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Project Pissed Wife Phase II 5.3L Vortec and 4L60e install!

212K views 1K replies 66 participants last post by  august4936 
#1 ·
This is the second phase of my original build ( in my sig) that I finished in 2010. Everything has been great with the rig except for one thing. The power level of the 4.0 has always left me wanting more. Which brings us up to today.

So I stoped by the junkyard to talk with a buddy of mine that runs the sales department. He made me bring this home:


and this:

and these:


It is a 2001 5.3L with a 4L60e and some Tj front drive shafts to elimanate the front disco crap.

I spent a few hours tearing a bunch of crap off the engine along witht the wiring harness and ECU.



The wiring harness is getting sent of tomorrow to get torn apart and a bunch of unneeded emissions sensors deleted. The ECU will also get programed.

Today I ordered an Advance Adapters kit to adapt the 231J to the 4l60e and to add a VSS sensor between the tranny and transfer case.

More to come In the next few weeks. I plan to cover everything with the install.
 
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#2 ·
I'll be watching this.

Not to hijack your thread but this seems like a nice swap. I helped my son
plumb his turbo on an LS1 into a 95 Nissan 240. Net 600HP with 76mm turbo.

Good luck with the wife.

:D
 

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#5 ·
Not much happening today with the swap. I ordered some more parts and shipped off the wiring mess and ECU. I generally work on this every evenging. My mind races constantly except when I occupy it and my hands so this is something that I do to relax before bed after the kids go to bed.

Anyhow these motors are known for broken exhaust manifold bolts. I was lucky and only had 1 broken when I bought the motor. It was the first bolt, drivers side. Broken off clean with the head. So I got that out today. I hate easy outs, they never work for me. I just end up with a stuck bolt with a broken hardened steel center. What works everytime with out fail is to weld a nut to the broken stud, let it cool and out she comes. The heat really loosens it up. Without fail everytime.

Here is the nut welded on. I wasnt excited about welding on my new to me aluminum heads.


Hit it with some PB Blaster after she cold off. And it backed right out.

No damage to head.


I decided to go with some 2002 and up C6 Corvette exhaust manifolds, picked up a set with new gaskets and O2 sensors for $80 shipped on EBay. Im sure the corvette guys drop these manifolds for something cooler, but they work for me. These manifold work great because they dump out kind of straight down behind the motor mount and are much closer to the block than the truck heads. Ill post a comparison when they get here, which is hopefully soon.

Just waiting on the trans to tcase adapter, manifold and engine wiring harness. I plan on addressing oil pressure gauge sensor and the coolant temp guage sensor along with a compression check this weekend. I dont expect the compression to be bad I want to know now if there is a problem before its sitting in the Jeep.

Oh, can someone recommed me a differnt type of bolt that will survive on the exhaust manifold. I thought about getting the updates OEM bolts but I am reading they fall out and break just like theses do. I was thinking Stainless steal with some high temp antiseize? not sure. Let me know what you think.:cheers:
 
#6 · (Edited)
I have an 05 Silverado with the 5.3L and it is an AWESOME engine. I am clocking 120k right now and plan on not doing a thing to it until I at least hit 200k. You will love that engine. Reliable as hell and maintenance is next to nothing on it, aside from the obvious fluid changes, etc.
 
#7 ·
Go grade 8 all around. I had my stupid valve cover bolts twist off on me, exhaust, and a couple others. You can't go wrong. May cost a little more, but it will be worth it in the end. Good luck, I'm definitely going to be following this :thumbsup:
 
#9 ·
I know many off these motors that have be transplanted into mustangs with a turbo that make 700 hp and stay together....awesome motor's. I have just over 148,00 on mine besides the normal morning lifter tick that goes away after it is warm it has been the best running motor I have owned......
 
#10 ·
Lifter tick? huh, I hate lifter tick. I suppose the heads have to come off to replace the lifters.

So do I pull the heads now and replace the lifters, or wait and see if it ticks?
 
#16 ·
These motors are very reliable but very loud lol. They all tick real bad when cold as mileage increases. Most of them get bad piston slap too. On my parents it got noticeable around 180k. It now has over 210k and still runs fine. Just really loud on a cold new England morning. I would not hesitate to put on in my jeep. They really wake up with headers and a cam to. The noise is just something ya gotta live with. Kinda like the 2.5 where lifter tick is inevitable.
 
#17 ·
I hear ya. My 2.5 from years ago had lifter tick, drove me insane. I dropped some new lifters in it and never had a problem again.

If this motor does it, ill get a different one. If another one does it than I will pull the heads and replace the cam and lifters. I dont live well with engine noise. But I have awhile before 180k.
 
#18 ·
I am looking to order my shifter. I want to go with a Lokar but not sure what length to get? I would like for the stick to be close to the same height as the current AX15 stick.

16" ?
 
#19 ·
'Scribed! Looking forward to following along. :cheers2: I plan to do this very swap in the future. I have 220k on my 2000 5.3 and it is still running great. Tranny gives me a little hard shift 2nd to 3rd if its gets really hot, but other than that, still goin' great. I want to do a rebuild on both and drop them in the YJ when I get a new truck in the next few months. The 2.5 is still running great, so I'll be able to take my time on the rebuilds. I know its high mileage and rebuilds aren't cheap, but I've had this drivetrain since it rolled off the line and know the routine maintenance has been flawless and always on time.

If you are using the factory sending unit with the fuel pump assembly, they are notorious for malfunctioning and dropping your fuel gauge to E frequently. I replaced mine and am now getting the same thing after only 2 years. I've just gotten used to refueling by mileage and don't think about it.
 
#20 ·
Well Im completely bummed. I did a compression check this morning and the results are not good.

1) 120
2) 180
3) 210
4) 210
5) 210
6) 70
7) 210
8) 70

I dont like the 120 on # 1 with everything else at or near 210. Im not excited about 210, that tells me there is a lot of carbon build up in the cylinders. 70psi in #'s 6&8 tell me either a bad head gasket or cracked head. I put some oil in 6&7 and the pressure went up to 120.

So the lesson hear is to do a compression check first thing. I have put alot of work, removing broken studs, cleaning, pulling the harness and now I have to start over. Honestly it wasnt something that I expected to happen. I keep hoping maybe I did the compression check wrong but its pretty straight forward. I pulled all the plugs, hooked the starter up to a battery and completed ground. 5 revolutions and then check gauges.

Also I was able to see that the flywheel was bent.
 
#21 ·
Ok so now Im completely confused. I just went and re did the compression check and got completely different numbers. I guess I was concerned that I am checking compression on a cold engine. So I hooked up the battery and turned over the motor a bit with out the compression guage hooked up just to listen. Nothing abnormal.

Then I put the guage on #6 which was real low. Ran it abit and the pressure steadly rose to 190psi. I thought that was weird so i pulled the guage out and rehooked it backup to #6 and it retested. This time it shot straight to 190psi. checked # 8, which had been low and same deal 170 psi. WTF? I retested 6 & 8 several more times with the same result.

So I rechecked them all.

1)160
2)170
3)210
4)190
5)190
6)190
7)190
8)170

I did notice that the gas coming out of the exhaust port was warmish this time. Could testing cold be screwing it up? I have no ides what to do now, should I just trade it out now for another motor? This motor sat for a year before I got my hands on it, could that have causeed the intakes valves to stick?
 
#22 ·
So I found this:
From the service manual:

Engine Compression Test

Charge the battery if the battery is not fully charged.
Disable the ignition system.
Disable the fuel injection system.
Remove all the spark plugs.
Block the throttle plate wide open.
Start with the compression gage at zero, and crank the engine through 4 compression strokes, 4 puffs.
Make the compression check for each cylinder. Record the reading.
If a cylinder has low compression, inject approximately 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of engine oil into the combustion chamber through the spark plug hole.
Recheck the compression and record the reading.
The minimum compression in any one cylinder should not be less than 70 percent of the highest cylinder. No cylinder should read less than 690 kPa (100 psi). For example, if the highest pressure in any one cylinder is 1035 kPa (150 psi), the lowest allowable pressure for any other cylinder would be 725 kPa (105 psi). (1035 x 70% = 725) (150 x 70% = 105).
Normal -- Compression builds up quickly and evenly to the specified compression for each cylinder.
Piston Rings Leaking -- Compression is low on the first stroke. Compression then builds up with the following strokes but does not reach normal. Compression improves considerably when you add oil.
Valves Leaking -- Compression is low on the first stroke. Compression usually does not build up on the following strokes. Compression does not improve much when you add oil.
If two adjacent cylinders have lower than normal compression and injecting oil into the cylinders does not increase the compression, the cause may be a head gasket leaking between the cylinders.

All cylinders already have oil in them from an hour ago when I last checked compression. Following this procedure I get:
1) 160
2) 170
3) 190
4) 190
5) 190
6) 190
7) 170
8) 170

Which is all very accetable.

So thats where I am at as of right now. I am planning to retest first thing tomorrow morning to get a dry test, then wet again.

i could really use some input here!
 
#23 ·
Ok so I have calmed down a bit. I have been checking the compression several times throughout the day. Everything is still good. I believe what happened was that the motor sat drained of oil for almost a year. I think that the rings were extremely dry and that the lifters were also bleed down. So I think the act of cranking the motor over with the starter and me oiling the upper cylinders it got everything moving again. And honestly I need to do a compression check with the motor warm. So if need be Ill address this at that time if its an issue. I also put some light on the cylinder walls and they still have the honing marks.

My buddy running the yard that I got the motor at tells me not to worry. So I wont. Along with a few folks over at Pirate telling me the same. I aint gonna worry..... much. Unless someone tells me otherwise.
 
#24 ·
if it sat a while its safe to say the piston rings were stuck and it took a little effort to break them loose. No big deal. Also when you comp check I like a little oil on the o ring at the end you are inserting into plug hole. This little bit of lube helps seal and does not let the oring bind and possibly leak some.

I like the direction you are going with this!
 
#25 ·
If you didn't have the intake plate blocked open and the plugs all out, your first result is what I'd expect. Sounds like you stuck with it and figured it out. way to hang with it.

How is the wife?
 
#26 ·
I had all the plugs out and the throttle at WOT the entire time. I plan to check the compresson one more time in te morning and then let it go.

She is fine. I think. J/K. She has been taking all the pictures and loves that me and the twins have a project to work on together.
 
#27 ·
So I retested this morning. Still a cold compression test for whatever it is worth.

1) 180 2) 170
3) 200 4) 180
5) 190 6) 190
7) 180 8) 180

It looks good. But I still question it so Im not sure what I will do yet. I will be talking with my buddy at the yard first thing Monday and going from there. I really dont want to put everything back on this pig to go exchange it for another motor, but with the money involved and my piece of mind I may.

What to do what to do.
 
#30 ·
So this is what I got today!

60,000mile motor straight trade.


looks perfect inside!


I spoke to my buddy this morning and he said bring it back. He didnt want bad motors out there. So I did, didn't want to be questioning it. I have a few other things going today so ill be posting some more later tonight.
.
 
#31 ·
Looks like a good trade and good for the swap. Keep it going :thumbsup:

By the way, did you swap just the engine and accessories, or did you swap the harness, ecu, etc?
 
#33 ·
New one is same year 01. I definitely traded up! Bought the scap yard guys all pizza for lunch for taking such great care of me. That was money well spent, that will be paid back 10 fold in all the little BS parts I need.

These are drive by cable motors. Wasn't something that I went out looking for specifically. Just worked out that way. My PCM wiring harness guy needs the GM part numbers for the MAP, MAF, O2 and the injectors. Since this is not a changeover motor ( wiring harness cut, some accessories missing and no PCM) I am using the wiring, sensors and PCM from the first motor. Along with a few things this motor doesn't have ( starter, alternator and few small parts). Which also works out in my favor because the first motor had a bent flywheel $225, the new motor flywheel is fine. And I can pick and choose the best parts between these two motors. But honestly there is no comparison. The new motor is better in every respect.

Just for info. You can plug and play any wiring harness with PCM and sensors as a set from one motor Gen III, to the other no matter the year. Just be aware of DBW and DBC, same for same.

Corvette Manifolds and some bolts showed up today, to my work. I was off so I cant anything with them. Still waiting on slow *** Advance Adapters. Shipped my PCM and wiring harness off.

I have however decided against trying a compression check on this motor, at least for right now. Mainly because what I found out about these motors is that a leak down test or a compression check cannot be done reliability until the motor is at operating temperature. In all likely hood my first motor was probably fine. But because I decided to do the compression check cold I got bad numbers.
 
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