LJ 5.3 swap in 2.5 days

[eatrocks]

yes i would love to talk to you about this anytime you like My email is pzkbrown@gmail.com

 

[Shawn]

Have you had any issues getting the IM done?

 

[Bart]

Love the project and look forward to a time when I do the same thing. I'm wondering why Novak and others don't offer a dual pass radiator with inlet and outlet on the right side. This would make running the cooling hoses so much easier. I ran into the long hoses on my buggy like you have on yours. Anyway, the rig looks great. I'll bet you're stoked.

 

[eatrocks]

its not due for an IM yet so know but every one thats seen it that does them says they would pass it including the county.

If the upper outlet was on the rt side its would be way to busy there the long return is a pain but it does give a nice place to put the steam Tee

 

[Bart]

Yeah, like how you did the steam t. If I did a dual pass I'd run the air filter either short and straight out or to the left.

 

[eatrocks]

short in front would give hot air all the time over to the rt or the lt gives it colder air it really has so much power I dont see any reson to go with the 6 the cost diff is to much and you would have to up grade all the drive line

 

[rholbrook]

Tach

I have been researching this type of swap for a while now and here is what I have found as far as the Tach is concerned. The Chev 5.3 Ltr motor sends a 4 cyl tach signal so by theory a swap into a 2.5 Ltr should not require anything to make it work, you just need to find the right wires in the harness to link to. A 4.0 Ltr does require some modification to make it work because it is a 6 cyl signal. The logic sends 4 pulses for a 4 Cyl, 6 for a 6 Cyl and so on for an 8 Cyl but Chevrolet still sends the 4 pulses.

The fix is $200 and you will need to send your instrument cluster to Redline Gauge Works to have them replace the unit that is in your cluster with one that will read the signal from a 5.3 Ltr. You can call Shannon at (661) 259-8891.

You can go to www.redlinegaugeworks.com
to check things out but there isn't anywhere that talks about on their site. I ran into this company on a Chevelle Forum and one post mentioned that a guy had them do this to his TJ and it worked perfectly.

I really want to come by and see your install. I have an LJ that is really wanting a V8. I am just waiting to see how the emissions thing works out for you.

 

[Samuraiman]

How are you going to get your I/M done that swap is not legal in Utah? If you have any way let us know. Also that radiator and fan are small and I hope that it will cool it so far we have never had one work.

We (boss and boy I got to help) just recently finished doing 5.3 swaps into a couple TJ's and have had no heating problems. We are running stock radiator with the fan and clutch. I have also heard of one problem with the torque convertor coming apart if you don't hook up your lock up wire.(not in your case) Why didn't you use the 4L60E? You can also purchase the stock GM mounting bracket for the computer and I found the best place to mount it was on the drivers side.(worked for me) We also did go with the drive by cable, cruise control is too nice to pass up and they were already DBC. One more to go in my Cherokee. I see you spent the money on the Novak A/C setup. We used the stock a/c pumps and hoses and notched the frame. One problem with that is the clearance to the upper control arm on the passenger side. Not a problem if you have over a 4 inch lift or a long arm setup.

 

[rholbrook]

Any new developments here?

 

[Grim]

Any new developments here?

x2

 

[Grim]

anything ? have you had to pass inspection and emissions for weber county yet ? did everything pass ? any problems come up since the swap ?

 

[eatrocks]

Sorry I have been busy moving and such. The jeep passed Weber county even though it did not have to as this year is a buy year for an 05. I have put about 14000 miles on it and some of that was pulling a 2500 lbs trailer.

The flunkys at Weber county tried to say that it would not pass at first but when i pushed them for why they backed off.

I have put some hard off road use on it as well. At this point eveything is hold up well the OEM 6 speed is working well. I did rebuild the 231 and added a 2 wheel low kit. After 125k miles the tcase was in good shape just had lots of miles and I want to add the 2 wheel low kit.

The other mod was a GenRight 31.5 gal gas tank. That with the 5.3 i can drive from Logan to Moab on a tanks of gas and then some. Even pulling the trailer. Im easly get 22 to 24 MPG across the board.

I also put Ziplocker in the front D30 with hardened iner shafts. The group that goes with my were worryed that they would get hit with fly axel parts. The new was with out the locker to climb some things was to spin the tires till they got hot.

Also last month we were down south and a friend with a Ford F150 had to be towed off road about 12 miles. We had nothing as big as the 150 so i got to tow him A few places i had it in low rang locked and all 4 were slowly spining but the jeep had no problem pulling the load. as we were dealing with 105 deg temps i was worred at first about over heating but the temp never got over about 212 on the gage

 

[rondo]

Love the build!
I have a 4banger YJ that is killing me inside. I turned down the chance to buy this type motor and stock trans from a friend because the wiring of the swap is intimidating for me. But how about doing a cost breakdown? I imagine wiring it would be the most painful part?

 

[eatrocks]

the YJ is much Much easyer than the TJ/LJ all the way around. The Wiring for the YJ is really only 9 to 12 wires swap the temp and oil sender from the I4 to unused plugs in the 5.3 and since you have a 4 no the tack just wires in and works.

 

[larrybenny]

Hey Ken, update on my 91 YJ springover that you gave me some help on a couple months ago: Replaced dana 35 rear diff with dana 60 35 spline cm axles, custom made traction bar (mandatory). After putting my foot in it, 2nd gear started slipping so I had a custom build on it. Still running the 5.3 mechanical fan and clutch, no shroud, stays at 110 degrees even on a 100 degree day. Novak/Griffen custom radiator is the answer here. Gas mileage is around 19, have 35 in tires and 4:56 gears. thanks again for your help.

 

[Kiel]

what thermostat are you running, those engine don't like to run that cool. It's not even reaching closed loop

 

[eatrocks]

some how i think he means 210 not 110.
Oh and for closed loop
1. Both front O2's have to be hot enough.
2. ECT sensor must be above ~120.
3. Time elapsed in driving.
4. VSS?

 

[larrybenny]

Sorry guys, I did mean 210 degrees. Running factory thermostat. Whats kind of odd though is that it runs cooler at low rpms like around town and in 4 lo. 210 reading is at 70 mph on the freeway @ 100 degrees outside temp. Not that I'm complaining

 

[eatrocks]

Well just to see we ran my LJ on a Dyno this lastweek at the rear wheels with 3:73 gears and 33 inch tires 234 at 4244 rpm and max torque is 271 at 2600 rpm Not to bad for a the 5.3 with a normal y-pipe cat and a very mellow sound as in very very hard to hear it running

 

[jpndave]

Ken's' LJ is very quiet. I keep trying to talk him into putting on a "real" exhaust that will allow the engine to breathe. His response is always that "I like it quiet" thing. Oh well, to each his own. I am certain that horsepower numbers would take a dramatic jump with free breathing pipes. That said, his LJ has a LOT of snap on the bottom end.