Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

parts starting to show up

other than the obvious things like engine mounts and different exhaust manifolds, the two biggest differences are the fuel system and the wiring system

FUEL SYSTEM - unlike the small block Chevy, the LS(ish) engines use fuel injection which means pressure 10 times that of the SBC

WIRING - below I show the components needed to roll my own fuse block, I will be following Brandon's instructions found on Fuse Block and OBD2 Port Wiring Information with the exception that I will not be lumping multiple components on the same fuse like he does, so for example in my design the coils will have their own fuse and the PCM will have it's own

[Gregski]

so it shall be written, so it shall be done, the LS Swap commenced at 2100 last night - being a one man circus act I decided to pull my Edelbrock Estreet heads off this Milk Shake Machine whilst still in the truck, and that engine bay was recently cleaned and painted but then I ran old valve covers on brand new aluminum heads and that gyzered oil all over my firewall, before switching to those super awesome tall and cast BRODIX beauties, whah whah whah, we shall clean that up too

[Gregski]

my solo hood liftin' days are over, luckily we had 4 teen boys for a sleep over for our son's graduation so they did the heavy liftin' ... and the stage was set

[Gregski]

the rest was a solo act, but this wasn't my first Rodeo so it was out in a Jiffy...

a heavy duty floor mat makes for a great core support shield, who knew? just flip it upside down for leakage protection

[Gregski]

getting stuck in this garage floor crack was the worst of it

[Gregski]

and then I got to clean up the oily mess left behind from me being cheap and trying to run my old original valve covers on the brand new aluminum Edelbrock E-Street cylinder heads - those two just didn't pair very well

[Gregski]

Of Note: this is where I have something interesting to share, some of you may recall that I spent the last 4 years chasing a clicking clacking noise which I thought was:

1. rockers
2. exhaust leak
3. bearings
4. fuel pump
5. distributor
6. I forget what else I tried to blame it on

well, when I went to pull of the passenger side clam shell motor mount to transfer it to the LS engine I realized it was only barely held on with one bold, the other two fell out !!!

[Gregski]

with the engine bay clean enuff for the girls we go out with... it was time to drop the new(ish) LS engine in, and I would be lying to you if I said it was easy or that I am done, the engine likes to sit tucked way back and I need to go around and loosen all the frame mounts to slide them forward as much as possible to get that engine away from the firewall some

to be continued...

[Gregski]

I don't usually do LS Swaps, but when I do I ensure it's 105° F out! ������

engine is mounted

trans is mocked up using one of my four trans cross members (not too fond of this x-member, prefer my double hump ��)

driveshaft is at least 3" too long so I might get a new one made as this one is out of an 305 ci El Camino it's one oof them 3" tappered down to like 2 1/2 at each end

[Rich84]

Looks like it belongs there..I'm just thrilled that I don't have to read all that carburetor mumbo jumbo stuff anymore. I had no idea what the heck you were talking about half the time. LOL

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Rich84

Looks like it belongs there..I'm just thrilled that I don't have to read all that carburetor mumbo jumbo stuff anymore. I had no idea what the heck you were talking about half the time. LOL

LMAO, yeah me too!

[hatzie]

Looks like you did an AC delete.
I assume the 4.8 & 5.3 have a separate drive belt for the AC just like the 6.0L

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

Looks like you did an AC delete.
I assume the 4.8 & 5.3 have a separate drive belt for the AC just like the 6.0L

Correct, my truck is a non AC from the factory, so yes I removed the compressor, so nice cause indeed it has it's own belt, super easy delete, so happy

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Correct, my truck is a non AC from the factory, so yes I removed the compressor, so nice cause indeed it has it's own belt, super easy delete, so happy

It's a challenge to use the Gen III AC compressor in stock dress due to frame clearance issues.

[Wgesnerjr]

Try on the radiator and the fan shroud. I was taught the fan should be 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the shroud for the best results.

[kipps]

Originally Posted by Wgesnerjr

Try on the radiator and the fan shroud. I was taught the fan should be 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the shroud for the best results.

Agree. Mock up the radiator and shroud before fixing the engine location in stone.

Consider moving the engine forward enough to use your existing driveshaft. That will likely preclude using the mechanical fan, but electric fans may be cheaper than shortening the driveshaft.

[Rich84]

Using electric fans simplifies the air intake system as well. There is plenty of room to use a stock air intake with the engine slid forward. Also, it gives you the room to use the A/C compressor in the stock location should you change your mind in the future.
My truck with the mechanical fan doesn't even have a shroud and it never gets over 197*

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

It's a challenge to use the Gen III AC compressor in stock dress due to frame clearance issues.

Check out Lonnie's Garage (Puppetkicker)
1984 C10 Project ---- LS Swap Part 1 (Motor, Mount Adaptor Plates, and More)

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Wgesnerjr

Try on the radiator and the fan shroud. I was taught the fan should be 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the shroud for the best results.

I heard that too, and when it comes down to it, and I am talking 20 years as an adult (not teenager) of fiddling experience as long as your TIMING yes your timing is in order and you have the proper water pump (not over drive not under drive pulley) and you have a proper radiator and of course no air bubbles, the fan shroud is moot, it is more there for safety and protection than cooling, so it's role is to prevent the metal fans of yesteryear from cutting your fingers off and not so much for routing the air, when you are cruising at 75 MPH on the freeway there is a wall of air heading towards the engine, just sayin'

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by kipps

Agree. Mock up the radiator and shroud before fixing the engine location in stone.

Consider moving the engine forward enough to use your existing driveshaft. That will likely preclude using the mechanical fan, but electric fans may be cheaper than shortening the driveshaft.

thanks appreciate the feedback as I am learning and trying to figure this out, I mocked up the driveshaft and mine is over 3" too long so I doubt I can move the engine that much forward, also folks on the LS Swapped Square Body GM Trucks ('73-'86 C/K & '87-'91 R/V) Facebook page seem to think the stock drive shafts are no way strong enough for LS Swaps, and with mine being like a 3" tappered on each end to a 2.75 I tend to believe them

[Gregski]

alright we hit our first snag, the stock 2001 GMC Sierra truck exhaust manifold on the passenger side hits the frame rail, (and no we are not going to cut the structural integral component of this future land speed record holder)

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Rich84

Using electric fans simplifies the air intake system as well. There is plenty of room to use a stock air intake with the engine slid forward. Also, it gives you the room to use the A/C compressor in the stock location should you change your mind in the future.
My truck with the mechanical fan doesn't even have a shroud and it never gets over 197*

thanks bro, but I am still intimidated by the electrical fans, all I hear is RELAYS, Relays, relays, LOL (of course I will be putting them in, in another six months, when I finally come around, ha ha)

[Rich84]

Trailblazer manifolds fit great.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Rich84

Trailblazer manifolds fit great.

Thanks I appreciate that, do you happen to know if they had those ugly EGR ports? I think the trucks did away with EGR in 2002 or something like that.

[Gregski]

LS Lesson Learned #3.

some guys can pick up on this just by reading stuff on the InterWebs but I'm too dumb for that, so I didn't realize this until I went to plumb and wire it

the 1999-2007 LS truck engines that we use for LS Swaps do not monitor the Oil Pressure with the computer aka the PCM

let me say this again, the computer does not care what the Oil Pressure is on these engines, so a lot of guys unscrew the $55 dollar OEM oil pressure sending unit (located in the stock location on the top driver side back of the engine block) and screw in their aftermarket sending unit in it's place (using a metric to standard adapter of course) and just run their aftermarket gauge or their stock oil pressure gauge

* I am quickly realizing that the jump from our trusty distributed carbureted second generation SBC engines to these Third Generation LS based engines is not as intimidating as one might think, here are four examples:

1. they only use one computer for both the engine and transmission management not two

2. the computer does not manage oil pressure

3. the earlier ones 1999-02 are still drive by cable instead of drive by wire throttle pedals

4. they still use mechanical radiator fans - less complicated wiring