beating this question to death! LT1/4L60E

[Church]

Man this is some awesome info in this post. I installed an lt-1/4l60e in an 88 Jeep YJ. My motor and trans came out of a 1996 Impala SS.
Some of these items were mentioned but I think they are worth mentioning again.

You will need to switch your inlet/outlets on the radiator. We bought a Be-cool Alum. radiator and switched the inlet & outlet ourselves.

Becareful with the vats on the newer vehicles (96 & up I think)
Vats is vehicle anti theft system. This thing can cause a MAJOR headache. Even with an aftermarket harness we had trouble with this. The chip on this went bad once. When this happened, the motor would turn over but not start for about 5 minutes, then it would finally run.

I heard these engines will run in LIMP mode, which basically means it will run but not give you the 300 hp it supposed to have.
Watch out for this. Also we had to get our comp. reprogrammed becuase we were running 39" tall tires with 5.39 gears. This really messes with the computer. It would switch to OD when the speedometer was reading 35mph. If you are running a tire that is about the same as what came on the orig. vehicle but are running a different gear, you might have to get the computer reprogrammed.

Make sure you get a fan that will cool enough. We had to switch from the perma-cool to the black magic even with the be-cool alum. radiator.

Lastly, Watch out for the waterpump and distributor on these engines. The LT-1 we had came out of a 96 Impala SS. When you have to go get a replacement, you better pull up a chair first. These things are outrageous!!

[jay-dawg]

Originally posted by NPilot1975
You can use either the 6 cyl or V8 mounts

can anyone else verify that i can use the 6 cyl mounts?

thanks,
jay

[70cst10]

Yes, you can. Mine is mounted on the 6cyl mounts in the 6cyl position. It fits right in and looks a little better imo..

[jay-dawg]

do I have the terminology correct? engine mounts vs. engine towers or are they the same?

[jay-dawg]

06/08/03

got my new used engine home. what an ordeal. A deal fell thru on a fairly new engine hoist so I had to scramble to find a new one (not easy on a Sunday). Found a nice fold up one for $300. Got that home and started to put it together. Whatever you could think of that could go wrong, went wrong. The instructions were'nt very clear so we had to redo some bolts about 3 times. It was muggy too with lots of sunshine. We built it on the grass in the sun so I'm a little sunburned from that. We needed to get some chains so we went to Lowes....and then the storm came in. It started to pour elephants and gorillas. I mean flash flood warnings. Thunder and lightning all over. I was thinking "man is god telling me something or what?" Anyway, we had to drive 40mph thru this stuff for 30 minutes which would normally take 10 minutes in normal weather. Anyway, we reach there and it starts to clear up. We got to the guy's house at 2pm and he had to leave for work by 2:30pm. We got out by then. Everything went pretty smooth from then on. I got pretty much everything including the stock e-fans. Anyway, good times are ahead trying to figure out the electrics. It's all intact though.

Anybody recommend an assembly manual and where I can find one?

Jay

[jay-dawg]

Originally posted by jay-dawg
do I have the terminology correct? engine mounts vs. engine towers or are they the same?

I found the answer while I was rereading the thread.....what a brainfart.

jay

[jay-dawg]

Found a good article in Classic Trucks where they put Auto Meter Ultra lite electronic guages in a carbon fiber guage cluster. The speedo is electronic. Maybe that would be a good idea too? Just checking with the big boys first.

Last question....(well maybe not). Is there a GM part number for the accesory brackets for the corvette version? I think I can get a hookup at the dealership.

Jay

[minibike]

I don't have the part number, but I believe it requires quite a few different parts...I know you have to use a different flywheel for the vette brackets. By the time you do that, you may be better off getting a Street and Performance set of brackets... www.hotrodlane.cc

I have also heard it is a different AC compressor with the vette style, but am not sure.

[jay-dawg]

Thanks for the info.

Jay

[NPilot1975]

Anyone interested, I have a reworked factory harness for sale. I spent $400 having it reworked to be stand alone and to delete emissions and MAF sensor. It also has the diagnostic plug, service light, and a fuel pump relay. I also installed new plugs that go into the computer. I have $450 in it, not including the harness itself. I would be willing to sell it for $400. Anyone interested e-mail me at NPilot1975@aol.com or call me at 360-279-2020. Hope this will help someone.

[wdz28ss]

My only 2 cents is I used the Calif. sending unit for my tank to run the return line to and run an external pump....No need for a special tank. I did notch my frame for the Ac compressor and also notched a little for header clearance, but other than that it was all "bolt in" and runs awesome. I went thru fuel injection specialities for their wiring harness ans computer programming.

[jay-dawg]

Well, I'm relocating the tank to the bed so I'm gonna need the tank anyway. Besides, the engine came with the stock pump so I might as well use it. Nice to hear that your swap went great. I'm not so sure if I want to notch the frame yet.

Jay

[NPilot1975]

Anyone need any LT-1 parts? I have a lot of stock parts that I am trying to sell, including stock radiator with dual fans, modified factory harness, all brackets, p/s pump, a/c compressor, lots of other stuff. E-mail me at NPilot1975@aol.com.

[minibike]

Here's a pic of the stock fan/radiator set up...

[minibike]

And here is the stock condensing coils (when I say stock, I am speaking of the stock camaro units in our trucks)

[jay-dawg]

Looking good.

[jay-dawg]

I have another question...will the tranny fit under the low hump? It will be bolted to the stock auto crossmember.

jay

[minibike]

Yes, no problem at all...

[cb]

On the fuel tank issue. I have installed a '99 Z28 fuel tank in my '72 Stepside. It did require some work but I really like it. Solves in-tank fuel pump problem.

[minibike]

I didn't try a 99, but couldn't make the 94 work. I did use the pump from the tank, however.

[GasHog396]

When installing the ECM/PCM, you will have to deal with the VATS system if the car originally had it. Painless sells an entire engine wiring harness that will bypassed the VATS for $$$, or you can have the PCM re-programed. Try here . He specializes in F-Body PCM re-programming, but he may be able to help out on the truck conversion and his prices are extremely reasonable. At a minimum, the shift points for the trans in the PCM will have to be modified. For tech stuff check out these sites here and here. Again, these sites are intended for the F-Body owner, but it will give you a good idea of where stuff is and how to fix the common problems. Okay, now for the known problems with these engines. 1) Intake oil leak. Look here for the details . Do yourself a favor and take care of this before the engine is put into the truck. I have just been living with the leak in my 97 T/A as it's not too bad, and it is impossible to get to stuff on that car. 2) Water pump usually dies after around 70K miles. Just had to replace mine at 65K. $135 and Auto Zone with lifetime warrantee. The other option is to got with an electric conversion. 3) Opti Spark ignition is a pain in the... to replace. It's located behind the water pump, and they seem to cause quite a few problems for some people. Mine has been fine (knock on wood). Just try to keep it as dry as possible. 3) Change the wires and plugs before you put the engine in. Won't be that bad in a truck, but the number 1 cylinder is behind the A/C compressor unless you relocate it. 4) These engines run HOT as they come with a 195 thermostat, and the stock fans (2 of them) don't turn on until 220 and 235. Most LT-1 owners will replace the 195 with a 160 (you must use a LT-1 type thermostat, Hypertech is one source), and reprogram the PCM to turn the fans on earlier. You can have this done while you are having the PCM reflashed, or get a Hypertech Power Programmer III (about $350). 5) Last but not least, the 95 F-bodies had a unique OBD-I connection. It looks like a OBD-II connector, but the PCM is OBD-1. A special code reader will be needed. Try Actron.com as one source. The OBD-I's are definitely easier to work with. Oh, and follow the instructions on bleeding the air out of the cooling system. Air in the system can cause all kinds of problems, like the fans not turning on (personally know about that one). I'm sure there's more, but that's all that I can think of right now. Good luck.

[jay-dawg]

thanks greg. gas hog...I'm keeping you in my buddy file.

jay

[jay-dawg]

Just wanted to add this from the other thread. good info.

Originally posted by GasHog396
As the owner of a LT-1 powered '97 Trans Am, I can give you a few of the problems I have encountered over the years and some suggestions. The intake manifold has a tendency to leak oil. It's not too hard to fix once the engine is out of the car. The Opti-Spark unit is expensive to replace (over $100). Just keep it dry, as water seems to make them go out. Mine has been fine so far, but it looks like they usually give up the ghost at around 120k miles on average. Go for a 96 or 97 style unit if it needs to be replaced. Water pumps last about 70k miles on average. They are about $135 at Auto Zone with a lifetime warrantee. Electric fans will be needed, as there is no way to install a belt driven unit. Try to get the radiator and fans from the Camaro and install them as a unit into the truck. A F-body LT-1 will require premium gas. PCM (computer) modifications will probably be need to make the engine run correctly, and to make the trans shift right (if it is an auto trans). F-bodies use an electrical speedometer, so a conversion unit will be needed for the truck. I would personally install a 160 degree thermostat to make it run cooler, expecially in the summer. My T/A will get to 220 in traffic with the stock 180 thermostat, but will only get to 180 with the cooler thermostat. Just make sure to use a thermostat designed for the reverse flow LT-1. Unless you are really good with wiring, save yourself some grief and pop for a wiring harness from a company like Painless. A VATS (security feature) by-pass module or a custom PCM reflash will be needed. The cat converters will need to be retained if you live in a part of the country that has emissions testing as you may have to meet the emission requirements for that year engine, not the truck it is in. Of coarse, it all depends on who you know. As a side note, if you don't want to get into all of this, you could always resell the motor at a profit. $1500 is cheap if the mileage isn't too high. These engines/trans combos usually start around $2500 used. One really nice thing about this combo, is you would probably get 20+ MPH on the highway, as long as the rear end ratio is reasonable. Gotta love that OD trans.

[jay-dawg]

alright, I've finally come to a point where I can mock up the engine mounts. I know this is kind of basic, but do I have to drill another hole to mount the bottom of the mounts to the crossmember? I want to use the 6cyl mounting holes.

thanks mucho,
jay

[jorgensensc]

Hey,
I was reading this thread and wanted to add my .02. I put a '96 Camaro LT1 with 6 speed manual in a '91 S10. You will love this conversion!!!! As for the fuel pump issue. I used the stock intank fuel pump for a 1993 Central Port Injected (CPI) S10 Blazer. This is a direct replacement for the fuel pump in the S10 tank. If you can use the S10 tank in your truck this might help. I wired the whole thing myself using wiring diagrams and the stock harness. Do yourself a favor, BUY AN AFTERMARKET HARNESS!!! It took me 1 week to get the motor swapped and 3 weeks to get the wiring right (and I work on computers for a living). The VATS is a pain, but I went to several LT1 boards and found someone that makes VATS delete boxes. THese are 3 wire hookups and cost about 65.00. They connect to power, ground and 1 wire to the TPS. It is true what is said about the LIMP mode. If you get a pre '96 LT1, exchange the direct spark ignition witha later model Direct Spark Ignition. The newer ones have a vent hole and hose that runs to make sure condensation doesn't form in the DSI. Check that before you install it, it's a pain after install!! DO the thermostat conversion too. I also used the LT1 radiator and fans and it worked great. I hope this helps a little and reinforces your drive!!! BTW I got about 30MPG in my S10, no joke!!!!