Stumbling my way through an LS Swap

[yotadude520]

Back to a little tech - when I had the truck on the road I noticed that the steering got worse since I had done the swap. My box was tired anyways with 220k and had been running 35's rock crawling for who knows how long so I have bought a box out of an 80 series and am sending it off to Redhead gears to get it rebuilt.

Doing a little bit of digging the stock LS power steering pump is putting out around 1350 PSI. Per the FSM, the stock 60 box only requires a little over 1000 PSI

My steering was pretty light after the swap and this would explain what shortened it's lifespan even more. I had about 4-5" of play before I parked it and made arrangements for the 80 series box.

If you don't want to swap in an 80 series box, or have a 60 that was built before mid 1985, you'll need to reduce the pressure from the stock power steering pump. To do so you can use this kit that requires you to add shims to the pressure relief valve:

Borgeson Universal 899001 Borgeson Universal Power Steering Pump Pressure-Reducing Kits | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Borgeson Universal Power Steering Pump Pressure-Reducing Kits with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Power Steering Pressure Reducer Fittings at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

According to their instructions, 2 shims should get it close enough to stock OEM pressures and that should solve this issue. You could be even more conservative with 3 shims and see how it handles as well.

Now that I'm going to be running an 80 series box, I did some digging in the FSM and PS pump pressure is supposed to be at 1351 PSI at idle, so no need for me to add any shims now.

 

[mongoose2231]

Great job!

 

[JoeW]

I did the same swap as you and, like you said, it was surprisingly simple. Great work dude

It's been a while since I updated this thread, but have got the truck to where it's driveable and enjoyed it the last few weeks.

I wasn't able to get the air intake finished before I got it to the exhaust shop so I bought a cheapie $50 air intake from Amazon and made it work. I'm still throwing a MAF sensor code but I think it's due to the intake tube being 4" which is larger than stock. I'm going to be redoing the intake with a stock 60 series intake and an 80 series lid. This cheapie setup has worked pretty well in the meantime to putz around with.

I'll then take it to have a proper tune put on, even though the BP Automotive base tune is pretty damn good.

View attachment 3810611

The exhaust shop did an incredible job, I went with a stock sounding exhaust with a single tailpipe. I'll grab some pictures when I'm back home in February but its pretty quiet and is routed really well.

View attachment 3810612

Before I left town I was able to get a few weeks of driving time in and the LS swap is 100000000% worth it. Here are my first impressions:

• Even with the 5.3 instead of the 6.0 there is so much more power than stock. I actually find myself speeding more often than I’m not – which is absolutely insane in an old brick like this!
• The H55F with 3.70 gears (due to the 10% OD gears in TC) is fantastic. It’s more like a four speed though, in normal traffic I’m typically starting in 2nd gear to takeoff, and can cruise at 1800 RPM going 50 in 4th gear. I haven’t taken it on the highway yet to see what those RPMs are but think they’ll be relatively low.

Prior to the swap I had never pulled an engine by myself, and knew next to nothing about LS engines. I had never rebuilt or even removed a transfer case before this build. This swap is doable by literally anyone with a good set of tools and are willing to put in the time to do research. There is so much valuable information on this forum and through it's members that I am so grateful for. Special thanks to the below members who helped guide me along the way:

@cruisermatt
@BurntToast
@dbbowen
@tmxmotorsports
@Dubs2017

I mean it when I say literally anyone can do this, and it's singlehandedly the best upgrade you can do on a 60 series to make it a practical daily driver.

I'll post some more pics/updates when I'm back in a few weeks!

You killed it duder! I have essentially the same swap (gen 3 lq4 with the h55) and you described it perfectly, with so much help from the guys you mentioned, and a little research, most folks that know which direction a bolt turns can pull this off to some degree. It's been such a game changer over the 2f in terms of driveability it's unreal.

Keep up the good work

 

[yotadude520]

I did the same swap as you and, like you said, it was surprisingly simple. Great work dude

You killed it duder! I have essentially the same swap (gen 3 lq4 with the h55) and you described it perfectly, with so much help from the guys you mentioned, and a little research, most folks that know which direction a bolt turns can pull this off to some degree. It's been such a game changer over the 2f in terms of driveability it's unreal.

Keep up the good work

Thanks so much man! Really appreciate the kind words.

Did your throwout bearing make any noise after install? I may adjust mine out a bit as it's constantly making noise which is a tad annoying.

 

[JoeW]

Thanks so much man! Really appreciate the kind words.

Did your throwout bearing make any noise after install? I may adjust mine out a bit as it's constantly making noise which is a tad annoying.

I'll have to see if it's making noise, I do have a rotational noise in neutral that goes away when the clutch goes in, but I always thought it was transmission gear noise. I didn't really use the instructions from Marks to setup the bearing, just kind of eyeballed it and went from there.

 

[yotadude520]

For the first few weeks I was rocking a cheapie intake system that worked really well honestly. I’m not the biggest fan of cone filters though and opted to use the FJ62 air box with a lid from a 95 FZJ80. Here’s the intake kit I bought:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082VH33Y4?tag=ihco-20

I tried to keep it super simple, and the cheapie MOOSUN kit provided pretty much everything I needed - only other things I bought was a 4.0 to 3.5” reducer that goes on the other side of the MAF and a few extra 4" clamps. You do need to leave the bottom bolt out of the FJ62 airbox to bring it up a bit so the intake isn’t putting a lot of pressure on the upper radiator hose. I’ll eventually get a spacer that allows me to bolt that in.

So far it does run a little smoother than the cone filter setup, I’m getting it tuned tomorrow and am really looking forward to seeing how well it runs after that.

 

[cruisermatt]

I know you're in arizona where rust doesn't exist, you may still want to paint that shroud though

 

[yotadude520]

I know you're in arizona where rust doesn't exist, you may still want to paint that shroud though

It'll be getting a nice shiny coat of paint this weekend!

 

[dbbowen]

For the first few weeks I was rocking a cheapie intake system that worked really well honestly. I’m not the biggest fan of cone filters though and opted to use the FJ62 air box with a lid from a 95 FZJ80. Here’s the intake kit I bought:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082VH33Y4?tag=ihco-20

I tried to keep it super simple, and the cheapie MOOSUN kit provided pretty much everything I needed - only other things I bought was a 4.0 to 3.5” reducer that goes on the other side of the MAF and a few extra 4" clamps. You do need to leave the bottom bolt out of the FJ62 airbox to bring it up a bit so the intake isn’t putting a lot of pressure on the upper radiator hose. I’ll eventually get a spacer that allows me to bolt that in.

View attachment 3832395

So far it does run a little smoother than the cone filter setup, I’m getting it tuned tomorrow and am really looking forward to seeing how well it runs after that.

If you go to ace hardware they sell these little spacer things in the section with the bolts. They are like super thick washers pretty much. Perfect for spacing that bottom airbox bolt. Just get an assortment of them. I spaced mine up too high when i did mine and it hit my hood. Then i had to go back and get a smaller spacer

 

[tmxmotorsports]

If you go to ace hardware they sell these little spacer things in the section with the bolts. They are like super thick washers pretty much. Perfect for spacing that bottom airbox bolt. Just get an assortment of them. I spaced mine up too high when i did mine and it hit my hood. Then i had to go back and get a smaller spacer

Ace Is the place lol

 

[dbbowen]

Ace Is the place lol

man seriously. When was doing my LS swap and the few others i did i would clean them out of their metric flanged bolts haha. They were the only place in town that had metric bolts!

 

[yotadude520]

I've been meaning to install a charcoal canister since I've been running the truck with the vent capped for a while now. There's quite a few different ways to do this, but I just followed @cruisermatt's advice and bought the VC120 canister from VatoZone.

Duralast Vapor Canister VC120

Shop for Duralast Vapor Canister VC120 with confidence at AutoZone.com. Parts are just part of what we do. Get yours online today and pick up in store.

www.autozone.com

I needed a place to mount it, so I fabbed up a little bracket out of 1/8 steel that bolts over the windshield washer tank and then secured it with some clamps. It's not the most beautiful thing in the world, but it works and puts the charcoal canister above the tank like it should be.

For the purge line, I'm going to buy this adapter to go where the original purge canister went on the intake and put a 1/8 to 1/4 fitting on there and install my line. Until that adapter comes in the purge line is tucked into the fender well.

Amazon.com

Here is the final setup, just ran some 1/4" fuel hose from the canister to a check valve and then to the adapter where the purge solenoid used to go. Have probably put over 3k miles on this setup and it's worked really well. You will need a 1/8 npt to 1/4 barb to put the fuel line over, here's the one I used:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VDGZG5Y?tag=ihco-20

 

[cruisermatt]

that bracket is definitely on my list to manufacture... just need more hours in the day

 

[yotadude520]

that bracket is definitely on my list to manufacture... just need more hours in the day

I think I've got enough steel left over to make another one if you want to get your canister off of the firewall lol

 

[dbbowen]

I've been meaning to install a charcoal canister since I've been running the truck with the vent capped for a while now. There's quite a few different ways to do this, but I just followed @cruisermatt's advice and bought the VC120 canister from VatoZone.

Duralast Vapor Canister VC120

Shop for Duralast Vapor Canister VC120 with confidence at AutoZone.com. Parts are just part of what we do. Get yours online today and pick up in store.

www.autozone.com

I needed a place to mount it, so I fabbed up a little bracket out of 1/8 steel that bolts over the windshield washer tank and then secured it with some clamps. It's not the most beautiful thing in the world, but it works and puts the charcoal canister above the tank like it should be.

View attachment 3842262
View attachment 3842264

For the purge line, I'm going to buy this adapter to go where the original purge canister went on the intake and put a 1/8 to 1/4 fitting on there and install my line. Until that adapter comes in the purge line is tucked into the fender well.

View attachment 3842265

Amazon.com

this is still on my list to do. does the dbc setup still have the purge solenoid on the front of the intake?

 

[yotadude520]

this is still on my list to do. does the dbc setup still have the purge solenoid on the front of the intake?

I'm pretty sure all the truck intakes have it in the same spot, DBC & DBW but don't quote me on that.

 

[JKIII FJ40]

cant wait to see when its plumbed in. My swap 4.8 gen Iv has the purge valve above the drivers side fuel rail. I do want to install the charcoal cannister too and use the OEM purge valve to manage it.

 

[yotadude520]

cant wait to see when its plumbed in. My swap 4.8 gen Iv has the purge valve above the drivers side fuel rail. I do want to install the charcoal cannister too and use the OEM purge valve to manage it.

Should be getting the parts in on Friday to finish the install.

I really recommend getting a CC installed, it might be a placebo since I just installed mine last night but the fuel pump is quieter and the engine just seems to run better. I had the vent line capped and was probably building up excessive pressure in the tank since it couldn't vent properly.

Oddly enough there would be times I'd have to prime the fuel pump twice to get it to start, now it starts the first time. I have no idea how the CC managed to fix that but I'm stoked.

 

[RevISK]

I swapped mine as part of the general WTF is going on with my fuel system rampage, definitely helped.

 

[Fyffer]

Should be getting the parts in on Friday to finish the install.

I really recommend getting a CC installed, it might be a placebo since I just installed mine last night but the fuel pump is quieter and the engine just seems to run better. I had the vent line capped and was probably building up excessive pressure in the tank since it couldn't vent properly.

Oddly enough there would be times I'd have to prime the fuel pump twice to get it to start, now it starts on the first time. I have no idea how the CC managed to fix that but I'm stoked.

Don’t ask about it, done by PO. Works and never had any problems, all GM I believe with Mods.