I need to do this but I keep putting it off, LT1swap is a rad site for pinning the wire harness. Brandon also does PCM reflashes to get rid of VATS and setup for your application.
Dirty Bird learns to fly (5.3 LS Swap) (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter blbuck12
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- #23
Got a little bit more work done today. Rear channels bolted in (was extremely satisfying putting all the bolts in) and engine/tranny/transfer all bolted in. Also spent a good amount of time chasing threads around the front of the frame and for mounting the fuel/brake lines.
Pops giving his approval
Pops giving his approval
Hows this going?!
- Thread starter
- #25
@onemanarmy Thanks for checking in! My updates here died off, but the progress continued. I "finished" the in August of 2020 in order to test drive for a couple weeks before a road trip from Seattle down to the Red Woods in Northern California.
From the photos above the next thing I did was finish up the wiring harness, which was a modified stock harness, and threw it on the motor. I also buttoned up the fuel system which consists of a Corvette filter/pressure regulator and a Walbro inline pump. It started out pretty loud and i thought i would need to get a replacement or go in-tank, but after a month or two the pump went silent. I think there was an air bubble stuck in it, but who knows. Almost 18 months later it still works perfectly so I'm not going to mess with it. it the picture with the fuel system you can also see the new body mount bushings from 4Crawler. They have worked out really well, I had a little squeak from one of the bushings but after I over sprayed a little Fluid Film on it the noise went away completely.
Once the wiring and fuel system were together it is time to drop the body onto the new to me frame!
From the photos above the next thing I did was finish up the wiring harness, which was a modified stock harness, and threw it on the motor. I also buttoned up the fuel system which consists of a Corvette filter/pressure regulator and a Walbro inline pump. It started out pretty loud and i thought i would need to get a replacement or go in-tank, but after a month or two the pump went silent. I think there was an air bubble stuck in it, but who knows. Almost 18 months later it still works perfectly so I'm not going to mess with it. it the picture with the fuel system you can also see the new body mount bushings from 4Crawler. They have worked out really well, I had a little squeak from one of the bushings but after I over sprayed a little Fluid Film on it the noise went away completely.
Once the wiring and fuel system were together it is time to drop the body onto the new to me frame!
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- #26
Once the body was back on, I wanted to get it started as soon as possible. So it was hooking up the starter, and temporarily wiring the in engines fuse block. I didn't bother hooking up the cooling system, power steering or anything that didn't help with starting the motor. I just make loops in those systems so fluid wouldn't dump onto the floor.
Below is a video of our first start attempts. The ECM, fuse block and throttle are all hanging over the drivers fender for easy access haha. We did spin the motor prior with no spark prior to starting to get the oil pressure up.
Only reason why it wouldn't stay running is that we didn't bleed the fuel lines of air. Once the system was free of air it started up no problem and idled great. I used Corvette exhaust manifolds that have O2 sensor ports in them so it didn't even throw any codes with no exhaust.
Below is a video of our first start attempts. The ECM, fuse block and throttle are all hanging over the drivers fender for easy access haha. We did spin the motor prior with no spark prior to starting to get the oil pressure up.
Only reason why it wouldn't stay running is that we didn't bleed the fuel lines of air. Once the system was free of air it started up no problem and idled great. I used Corvette exhaust manifolds that have O2 sensor ports in them so it didn't even throw any codes with no exhaust.
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- Thread starter
- #27
After the first start it was time to tackle all of the small items that can take a ton of time. This was wiring the OBDII port, mounting the throttle pedal in a useable position, getting power steering lines, mounting and running lines for a trans cooler, hooking up the cooling system, mounting and wiring the electric fans,....
Update #2
Update #2
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Awesome. Do you have a P/N on the Corvette fuel regulartor and the pump you used?
- Thread starter
- #29
@onemanarmy
Fuel pump is a GSL392 Walbro / TI Automotive 255LPH, ordered on Ebay
Ordered the generic filter/regulator from Summit Racing here Summit Racing SUM-230150 Summit Racing™ Universal LS Fuel Filter Regulators | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-230150
Also used a pre-filter which is a clean-able billet unit also from Summit Racing Summit Racing SUM-230135N Summit Racing™ Inline Billet Fuel Filters | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-230135N
Happy to share any other part #'s you or anyone needs
I got AN adapters for everything past the fuel pump as well. Fuel pump and pre-filter are both just barb fittings
Fuel pump is a GSL392 Walbro / TI Automotive 255LPH, ordered on Ebay
Ordered the generic filter/regulator from Summit Racing here Summit Racing SUM-230150 Summit Racing™ Universal LS Fuel Filter Regulators | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-230150
Also used a pre-filter which is a clean-able billet unit also from Summit Racing Summit Racing SUM-230135N Summit Racing™ Inline Billet Fuel Filters | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-230135N
Happy to share any other part #'s you or anyone needs
I got AN adapters for everything past the fuel pump as well. Fuel pump and pre-filter are both just barb fittings
- Thread starter
- #30
At this point the Dirty bird was very close to driving. Unfortunately my placement was a little off and I had to have new driveshafts made, rear a little shorter, front a little longer. While this was happening I also worked on getting my gauges working. I wanted to stick with stock gauges to keep the stealth look. I got an oil pressure adapter off of Amazon then turned down the stock temp sensor in a drill and re-threaded it to fit the LS heads. Can't remember the thread pitch but it made installation a breeze!
After driving the cruiser for a week or two the oil pressure sensor started leaking pretty back so I pulled it off and used jbweld as a thread sealer. Not sure where the issue exactly was between the adapters, but the jbweld solved the leak issue.
Also bought a set of sway bar links for a Tahoe/Suburban which are the perfect length for a 2" lift. Part # is ACDelco 46G0012A and they are only like $12
amazon link
I also made a new set of apron seals out of some 1/16" rubber sheet I got off of ebay. I still had one side so I was able to use that as a template to make a new full set.
With all of these items crossed off the rear drive shaft was ready and a generic air intake arrived so the DB was ready to move under it's own power!
After driving the cruiser for a week or two the oil pressure sensor started leaking pretty back so I pulled it off and used jbweld as a thread sealer. Not sure where the issue exactly was between the adapters, but the jbweld solved the leak issue.
Also bought a set of sway bar links for a Tahoe/Suburban which are the perfect length for a 2" lift. Part # is ACDelco 46G0012A and they are only like $12
amazon link
I also made a new set of apron seals out of some 1/16" rubber sheet I got off of ebay. I still had one side so I was able to use that as a template to make a new full set.
With all of these items crossed off the rear drive shaft was ready and a generic air intake arrived so the DB was ready to move under it's own power!
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- Thread starter
- #31
Well, after getting things together it was finally time to go for a little test drive. Pretty much just drove it around the lot. Next up was getting an exhaust put on. I didn't know enough about exhaust and was pretty eager to get things going so I took it to an exhaust shop where they put on a 3" exhaust. It's 2 1/2" from the manifolds to the muffler, then 3" out of the muffler through a resonator and out the drivers rear quarter.
A few other items that were getting worked on. I got cruise control wired in, I used a rear wiper switch to control it. Since it's a drive by wire setup it makes it really easy, just 4 wires. I ended up simplifying it so it's just On and Set/slow, no +1mph which is fine.
Luckily with the 4l60e there is a pin that is designed to control the backup lights, so it was just a matter of wiring this into the stock backup switch plug and we are good to go in reverse!
In keeping with the stock gauges as much as possible, I designed and printed a new gauge face for the stock tachometer that goes up to 6k rpm. I used a Dakota digital signal converter between the LS ECM tach output and the stock gauge. LS puts out a 8 cylinder signal (after reprogramming), the stock tach uses a 6 cylinder signal. So I use the Dakota Digital to convert the ls signal to higher output and into a 4 cylinder signal. The math works out so that 6k rpm on a 4 cylinder signal is the same as a 4k rpm on a 6 cylinder signal, so I designed the tach face so that 6k lines up with the stock 4k line. It is accurate, but I'm running into issues with the Dakota Digital box not getting enough voltage once my electric fans come on and/or my headlights are on. It's weird but the tach works most of the time.
I've attached the SVG file of the gauge in case anyone wants to print their own to use. I suggest going to a print shop and having them print it on heavier weight paper. I even tried it on transparencies, but I felt the laser printed on heavy weight paper matched the stock look the best. If the pdf file does not work for anyone please reach out and I can send you the original SVG.
A few other items that were getting worked on. I got cruise control wired in, I used a rear wiper switch to control it. Since it's a drive by wire setup it makes it really easy, just 4 wires. I ended up simplifying it so it's just On and Set/slow, no +1mph which is fine.
Luckily with the 4l60e there is a pin that is designed to control the backup lights, so it was just a matter of wiring this into the stock backup switch plug and we are good to go in reverse!
In keeping with the stock gauges as much as possible, I designed and printed a new gauge face for the stock tachometer that goes up to 6k rpm. I used a Dakota digital signal converter between the LS ECM tach output and the stock gauge. LS puts out a 8 cylinder signal (after reprogramming), the stock tach uses a 6 cylinder signal. So I use the Dakota Digital to convert the ls signal to higher output and into a 4 cylinder signal. The math works out so that 6k rpm on a 4 cylinder signal is the same as a 4k rpm on a 6 cylinder signal, so I designed the tach face so that 6k lines up with the stock 4k line. It is accurate, but I'm running into issues with the Dakota Digital box not getting enough voltage once my electric fans come on and/or my headlights are on. It's weird but the tach works most of the time.
I've attached the SVG file of the gauge in case anyone wants to print their own to use. I suggest going to a print shop and having them print it on heavier weight paper. I even tried it on transparencies, but I felt the laser printed on heavy weight paper matched the stock look the best. If the pdf file does not work for anyone please reach out and I can send you the original SVG.
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How far off were you on the motor/trans position from your initial measurement, and would you advise a different method of placing the LS mounts and crossmember after having done it slightly off?
I love the conversion to keep the stock tach, though if the setup ends up not working well Speedhut offers gauge faces that match relatively well with stock.
I love the conversion to keep the stock tach, though if the setup ends up not working well Speedhut offers gauge faces that match relatively well with stock.
- Thread starter
- #34
Thanks @dbleon I appreciate it. The Temp Sensor trick I learned here on MUD, can't remember the thread but it's been done before. I know Torfab used to sell ones that were already machined with the threads for an LS, probably still do.
The tach took a while to figure out what I wanted to do. At one point I bought a 60 styled Speedhut gauge from Mosley Motors, but before installing it I decided I wanted to keep the gauges totally stock looking. The Speedhut gauge looked great, but it looked a bit out of place for my taste with the other bone stock gauges.
From my research the LS puts out a low voltage square wave tach signal, while the 60 tach is looking for a 12V sine wave signal. So in order to use a 60 tach with an LS you need to use a converter, I chose to use a Dakota Digital SGI-100BT. It has waaay more functions than I use, but it is able to convert the LS signal into a signal the stock 60 gauge can use and if I decide to swap gauges down the road it will come in useful. Since I didn't want to mess with the sweep of the stock tach, it was just a matter of trying to match the signal count. I decided 4k on the stock tach should be where 6k on the ls should land, just need to make the signal count match. So 4k x 6 cylinder signal (stock) = 24k and 6k x 4cylinder signal (from LS)= 24k. Same signal count so same place on the tach sweep. Then it was just a matter of making the graphic line up with the markings on the stock tach.
@cheeese If I were to do it again, I would 100% plan on new drive shafts and place the motor centered and closer to the firewall. I think I was about an 1 or 2 off and it was as far forward as possible. Now this is for a LS + 4l60e swap, if keeping a manual it's going to be different. Since I tried to re-use the stock driveshafts I put the motor as far forward as possible which forces me to run electric fans (which work, but are too noisy for my taste), makes it difficult to run intake, cooling lines,... The only real interference item to watch out for it the oil pan + front diff, which if the engine was set further back in the engine bay would be of no concern. I ended up running an H3 oil pan which I think is also called the muscle car oil pan...
The tach took a while to figure out what I wanted to do. At one point I bought a 60 styled Speedhut gauge from Mosley Motors, but before installing it I decided I wanted to keep the gauges totally stock looking. The Speedhut gauge looked great, but it looked a bit out of place for my taste with the other bone stock gauges.
From my research the LS puts out a low voltage square wave tach signal, while the 60 tach is looking for a 12V sine wave signal. So in order to use a 60 tach with an LS you need to use a converter, I chose to use a Dakota Digital SGI-100BT. It has waaay more functions than I use, but it is able to convert the LS signal into a signal the stock 60 gauge can use and if I decide to swap gauges down the road it will come in useful. Since I didn't want to mess with the sweep of the stock tach, it was just a matter of trying to match the signal count. I decided 4k on the stock tach should be where 6k on the ls should land, just need to make the signal count match. So 4k x 6 cylinder signal (stock) = 24k and 6k x 4cylinder signal (from LS)= 24k. Same signal count so same place on the tach sweep. Then it was just a matter of making the graphic line up with the markings on the stock tach.
@cheeese If I were to do it again, I would 100% plan on new drive shafts and place the motor centered and closer to the firewall. I think I was about an 1 or 2 off and it was as far forward as possible. Now this is for a LS + 4l60e swap, if keeping a manual it's going to be different. Since I tried to re-use the stock driveshafts I put the motor as far forward as possible which forces me to run electric fans (which work, but are too noisy for my taste), makes it difficult to run intake, cooling lines,... The only real interference item to watch out for it the oil pan + front diff, which if the engine was set further back in the engine bay would be of no concern. I ended up running an H3 oil pan which I think is also called the muscle car oil pan...
