mark's Part Time kit. I have no way to tell if it made a difference in mileage, but by god it makes it so much better to drive. The trade off is that I had to get out and lock the hubs when I couldn't pull out of some muddy ruts in 2WD, but that is a small price for how much better it drives. Overall it was an absolutely fantastic weekend and the sights, the drives, the food, and the company was much appreciated. Thanks Rod, Marlotta, and @D_Web.

The only hiccup with the rig was coming back down into Flagstaff. After coasting down for a few miles and just getting to the city limits, the check engine light came on and I lost throttle control. The engine went to idle and I coasted off the road and came to a stop. I checked the codes and I had a "Bank 1 Too Lean" and a "Throttle Voltage Correlation Error". We had seen the 2nd one before, and a quick check of all the throttle connections revealed that the connection to the throttle pedal had backed off. I checked it, pushed it on until it clicked, cleared the codes, key cycled it, and it came to life and hasn't faltered since.

 

[Saddletramp]

She aint perfect, but she is a performer.

I’ve heard that line before, just not about an 80 series.

 

[ARJMN]

The Casner Mountain Trail is in books for 2019, and we sit now enjoying the fire, banter, and company of those who joined the day. Great experience. The 80 performed like a champ and I have no major issues to report. Coming up the switchbacks the cats got pretty hot and you could smell them when the wind blew the right way. The rigid brake lines and fuel lines run pretty close, but never caused an issue. I will be fabricating a heat shield just to be safe. Last weekend I was able to get the hood vents installed and it made a difference of about 8 degrees in engine temp. The biggest trick to managing the heat on my swap is the flow of air through the engine bay. The stock radiator has enough heat rejection capacity to cool the LS, but you gotta get the air out of the engine bay. When you stuff a V8 in there, you block off the path of flow on either side of the old engine that clears the flow. Venting the hood goes a long way to remedy that. Shroud design is also part of the equation. There are design guides available if you search, but generally it is tight to the cicumference while still allowing for motor mount flex. Second is a 2/3 insertion of the chord length of the fan blades. Both of which I biffed when I built my shroud. I have it all under control at present, but I am having a larger radiator and a new shroud made to further improve the cooling in anticipation of Arizona summer temps that will inevitably return. Projects on the immediate timeline are to install the new bushings, and to overhaul the brakes, fitting up the SS brake lines, and possibly a new brake booster.

It never ends, but that is part of the fun. Stay tuned. I was asked today if I was as going to compile a guide of the project, and the answer is yes. I have kept a spread sheet of almost all the expenses, and plan to write it all up when I reach the end of the core build. It is more for my own ref lection than anything, and for the point when I start my next big project. Stay tuned. More yet to come.

 

[Saddletramp]

Such an awesome build, great engineering to solve a variet of challenges.

 

[ARJMN]

Such an awesome build, great engineering to solve a variet of challenges.

Thanks Steve. It has been a great project.

 

[murf]

Wow, saw this in person and nice work. Some minor tweaks left says Jason but hats off to one of the few threads of the " In going to do this big mod" that actually got done. Few and far between.

Personally impressed with the thought, effort, and ability of ARJMN to pull this off at a high level.

 

[ARJMN]

Wow, saw this in person and nice work. Some minor tweaks left says Jason but hats off to one of the few threads of the " In going to do this big mod" that actually got done. Few and far between.

Personally impressed with the thought, effort, and ability of ARJMN to pull this off at a high level.

Thanks Murf. I appreciate the positive words. I have spent the last 11 months with that thing torn apart, partially back together, then back apart again and so on. Feels good to be able hit the trails and enjoy the (close to) end result.

 

[ARJMN]

Been super busy with work and life the past few weeks and I haven't been able to put in the time on the 80 that I would have liked. I was able to get the brake lines installed. This was driven by having two panic stop moments in the same week. Stupid Tucson drivers and their pulling out in front of me. They have no idea how poorly my rig stops!

The swap began by getting the whole thing on jack stands and the wheels off. After taking a close look at the original flex lines, I was amazed at how bad they were. They all had cracked outer layers and some had the braiding showing. The lines I got from Wits End are great quality and they are longer to accommodate up to a 4 inch lift. They were not a direct fit, as shown below. The factory lines on my 97 LX450 had a hex formed into the female ends that mated up with the mounting brackets., while the new ones have a round profile with flats on two sides. I took a look at the differences and decided that a file could quickly resolve the interference. About 15 minutes on each and they fit up just fine. I was able to creep up on the 17mm dimension and ensure it was a snug fit. Not a direct fit item, but the quality of the lines overall makes them worth the effort. I forwarded the feedback on the the guys at Wits End, so maybe a change can be made. I did twist one of the factory hard lines trying to break the fitting loose, but $11 and a few days wait and I had a new one from Precision Toyota.

After getting them all installed, torqued, and clipped in position it was time for a bleed. I pumped almost 2 quarts of DOT4 through the lines before they ran clear and the pedal firmed up. I buttoned it all up, cleaned the rotors, reinstalled the wheels and off the jack stands she came. A quick test drive yielded the best braking performance I have had in out of the 80. Huge improvement. Still on the list is a set of upgraded pads and rotors.

 

[ARJMN]

I have been quiet here and busy at work with the new job, but its time to check in. I took the old girl out for a shake down run at Chimney Rock a few weeks back and I ended up breaking the shifter cable mount I fabbed up during the swap. It was a bad design and I knew better than to do it that way, but I was ready to move on and I thought it would work. It was my least prideful detail and I always planned to come back around to it. The issue is that the cable end is on the shifter and the housing end is on the transfer case. There is relative motion when the drivetrain is under load and it causes the shifter to pop into neutral. This is really and issue when you punch it to get out in traffic and in turn you get a sudden end in acceleration and a bounce of the Rev limiter. The second issue was that I was nursing a dying transfer case. It made it home, but it was seriously whining on the way. So, here we are. I have all next week off and the Rug Road throwdown is coming soon. I have a full rebuild kit for the transfer case and I am almost done with the teardown and cleaning. The 80 tcase is seriously beefy. I mean it. It is a real mother the handle the primary/secondary shaft assembly, and it is on the work bench crane spectrum. Holding them together and dropping them in place will be interesting. I will likely zip tie it all together and drop the case half onto the shafts. We'll see. Stay tuned.

 

[GeoRoss]

Let me know if you need a hand.

 

[ARJMN]

Let me know if you need a hand.

Thanks Ross, but be careful...I'll be in the garage all next week and may call you on your offer. I do still need to get all the bushings swapped out, which is what I originally planned for, but the Tcase and the shifter cable mount will be the first priorities.