Glock's new project: "Fred" w/ 5.3L LS swap info

[joe231]

Wow!!!

[menace121978]

sweet! i was thinking you would have to use steel braided lines along with the -an fittings.... much simplier, cheaper, and easier!!


damn your almost done man!!!!!!!! i cant wait for the 1st start-up...

[menace121978]

and hey wait just a minute here!! check out that grille! awesome!!

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by menace121978

and hey wait just a minute here!! check out that grille! awesome!!

I was thinking the same thing. He was trying to sneak that one in on us.

[glock35ipsc]

Yeah, Fred is a little confused as to his identity!

As for the fuel line I used (the blue line), it is from Summit, and the AN fittings used for it are Summit's "Snap Tite" or something like that. Rated for up to 250 psi. Simply push the fitting on the hose. And they WILL NOT pull off! I tried!

[menace121978]

man, i cant stop looking at those pics! your making this swap look like a piece of cake Bob...

btw great info on the fuel system!

John, i actually had to stop and watch his avatar for a sec.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by menace121978

John, i actually had to stop and watch his avatar for a sec.

Man you need to get back to work on your truck so little things like that don't slip by you.

[glock35ipsc]

I'm in a pickle as to what I should do about the fans. The stock e-fans won't work as-is, too wide. I could cut them and make them "temporarily" fit, but they are in great shape and I could probably sell them. But my funds are running low for the month. On top of that, I need to buy one O2 sensor. I think Rancho broke one or something, because the y-pipe they sent had 1 front O2 sensor and 3 rears installed into it. A new front is $103.

I went and walked around Fred a couple times making a list of what I still need to do. I still have a long list, but they are all little things that shouldn't take much time. Like I forgot about the fan relays. I'm still thinking I'll make it for our cruise the 27th though.

So I'm gonna hit the bone yards next Saturday for fans and an O2 sensor, hopefully I can find both. That will help in the $$$ department.

[SBTork]

On some of the other truck forums you should be able to get over $100 for those stock fans. That should help. Keep plugging away man, you're really close.

[menace121978]

Bob, you should call rancho and tell them the progress (for the warranty) and mention the o2 sensor. i know they will send ya a new one so you can save a few bucks...

and i take it there was too much modifaction needed to get the '06 rad. to work??

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by menace121978

Bob, you should call rancho and tell them the progress (for the warranty) and mention the o2 sensor. i know they will send ya a new one so you can save a few bucks...

and i take it there was too much modifaction needed to get the '06 rad. to work??

True, I should call them on Monday. The rad actually would have been easy to make work, the problem was with the lines off of the AC condenser. They curve around the right tank, and they were too tight to bend without pinching them off.

[menace121978]

another idea just to throw it out there... is the shaft on the water pump threaded?

[glock35ipsc]

LOL, yup, and it did cross my mind. Cheaper to grab at the bone yard too. I still want e-fans, but I'm hearing ya!

[menace121978]

same page!!

dang whats a guy got to do to get some rep around here... read minds!! jeez

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by menace121978

dang whats a guy got to do to get some rep around here... read minds!! jeez

Given!

[menace121978]

thanks Bob!

[Codys87]

Your build is going awesome and like others have said your making it look easy!

What did you do for the coolant bypass on the front of the heads?

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by Codys87

Your build is going awesome and like others have said your making it look easy!

Thanks! Weeks of planning, and noting what others have done both on here and on a bunch other forums, what worked and what didn't work for them, and putting all that in a three ring binder, made this seem easy.

What did you do for the coolant bypass on the front of the heads?

There is a heater hose that runs to a nipple on the original radiator in the 85, so I will put a very short piece of heater hose on there with a 90* brass nipple and run it to that point. It can follow the upper radiator hose back to the engine. I kept all the clamps off the original rad hoses (which I am using) and there are a few that clamp around the rad hose and has a place for a smaller hose to clamp on.

Another option I have that looks a little cleaner, but runs about $35 from the Jags That Run site, is a nice piece that splices in the upper rad hose. I like it because it mounts it as high as possible in the system, and it has a petcock that is used to bleed air. I'll run it to the radiator for now to save $$$ and get it running, but I may try one of these later.

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Par...g_LSI-tee.html

[rongstad]

Great thread!!! You're really making progress..... cant wait to start on mine...

[Codys87]

[QUOTE=glock35ipsc;3515966]Thanks! Weeks of planning, and noting what others have done both on here and on a bunch other forums, what worked and what didn't work for them, and putting all that in a three ring binder, made this seem easy.


Thats what I'm trying to do right now. Theres lots of good info here and I'm definetly taking notes from you!



There is a heater hose that runs to a nipple on the original radiator in the 85, so I will put a very short piece of heater hose on there with a 90* brass nipple and run it to that point. It can follow the upper radiator hose back to the engine. I kept all the clamps off the original rad hoses (which I am using) and there are a few that clamp around the rad hose and has a place for a smaller hose to clamp on.

Another option I have that looks a little cleaner, but runs about $35 from the Jags That Run site, is a nice piece that splices in the upper rad hose. I like it because it mounts it as high as possible in the system, and it has a petcock that is used to bleed air. I'll run it to the radiator for now to save $$$ and get it running, but I may try one of these later.

That looks like a really good idea. I may copy you!

[Red84C10]

Nice work your making me jealous.

[nlped]

Holly Hell, Batman! You made a ton of progress this weekend. I can't wait for this to run...probably not as much as you though

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by nlped

Holly Hell, Batman! You made a ton of progress this weekend. I can't wait for this to run...probably not as much as you though

Hehe, yes I did!

I got ALL the electrical, with the exception of the e-fans, done today. Everything!! I can hit the key and bump the engine over!

Gauge cluster is re-pinned and installed. Everything seems to work on it.

I cut the pedal off the electric pedal, and cut the OEM pedal off and welded it on the electric unit. This make the pedal look stock when standing at the door.

I had an old stock intake system for a truck I use to have, so it will get used for now until I get my new budget next month. I cut the huge goiter looking thing off that hangs off the bottom, and cut and fit a piece of metal to fit the hole. A little RTV and some screws and I have a rednecked air intake setup for now. I just need to pick up a filter, then make a little bracket to hold it tight and keep if from flopping around.

I think I did more than just what I typed, but I am really tired right now.

All I really need to fire it right now is the tranny cooler fittings, a fan or e-fans, and hook up a fuel tank. I may go ahead and order the fittings I need, even though I send that others back to exchange. That way I can have them before the end of the week, then I can just send the others back for a refund. Summit rocks in that department.

[mcbassin]

Awesome Progress! How do you tie the speedo up to the new tranny? Is this a plug and play with the electronic instrument cluster? You are making this swap look too easy. I know you did a lot of planning but this is a huge project and your making it look like any shadetree could handle it. keep it up

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome Progress! How do you tie the speedo up to the new tranny? Is this a plug and play with the electronic instrument cluster? You are making this swap look too easy. I know you did a lot of planning but this is a huge project and your making it look like any shadetree could handle it. keep it up

Thanks man, I appreciate it! It's been pretty straight forward so far, I really thought I would have a lot of questions and have things stump me since this is the first time I've ever done something like this. But all the planning has truly paid off! I really do think just about anyone could do this. There is a LOT to be done, but it's not nearly as daunting of a task as I originally thought it would be.

The speedo, and entire gauge cluster, is sourced from a 90-91 Blazer, Suburban or dually. The one I got is out of a Blazer. The electric speedo only needs one output wire fed to it from the PCM. When I got the cluster, I followed every circuit from the pin to see where it went, and made a drawing of the connector on the cluster and noted each pin and where it went. Today when I pulled the original cluster, I did the same thing noting wire color, what is was for, and what pin # it was in. Then I made another drawing of pin numbers, and where I needed to put each wire for the new cluster. The original cluster had 3 ground wires running to it, the new one only needed one, so I cut the other 2 off. That gave me a wire/pigtail I could use to run the speedo output wire to and put it in the right hole on the connector.