1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
#1
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: LQ9/L92
Transmission: 4L60E
1ADan's 6.0 swap (aka tax check's gone)
this is the first thing to actually arrive, but got a few more goodies on the way. 5.3L out of a wrecked 2000 Silverado. higher miles, but still a runner. may just drop it in and go for now (as there's a 98 LS1 needing some machine work in the shed). Not thinking too far ahead into the day led to the unexpected purchase of an engine hoist too
in the mail is a set of fbody accessories and my motor swap plates.
in the mail is a set of fbody accessories and my motor swap plates.
Last edited by 1ADan; 04-08-2011 at 08:43 PM.
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: LQ9/L92
Transmission: 4L60E
Re: tax check's gone
oh, and for the price, it was cheaper to buy this compete that it would have been for me to get all the missing pieces that weren't included with the LS1 longblock I had sitting. since it was completely bare, I was in need of a LOT of little things; this has em all
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Car: 92 25th anv z28
Engine: 346 TC78 Turbo
Transmission: 4L80E
Axle/Gears: 3.25 9"Nodular, Strange axles
Re: tax check's gone
Sucks how fast that tax check seems to disappear! Off to a good start though.
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: LQ9/L92
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Re: tax check's gone
thanks. even though its a base model, I love every moment of driving that car. I bought the v6 since it was about $5k less than any v8's in the area and I can't mod it. Let the DD be a reliable car, let the 3rd gen be the go fast one
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Car: 92 Firebird
Engine: Supercharged 6.0
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 8.8 3.73
Re: tax check's gone
Let the DD be a reliable car
Headers, LM1 and a LSx swap later...
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#9
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: tax check's gone
today's delivery: fbody accessory setup. all brackets and pulleys required, harmonic balancer, and PS reservoir.
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: tax check's gone
finally getting down to the meat and potatoes; truck accessories are all off, minus the hoses (still some coolant in the block) and the harmonic balancer (dont have a 3-jaw puller at the moment)
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Car: 1987 Formula 350
Engine: 6.0 boost and smak
Transmission: 4l80e
Axle/Gears: 9bolt 3.27
Re: tax check's gone
there is a large plug under the passenger side manifold, that will drain almost all the coolant out.
Oh/ and i don't see a water pump....need one of those too
Oh/ and i don't see a water pump....need one of those too
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: LQ9/L92
Transmission: 4L60E
Re: tax check's gone
really just need to get this thing onto a stand, but it appears the local parts stores around here don't like to stock them. boo....
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Car: '92 Z28 Convertible
Engine: 305ci TPI
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Re: tax check's gone
Good purchase!
My wife wanted to go shopping w/ our refund - "sorry babe, Ann needs a fresh paint job"
My wife wanted to go shopping w/ our refund - "sorry babe, Ann needs a fresh paint job"
#17
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: tax check's gone
them's fightin' words there...jk
took down the sbc that was occupying the stand and rearranged the shed to make room. then as the 5.3 was in the air, discovered my conversion skills stink. bolts to hold the motor to the stand were too short.
done for the night as i've got a concert to go to and its now dark; home depot will see me in the morning.
took down the sbc that was occupying the stand and rearranged the shed to make room. then as the 5.3 was in the air, discovered my conversion skills stink. bolts to hold the motor to the stand were too short.
done for the night as i've got a concert to go to and its now dark; home depot will see me in the morning.
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Car: 1987 Formula 350
Engine: 6.0 boost and smak
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Axle/Gears: 9bolt 3.27
Re: tax check's gone
they are metric too..... I believe I used the acc. bolts from the truck acc. drive and the starter bolts.... save ya 5-10 bucks...lol
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: LQ9/L92
Transmission: 4L60E
Re: tax check's gone
yeah, had gotten the right thread pitch, just not the right length. forgot the whole "measure twice, cut once" rule; the ones I bought on round one were just long enough to get a thread or two through my stand. All is well now, the motor's in its resting spot as of 4pm yesterday and stripped down to almost bare essentials now. Pics to come.
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Car: 92 Firebird
Engine: Supercharged 6.0
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 8.8 3.73
Re: tax check's gone
I wasnt to thrilled when my bellhousing bolts didnt make it through the stand at all. I hate buying bolts so every car I strip has every nut/bolt/stud thrown into a bucket so I found some long enough
Keep all the bolts from the truck parts you pull off. Most will be reused in different places. Unfortunately the intake bolts wont work and you must source them. A hardware store will not have them
I made this to help on LS1tech. The sticky is very informative with helpful tags such as "bolt" to help identify the dozens of different fasteners inside and out of the LSx engines
Keep all the bolts from the truck parts you pull off. Most will be reused in different places. Unfortunately the intake bolts wont work and you must source them. A hardware store will not have them
I made this to help on LS1tech. The sticky is very informative with helpful tags such as "bolt" to help identify the dozens of different fasteners inside and out of the LSx engines
#22
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: LQ9/L92
Transmission: 4L60E
Re: tax check's gone
had to kill my buzz, didn't ya? i searched alllll day yesterday to find out about the intake bolts to no avail. at least you spared me of that mess. didn't feel like buying a new intake cause I destroyed it in a fit of rage.
luckily, the fbody accessory set I bought included all the bolts needed there, but I have not thrown anything out from the teardown other than the old hoses. all bolts, brackets, etc are hanging around until the motor actually makes it's way into the car.
luckily, the fbody accessory set I bought included all the bolts needed there, but I have not thrown anything out from the teardown other than the old hoses. all bolts, brackets, etc are hanging around until the motor actually makes it's way into the car.
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: tax check's gone
finally have an oil pan in my possession.
still need new(er) oil pump and water pump. and intake bolts. then engine will be ready to fall into the car
still need new(er) oil pump and water pump. and intake bolts. then engine will be ready to fall into the car
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Car: 92 Firebird
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Axle/Gears: 8.8 3.73
Re: tax check's gone
The UPS truck might as well be Santa for gear-heads. I love shiny new stuff
Hope your install goes smoothly
Hope your install goes smoothly
#25
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Re: tax check's gone
you said it. back in high school, I was building up my last 3rd gen (the 89 RS) while my dad was restoring a 68 Roadrunner. We'd both be chasing the UPS guy to see who was getting a Summit or Jegs box first
Last edited by 1ADan; 02-28-2010 at 06:58 PM.
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Re: tax check's gone
figure out how to get the crank pulley bolt off.....
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z, 1979 Malibu Classic
Engine: LSx 5.3
Transmission: MN12 6-speed, 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 4th gen 3.42
Re: tax check's gone
This site is very good for finding part numbers/bolt sizes:
www.compnine.com
As for the crank pulley bolt, I would do the screwdriver to jam the flywheel, grab 1/2 in. breaker bar and slide a long *** bar over the end of the breaker bar (for leverage) to break that bitch loose. I was lucky i was able to get mine off with an impact, I had to leave the impact on it for like 3 minutes straight!
www.compnine.com
As for the crank pulley bolt, I would do the screwdriver to jam the flywheel, grab 1/2 in. breaker bar and slide a long *** bar over the end of the breaker bar (for leverage) to break that bitch loose. I was lucky i was able to get mine off with an impact, I had to leave the impact on it for like 3 minutes straight!
#29
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Car: SOLD!!!!!
Re: tax check's gone
160 psi air and a good ingersol rand impact. gets it done everytime.then an installer and the same impact back on. has worked for all i have done for 5 years. remember to put some silicone on the bolt washer to.
as for removing them. since i do cam swaps frequently. i took a used crank pulley bolt and ground down the flat washer that is formed onto it. also drilled a dimple into the center of the bolt. now the puller will pull the pulley off over the bolt and the puller will; stay within the dimple and not walk.
as for removing them. since i do cam swaps frequently. i took a used crank pulley bolt and ground down the flat washer that is formed onto it. also drilled a dimple into the center of the bolt. now the puller will pull the pulley off over the bolt and the puller will; stay within the dimple and not walk.
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: tax check's gone
i've got flywheel bolts on the way (mine did not come attached when i got the motor) and keep forgetting to bring the breaker bar with me to home depot/lowes for a nice fitting piece of cheater pipe (thinking 5 ft should be good) to go over it. The torch still has some propane in it to warm things up and the cherry picker's holding things up currently. hoping it'll work, but we'll see
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Re: tax check's gone
quick update. project's still on, just going a bit slower now that the tax check's all gone.
finally got the balancer bolt off. big piece of flat stock to stop the flywheel from turning and a 5' cheater bar did the trick. 3-jaw puller rented from Advance got the old balancer off. replaced the timing chain with an LS2 version (beefier and many less miles on it). new-ish oil pump to replace the high high mile one as well.
fbody oil pan parts installed as well. quick observation - truck windage tray look identical to the fbody piece except it goes all the way to the front main. you could probably trim one down if needed instead of scrounging up an fbody piece.
awaiting new oil pan and timing cover gaskets to get everything buttoned back up tomorrow. i know they're supposed to be reusable, but 100k+ miles makes me think the $100 aint a bad investment.
maybe I'll start playing with wiring soon too.....
finally got the balancer bolt off. big piece of flat stock to stop the flywheel from turning and a 5' cheater bar did the trick. 3-jaw puller rented from Advance got the old balancer off. replaced the timing chain with an LS2 version (beefier and many less miles on it). new-ish oil pump to replace the high high mile one as well.
fbody oil pan parts installed as well. quick observation - truck windage tray look identical to the fbody piece except it goes all the way to the front main. you could probably trim one down if needed instead of scrounging up an fbody piece.
awaiting new oil pan and timing cover gaskets to get everything buttoned back up tomorrow. i know they're supposed to be reusable, but 100k+ miles makes me think the $100 aint a bad investment.
maybe I'll start playing with wiring soon too.....
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Car: 87 Camaro
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Re: tax check's gone
Yeah, don't wanna cheap out on the gaskets, that'll bite you later. Looks like its coming along pretty well, though. Lets see the car its goin in
#34
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Car: 1986 Z28, 2006 Cadillac Escalade
Engine: 5.0 litre
Re: tax check's gone
dang, you got your refund already and spent it and i gignt even file yet. once i do 1 of 2 things will happen. either my wife will go shopping or im gonna have to pay uncle sam.
#37
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Re: tax check's gone
everything, other than the motor itself, has been scrounged up from LS1tech. since i'm in no hurry, i just wait out for a good deal and snag it when it pops up
#39
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Re: tax check's gone
correct. while I do work for a parts company, this engine project's all my own. no sponsors, nada. so I sit back and hunt out the deals. Luckily, time's on my hand this go round with this 3rd gen, so I'm in no hurry
#40
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: tax check's gone
i know its been a while, but slight update here. got the old trans out of the car and hopefully the motor will be out soon enough. happy to have some nice weather to get cracking
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: tax check's gone
for now, i have a 4L60E that I got when I purchased the LS1 long block (which is going to sit for a while since it needs block work. the 5.3 took it's place). Depending on how things pan out, I may end up going with a th350.
really would just like to have the thing running before the end of summer, making it go faster can come later
really would just like to have the thing running before the end of summer, making it go faster can come later
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Re: tax check's gone
something's different about my engine bay.......
today's goal's been achieved. the engine's outta the car
today's goal's been achieved. the engine's outta the car
#45
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Re: tax check's gone
driver's side harness is out now as well and will be getting the work over thanks again to Pocket's wiring help. Passenger side harness will come out in the next day or two (as i was too tired to fight with the dash today to get that end disconnected).
I do plan on pulling the k member soon to clean it up, notch it a bit (the oil pan clearance out back scares me a bit), and paint it with some POR-15. don't ever want to paint it again, so we'll do it right this time.
anyone ever box the front a-arms? no money to get the pretty tubular ones, but wondering if its worth beefing em up a bit
I do plan on pulling the k member soon to clean it up, notch it a bit (the oil pan clearance out back scares me a bit), and paint it with some POR-15. don't ever want to paint it again, so we'll do it right this time.
anyone ever box the front a-arms? no money to get the pretty tubular ones, but wondering if its worth beefing em up a bit
#46
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Re: tax check's gone
You can box the A-arms if you like, they are excessively beefy from the factory. Benefits will be minimal
#47
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Re: tax check's gone
consider this my pocket-in-training moment: wiring fun. thanks for the help so far on this. just waiting on a few more parts to arrive before I start doing the engine fitment
#48
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Re: tax check's gone
Off to a good start
Few tips for the truck harnesses:
You need car style injector connectors at minimum. Snip 8 from random GM V6 FWD cars in a local JY
Id suggest dumping the white connector HO2s for two reasons. 1) They're harder to wire in with the low signal common 2) Replacement sensors are quite a bit more expensive than S10 versions
Find a mid-late 90's S10 in a JY and unplug the black connector from the PCM. Its the HO2 harness and should have 3-4 connectors on it. It will come off separate from the rest of the engine harness and wont be too difficult to remove. Grab the HO2s as well. Some may be good, some may be bad, but its worth the cheap/free vs burning them up on a fresh exhaust break-in
Strange how the truck has the coil connectors separate from the injectors isnt it? Dont forget they splice into the INJ 1/2 bank fuses before going to the fuseblock when you build the harness
Remember the truck alt is a 2 wire and Fbody's 1 wire. Snip the gray wire if using the Fbody alt
The truck MAP sensor body is slightly different from the Fbody MAP and wont directly fit the intake. Use a razor to shave the clips off one side to allow a tight install to the intake
Hows you get the gear select connectors out of the module? All the ones Ive messed with were glued in from the factory and were destroyed during removal. Not that they're reused or anything...
Looks like a fun weekend ahead of you. If I start to confuse you with my ramblings, PM kthxbai. He successfully wired his swap the same method and may offer some insight on things that may give you trouble, but come as second nature to me so I dont think to address them
Few tips for the truck harnesses:
You need car style injector connectors at minimum. Snip 8 from random GM V6 FWD cars in a local JY
Id suggest dumping the white connector HO2s for two reasons. 1) They're harder to wire in with the low signal common 2) Replacement sensors are quite a bit more expensive than S10 versions
Find a mid-late 90's S10 in a JY and unplug the black connector from the PCM. Its the HO2 harness and should have 3-4 connectors on it. It will come off separate from the rest of the engine harness and wont be too difficult to remove. Grab the HO2s as well. Some may be good, some may be bad, but its worth the cheap/free vs burning them up on a fresh exhaust break-in
Strange how the truck has the coil connectors separate from the injectors isnt it? Dont forget they splice into the INJ 1/2 bank fuses before going to the fuseblock when you build the harness
Remember the truck alt is a 2 wire and Fbody's 1 wire. Snip the gray wire if using the Fbody alt
The truck MAP sensor body is slightly different from the Fbody MAP and wont directly fit the intake. Use a razor to shave the clips off one side to allow a tight install to the intake
Hows you get the gear select connectors out of the module? All the ones Ive messed with were glued in from the factory and were destroyed during removal. Not that they're reused or anything...
Looks like a fun weekend ahead of you. If I start to confuse you with my ramblings, PM kthxbai. He successfully wired his swap the same method and may offer some insight on things that may give you trouble, but come as second nature to me so I dont think to address them
#49
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Re: tax check's gone
the HO2's were what held me up from getting everything finally apart; I didn't believe the low signal was a common and needed a multimeter for verification. it was odd to me that they all had individual pins that went back to the PCM (along with another one that was a sensor ground tied into them?) yet all the pins came to a central point too.
since mine was a carbed car to begin with, i'm doubting more (and will have to be certain) that the fuse box in the car will be of any use to this harness. probably will have to go with something a bit bigger under the hood, but thanks for the coil reminder.
MAP was destroyed when I got the motor, so I think I'll just be hunting down a new F-body unit.
gear selector was tricky and you confirmed my suspicions - they were not easy connectors to get loose. also wasn't sure if they needed to be reused, so kept them just in case.
since mine was a carbed car to begin with, i'm doubting more (and will have to be certain) that the fuse box in the car will be of any use to this harness. probably will have to go with something a bit bigger under the hood, but thanks for the coil reminder.
MAP was destroyed when I got the motor, so I think I'll just be hunting down a new F-body unit.
gear selector was tricky and you confirmed my suspicions - they were not easy connectors to get loose. also wasn't sure if they needed to be reused, so kept them just in case.