first time engine swap

[guumbah]

I agree - it is fun. At least the dozen or so VW Bugs and the '78 Bronco I did with buddies in high school were. The Bronco was the best. Spent a lot of time at the junkyard taking apart 5 or 6 engines to make one good one. Well, at least one that would start...

[sinfull90]

The Second Chance Offer Update: there is nothing i can do as stupid me sent a Western Money Order... like i said, it smarts... but at least it wasn't for 11 grand or anything silly like that... but it still smarts.

live and learn.
lee

[jethro_3]

Bigger brakes help slow down faster trucks......... In '05 the 2wd LQ9 trucks all came with the larger 17" brakes.

There are other forums that are dedicated to nothing but GM Gen III trucks... LS1TRUCK. There are a lot of people over there that have done engine swaps, mods and full out insane things to their trucks.

[sinfull90]

ok so i think i have run into a few problems... motor mounts and transmission being the main ones. from what i've heard is the 4l60e trany won't mate up with the 6L as it is suppose to be mated up with a 4l80e trany... so now i'm trying to find the difference between the two. if it's just internals then i think i'll be fine for a bit, if it's the body then i'm screwed... we'll see on that one. as for the motor mounts i think they are a bit ahead on the 6L... is it as easy as just torching off the old ones off the frame and bolting them to the engine and seeing where they sit, then just mig em in place? these are just a few questions i've come up with. here's another update

cheers
lee

[NoRiceHere01]

the 6.0 did come with the 4l80 but adding 2+2 would say that because its the same block as the smaller engine, and because the smaller engine got a 4l60, the 6.0 should bolt up.thats not saying its a smart thing to do tho.if u have rancho 9000s they should be fine, but the springs r most likely not.if i were doing it i would say a trip to the junkyard is in order to look for things like wires and brackets and maybe even a tranny.its all those little parts that get u when ur doin swaps.im interested in seein this done too cuz its rare to see late model engine swaps that r so major.(as in v6 to v8)i agree too: post pics please

[sinfull90]

so i talked to my trany guy (31 years building and repairing) and he said that it's way cheaper to beef up the 4l60e trany instead of buying a 4l80e. the 4l80e is longer so i would have to shorten my rear drive shaft and lengthen my front drive shaft as well as move my transfer case... i think i'll stick with the 4l60e! i'm going to put a red eagle clutch pack, a bigger transmission cooler, and a 2200 stall torque converter (for the later cam upgrade to the motor, the factory one should be fine, it'll just hit harder when it shifts) in to the trany. you don't need a hardened output shaft or anything like that unless your racing. i'll prolly end up putting about $1500-$2000 CAD into my trany, but it'll be a beefy 4l60e.

cost break-down for transmission:
$200ish for the Alto Master Rebuild kit
$380ish for B&M trany cooler w/ fan
$800ish for trany work

there... another update... any questions yet?

lee

[jethro_3]

Depending on what year the 6.0L is will tell you what flexplate/flywheel you will need. BE CAREFUL!!! Early 6.0 do not adapt to the trans the same as the later 6.0L

They have installed 4L60 & 4L65's with 6.0L, look at mine and you will see they did.

[big_blue_chevy2006]

any pics yet?

[sinfull90]

waiting for trany upgrade bits to come in... should be getting ready in a couple of days. i can't wait.

[JCL82]

Can i have your 4.3 for free ? I'll come pick it up. You really don't need a paper weight that big.

[big_blue_chevy2006]

damn haha i never thought bout that iv been thinkin bout a 4.3 build up n keep that for a couple years then do the 6.0 litre swap, yea if he dont want it ill take it!!

[sinfull90]

so today is the first day of the swap... i'm thinking of starting with the front clip and rad... pull all that out to give a nice big area to work in. there will be some pics tonight with an update... it'll prolly be late tonight... 10ish PST. check back then.
cheers,
lee

[sinfull90]

so i did get some pics but not really sure how to upload em or what size works best for this forum... but i did get a bit of work done. i'm just about ready to take the motor out and the trany will be tomoro for sure... nothing really strange or hard so far, except i found it easier to take the left manifold off to get at the starter... and all the bolts just came out and off of all the exaust so far as well.it does get a little scary when you start tearing into your electronics. on that note, i have run into one small problem. it appears that i have one connection that wound match anything yet... seems to be the front solenoid for the 4X4... gonna have to look at wiring diagrams for both i think... but as it stands things look promising. if all goes according to plan i will have the motor and trany out tomoro. talk to ya then.
lee

[sinfull90]

so the motor is out and we only dropped once... but it was out of the truck, still hanging in the gantry, but out of the truck. with the minor damage to the motor (smashed bottom pulley, bent valve cover, minor damage,so far) i proceeded to strip out 2 of the 3 "flex plate to torque converter" bolts. it was a good day of wreckin stuff... that was it tho. so as it sits now my truck is drive train empty. day before yesterday i just pulled out wiring, rads, rad support, fan shroud, inner front fenders, exhaust, drive shafts and little things like that. yesterday was the fun day. i started by going over the wiring harness and making sure it was away from the fire wall. after that i moved under the truck for the day(ish). i dropped my transfer case, which was pretty straight forward. there was one bolt on the very top of the T-case that you'll freak over but i found it easy enough to put a 1/4" rachet with a 1/4 to 3/8 adapter with a 15mm socket and got my hammer handle up in there and pushed on the rachet handle... like i said, no problem. the case it's self was kinda heavy so i used a floor jack to help with the lowering (G/F ran the jack). with that out of the way i disconnected all the trany electrical, shift cable (just used a flat head screwdriver and pried it off), and for those of you doing a 4.3l don't forget about the fuel lines off the back of the motor... if you follow where the fuel lines go into the motor you'll reach around the back of it and feel 2 tubing fittings, there's a little nut screwed into the bigger nut. then i removed the engine mount bolts, supported the trany oil pan with a big block of wood and a floor jack, and removed the crossmember the rear of the trany was attached to.you can hook your other hoist point to the back far left side of the passenger side head, you can get at it easy with the inner fender out. then as your pulling out the motor and trany you'll see that the exhasut might get in the way, i just used a bull bar to "persuade" it out of the way... keep an eye on the trany under the truck as there are a few lines that are attached to the trany that you can't get to until it's dropped down a bit... and out she comes. so i'm looking at my buddy's 6.0L and i realize that i need a new throttle position sensor and pedel assembly... my 00 is cable and the 05 is electronic... other than that it's looking good. i'm still not sure about the motor mounts but i'm working in a mechanics shop so i can fab my own motor mounts, gotta love doin an engine swap in a fab shop, with a machine shop next door, and i can see NAPA from the shop as well so yeah.. so far things have been real straight forward. good luck and i'll write up a bit in a few days as i have to wait for my trany to have the work done to it. i'll let you know what i have done to it when it's done.

Lee

[sinfull90]

so i've run into a few things that i need to get figured out. 1) the 2005 6L's throttle body is run by a system that uses potentiometers in the acclerator pedal to figure how far to open the throttle plate. on the 2000 it's still cable actuated, so i;m thinkin i need to buy a new/used TPS and pedal assy. 2) where is the vacume line to run into my master cylinder? looking at the 2005 truck it has a different master cylinder, no vacume assist... can any one help me with this? other than that all is going well, i'm making my own custom wiring harness (i'll tell ya all about it when it's done) and things are progressing quite well. if my girlfriend lets me spend another day in the shop i might try a dry fit of the motor today, we'll see

lee