RustEoldtrux
RustEoldtrux
- Location
- Evanston, WY
An infrared temperature gun should show which cylinder is running colder due to the sticking lifter.
Jeep LS swap for the LJ
- Thread starter glockman
- Start date
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
I'm pretty sure I have seen that trick used before but forgot about it. Thanks! I'll give it a try.
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
A little update. I pulled the serpentine belt and the power steering pump was bad. The pulley had 1/4" play. I pulled that and replaced the pump with a rebuilt unit from Napa. Putting it back together I cross threaded the fitting on the pressure side hose
. The hose is very stiff and it was slightly long from the start. I went back to hose and rubber and thought I'd have them cut off the fitting and crimp on a new one, fixing the length issue. They said they couldn't, they didn't have those fittings, I explained they made the hose and got nothing. WTF? So they made me a new hose, with higher pressure gates hose and better looking fittings and it's a better fit and it cost 1/2 what the original cost? Again, WTF?
While I had the fender off, I decided I didn't like where the PCM was mounted. The JCR inner fenders aren't that stiff and the PCM with the Daves custom box is heavy, like 10lbs. So I moved it to the firewall below the brake. Built this bracket to use the stock battery tray bolts on the firewall.
PCM installed old wire routing.
This required moving most of the pink power wires. I should have ran them this way to start with. The coils now merge on the top of the intake and go to the firewall, then over to my aux fuse panel. Before they merge into the huge trunk line, to the PCM and over to the fuse panel. I cut 2 ft out of 20 wires by going this route.
All those pink wires used to go all the way to the PCM.
Here it is, mostly done.
I ordered this Autometer bezel and Speedhut Revolution gauges last week for their memorial day sale.
The OBD driven gauges only work on gen IV and up so I couldn't go that route. I opted not to do a GPS speedo. Didn't want to have issues with satellite acquisition. The VSS driven model is fully programmable for tire size and gear ratio so it should work great. They are 4-6 weeks back ordered so I'll have time to resolve the trans leak and the stuck lifter
. The hose is very stiff and it was slightly long from the start. I went back to hose and rubber and thought I'd have them cut off the fitting and crimp on a new one, fixing the length issue. They said they couldn't, they didn't have those fittings, I explained they made the hose and got nothing. WTF? So they made me a new hose, with higher pressure gates hose and better looking fittings and it's a better fit and it cost 1/2 what the original cost? Again, WTF?While I had the fender off, I decided I didn't like where the PCM was mounted. The JCR inner fenders aren't that stiff and the PCM with the Daves custom box is heavy, like 10lbs. So I moved it to the firewall below the brake. Built this bracket to use the stock battery tray bolts on the firewall.
PCM installed old wire routing.
This required moving most of the pink power wires. I should have ran them this way to start with. The coils now merge on the top of the intake and go to the firewall, then over to my aux fuse panel. Before they merge into the huge trunk line, to the PCM and over to the fuse panel. I cut 2 ft out of 20 wires by going this route.
All those pink wires used to go all the way to the PCM.
Here it is, mostly done.
I ordered this Autometer bezel and Speedhut Revolution gauges last week for their memorial day sale.
The OBD driven gauges only work on gen IV and up so I couldn't go that route. I opted not to do a GPS speedo. Didn't want to have issues with satellite acquisition. The VSS driven model is fully programmable for tire size and gear ratio so it should work great. They are 4-6 weeks back ordered so I'll have time to resolve the trans leak and the stuck lifter
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
It's been a week since I drove this and I was losing interest, did I mention my ADD?
So I made sure everything was buttoned up and took it to go grab some dinner with the wife. It runs so intermittently I am a little baffled. Someimes it will stumble after it up shifts and other times it just runs. Last night, it was purring. Pulling hard and no stumble. Well, we skipped the closest restaurant to the house and headed to 5 star in Orem for some BBQ. Cruising down state street smiling and it started to stumble, then died. I coasted into Ultimate 4X4 parking lot. Crank no start, great. Popped the hood and had no fuel pressure, the gauge at the rail is well worth $30. Checked the fuel pump relay, it was clicking. Turns out, I've ran an entire tank of gas through the LS. Hard to tell with no dash. First time in my life that I've ran out of gas.
Easy fix though and we were back heading to dinner now with my oldest boy that brought the gas. He has a 24v Cummins with compounds that pegs a 60lbs boost gauge so on the way home, he wanted to race. I'm too old for racing but this put a smile on my face and my wifes. IT smokes 37's with ease.
So I made sure everything was buttoned up and took it to go grab some dinner with the wife. It runs so intermittently I am a little baffled. Someimes it will stumble after it up shifts and other times it just runs. Last night, it was purring. Pulling hard and no stumble. Well, we skipped the closest restaurant to the house and headed to 5 star in Orem for some BBQ. Cruising down state street smiling and it started to stumble, then died. I coasted into Ultimate 4X4 parking lot. Crank no start, great. Popped the hood and had no fuel pressure, the gauge at the rail is well worth $30. Checked the fuel pump relay, it was clicking. Turns out, I've ran an entire tank of gas through the LS. Hard to tell with no dash. First time in my life that I've ran out of gas.
Easy fix though and we were back heading to dinner now with my oldest boy that brought the gas
. He has a 24v Cummins with compounds that pegs a 60lbs boost gauge so on the way home, he wanted to race. I'm too old for racing but this put a smile on my face and my wifes. IT smokes 37's with ease. 
- Location
- West Bountiful, UT
You're never too old for racing!
- DAA
- DAA
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
The ticking lifter got to be pretty consistent as soon as the engine was warm so I bit the bullet.
Pulled the drivers side head. Exhaust valves and plugs look lean to me but every bit of data I have pulled shows it's running rich. They all looked like this.
The lifter trays were shot and came right off leaving all but one lifter in the bore. I was able to work them all out with some pliers pretty easily. Replaced all 8 with Melling units from Autozone and OEM lifter trays with a Mahle head gasket AGAIN. Oh well.
All bolted back up and it purrs. No squeaks, ticks or other odd noises.
My Speedhut gauges should be here middle of July.
It's still got a decent leak from the T case. I have a theory on that. The clocking ring is plane mild steel, mill scale and all. That is a pretty smooth surface. I think the RTV has a hard time bonding to it. I am going to pull it and sand both sides to create a little "tooth" and hopefully get enough adhesion that it ends this leak. I've never had such a hard time getting something to seal.
Pulled the drivers side head. Exhaust valves and plugs look lean to me but every bit of data I have pulled shows it's running rich. They all looked like this.
The lifter trays were shot and came right off leaving all but one lifter in the bore. I was able to work them all out with some pliers pretty easily. Replaced all 8 with Melling units from Autozone and OEM lifter trays with a Mahle head gasket AGAIN. Oh well.
All bolted back up and it purrs. No squeaks, ticks or other odd noises.
My Speedhut gauges should be here middle of July.
It's still got a decent leak from the T case. I have a theory on that. The clocking ring is plane mild steel, mill scale and all. That is a pretty smooth surface. I think the RTV has a hard time bonding to it. I am going to pull it and sand both sides to create a little "tooth" and hopefully get enough adhesion that it ends this leak. I've never had such a hard time getting something to seal.
RockChucker
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Highland
That sounds like a good theory to me. Every other clocking ring I've ever seen is a machined finish.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I would be very surprised if the "smooth" surface of the clocking ring was preventing a good seal with RTV. RTV will stick to anything, but oil. Any time I'm using RVT I make sure the case is totally clean and dry so no oil will run into the new RTV. I then give it at least overnight to set up. Filling the case too soon can wipe out the RTV.
If you think the RTV is the issue, make a gasket and see if that works any better.
If you think the RTV is the issue, make a gasket and see if that works any better.
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
Update:
I received my gauges from Speedhut while @Gravy and I were gallivanting around on "dirt" bikes. I finally had some time to get them in this week.
While I was at it, I attacked the damned T-case leak AGAIN.
Like most things I do, doing them once isn't enough. If I were to do this all over, I'd listen more to the people who know, IE I would skip the Novak Emulator and just go with aftermarket gauges from the start. There are several things that will need wiring changes in order to connect to the aftermarket gauges and clean up the wiring mess but for now, I tied in to things as they are and left the Jeep PCM in place. This winter, I plan to pull the Jeep computer completely and build a mini bussman fuse/relay panel to handle all the things the PCM handles now, mainly lights, radio and climate controls.
The Autometer bezel is nice looking but I'm not sure I love the gauge placement as viewed from the seat. It looks good here on the kitchen table.
Don't let the marketing fool you. The gauges did all fit the bezel and Speedhut does include good instructions and a neat power and ground harness to connect all the gauges but there is still a fair amount of wiring. I'll get a pic when I remove the bezel this week.
With the gauges installed, I turned to the T-case. I pulled the clocking ring and wet stoned the shit out of it to A) make sure it was as flat as possible and B) give it some tooth to grab the RTV.
I pulled the case with the spacer that bolts to the transmission this time. This way, I can install the clocking ring on the bench, then slide the case on the transmission output shaft and bolt it up where there is a seal/gasket instead of putting the pressure on the studs and RTV while it hangs there. I also had the T-case vertical on the bench so any fluid ran into the case and away from the RTV which goes to Unstuck's comment. I left it to cure overnight and installed it yesterday, not a drop under it this morning.
While the T-case was out I check a theory I had on why the jeep was not running quite right. It seemed rich and would shift from 2nd to 3, then fall on it's face and shift back to 2nd. All data logging showed no rich condition and the heads seems to prove that too.
I am running the GM vehicle speed sensor in the tail shaft of the T-case. Because of this, you have to provide a ground on the GM PCM C2 pin 16 to tell it when you are in low range so it can change shift tables. I did this with the OEM Range switch on the case which is two wires and should provide ground when in 4lo. So I checked pin 16 and it was always grounded. Checked the switch and it was flakey, but mostly always shorted to ground. I pulled two at the junkyard and they are not much better. For now, I put the switch in but left it unplugged.
After I buttoned everything up we went for a spin. HOLY HELL it is an animal now! Shifts correctly, Runs WAY better and leaves rubber lots of places. Funny how all the wires I messed with, one simple ground, which was wired correctly, just had a bad 30 year old switch, made it run, but not quite right. Big smiles and big relief. It's kind of done for a minute, or at least it's back on the road now.
I received my gauges from Speedhut while @Gravy and I were gallivanting around on "dirt" bikes. I finally had some time to get them in this week.
While I was at it, I attacked the damned T-case leak AGAIN.
Like most things I do, doing them once isn't enough. If I were to do this all over, I'd listen more to the people who know, IE I would skip the Novak Emulator and just go with aftermarket gauges from the start. There are several things that will need wiring changes in order to connect to the aftermarket gauges and clean up the wiring mess but for now, I tied in to things as they are and left the Jeep PCM in place. This winter, I plan to pull the Jeep computer completely and build a mini bussman fuse/relay panel to handle all the things the PCM handles now, mainly lights, radio and climate controls.
The Autometer bezel is nice looking but I'm not sure I love the gauge placement as viewed from the seat. It looks good here on the kitchen table.
Don't let the marketing fool you. The gauges did all fit the bezel and Speedhut does include good instructions and a neat power and ground harness to connect all the gauges but there is still a fair amount of wiring. I'll get a pic when I remove the bezel this week.
With the gauges installed, I turned to the T-case. I pulled the clocking ring and wet stoned the shit out of it to A) make sure it was as flat as possible and B) give it some tooth to grab the RTV.
I pulled the case with the spacer that bolts to the transmission this time. This way, I can install the clocking ring on the bench, then slide the case on the transmission output shaft and bolt it up where there is a seal/gasket instead of putting the pressure on the studs and RTV while it hangs there. I also had the T-case vertical on the bench so any fluid ran into the case and away from the RTV which goes to Unstuck's comment. I left it to cure overnight and installed it yesterday, not a drop under it this morning.
While the T-case was out I check a theory I had on why the jeep was not running quite right. It seemed rich and would shift from 2nd to 3, then fall on it's face and shift back to 2nd. All data logging showed no rich condition and the heads seems to prove that too.
I am running the GM vehicle speed sensor in the tail shaft of the T-case. Because of this, you have to provide a ground on the GM PCM C2 pin 16 to tell it when you are in low range so it can change shift tables. I did this with the OEM Range switch on the case which is two wires and should provide ground when in 4lo. So I checked pin 16 and it was always grounded. Checked the switch and it was flakey, but mostly always shorted to ground. I pulled two at the junkyard and they are not much better. For now, I put the switch in but left it unplugged.
After I buttoned everything up we went for a spin. HOLY HELL it is an animal now! Shifts correctly, Runs WAY better and leaves rubber lots of places. Funny how all the wires I messed with, one simple ground, which was wired correctly, just had a bad 30 year old switch, made it run, but not quite right. Big smiles and big relief. It's kind of done for a minute, or at least it's back on the road now.
- Location
- West Bountiful, UT
Go ahead and make us feel bad. Real bad...
- DAA
- DAA
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
I reminded her at least twice last night that it still has jeep brakes.
She was trying to race two mustangs and asked me if it would beat a Raptor we pulled up next to. I think she likes it, or she's been waiting on her bum husband to finish it for 5 months.
Any plans to remedy that?
- Location
- West Haven, UT
Glad you got it running good and back on the road.
These LS's sure wake these things up and put the fun factor back in them.
Hope you get many happy miles out of it.
Mike
These LS's sure wake these things up and put the fun factor back in them.
Hope you get many happy miles out of it.
Mike
- Location
- West Bountiful, UT
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
I'm on the fence about brakes. I have knuckles for your brake upgrade just haven't pulled the trigger on calipers yet. I am holding off to see if the axles survive before I dump more money into them.
I don't think I'd be so worried about your front axle. Your rear axle might be Ralphie though.
And depending on what you choose for a rear axle upgrade, I guess that could potentially mean you won't keep the front axle either....so I guess that just reinforced your original point and I typed all this in vain.
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
I don't think I'd be so worried about your front axle. Your rear axle might be Ralphie though.
And depending on what you choose for a rear axle upgrade, I guess that could potentially mean you won't keep the front axle either....so I guess that just reinforced your original point and I typed all this in vain.
I don't know, it is a Chrysler, I could go all Dodge 3500 on it and put a full width rear in and leave the stock Dana 44 front. Not sure if its an optical illusion but I swear the new Dodge's rear axle is wider than the front, and yes I mean single rear wheel trucks.
glockman
I hate Jeep trucks
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
I still have a small transmission fluid leak that I thought was the dip stick tube where it goes into the pan. The tube was a little off and required some adjustment where it bolts to the back of the passenger side head. After looking I found the upper trans cooler line fitting was slightly loose and leaking down the trans to the dipstick tube. Tightened it up and no more drops of oil on the shop floor.
With most things finished, I added up parts for a cost. You can see my spreadsheet here hopefully.
LS Swap Cost
All said and done, I'm at $6300 after deducting the money I got back from selling parts. More than I expected, but I expected that.
Oddly the engine, trans and T case are the cheapest parts of the build. Exhaust was the most expensive partly due to using 2 cats and 4 new O2's. I think I could trim a grand off the next one from mistakes I made and things I learned.
With most things finished, I added up parts for a cost. You can see my spreadsheet here hopefully.
LS Swap Cost
All said and done, I'm at $6300 after deducting the money I got back from selling parts. More than I expected, but I expected that
.Oddly the engine, trans and T case are the cheapest parts of the build. Exhaust was the most expensive partly due to using 2 cats and 4 new O2's. I think I could trim a grand off the next one from mistakes I made and things I learned.