Stumbling my way through an LS Swap (4 Viewers)

[Rockymtnreaper]

The Mosley Radiator is worth its weight in gold. @cruisermatt actually saved my butt and sent me one he had on the shelf. I would run a Mechanical fan, skip over the electric... I did that. It's a waste of time. Heat soaked in the desert.

 

[yotadude520]

The Mosley Radiator is worth its weight in gold. @cruisermatt actually saved my butt and sent me one he had on the shelf. I would run a Mechanical fan, skip over the electric... I did that. It's a waste of time. Heat soaked in the desert.

I've heard great things about them and think it's a super affordable solution for us LS swap guys. I'm definitely running a mechanical fan setup, I don't trust electric fans with 110+ temps out here!

 

[yotadude520]

Now that I had the engine mounts burned in I figured there were a couple things that would probably be easier with the engine out. I replaced the low pressure power steering lines and the original ones were so hard they crumbled in my hand when I tried to disconnect them, so this was long overdue. Also installed the Mosley replacement line with the fitting that will mate to the PS pump on the LS

The fishplates on Matt’s mounts sit on top of where a bracket for the soft line at the axle meets a hardline and then goes to a brake tee. I ground off the little tab on the back and found an unused threaded hole pretty close to where it was and relocated it. I also re-bent the factory hard line a bit to ensure it clears the exhaust.

Since I'm running a drive by cable setup I had to modify my existing gas pedal to work with the new Lokar cable I bought - it was super easy and didn't even need to be removed. Just need to cut the nub off and drill it out and you can attach the cable easily. Red Line Cruisers makes a sweet little mounting bracket that bolts into unused holes.

With this stuff all buttoned up it was time to start assembling the drivetrain for the final time, and that meant assembling the flywheel, clutch & Marks Adapter onto the LS. The instructions that come with the adapter are pretty horrible IMO but it's relatively simple, basically all it is is a collared tube that's adjustable and attaches to the stock clutch fork with a LS throw-out bearing on the other side.

Not going to lie this entire thing is a little unwieldly, but I was able to get a ratchet strap on the output flange of the TC and that helped get the ass end up a bit to clear the valance and slip in

Time to put the drivetrain in for the final time

Got it installed pretty easily - the hardest part was lining up the rear transmission crossmember but was able to maneuver the transfer case enough with a jack that I was able to get it lined up. This thing fits like a glove, it looks like it came this way from the factory honestly and there is a ton of space between the engine and the firewall to run my fuel lines and what not.

It was weird seeing the H55F & the shiny TC in the truck after sitting on my bench for the past month and a half.

My brake line routing does clear the exhaust luckily but looks like it got a little nick on it from installing the engine. I might just bleed the brakes and see how it looks, if it's leaking I'll just make a new line.

I am super stoked to have the drivetrain in place though since now it's just a million little things to do which can be knocked out after work if I feel like drinking a few garage beers and wrenching.

Since I am going with a long range tank I figured now would be a good time to get my old one out. I had it professionally cleaned by a local radiator shop last March when I first bought the 60 and I replaced the pickup and all the hoses. It was a PITA to get it out the first time but this go around was pretty easy. It's been sold to a local mudder who is having some fuel issues so am glad it can go to someone who can use it.

With the long range tank I no longer have a place to mount my spare, so figured it was a good time to buy a rear bumper with a swingout. I wanted one before the LS swap but with an immediate need I snagged a used Kaymar from @mongoose2231. With a little extra time before kickoff I was able to get the old one off without too much trouble. Those damn carriage bolts are a royal PITA.

I've got some loose rust that needs to be knocked off and then I'll shoot it with some paint before installing.

 

[Garrissey]

I commend you for NOT cleaning out the engine bay and leaving all the 2F crud in there.

 

[mongoose2231]

Great work! The bumper requires you remove the "C" shapped brackets too. Gotta drill them rivets out, or cut the heads and use an air chisel to drive them out. That's what I did in the past.
Looks good. Dan mentioned you guys will meet Wednesday evening. Let me know how it goes.
Cheers.

 

[yotadude520]

Was up in Canada for the last week but I have been making some more progress, albeit slow and nothing that exciting.

I got my power steering pump hooked up with the Mosley hard line and it fit like a glove.

The brake booster vacuum line on the original 5.3 engine is massive so instead of running a reducer I bought this new nipple from Novak Conversions that is much smaller.

I also fought quite a bit to keep the original 5.3 oil pressure sensor and tried all sorts of adapters and couldn't find anything that worked. I then found out that most engine harnesses don't include an oil pressure sensor plug as that is actually included in the body harness of most Chevy's. I bought the adapter from Matt and quit thinking about it.

Since I am running the stock Chevy ECU and the H55F manual trans, I needed to add a speed sensor for the ECU. Jags That Run sells a kit that goes on the back of the transfer case which is pretty neat. You remove the staked nut and replace it with a nut that has gears on it that correspond to the VSS.

Speaking of the ECU & wiring harness my next step in this build is going to be installing that since it'll be easier to run the power line to the fuel pump without having the tank already installed. My only current snafu is that the BP Automotive harness requires you to install it in the vehicle and there's not a ton of places to fit that big ass ECU. My current thoughts are to buy a metal glovebox and notch it out for the harness plugs and mount the ECU to that and then run the harness out of the big firewall plug on the passenger side.

 

[BurntToast]

FYI the computer can fit above the glove box and below the dash.

Builds - BurntToast's FJ62 Build "Hoss"

https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/lsx-ls2-engine-swap-conversion-a-c-line-compressor-adapter-fitting/ I’m running an LT. I wonder if it still fits the new compressor 🤷‍♂️

forum.ih8mud.com

and if for some reason you want to fiddle with the oil pressure fittings again. This one works for both

M16 x 1.5 PTFE Coated Steel Extension with 1/8 NPT Ports - Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies

Come check out our M16 x 1.5 PTFE Coated Steel Extension with 1/8 NPT Ports at Pegasus Auto Racing.

www.pegasusautoracing.com

 

[tmxmotorsports]

The guy is back making those speed sensor adapter things again or have you had that one?

 

[yotadude520]

FYI the computer can fit above the glove box and below the dash.

Builds - BurntToast's FJ62 Build "Hoss"

https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/lsx-ls2-engine-swap-conversion-a-c-line-compressor-adapter-fitting/ I’m running an LT. I wonder if it still fits the new compressor 🤷‍♂️

forum.ih8mud.com

and if for some reason you want to fiddle with the oil pressure fittings again. This one works for both

M16 x 1.5 PTFE Coated Steel Extension with 1/8 NPT Ports - Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies

Come check out our M16 x 1.5 PTFE Coated Steel Extension with 1/8 NPT Ports at Pegasus Auto Racing.

www.pegasusautoracing.com

Well I'll be dipped. That's exactly what I'm going to do!

 

[yotadude520]

The guy is back making those speed sensor adapter things again or have you had that one?

He's still making them, bought it a few weeks ago, have you tried to order one recently?

 

[tmxmotorsports]

He's still making them, bought it a few weeks ago, have you tried to order one recently?

About 6 years ago. He was taking over what his brother had started as he had passed away. I waited a long time but never got anything I came up with my own solution.

 

[cruisermatt]

No need to mount ECU in cab. They are in the engine bay on the GM Vehicles.

 

[mongoose2231]

 

[Garrissey]

Update

 

[yotadude520]

Update

No big updates as of yet, been up in Colorado with the lady for the last couple weeks! I did get the throttle hooked up before I left, but I'll be up here till the beginning of November. Plan to take the dash pad off and start tackling the wiring harness when I get back!

 

[dbbowen]

About 6 years ago. He was taking over what his brother had started as he had passed away. I waited a long time but never got anything I came up with my own solution.

I bought one about a year ago and it came in like a week.

 

[Mdej3]

Great job. Following.

 

[toy_tek]

I'd really like to stop by and check it out / give a hand if needed. I'm starting the LS planning here.

 

[yotadude520]

Back in town and finally got a chance to get back on this thing last night. I'm going to be completely honest when I say that the spookiest part of this whole swap for me is the electrical aspect of it. I’ve done a decent bit of wiring over the years on some old hifi gear and installed stereos in every car I’ve owned but I’m a far cry from an electrical genius.

With that in mind my approach to the wiring on the swap is this – I’m going to keep the body harness and the engine harness as separated as possible. I do feel much more confident knowing that I have a great standalone engine harness from BP Automotive which also comes with fantastic instructions.

There are tons of things for the old 2F in the engine bay that I’m not going to use, but I decided against cutting off all the old plugs and dead-heading the wires. There were a couple wires that were pretty damaged that I did dead head, then I tidied everything up with some black electrical tape and hid everything through the fender.

I’ll be tackling the passenger side this weekend since I will be extending the Cruisertrash fusible link connection to the alternator along with the factory charge cable.

My initial plan was to install the ECU inside the truck so I started to remove my dash to give me better access. If anyone has got a half decent dash pad lying around that they don’t want an arm and a leg for let me know. Mine is completely toast and the defrosters crumbled in my hands as I removed the bolts holding them in.

The truck came with an awesome old Alpine shaft style stereo that worked pretty decently, but considering this is going to be my DD I’d like to have Bluetooth and a decent head unit. I didn’t want to cut the wires off of the old Alpine unit in case I decide to install it in something else down the road so I bought a universal stereo harness and spliced that in with the existing wiring.

I'm not going to keep the stock tach so I had bought a VDO with a 6k limit along with a mounting bracket from Trail Tailor. Got it installed in the cluster yesterday and looks really good.

With the dash pad off it's pretty clear that a Gen III LS ECU isn't going to fit under there, so I'm going to mount it in the engine bay like everyone told me to do and am going to keep working on it this weekend.

 

[Dubs2017]

Back in town and finally got a chance to get back on this thing last night. I'm going to be completely honest when I say that the spookiest part of this whole swap for me is the electrical aspect of it. I’ve done a decent bit of wiring over the years on some old hifi gear and installed stereos in every car I’ve owned but I’m a far cry from an electrical genius.

With that in mind my approach to the wiring on the swap is this – I’m going to keep the body harness and the engine harness as separated as possible. I do feel much more confident knowing that I have a great standalone engine harness from BP Automotive which also comes with fantastic instructions.

There are tons of things for the old 2F in the engine bay that I’m not going to use, but I decided against cutting off all the old plugs and dead-heading the wires. There were a couple wires that were pretty damaged that I did dead head, then I tidied everything up with some black electrical tape and hid everything through the fender.

I’ll be tackling the passenger side this weekend since I will be extending the Cruisertrash fusible link connection to the alternator along with the factory charge cable.

My initial plan was to install the ECU inside the truck so I started to remove my dash to give me better access. If anyone has got a half decent dash pad lying around that they don’t want an arm and a leg for let me know. Mine is completely toast and the defrosters crumbled in my hands as I removed the bolts holding them in.

The truck came with an awesome old Alpine shaft style stereo that worked pretty decently, but considering this is going to be my DD I’d like to have Bluetooth and a decent head unit. I didn’t want to cut the wires off of the old Alpine unit in case I decide to install it in something else down the road so I bought a universal stereo harness and spliced that in with the existing wiring.

I'm not going to keep the stock tach so I had bought a VDO with a 6k limit along with a mounting bracket from Trail Tailor. Got it installed in the cluster yesterday and looks really good.

With the dash pad off it's pretty clear that a Gen III LS ECU isn't going to fit under there, so I'm going to mount it in the engine bay like everyone told me to do and am going to keep working on it this weekend.

Looking great. Good call on the electrical - saved yourself 10-40 hours of work with that decision. Looking forward to watching this come together.