1995 Sonoma LS
 

This section of the forum needs some love.

I bought this '95 Sonoma 2.2 5 Speed about a year and a half ago as a daily driver.
Attachment 2374973

It always sat a little high in the front, like it had heavier springs than the 2.2 needed. Lowering springs were one option, more weight was another

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Attachment 2374975

much better, front came down to match the rear
Attachment 2374976
A quite exhaust and no outward indications it is fast, unless you can spot the slapper bars under the springs, the 'LS' badge on door pillar or the '4.8 vortek' badge I put on the tailgate.
The fake syclone stickers it came with were funny when it was a 2.2, but now I plan to take them off next time I find my eraser wheel.
Got about 10,000 KM on it as a daily driver since the swap. It is much more fun to drive.

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

Nice choice of ballast. Replacing those front springs is such a pain in the butt. :lol:
What transmission are you running?
Does it have the 8.5 rear end?

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

I'm running the stock '95 WC T5, behind a stock except for headers and intake 4.8 The T5 should be within it's rated capacity.
S10 first gear is pretty low for that much power, if you punch it in first it gets to the 6k rpm rev limit I set about as fast as you can push the throttle to the floor and start to lift again.

It is the 7.5" open diff 3.73 the truck left the factory with. And not in excellent shape either with a decent amount of pinion backlash and some slop in the c-clips.
A G80 with taller gears would be nice, especially if I drive in the snow much next winter.

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

Funny, it must be the difference in first gear ratios between your WC T5 and my T56. Because I'm going to take the 3.42's out of mine and put 3.73 's in. The weight difference with a Blazer would also make a difference.

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

With the T5, 3.76 and factory 205/75/15 tire size it runs 3k RPM at 120 KMH (75 MPH). That's OKish, but I'd like to drop that to 2500 or so for economy. 3.42 and 235/75 should be pretty close.

The T56 probably has 1st - 2.66, 1.78, 1.30, 1.00, 0.74, 0.50 - 6th
and the T5 probably 1st - 3.76 , 2.18 , 1.41 , 1.00 , 0.72 -5th
We could meet up half way and swap trans if you like, fix that horrible first gear ratio problem for you ;)
You could probably run a 4.10 axle with that 6th gear. I think you'll find one under a 4 cylinder S10/Sonoma with long box or ext cab

Around here t56 go for a fortune, anything under $3k (Can) is a bargain. I'd love to run one but not enough money for everything

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

I've decided on the 3.73 ratio with the 25 inch tires I run. I was on the fence about going to a 3.90 ratio but none of the quality ring and pinon companies offer that ratio. The rear end is an 8.5 with disc brakes. The pinion seal is leaking so it's a good time to change the ratio.

The 2.69 first ratio is a real buzz kill. I'd like to know what GM was thinking. Probably it made the 1 to 4 skip shift work better.

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

4.8 started having nasty lifter rattle after warming up.
Messed around the last couple weeks swapping some know good lifters and replacing questionable rocker bearings with a trunnion kit. That made it somewhat quieter but there was still internal noise.

Pulled the motor last weekend and found this
Attachment 2396023
Oil pickup o ring failed after around 15,000 KM. Pump sucked in some air once motor warmed and lifters don't like foamy oil.

Engine back in with new o ring and all is well.

The failed o ring came with the aftermarket pan and pickup. Suggest anyone contemplating an LS swap get a brand name o ring and throw away the anonymous one that came with your pan.
Felpro 72401 is what I used. same as GM12584922 Red

(there is also a smaller version on earlier LS, GM12557752 Blue)

re&re engine and trans to get to a $5 o ring what fun.

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

Inspired by stink-10-2 's new exhaust I'll post up what I did.

Collectors to under pass feet area is a DIY Y pipe made from 2.5" bends like HO455 used. No pictures, it aint very pretty but works fine

Muffler and tailpipe: Who would have guessed that a early 2000s full size truck muffler and tailpipe would fit? Vband and 3" straight pipe from Y pipe to muffler, then muffler and tailpipe. 3 small pie cuts were needed to adjust tailpipe, roughly where shown in red lines. Used the 2000 style hangers complete with upper rods cut off muffler donor truck, one in front of muffler, one above axle and one at tailpipe.
Tailpipe exists just where stock pipe did, just larger is diameter.

I love this, it is quieter than the 2.2 was, Just a bit throaty when you open it up. Not attention getting. This is a mix of 3" up front and 2 3/4 tailpipe. Probably leaves a couple HP on the table, but I'll trade that for silent running in the cab and the sleeper aspect outside.
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Attachment 2423129

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

I spotted these two spots where the steering column touched header! That is new, there was lots of clearance.
Attachment 2423133

Here is the problem, both aftermarket 'swap' motor mounts are pooched
Attachment 2423134
Attachment 2423135

And here, hopefully is the fix. 1st gen S10 2.8 mounts. Bolt in all the same, but there is a lot more rubber in these and it is not soft like cheddar
Installing them is a pain with the motor in. if someone reads this before dropping their motor in, do yourself a favor and ditch the after market ones before you use them, these OEM ones were not expensive
Attachment 2423136
Attachment 2423137

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

So the LS swapped Sonoma has been my DD most of the time for a year and a half now, maybe 30,000 KM. Overall I am happy with the swap. everything works and it is quite reliable. Some thoughts:

The 2.2 got about 10l/100km, the 4.8 gets 16l/100km (about 15mpg for US gallons) for the same commute. But it is more fun to drive, that is priceless.

a 4.8 can indeed kill a T5. About 8 months of spirited driving in, I bounced it off the rev limiter in 2nd then 3rd gear left the chat. running my $30 spare T5 now and trying to take it a bit easier. The blown up trans got rebuilt for about $300 parts and is in another car now behind a 261 inline 6. Maybe a TKX in future for Sonoma.

Parts quality has bit me a few times:

The Waterpump and Alternator that were on the motor when I bought it both went after a few thousand KM. The replacement wp only lasted 5,000 or so and started leaking off warranty. The replacement ACDelco reman alternator was replaced FOUR times under a 1 year warranty !!??

The howe racing internal slave throwout bearing started leaking, it had about 40,000 km on it in two different vehicles. Replaced it with a amazon no brand unit that was a lot cheaper and looked identical -but the bearing on that started screaming before it even made it out of the driveway. Bought another Howe Ra$ing unit, figures crossed. (yeah, got some good practice dropping the trans)

The failed oring in the oil pickup shown in a post above was a PITA.

One of the noname electric rad fans got too hot and changed shape enough to jam and burn out the motor. Maybe this is on me as it is a tight fit with a rad hose right next to it. rerouted things to get another 1/2 inch between fan and hose. Next pickapart trip I'll look for a OEM quality pusher fan from something with large aux fan in front of AC condenser, there is room to run something in front of the rad.

cheesy aftermarket motor mounts as described above

The one thing that has held up that I thought I'd be forced to ditch is the fuel pump I replaced with a cheap aftermarket unit back when this was still a 2.2 powered truck. The genuine walbro I bought sits on the shelf unneeded so far.

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

Nice. I wish mine would have been that easy! :lol:

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

Boy you've definitely had some struggles with parts. Hopefully that's all behind you now.

You might keep your eyes out for a 98 and up F-body T56. They bolt up to LS's, come from the factory with internal slave cylinders, and fit in under a S10 body without alot of problems.

If I'm careful on the highway can get 23 mpg, but I've only been able to do that a couple times. It just no fun to drive that way. :lol:

Re: 1995 Sonoma LS
 

I have been, they are like hens teeth and start at $3000C for some random dirty used one, at that price it will sell in a couple hours. A new TKX is not that much more, and new. But I am keeping watch