Vortec Harness Build or Buy? (1 Viewer)

[Clonestocker]

Starting to gather parts and steam for the Vortec swap. 1997 5.7. Here's a picture of the goods. I have all the under hood harness but having a hard time finding a factory wiring diagram and other info. I think the 97 truck had 4 O2 sensors but don't see wires for them also the check engine light.

I've checked some of the vendors for harnesses and they are spendy. Does anyone know of harness vendors that have a reasonable price. Kurtis who did yours? Please advise. matt

 

[OyajiJon]

If you look down the page a little, there is discussion on this very topic in a thread with Express Van in the title.

I, personally, used Howell along with some others. Others used Painless. Yet others used less known people who trimmed the factory harness or did it themselves. A "reasonable price" is relative to whether you know how to do the work yourself, care to do the work yourself, or have the information available to do the work yourself. I paid $600 for my harness and $250 for my computer that Howell did all the work on. As I mentioned in the other thread, I feel that the support and service Howell provided after the sale made the money well worth it.

Good luck.

 

[Clonestocker]

I've been following that thread. Just hoping to get more info.if available. Different vendors, do it yourselfers etc. matt

 

[MANUCHAO]

If you are so inclined to do it yourself check out this guys.

ALLDATAdiy.com :: Leading Source of Diagnostic and Repair Information

If you do go with a known vendor (spearteck, Howell ) then go for a complete new harness as supposed to modifying the one that is sitting on the engine.

 

[baxter650]

When i put in a TPI system i bought a harness, ECM w/chip from a vendor for under $400., but given the cost of the Vortec harnesses alone, i would be modding a stock unit.
Good luck

 

[bkfj40]

I used Jims Performance and was happy with their service and price on my 4.3l Vortec..

inject usa

 

[orangefj45]

i've been using howell harnesses for 15 years and they have been excellent. so is their customer service. when i do vortec conversions at the shop i only ise their harnesses.

hth

georg @ valley hybrids

 

[My4x4FJ40]

harness

Matt,

I'm in the same boat you are as I'm starting my frame up build. I agree with George with the howell harness, I have done a bit of research and found one other place that might come in play. I wish I could get a diagram of the new harness and I would start making a few this winter to keep me busy.lol Anyway the link is here just for your info, hope it helps.
I also added a youtube of the harness.

lee

TLCA#20714


Custom built Harnesses by Current Performance Wiring


YouTube - Introduction to the Stand Alone LS Engine Wire Harness.MOD

 

[Kurtis]

I used Fuel Injection Connection out of Colorado and was very satsified but they do not advertise a harness for the 5.7 vortec motors. They do tbi tpi lt1 then jump to the ls style motors. You might call and ask but i'm guessing if its not on their site they don't make it. Howell gets excellent reviews just about everywhere so if your not doing it yourself I would lean that direction. If you are doing it yourself the wiring diagram should be in the manual for your motor. I think the one of have is a chilton manual and that includes the wiring diagrams in it. Most of the manuals you buy will have these.

With the setup you have buying is probably the best option since your going to need your ecm programmed anyway you might as well have it done by the same place and save some headaches.

 

[Tinker]

Mine is a '98 5.7 Painless Part #60212 at a whopping $1,038.46: Painless Performance: GM 1996 - 1999 Vortec V8 5.0L 5.7L Fuel Injection Harness (CMFI) Std. Length I put my ECM above the pedals inside the cab.

I understand your concern about the price. The shop that did my conversion charged me $694.30 in 2004 to & I'm sure that was marked up. So Painless has gotten mighty proud in the last 5-7 years.

You should have 2 O2 sensors before your 2 cats & 2 after. Also, you need a speed sensor: mine's from Downey but they're out of business now.

In theory the harness is simple & you would gain a wealth of knowledge by building your own. However, time & money are interchangeable, so if you're trying to save money expect to spend a lot of time. If you're good with schematics & debugging circuits, I'd say have at it.

BTW I have no idea why you'd need to get your ECM reprogrammed - I don't think I did.

 

[Elbert]

Knowledge and expertise are worth some $$, plus the aggrivatiion factor is mitigated. If I were to do over...I would use somone like Howell where I could get the "electronics" dealt with at one place.

Another good idea is to read through the various engine swap threads...I know there are 3 or 4 that deal with 5.7 vortec , 5.7 TBI, 5.3 Vortec I don't recall if anyone did the 6.0 Vortec but that would be a nice setup.

Get a feel for the items you plan to functions (EGR, all 4 02 Sensors, other miisc emission crap) beyond the basic sensors required for fuel injection to inlcude VSS.

THe harnes and the PCM programming are critical. Some deciaions need to be made on the front end so the programming is right and the engine runs right.

Did you get the matching PCM from the truck? If not you can buy them on ebay for reasonable $$. or I'm sure there are other sources.