OP
Not too bad actually. Referee passed me the second time. Had no problems at regular smog station after that.
Indy's 5.3 TJ
- Thread starter Indy
- Start date
OP
Upgraded the HAM Antenna today. The reason I did this is when I saw my buddy with the same radio was able to send and receive APRS messages from Big Meadows campground while I couldn't. My Jeep and his Tacoma were parked next to each other. The only difference was the height of our antennas and he has a much better ground plane (roof mounted). I can't do much about the ground plane but the longer (5/8 wave) antenna should help a little with Tx/Rx. Real test will be to go back to Big Meadows campground and test it out. I'll most likely do that when we do Deer Valley trail run.
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Thanks for sharing. taking pointers for when I get to install my setup
OP
Only if it works!goes to show you, longer is better.
OP
I will update this thread after I'm done testing it. I plan to take both antennas and see if there's a difference at different places (buildings, trees, height of repeaters etc).
OP
OP
Dirty
Cleaned a little
Cleaned the tubes
New ball joints are in!
Next are axle shaft ujoints, inner seals and hubs that @Alex01 gave me. Will work on those during the week. Got other stuff to take care of now.
Cleaned a little
Cleaned the tubes
New ball joints are in!
Next are axle shaft ujoints, inner seals and hubs that @Alex01 gave me. Will work on those during the week. Got other stuff to take care of now.
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OP
You’re the first person I’ve found that has actually completed the swap legally in California. It’s in my plans but I’ve still got about $10k in mods before I even need to worry about the motor. Thanks for the inspiration.
OP
Honestly it's not that bad. Yes, there are crap ton of rules but as long as you are aware of them, you can plan you build around that. Actual work is not much, just being familiar with the carb rules and working with the referee will get you to a successful path. Keep an open mind, listen to the referee and go from there. They are good people and doing their job.
I agree. I’m not out to build a gross polluter and I want to do it the right way.
What made you decide on an 03 donor? How did you go about building your knowledge base in the specifics of the 5.3, for example the transmission, wiring and the smog equipment. Did you spend a lot of time on forums? Read books?
Thank you.
OP
I was looking at 03 and newer donors and a Tahoe came up at a good price. I wanted drive by wire since it's controlled by computer and I'ma computer guy. So thought I'll be able to control it through the ECU tuning since I was doing the tuning myself as well. Also, little more HP/Torque and no EGR to deal with. No other reason .. lol.
I had rebuilt 4.0 to 4.7 before so I knew the engine mechanics already. Also, subscribed to alldatadiy.com so I can look at repair manuals, torque specs, electric wiring etc. Best money spent! Electric wiring helped me tremendously here!
Watched a few detailed videos on youtube on how to rebuild 4L60E. A LOT of parts but not too bad. Kept going back to the videos on each step during the rebuild process. I upgraded pretty much all the components like red clutch packs, beefier drum, metal pistons, corvette servo, shift kit and a better oil pump.
Smog equipment was the easiest since it had to be exactly the same as donor vehicle. That meant take everything from Tahoe and move it over to the Jeep.
OP
MallCrawlOnTons
TJ Enthusiast
OP
Spicer ones. The ones that these replaced were Spicer as well. They were still ok but decided to replace them anyway since I had everything apart. Old ones had at least 7 years, multiple trails like Rubicon, Moab etc on them.
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Indy - I notice in some of your pictures you have a hood with louvers and some without. I would like to ask if the louvered hood reduces the heat? I have an LS also and would like to increase air flow.
OP
They don't do anything to reduce engine temp.
The reason I put them in is to help with the intake temperatures and to help escape some of the heat produced by the transmission cooler since both of them are under the hood. Hood does stay a lot cooler to the touch after the louvers.