Higher horses, higher revs & even higher torque, a streetable LJ engine swap

[toximus]

That looks sweet, Tox. Dammit I have an ugly engine…

I've got to admit, the LS car intake looks good and the engine layout along with some planning makes it easy to keep it that way. I was thinking last night while working on this how much easier it has been to keep things tidy compared to the 4.0l.

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get something for that engine of yours when you decide to scrap metal it.

Will I be seeing you at TJ Fest this year?

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I've got to admit, the LS car intake looks good and the engine layout along with some planning makes it easy to keep it that way. I was thinking last night while working on this how much easier it has been to keep things tidy compared to the 4.0l.

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get something for that engine of yours when you decide to scrap metal it.

Will I be seeing you at TJ Fest this year?

Yeah, I'll be out there that week. I would definitely like to meet you and see your rig in person.

 

[toximus]

Yeah, I'll be out there that week. I would definitely like to meet you and see your rig in person.

I'm waiting on a few little parts this week to move forward with my build (stupid shortages!). There's still a chance that I'll have this running by then, but it's looking more and more like I'll be bringing the Khaki TJ instead. I'm sure we'll still have fun just the same and it'll be great to meet you too!

 

[toximus]

Clamped the shifter cable out of the way of the Atlas yoke. There's a little more than a finger's gap between them which should be enough if the tub moves around.

 

[rasband]

Clamped the shifter cable out of the way of the Atlas yoke. There's a little more than a finger's gap between them which should be enough if the tub moves around.

View attachment 315809

I love how much time you're taking to dial this in. The end result will be well worth it.

 

[toximus]

I'm been waiting on parts to arrive so progress has been slow. I decided to revisit my engine skid front supports and add a little gusset to it to remove some flex in the support.

 

[toximus]

I love how much time you're taking to dial this in. The end result will be well worth it.

Thanks! The end is in sight! I'm pretty excited!

 

[toximus]

Mail arrived!

My wiring harness from RPM Extreme was designed to route the wiring for the transmission and Atlas (4x4 sensor) over top of the transmission. That is by far the easiest and cleanest way to route them, however the exhaust on my Jeep will also be routed over the top of the transmission so I've been pretty worried about the radiant heat melting those wires. While playing around with heat sleaving, I realized that I could splice another 8ft into the harness and route the harness along the opposite frame rail and then jump across at the skid crossmember to avoid the exhaust pipe entirely.

I ordered a 6L80E pigtail from LSWiring so that I'm splicing in the standardized GM wire colors. I also ordered enough red and black 20ga wire to lengthen the 4x4 sensor. The other wire is some that I'll be using for the dash.

The last of my electrical connector parts also arrived, so I've got multiple tasks I can work on now!

My ground straps also arrived.

For the engine, I wanted to increase in size from the original TJ size to avoid any ground issues going forward especially since the LS grounds more things to the engine than the 4.0l did. I had tried a 1/0 strap but it was massive, heavy, and clearly way oversized for what I need. I settled on a 4ga strap from Standard Motor Products (B12G).

I did some research on why the TJs come with a hood ground strap. The best answers I could find is that it affects radio AM/FM reception (I don't have a radio antenna), and that it might be for safety in case a hot wire touches it. So, I decided to play it safe and added the extra few ounces of weight using Dorman 85669.

 

[toximus]

It turns out that the drive accessory brackets I installed have a known issue of throwing belts (yay...). Using a particular tensioner might help, and that was my plan to wait and see if it is indeed a problem and keep an extra belt on hand just in case. However, I found a 2nd hand deal on the race proven Bomber Fab setup that I couldn't pass up. I still have PTSD from my supercharger on my 4.0 eating belts so the added peace of mind will be nice.

It's still on it's way, so I started swapping out parts needed for it so I can work on hoses in the meantime.

Parts list for Bomber Fab accessory drive:

• LS1 Water pump / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 252-846
• Thermostat and housing / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 15-11057 (no gasket needed with this thermostat)
• Balancer / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 12560115
• Idler Pulley / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 12564401
• PSC CBR Pump Bracket (order from Bomber Fab)
• Alternator (order from Bomber Fab)
• Bomber Fab LS Alternator Brackets
• Bomber Fab idler bracket

2010 Camaro top, 1999 Corvette bottom:

The LS1 Corvette water pump sits only 1/4" further out than the 2010 Camaro pump.

The thermostats are not interchangeable.

This should make routing the upper radiator hose easier too.

Removing the cam sensor wiring harness extension bracket off the LS3 block to get it out of the way (didn't need it with my harness anyway):

LS1 water pump installed and moved the AC compressor rearward a position.

 

[Apparition]

It turns out that the drive accessory brackets I installed have a known issue of throwing belts (yay...). Using a particular tensioner might help, and that was my plan to wait and see if it is indeed a problem and keep an extra belt on hand just in case. However, I found a 2nd hand deal on the race proven Bomber Fab setup that I couldn't pass up. I still have PTSD from my supercharger on my 4.0 eating belts so the added peace of mind will be nice.

It's still on it's way, so I started swapping out parts needed for it so I can work on hoses in the meantime.

Parts list for Bomber Fab accessory drive:

• LS1 Water pump / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 252-846
• Thermostat and housing / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 15-11057 (no gasket needed with this thermostat)
• Balancer / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 12560115
• Idler Pulley / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 12564401
• PSC CBR Pump Bracket (order from Bomber Fab)
• Alternator (order from Bomber Fab)
• Bomber Fab LS Alternator Brackets
• Bomber Fab idler bracket

2010 Camaro top, 1999 Corvette bottom:

View attachment 316571

The LS1 Corvette water pump sits only 1/4" further out than the 2010 Camaro pump.

The thermostats are not interchangeable.

This should make routing the upper radiator hose easier too.

Removing the cam sensor wiring harness extension bracket off the LS3 block to get it out of the way (didn't need it with my harness anyway):

View attachment 316572

LS1 water pump installed and moved the AC compressor rearward a position.

View attachment 316573

Now you are making this easy for me.

 

[toximus]

Guess who's about to have a whole lot more Jeep time?

The (newish) CEO of the company I work for held a meeting today with all of the higher ups except for me. And proceeded to fire them and then said he's finding a way to outsource my department (For anyone who doesn't know, I direct IT and development, and fill in with DevOps). He hasn't told me this directly yet, and he has no idea everything the IT department does because he's never asked me and he ignores my emails. Our department has released apps that have hit the #1 spot on the Apple App Store and held position in the top 10, we support approximately 7 products used by end users (customers) and 10+ that are used internally, so it's pretty clear that he has no idea what he's losing since there's no way to replace our collective knowledge and skill that I've built over the course of 10+ years. So I guess I'm more or less fired until he realizes that he has no way to run the company without internal IT and development.

 

[Apparition]

 

[someguysjeep]

when life gives you lemons....................build a jeep.

almost jealous.
i hate the new management at my place, they are running it into the ground and pattin themselves on the back for it. i wish they'd lay me off, so i could have some packing time and some finish the jeep time, to get the hell out of here.

 

[SubLime]

I’m assuming you work remotely from your profile location. Same thing happened to me 5 years ago, 29 years in mfg and IT support, laid off. Now, I just work in a factory. The stress reduction of not being on call or having an asshole boss anymore more than makes up for the lost money. Now is a pretty good time to be looking for a job.
10 days after I got laid off, I took the ferry across Lake Michigan and ended up on Drummond Island for two days, doing that again this year in August if you are interested..

 

[mvigo]

I love hearing these stories of "forward" thinking "newish" CEO's...#fuktards

 

[toximus]

I'm back working on this project. It's so close to being on the trails!

—

As a bit of housekeeping, I listed a few part numbers incorrectly in my earlier post (on March 17) for the accessory drive. Here's the updated list:

• LS1 Water pump / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 252-846
• Thermostat and housing / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 15-11057 (no gasket needed with this thermostat)
• Balancer / 1999 Corvette / ACDelco 12553118
• PSC CBR Pump Bracket (order from Bomber Fab)
• Alternator (order from Bomber Fab)
• Bomber Fab LS Alternator Brackets
• Bomber Fab idler bracket and pulley

I installed the BomberFab accessory drive and I must say, the fit and finish is excellent.

They supply black oxide hardware which I'm replacing with zinc coated and stainless steel hardware. My understanding of why they do this is because 1) they operate their rigs in dry climates. And 2) they rebuild their racing engines more often than I ever plan to. So for them it makes sense, but not so much for me.

I flipped the throttle body 180 to clear the alternator. I am using a 240 amp alternator but I did some testing with a 100 amp alternator I had laying around and I think the throttle body would clear the other way with that one.

 

[toximus]

Back in April I had ordered one of the last new OEM harmonic balancers (ACDelco 12553118) in the country. Unfortunately, it arrived cracked.

The only new equivalent that I could find that is considered a direct replacement that meets OEM specs is the ATI 917264 harmonic balancer. It's pricey but it is a lighter aluminum so to avoid crying I'll take that as a win.

For installing the balancer, this flywheel locking tool works great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087JB34VK/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[toximus]

My old custom silicone lower radiator hose off the 4.0 fit perfectly with a little adjusting.

For the upper I ordered more hose lengths from Pegasus Auto Racing.

 

[toximus]

Radiator cap. It's from a Jeep TJ application.

 

[toximus]

For the engine radiator I mounted a Spal brushless cooling fan (Spal 30107125). Based on my research it should handle water crossings better than the brushed version without having to worry about turning it off... but we'll see. The wiring harness part number is SBL-YAZ-PT10.

It will be controlled by the ECU via PWM signal.