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Engine SwapEverything about swapping an engine into your Third Gen.....be it V6, V8, LTX/LSX, crate engine, etc. Pictures, questions, answers, and work logs.
I've pulled the engine, likely going to put a 2000 Vortec 5.3 in. Not gonna run a/c so should be able to keep the stock k-member.
I want to start cleaning up the engine bay, and starting to ID wires.
Where can I get good info or images on what the different wires/connections/relays are under the hood? Haynes manual was not that helpful. I've added a few pics so you guys can tell me your thoughts. Pretty sure you guys have said all the engine component stuff comes out of the loom on the passenger side, but any more details would be fantastic.
No, the "engine component stuff" does not come out of that harness.
What that harness DOES contain, is all of the ECM related stuff. That ENTIRE harness, including EVERY piece connected to it, can go. Doesn't matter what any of it is; you won't be needing it. Peel it back and remove EVERY component it touches. Sensors, relays, whatever: all of it is no longer needed. It goes into the fender well behind the wheel and into the kick panel above the passenger's feet. The whole thing comes out easily without any need to cut or otherwise damage any of it.
You'll be left with only a few harnesses after that. 2 of them come from C100, the big bulkhead plug under the brake booster; one of those goes to the front of the body (lights, horn, etc.), and the other goes to NON-ECM RELATED underhood things including ignition, gauges, starter, alternator, battery, and wipers. Then there are a few smaller harnesses, which looks like you don't have many of; probably the only one you'll have is the HVAC. All of that, you'll likely re-use in some form or other, so tie it back out of the way neatly as you clean the grunge off of everything.
no clue what a 2000 vortec is.. so im going to guess a truck based LS, being a 4.8, 5.3 or 6.0...
You can keep all the truck accessories on the engine and it will go right into the camaro.
You will have to modify the stock crossmember to clear the AC compressor, but it will work.
If you use a cowl hood, you can keep the stock alt brakcet.
If you use the stock hood, youl'll need a relcation bracket. The one from ICT works good, as it uses the stock PS pump and just moves the
ALT over and down.
Other than that, like stated above the right hand c100 wiring can stay, all the left hand can go.
To clarify, my 2000 Silverado 5.3L will be pulled from the truck and we will put a 6.0 units place. So I'll have the 5.3L for the Camaro. No plan for a/c, so I think the k-member will be ok. Definitely will need the relocation bracket you mentioned. Plan to mate to my T5 assuming it is still in good enough condition, but sofakingdom warned me that there may be leaks that will trash the tranny. I plan on running fuel injection so will have to do a lot more research and reading on the wiring side
Easiest way to run a 5.3 is to get the whole engine wiring harness out of a truck, including the fuse box, intact; cut off all the parts of the fuse box you don't need to eliminate the unneeded sections (the box is neatly sectioned off to mate to yyyuuuuuuuujjjjjje plugs for each section, such that the engine is one plug out of the 4 or so); and hook up the various sources to the car. Various relays from the truck will be included in the fuse box, fuel pump for example, so you'll be able to just use that and hook it up to whatever FP you use. Battery to its batt feed, ignition to its ignition section, etc. The whole engine will then be mostly a standalone. People also make up a simple fuse & relay block to replicate those functions. There's lots of info on that in the LS swap forum. I think I've even seen made-up assemblies, ready to install, for sale. There are only a few links needed between the car and the engine in any case, which makes it kinda simple.
From there, you'll have to figure out what you want to do about gauges and such; to maintain the stock dash, you need to tee sending units off of the same ports that the 5.3 ECM uses. Single hardest one will be the tach since that's not directly available in the 5.3 wiring as-is. Your tuner can help you with that, like maybe provide a pulse output on a driver that the swap isn't using such as AC controls or some such. You'll need lots of tuning anyway obviously so work with your tuner beforehand to see what you need to do and what he can provide you.
Too bad about the AC. Especially since you're in the South. Seems kinda penny-wise and pound-foolish butt what do I know.
A/C: while the car came with a/c on the dash and has the condenser, it does not have the compressor and so I am used to it not having a/c. I've never lived anywhere but NC and did not have a/c in my car until I got married. This is a nice day car, not a daily driver, so if I need a/c I've got the other car for that. To have a/c, I would either need to notch/beat down/replace the stock k-member to make that work. That was not on my list of things I really wanted to do, but I am also not confident in my abilities and consistency.
