Another One!... 1994 FZJ80 LS/4L60E Swap (Budget, Hopefully) (3 Viewers)

[cruisermatt]

Only skimmed through the thread, but sounds just like me. Haha

-Florida
-94 80
-2002 Yukon XL
and
-“Watch me do this for 5k”

more like $1k out of pocket. Not hoping, planning

@GearGeek
Maybe post up some pics of parting out the yukon?? or the 80 in question?

 

[jblatl]

I would love to do this swap, the only thing that scares me is the electrical part! Could you talk a little more about how you are going to work through that?

 

[thatcabledude]

more like $1k out of pocket. Not hoping, planning

@GearGeek
Maybe post up some pics of parting out the yukon?? or the 80 in question?

I wasn’t real vigorous with getting $$ on the parting out. Gave most away to friends.

 

[thatcabledude]

Did get 750 for the seats.

She gone. Lol

 

[cruisermatt]

Some pics of the 80 doing 80 stuff. Also the last known pic of @sammybones intact doors

 

[GearGeek]

Some pics of the 80 doing 80 stuff. Also the last known pic of @sammybones intact doors

View attachment 2906411

View attachment 2906412

Thanks bro! You have more pics of my truck than I do!

 

[GearGeek]

I would love to do this swap, the only thing that scares me is the electrical part! Could you talk a little more about how you are going to work through that?

Yeah! For now the plan is to send Chevy ECU out to the LT1swap guy (website: lt1swap.com) to have it flashed. He has a whole guide on his website about paring down the harness. I'll take some pics of that as I go and post up! Trying to work on the wiring harness this week.

Where I stand right now, I basically spent &44 on everything so far, will still need odds and ends hoses and a few more AC parts.

 

[daytonadogie]

Didn’t the Denali come with a 4L65?

 

[MrMikeyG]

As a guy who just spent some would say stupid money on seats and having a shop do some of the more annoying "baselining" items on my truck, posts like this give me hope. I just need to surmount the lack of shop space...
Are you going to do any refreshing of the Yukon engine or is that where the budget would fall apart?

 

[GearGeek]

As a guy who just spent some would say stupid money on seats and having a shop do some of the more annoying "baselining" items on my truck, posts like this give me hope. I just need to surmount the lack of shop space...
Are you going to do any refreshing of the Yukon engine or is that where the budget would fall apart?

It was making 40 pounds of oil pressure, So I didn't mess with anything internally. Replaced the intake because I'm dumb and ran this intake into something and busted it lol. All new accessories though. New power steering pump, new water pump, new AC compressor, new spark plugs, new wires, I had to replace a coil because one of them had a broken connector, I'm changing out the drive by wire throttle body that came with it for a drive by cable throttle body, new pulleys, new rear main seal, and then I'm pulling the plastic factory barbell out at putting in a billet barbell from improved racing. I could have probably done this swap for damn near free if I didn't replace all of those things, but I'd rather have the peace of mind that all of those things are good to go!

 

[White Stripe]

It was making 40 pounds of oil pressure, So I didn't mess with anything internally. Replaced the intake because I'm dumb and ran this intake into something and busted it lol. All new accessories though. New power steering pump, new water pump, new AC compressor, new spark plugs, new wires, I had to replace a coil because one of them had a broken connector, I'm changing out the drive by wire throttle body that came with it for a drive by cable throttle body, new pulleys, new rear main seal, and then I'm pulling the plastic factory barbell out at putting in a billet barbell from improved racing. I could have probably done this swap for damn near free if I didn't replace all of those things, but I'd rather have the peace of mind that all of those things are good to go!

So what intake are you using?

 

[GearGeek]

So what intake are you using?

Another one that was laying around. haha.

 

[GearGeek]

Long over due update!

TLDR; motor mounts are tacked into place, transfer case crossmember is bolted in, all accessories are clearanced, and I am working on wiring and mocking up exhaust next.

Heavy Reading Version:

1) I got the Marks adapter kit bolted to the 4l60E. I would recommend keeping the Chevy bolts around for that, as the socket cap bolts that Marks sends are pretty much useless. You cant get an allen key or an allen head on an impact on them to actually tighten them. Throw them in the trash or use them for decoration on something later. haha. Used Toyota red gasket maker, because hey, it's still a Toyota. Cutting down the spud shaft was pretty easy, no drama there. Pro tip: I went to bolt the TCase to the trans, and one of the bolts bottomed out and wanted to strip out. If you are standing over the trans, it is the top left bolt on the transfer case. It looks like it is too shallow, so drill it out and tap it a little more or just use a shorter bolt. Some others have reported that issue too.

2) Next, bolted the engine to the trans/ tcase setup. slid that puppy in. Used the stock crossmember location to locate the motor. After that I used some CruiserMatt's Off-Road LS Swap Brackets, tacked the plates to the frame, and the brackets to the plates, and bolted everything up. I had bolted the water pump and the PS pump and fan to the motor just to make sure everything sat correctly. Matt's brackets take the guess work out to an extent, but you still have to make sure the motor is square to the frame, and that the center of the crank is offset to the drivers side about an inch, inch and a half. To make that happen with how the PS pump interacts with the frame, I unbolted the steering box and am going to make a 14" thick spacer plate for between the box and the frame. That gives a little more room to get the fittings on there and not interfere.

3) Less LS swap related, more process related. I decided to do an LSPV/ ABS delete. The brake lines were pretty gnarly (rust), so less to replace, simpler system, don't have to deal with bleeding the ABS module. I got a Wilwood manual brake proportioning valve that will take the place of the 3 way fitting right under the master. More to come on that later.

4) Air box/ intake: I ordered a 1996/1997 air cleaner lid off ebay. The 1994 has the square outlet that the MAF bolts to, whereas the 96/97 has a round outlet that will look a lot cleaner. I didn't really want to pay $150 for a lid, but after some toying around with other ideas, went for it, as I like that it preserves the factory look. I thought about making a matching square bracket and fabbing the intake piping to go from square to round, but thought it would look a little bit janky. Also thought about getting a tight 90 and welding that to the top of the lid, but I don't think it will clear the hood. I am going with aluminum piping, 4". The simplest and cleanest in my opinion, aside from getting something custom bent as using a silicone reducer to go from the toyota lid up the the 4", a straight aluminum piece, a silicone 45, a straight aluminum piece, and then a 4" silicone tight 90 into the throttle body. I am waiting for the parts to come in, but should hopefully have them in by the end of next week. They will stay raw aluminum for now, but I will eventually cerakote them midnight bronze, wheels will be the same color.

That is where I am at the moment. The big things left the figure out are where to mount the ECU, what do I need to do to get the cruise control to work, AC, and transmission wiring. I feel like it's almost the home stretch? Looking forward to pulling it all apart, pressure washing, and final assembly.

 

[GearGeek]

 

[thatcabledude]

Just as a heads up, the intake is really short when using the stock lid. Those aluminum bits aren’t necessary when a silicone reducer 45 and the MAF are in the mix.
Old pic of my mock-up:

 

[GearGeek]

Just as a heads up, the intake is really short when using the stock lid. Those aluminum bits aren’t necessary when a silicone reducer 45 and the MAF are in the mix.
Old pic of my mock-up:

View attachment 2975151

Thanks! I appreciate the heads up! My MAF is a a bit different than yours. It looks like my air box sits about 3 or more inches to the drivers from yours, unless this pic is playing tricks on me haha. I appreciate it! What did you use for a fan shroud? That one looks good.

 

[thatcabledude]

Thanks! I appreciate the heads up! My MAF is a a bit different than yours. It looks like my air box sits about 3 or more inches to the drivers from yours, unless this pic is playing tricks on me haha. I appreciate it! What did you use for a fan shroud? That one looks good.

Probably the angle. The airbox is in the stock location.

That shroud is a "kit" sold by Summit in various sizes that you assemble yourself. It's a good bargain for what they are. Should be less than $60.

 

[GearGeek]

Probably the angle. The airbox is in the stock location.

That shroud is a "kit" sold by Summit in various sizes that you assemble yourself. It's a good bargain for what they are. Should be less than $60.

That's perfect, thank you !

 

[808keith]

That's perfect, thank you !

I also used that universal kit. I soldered mine with a few rivets in some places. But it’s holding up no issues.

 

[Joshua Cole]

Have you had a chance to test the exhaust manifolds yet?