ok i'm planing to have it done by the summer but heres the deal i wanna start rippin apart my car now and install parts as i get them etc. so my question is what should i be ripping out of my car and what should i be leaving. i am a very capaible home mechaniac but this will be my first motor/tranny swap so any advice is good. my car is a 92 1le z28 so 350tpi auto.
thanks
harold

 

wow so no body has any any info for me on this huh??? thanx

 

Tough question to answer in a meaningful way. You'll need the old engine, trans, and engine mounts out. The engine wiring harness will need to be removed (no cutting) at some point.

So start 'rippin' at your leisure.

 

whats your car now? manual? auto? whats the new drivetrain?



at the very least:
pull the engine
pull the trans
remove the HVAC (or heater) box. it'll go back on, but for installing the LS1, it gives a bit more room.
obviously removing the hood gives more room.

if its a manual, you'll want to pull the center console out.. either because you need to elongate the shifter hole, or make one.

if you need to swap pedals or install a clutch master cyl, you'll want to remove the brake booster. might as well take the pedals out now too.

the car was EFI, so you'll want to reuse the existing power circuits from the fuse box.
but most of the other wires on the harness can come out.. leaving you just the connectors and power wires you need.


plan to run the ECM under the dash or underhood?


you'll need two additional circuits... fused and relay controled. one is for the transmission, the other for the MAF and O2 heater elements.

are you swapping motor mounts or using a Kmember? prepare for whatever one you're doing.


that should get ya started.
then you just need to put the mounts/kmember in, drop the engine in, and start going....

 

can anyone elabrate a little more on this electrical stuff?

 

I had some questions on electrical stuff too, and so all I've done is drop the motor/tranny out. I'm waiting until my new stuff comes and I get all the wiring before I decide what I'm going to yank or modify on the stock harness, as I don't need to be cutting things I could have left alone. I suggest you do the same and wait until you get all your parts before you start modifying things.

 

yea that sounds like a plan

 

the wiring in a nutshell:

the PCM expect ignition on power to some main power wires, and constant on power to one of them..

this is off the top of my head since i dont have my notes here, so dont take this as ALL the wiring... just what i recall right now

fuel injectors. theres two wires. one wire for each bank.. all of them get +12v, then the PCM grounds them when its time to fire em. the stock thirdgen wiring is the same way.. so you can actually reuse the two stock 3rdgen wires, and keep using the labeled fuse spot. theres one catch.. the LS1 also uses this power to run the coils... luckily, the factory 3rdgen harness used some nice thick wires... so you can safely run a larger fuse in the fuse box, and it'll run the injectors and igntion without a problem.

PCM ign power.. you can use the stock thirdgen one. that way you retain fuse useage.

PCM constant power.. the stock 3rdgen wiring has that fuse underhood near the battery.. it powers the ECM and fuel pump..

O2 and MAF power... this is ignition on power.. i had a 91 TBI car, so i didnt have a MAF relay... i added this circuit onto my car. when the ignition turns on, the relay clicks over. this connects fused power to that wire.

Trans power... the LS1 harness needs power to run the transmission.. the shift stuff in the auto or the lockout 'noids in the manual... either way, it needs ignition on power. its just like the O2/MAF circuit... when the ignition cuts on, the relay gives it power.

in my car, both of thoes added on relays are tripped by the factory ignition power.. the one that used to goto the coil. im running a smaller fuse in there for saftey reasons, but its the same circuit. its a ignition on power source thats already underhood, and you're not going use it for anything else.

you'll need the relay trigger wires for the fan(s) and fuel pump going to the PCM

the tach wire needs to reach to the PCM along with the oil pressure wire.. both thoes can connect to the LS1 harness

you need to put a 98 camaro coolent temp sensor in the coolent port on the passenger side head. you'll also want the weatherpack connector to connect it.
ground one wire from the coolent temp connector... theres a ground strap location on the rear of that head... you can add it to that. the other wire needs to be fed thru the harness... eventually it needs to connect to your stock coolent temp sensor wire.

the speedo wire needs to connect to the LS1 harness...

your ODBII connector is going to need constant power, the serial connection, and a ground. for power, you can tap off the PCM constant power. the serial connection is in the harness...


obviously, there are alot of ground connections... dont forget the groundstraps between the engine and chassis.

id give you the pinouts, but i dont have my notes here.

 

wow thats a ton of info! thanx i'll have to print it out and take it wit me when i start ripping the wireing harness out. would i have to worry about this if i broke down and paid the $650 for the "LS1 conversion" wiring harness from hawks?
If that harness is just pull everything old out and plug and play install on the new one i'm goin to break down and buy it to make the swap go much faster.

 

that harness is just bruce doing the same thing to a harness from a wrecked car.

if you're going to buy a harness, get one from speartech... otherwise, save the $$$ use the stock harness, and use the $600 you saved to do a cam swap or somthing else more rewarding.


anyhoo, heres a reply i sent to someone else in a PM... thought you might want to read it:



if you can solder, know wiring basics, and can read schemetics, its pretty easy..
except that all the wiring ive done and know is for 99-02... i dont know the 98 fbody pinout at all.
if you take your time and work out your notes before hand, id rate it as a 3.. basicly, you're looking at your list you made, and go " ok blue wire on pin X of connector C100 goes to green wire A3 from bulkhead connector....." then you connect the two.
just do it one wire at a time, and its easy.

if you had a 99+ setup id give you my final notes and stuff... but i dont have anything for a 98 setup.

what you need:

• 3" masking tape or labels.... use these to label wires on your cars side
• dikes aka side cutters aka small wire cutters...
• wire strippers... i have these nice "auto" wire strippers.. put the wire in, and squeeze the handles together.. and it strips it.. since you'll be stripping about 40-50 times (2 per connection) you'll want a set..
• electronics solder
• solder GUN.. a iron wont work.. the wire sucks away heat too fast.. you'll need a solder gun.
• heatshrink
• sissors to cut the heat shrink after you discover that the dikes cant cut it cleanly
• some heat source for the heatshrink.. a heat gun is prefable. but i got by with a extended lighter.. one of the ones thats long and met to start BBQs, campfires, ect.. if you try to use a normal length lighter, you'll burn your hands.. lol
• if you plan to mount the PCM thru the firewall, you'll need a 2" holesaw to make the hole... 2" is the min size for the PCM connectors (thoes are the largest connectors that will have to go thru the hole)
• split loom covering.. if you get the stock stuff, you wont even be able to tell what you changed/added.
• grommets for where you go thru the firewall.. (if you chose to do so)
• Wire... lots of wire. i was lucky enough to have a friend who could supply me with factory stuff from his work... but you'll want some high quality wire.. either use what you have left over from your cars stock harness or get some quality packard wire. you'll need it to lengthen wires on your car to reach the PCM.
• fuse holder... for added on circuits... i found a nice 5 or 7 blade fuse holder for $3 at advance auto... looks factory.
• relays and relay connectors for the added on circuits.. i used factory (for 3rdgen) relays so that it looks stock. everything under my hood looks like it could ahve came that way, and it all interchanges.. so if my fuel pump relay craps out someday, i could toss the trans relay in there, ect...

mostly complete list, but like any project im sure other needs will come up.

as for the detailed wiring, i dont have it for a 98.. you'll have to look online... i dont understand why alot of these guys are so unwilling to share info.. i had to do what you're doing now.. PM a bunch of people.. sure enough there were kind people like StngKlr and a few others more then willing to help, they just didnt want to jump in publicly for some reason..

in a nutshell this was how i progressed:

• pulled old engine/trans
• got complete GM wiring diagrams for my car
• pulled apart my stock harnesses.. every wire i know i was going to need, i pulled to one side with a green zip tie. thoes i questioned i used a yellow zip tie.. thoes i did not need, i used a red zip tie.
• i got the LS1 harness info
• i triple checked my harness split up.....
• planned the routing for all the wires
• began to remove un-needed wires. before it was cut, it was checked, labled, then double checked... Mistakes were NOT a option to me.. lol
• so now i have a mess of wires coming from the bulkhead connector on the drivers side. labeled, but entangled. i hung them over the drivers fender... one by one, id select one, say, "Tach input".. then id move it to the passenger side near the PCM. extending it if needed ( with solder & heatshrink )
• take the extended wire, find its mate on the factory harness connector... triple check its correct.
• double check the routing, slack, location, ect... (example, if they all go under and behind the brake booster, make sure this one doesnt go over it...) if all is good, connect the wires together.
• repeat for the next wire..... its not hard... it is somewhat time consuming.. but time goes by fast since you get 'into' working on it

sorry i cant give you any specific help.... what kind of car is this going into anyway?

 

mr dude can u post or send me the list of wires that i have to keep and their pin out. this way i can get started on cutting my old harnes. the car is a 92 z28 1le 350tpi auto. the motor is going to be a 2000+ LS1 w/ probally a t-56 but maybe a 4l60e.
ps u have any pics of ur car?

 

if someone was to swap to a tubular kmember while doing the swap...would they be able to use the ls1 kmember without any issues? i guess what i am asking, is are they the same dimensions with only difference being the motor mounts?

 

If you're swapping in a tubular cross member, I'm not sure where the LS1 cross member comes into the picture.

4th gens don't use the same front spring locations as 3rd gens, not even sure if the chassis bolts and mounting locations are the same either. Not a very likely option.

Two basic options:

1.) Install swap mounts from Spohn or thirdgenresource onto your current cross member.

2.) Swap your current cross member for an aftermarket one and install swap mounts from " ".

The aftermarket pieces clear up the AC compressor fitment issue, but not a single one I'm aware of has been safety-tested to the extent the GM piece has.

 

Is there a good header/exhaust solution for this swap yet?

Regards,
Gary Anderson

 

stock manifolds fit fine, jba headers that speartech caries for 700 fit and i know some but not sure which long tubes fit with the use of the tublar k-member from hawks thats made for a thrid gen w/ ls1.
after that i'm not sure. most places should be able to weld up a custom dual setup espically if ur not worried about cats. but as far as a y-pipe that works hopefully someone can tell us of one that works???

 

The y-pipe Mufflex custom made for me works great.