Thanks to you and your dad. I'm a old school pre ls hotrodder and decided to ls swap my 1998 s10. These videos you guys are making have been easy to understand,very informative, very interesting and well explained. Thanks so much and take care!
Love the videos.. the swap has been done thousands of times but it’s really hard to find good videos.. I’m going to be doing the same swap this summer I hope.. have my 10 and my Yukon donor with a 6L..
I swapped 4.3 for 4.3 in my 1992 4WD S10. The manual recommended lifting the body 1 1/2", I ended up lifting the body 3" to get to the trans. bolts. It's really not too much work to loosen the body mount bolts to lift the body.
GM garage says Changing a 4.3 specifications actually call for loosening front cab mounts to allow for clearances when changing a motor...Can't remember if that was for all S bodies, or 4x4...but after watching this video, seems to make much more sense..(Unless you decide to notch firewall, which most do) cool vid 👍
Remove the 2 front cab bolts loosen the rear cab bolts wedge about a 3 inch block between cab and its mount boom transmission and motor slides right in drill a hole in the trans tunnel so you can remove the 2 top bell housing bolts from the inside
Makes sense to me. This should allow to slide engine all the way back. Use a small distributor or Back in the day someone was making a sbc front distributor drive
Yeah some guys modify that cross member as well now I know exactly why they cut and notch it out too and if you had done that before the motor and trans would have gone in together am I right
Just binge watched your whole LS Swap series. Great videos man. Super informative and well done. I'm going to do an AWD 4L80E LS Swap into an S10. I'm really looking forward to seeing you finish this thing. I'm curious. What was the part number for the AC box cover?
Thank You! There will be a lot more videos on my progress for the swap coming out and I can't wait to finish it either. The P/N for the Holley AC box is 71223028HKR
I had to cut a piece out of front frame for clearance. The piece gets welded back on frame but turned around. Then the top round place on the fire wall gets bent back a little as well. Yeah brakes lines get moved and mounted up some too along the front clip crossing of frame. Power steering pump will be close to steering box lines. I remember the Ac compressor needed some space on passenger side frame and needed to cut out a small area of frame for clearance. I had it turned around and grinded down to weld back into frame.
Reminds me of putting a 700R4 behind the 401 in my Hornet. Practically no room to work when bolting the engine to the transmission, and I didn't have a lift. Unfortunately, you get better at it after doing it a few times...
If I remember correctly, I used a wire wheel on a drill for most of the frame cleaning before paint. As for centering the engine, that was done by eye. Looking at where the bolts for the engine mounts line up, it is pretty easy to tell.
I really want to ls swap a blazer so I can have room for subs in the back. Idk to me this seems like such s great build to do cuz every part is so cheap so to speak. Reliability of a Silverado with a lighter chassis better weight to power better MPG id assume too cuz people still daily early 2000s Silverados. You put an engine that's been built with all the heavy duty shit not too hot of a cam but just all the stronger than stock parts ya know same with transmission built to be tougher than stock. I bet you'd get a million miles out of that set up for less than 15 grand long as you don't get too crazy beaten on it and keep good fluids in it.
I am sorry for your loss, but I did not, the Holley oil pan just allows for clearance so you do not have to notch it. Most other oil pans do not clear thus why it is commonly notched.
This swap is easier to fit together if you notch the crossmember for oil pan clearance. Did a great job making the A.C. compressor fit, the crossmember notch is a simpler thing.
Hello, First of all, thank you guys for posting these videos! Very informative and useful! I’m in the process of installing an LS into my 1987 S10 Blazer. In fact this weekend I tried installing my engine and transmission (4L60e) in one shot. It didn’t work. Its also hung up on the oil pan (H3 alpha pan) and crossmember by only 1/2”. So close, yet so far! My question is this... if you had it to do over, would you lift the body for installation purposes only? Or would you still install the two separately? I’m stuck at this crossroad, and really appreciate your advice!
From what I have read, it should be really easy to lift the body enough to slide everything in as one unit. I haven’t personally done this so I can not attest to that. I will say if you’re doing this on the ground without a lift it would be a lot more difficult to install separately. I know this isn’t a direct answer but hope it helps
Thanks for the reply! I decided to separate the two and install them that way. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I still have a couple more bolts to go. I did have to “massage” the transmission tunnel a bit though. May I ask, what angle did you set your engine/tranny combo at? I’ve read everywhere from -1 degree to -5 1/2 degrees. Thanks!
Aww your not gonna lay on your back and have to put that tranny in like the rest of us lol your taking all the fun out of it you haven't lived till your hair is full of tranny fluid and all over you lol mechanic work can b a blast lol I love doing it and want to do a project just like this exactly like this actually
The bell-housing clearance is just as tight on a 4.3. Since the trans in the same location these bolts would be equally annoying. I see a-lot of others notching the main crossmember under the engine. On 2wd even with the 4.3 its easiest to install engine and trans assembled with dipstick and fuel lines installed so all you have to do is connect everything.
While yes the bell-housing is tight on the 5.3 as well as the 4.3, the main issue was there was no clearance for the oil pan to get to the back side of the cross member. That is why you see people notching it. I did not want to notch the cross member, so I installed the engine and trans separately. That was also the reason I used the Holley oil pan, it will clear the cross member without modification.
Holley 302-1 Oil Pan and it clears the cross member with more than enough room to be comfortable. Definitely one of the best fitting oil pans you can buy for this swap. So far my experience with Holley's S10 ls swap products has been really good.
Why don't you take that 2 post lift and lift the off and set the motor and transmission down on the chassis then set the cab back down use the lift to make adjustments it easier than pulling the motor and transmission over and over
I got a Monster B85-VJX Torque converter, looking on their website it does not appear they have that model anymore. The equivalent looks like the B85-VJCX HS.
Really, they are not much different. I still call the one in it a 4L60e. What I was told is the 4L60's are what's used on the sbc engines while the 4L65 is what was used on the LS's. Just doing a quick search the 4L65e's are also supposed to be a little stronger than the 4L60, I wasn't aware of that until just now lol
The headers are the shorty S10 LS swap headers from Speed Engineering. As I have started getting further in the build it seems like there may be some clearance issues with these that might require modifications. I haven't gotten to them yet, but there will be a video on the exhaust once I get to that point.
Thanks to you and your dad. I'm a old school pre ls hotrodder and decided to ls swap my 1998 s10. These videos you guys are making have been easy to understand,very informative, very interesting and well explained. Thanks so much and take care!
Love the videos.. the swap has been done thousands of times but it’s really hard to find good videos.. I’m going to be doing the same swap this summer I hope.. have my 10 and my Yukon donor with a 6L..
I swapped 4.3 for 4.3 in my 1992 4WD S10. The manual recommended lifting the body 1 1/2", I ended up lifting the body 3" to get to the trans. bolts. It's really not too much work to loosen the body mount bolts to lift the body.
GM garage says Changing a 4.3 specifications actually call for loosening front cab mounts to allow for clearances when changing a motor...Can't remember if that was for all S bodies, or 4x4...but after watching this video, seems to make much more sense..(Unless you decide to notch firewall, which most do) cool vid 👍
Remove the 2 front cab bolts loosen the rear cab bolts wedge about a 3 inch block between cab and its mount boom transmission and motor slides right in drill a hole in the trans tunnel so you can remove the 2 top bell housing bolts from the inside
I would like to see how you did that. Holes and all. I'm fixen to install my ls in my 98
Exactly, couldn’t of said it better my self.
Makes sense to me. This should allow to slide engine all the way back. Use a small distributor or Back in the day someone was making a sbc front distributor drive
Props man, big milestone! Can't wait for first startup 🤙
Neither can I, gotta get this wiring harness finished then it won’t be much longer.
Yeah some guys modify that cross member as well now I know exactly why they cut and notch it out too and if you had done that before the motor and trans would have gone in together am I right
good job wearing your respirator........gotta rock that PPE 👍
Just binge watched your whole LS Swap series. Great videos man. Super informative and well done. I'm going to do an AWD 4L80E LS Swap into an S10. I'm really looking forward to seeing you finish this thing. I'm curious. What was the part number for the AC box cover?
Thank You! There will be a lot more videos on my progress for the swap coming out and I can't wait to finish it either. The P/N for the Holley AC box is 71223028HKR
Right on man. Thank you for the info. Looking forward to more vids.
I had to cut a piece out of front frame for clearance. The piece gets welded back on frame but turned around. Then the top round place on the fire wall gets bent back a little as well. Yeah brakes lines get moved and mounted up some too along the front clip crossing of frame. Power steering pump will be close to steering box lines. I remember the Ac compressor needed some space on passenger side frame and needed to cut out a small area of frame for clearance. I had it turned around and grinded down to weld back into frame.
Your doing a great job BTW and I'm impressed w the way your doing the video too good job on both the truck and the video
Did you have to beat the transmission tunnel for the transmission to fit?
You gonna modify the cross member to make room for exhaust duel exhaust
Reminds me of putting a 700R4 behind the 401 in my Hornet. Practically no room to work when bolting the engine to the transmission, and I didn't have a lift. Unfortunately, you get better at it after doing it a few times...
u gonna modify the ac acumulator housing its gonna hit passenger side engine head on the back
Great video bro. What did you use to clean the frame? Also how did you center the engine? Thanks
If I remember correctly, I used a wire wheel on a drill for most of the frame cleaning before paint. As for centering the engine, that was done by eye. Looking at where the bolts for the engine mounts line up, it is pretty easy to tell.
I really want to ls swap a blazer so I can have room for subs in the back. Idk to me this seems like such s great build to do cuz every part is so cheap so to speak. Reliability of a Silverado with a lighter chassis better weight to power better MPG id assume too cuz people still daily early 2000s Silverados. You put an engine that's been built with all the heavy duty shit not too hot of a cam but just all the stronger than stock parts ya know same with transmission built to be tougher than stock. I bet you'd get a million miles out of that set up for less than 15 grand long as you don't get too crazy beaten on it and keep good fluids in it.
Did you notch the crossmember? Getting ready to put my 5.3 in my 91 s10 I brought from my grandpa before he passed away
I am sorry for your loss, but I did not, the Holley oil pan just allows for clearance so you do not have to notch it. Most other oil pans do not clear thus why it is commonly notched.
This swap is easier to fit together if you notch the crossmember for oil pan clearance. Did a great job making the A.C. compressor fit, the crossmember notch is a simpler thing.
What are some of the cons to notching the transmission ?
Hello,
First of all, thank you guys for posting these videos! Very informative and useful!
I’m in the process of installing an LS into my 1987 S10 Blazer. In fact this weekend I tried installing my engine and transmission (4L60e) in one shot. It didn’t work. Its also hung up on the oil pan (H3 alpha pan) and crossmember by only 1/2”. So close, yet so far!
My question is this... if you had it to do over, would you lift the body for installation purposes only? Or would you still install the two separately?
I’m stuck at this crossroad, and really appreciate your advice!
From what I have read, it should be really easy to lift the body enough to slide everything in as one unit. I haven’t personally done this so I can not attest to that. I will say if you’re doing this on the ground without a lift it would be a lot more difficult to install separately. I know this isn’t a direct answer but hope it helps
Thanks for the reply! I decided to separate the two and install them that way. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I still have a couple more bolts to go. I did have to “massage” the transmission tunnel a bit though.
May I ask, what angle did you set your engine/tranny combo at? I’ve read everywhere from -1 degree to -5 1/2 degrees.
Thanks!
They sale mounts that move the motor forward. Enables using stock drive shaft
What did you do with the fuel system, pump,lines,fittings,filter, etc .......can you provide details please
There will be a video to come with all of this information in it.
Thanks for your videos I’m curious as to wat flexplate u used. Is it off the 5.3? Or the 4.3?
It's off the 5.3. I used the stock 4l60e that came with the 5.3 from the suburban so there would be no need for a change.
@@WOTGarage1 thanks for the reply! So u used no spacers, just the 4l60e and the flex plate from the 5.3 motor correct?
That is correct.
Aww your not gonna lay on your back and have to put that tranny in like the rest of us lol your taking all the fun out of it you haven't lived till your hair is full of tranny fluid and all over you lol mechanic work can b a blast lol I love doing it and want to do a project just like this exactly like this actually
How come it didn't land in the stock location
The bell-housing clearance is just as tight on a 4.3. Since the trans in the same location these bolts would be equally annoying. I see a-lot of others notching the main crossmember under the engine. On 2wd even with the 4.3 its easiest to install engine and trans assembled with dipstick and fuel lines installed so all you have to do is connect everything.
While yes the bell-housing is tight on the 5.3 as well as the 4.3, the main issue was there was no clearance for the oil pan to get to the back side of the cross member. That is why you see people notching it. I did not want to notch the cross member, so I installed the engine and trans separately. That was also the reason I used the Holley oil pan, it will clear the cross member without modification.
What oil pan did you use? Also how far does it hang pass the cross member?
Holley 302-1 Oil Pan and it clears the cross member with more than enough room to be comfortable. Definitely one of the best fitting oil pans you can buy for this swap. So far my experience with Holley's S10 ls swap products has been really good.
Tape a spring on outside of the socket it works well also
u can use stock driveshaft been there
They also make a stubby dipstick the only down fall is the truck needs to be in the air to check it
Hmm, I've never heard of that. I might need to look into it.
Why don't you take that 2 post lift and lift the off and set the motor and transmission down on the chassis then set the cab back down use the lift to make adjustments it easier than pulling the motor and transmission over and over
"Wrapping your "tool" with "rubber tape" is ALWAYS a great idea..😅
I would like to know which oil pan you are using.
I used the Holley 302-1 oil pan:
www.holley.com/products/ls_power/ls_swap_systems/1982-04_gm_s-10_sonoma_2wd_ls_swap_components/oil_pans/parts/302-1
I'm just curious what transmission cross member did you use for a 4 L 60 e transmission
I modified the stock crossmember's location to work with the new positioning of the 4L60e
Great tip with the tape!
Number 729 let's see where you go with this build
Would u have the part number for the torque converter
I got a Monster B85-VJX Torque converter, looking on their website it does not appear they have that model anymore. The equivalent looks like the B85-VJCX HS.
What motor and trans are you using?
5.3l LS with a 4l60e
Merry Chrysler
Took me about less 2 hours to remove tranny from s10
Who’s engine mounts are you using?
I am using the CPW engine mounts
What transmission did you use?
4L60E
Is real simple never install the upper bolt behind tranny or the one going upward in driver dide those are pain in rear
What headers are those?
Speed engineering shorty headers
Why a 4l65 e and not a 60 e
Really, they are not much different. I still call the one in it a 4L60e. What I was told is the 4L60's are what's used on the sbc engines while the 4L65 is what was used on the LS's. Just doing a quick search the 4L65e's are also supposed to be a little stronger than the 4L60, I wasn't aware of that until just now lol
Square body’s are better tho bro 😎 lol I kid I kid I joke I joke
What driveshaft are you going to use?
Check out this video:
th-cam.com/video/Uo3caEKKmsY/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=WOTGarage
What headers are you using?
The headers are the shorty S10 LS swap headers from Speed Engineering. As I have started getting further in the build it seems like there may be some clearance issues with these that might require modifications. I haven't gotten to them yet, but there will be a video on the exhaust once I get to that point.
Oh yea right on! I appreciate the info. I'll be looking forward to the video to see how that works out!