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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 3, 2016 0:55:08 GMT -5
Well, the plan, since i have decided not to go turbocharged, is to try and build something as close to 500 crank hp, or better. and since the LS motors make so much power with small upgrades, such as a cam, i am going to put a little bit of attention into things like sending the heads to Texas Speed. I originally was gonna spend the money on the heads into boosting this engine but i dont think boost is necessary for a daily driven vehicle that will spend most of its time in traffic and wont see the track anytime soon. stage 1 port job from Texas Speed is $750, keeping the stock valves. and $1,000 for a stage 2 job and bigger intake and exhaust valves. but the flow numbers only improve by about 26 cfm int, and 16 cfm exh. so ill probably do the stage 1 job, a set of springs and push rods from comp cams, the comp cam i have, and make a decision on swapping in the L33 pistons. Today i got the motor torn down most of the way. sure its a "28,000 mile motor" but i would rather be safe than sorry. and i'll go ahead and replace the main and rod bearings so that when it goes in my vehicle, its back to being a new motor. im amazed at how easy LS motors come apart, and how they are designed. the crank pulley is a pain in the A** but other than the engineering in these things is 100 times superior to any mopar LA or Magnum motor. and i LOVE the whole idea of turning the came twice, and just pulling it out. no taking the intake manifold off and pulling the lifters just to take the cam out. New (to me) Comp Cam Getting into the engine so far i am $900 into this project not including tools and support equipment.
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Post by casias on Jul 3, 2016 4:34:41 GMT -5
Working on an LS is a totally different world.
Lonnie from Texas Speed is a member here, and has a Dakota he is going to do an LS swap on. They do really good work. You shouldn't have any trouble making the 500 hp mark with your plans.
Isn't it crazy that the Viper and SRT10 trucks made 500 with an 8.3 liter V10, and now you can make that wit a 5.3 LS with some head porting and a cam?
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 4, 2016 4:03:26 GMT -5
I will see if I can find Lonnie on here. Maybe he can help me get a good deal because shipping is $140 each way and the head work is gonna cost a pretty penny. Just for a second opinion, should I go with the Stage 1 port job with factory valve size and flow around 290int/205 exh at $750. or for $1200, get the stage 2.5 port job, and flow around 315int/220exh and it will include new 2.02int/1.575exh valves and new springs good to .650" lift. The plan was to go with the stage one and just do a set of springs. I think it will be plenty of head for the cam setup and my goals as a daily. Yes, it is pretty crazy that back when the SRT-10 Viper first came out, it had a 500HP V10. And you can make that with an LQ9 and bolt ons. Also, to think that your run of the mill 6.0 truck motor can be built to make the same power as the LS7 is also quite impressive. Today I made decent progress. I pulled the rods and pistons, and also popped the main caps so I could get a look at the bearings and get ready to put the other pistons and rods in when they get here. The bearings look great so I'm going to reuse them. Next I got started on the wiring harness. Not all that intimidated, but it will definitely be time consuming. I got a good bit of it traced out and labeled. still having a hard time identifying a few plugs. since this harness is setup for Drive-by-wire, has an electronic throttle body, and requires a computer to match, looks like I will be reading over the Franken-pedal. I did however find out that the plugs all match up to the 4L60E that I have, but I'm not sure that this harness came from a 4WD vehicle. still trying to figure out what all the plugs are. there is an extension that goes on the passenger side and ive identified the upstream and downstream O2 sensor plugs, but I don't know what the rest of it is yet. I also need a little assistance in identifying where I should be looking to scavenge a computer. the engine is a 2003. and for my wiring harness, I have the Green and Blue PCM plugs, and its drive by wire. bare block Good looking bearings that might just get reused since this is a low mileage motor My working area. Not the biggest best place to work, but beggars cant be choosers when you live in military housing. Got atleast 50%-60% of the harness labeled. Next will be learning what pinouts are necessary and what pinouts I have to tap into.
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Post by casias on Jul 4, 2016 16:49:21 GMT -5
Looks like you got a pretty good engine.
As for the head porting, I would probably stick with the stage 1. With the 5.3, I think you would have to spin it pretty fast to max out the stage 1 and need more airflow. On stock rods, you are going to be limited to 6500-7000 rpm to be safe. In my opinion.
Wiring isn't my thing at all. Earlier this week I turned to ls1tech.com for help with my starter wiring. I had to sort through accurate and not-so accurate information, but I got my answer. If I were you, I would ask there. Also, ls1truck.com might be a good place to ask also. It has very little traffic, but usually you get pretty good answers.
To contact Lonnie, just call or email TSP, and ask for him. He doesn't come on here often, but really likes the ls dakota idea. So if you tell him what you are doing, he will be eager to help. His info is 512-863-0900 or e-mail at lonnie@texas-speed.com.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 4, 2016 20:54:20 GMT -5
Yeah its a great platform in great shape. The guy i bought it from had no intentions of tearing it down because it was in such good shape. he was going to cam it and run it in his 66 corvette but then he found an L33.
I think the stage 1 porting will be plentiful for me. and i dont plan to spin this engine higher than 6000-6200 depending on what endeavors i get into on the street.
i will certainly subscribe to both of those forums and see if i can get some more information. ive found some pinout diagrams and some good information on how to make the harness a stand alone unit, and then i will just integrate the stock durango harness as necessary.
and i sent lonnie an email. i'll take his number down just in case.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 5, 2016 2:17:13 GMT -5
Scott, quick question. Can i use the newer model engine cover like you have on the LSDAK on an LM7?
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Post by casias on Jul 6, 2016 18:41:31 GMT -5
If you are talking about this cover. Here is how it attached. I liked the way this cover looked on the truck. Can't remember why I changed to the LS3 intake. I think I just got bored, and wanted to try the idler relocation thing. On here, you can see there are two rubber push-on grommets, and in the back of the cover, two clip points. and on the intake, matching attachment points. There was a plastic plate on top that had little clips on the back. It screwed to the 3 brass threads on the top of the intake (shown in green circle). The back connected first, and then you pulled it a little forward and pushed down on the posts. I don't know where it went. Hope this helps.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 10, 2016 2:39:38 GMT -5
Yes that is the exact information i was looking for. right now i have a Gen III Intake manifold but i may be going to a Gen IV manifold.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 10, 2016 2:57:06 GMT -5
Today i made some headway on the wiring harness, and let me tell you, it has been a mess. i worked on it for about 4 hours. im not lost yet, but it is very tedious. Luckily i got detailed pinouts from www.LT1swap.com. outside of that i have been busy doing tons of research learning every sensor wire colors so i could make sure that my labels were 100% accurate. one a Magnum motor, i could have done this with my eyes closed. but now im in a new world and its much more time consuming to learn everything. I also managed to order my computer today. Found a used one from a 2004 Chevy Express van. Its setup for DBW but also has the chip to be programmed for an IAC to run DBC and its the faster 1MB PCM of the Gen III PCM's. Part#12586243 for anyone curious. Here is a look at todays tedious work compared to the fully assembled harness pictured earlier in this thread. Remove the loom Label every wire as you pull them off the connector. i have the green and blue PCM plugs so i used green and blue electrical tape and numbered them with a permanent marker 1 through 80. sorry for the blurry picture. used my phone. you dont see it here, but its a good idea to write on or label both your PCM connectors "blue" and "green" And then once you get all the pins labeled and pulled out, LET THE MADNESS BEGIN! in the process of thinning it out here you can see i have thinned it out quite a bit. but it was time to call it a night.
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Post by casias on Jul 10, 2016 17:20:28 GMT -5
Wow. Makes me grip my chest to see that. Also gives me a new appreciation for the guys who rework these harnesses every day.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 10, 2016 19:59:46 GMT -5
I agree. It definitely makes me have an appreciation for the guys who do this daily. But they probably have some sort of very efficient way of doing it. And I have to say that so far, this hasn't been super hard, just time consuming, but I don't think I'll do another one of these.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 13, 2016 2:27:22 GMT -5
Well, the wiring harness has been a very slow and tedious process. but this is my first ever wiring harness so im not doing too bad. everything is labeled and i have all the pinouts and schematics i need. i am going to try something new with this build. i am trying to keep it as factory as physically possible so instead of just adding the LS harness, i am going to try to integrate as much of the LS harness into the dodge harness and fuse block as possible. this will be tedious and hard for sure, but hey, why stop now? Before and after of the madness Another look
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 15, 2016 3:25:01 GMT -5
Got my pistons, and rods in today and ordered piston rings and a transgo shift kit. I bought used pistons and rods from an L33 for $218 w/ shipping ($47 to Hawaii). One reason for the pistons and rods was to get the flat top pistons to bump up my compression. 2nd reason was to go to a full floating rod and piston setup. The pistons fit very snug, reaffirming a low mileage engine that i havent put a micrometer on yet. Just have to wait for the rings to get here. I was also very pleased when i compared the stock L33 rods to the stock LM7 rods. The casting looks much stronger, and they are thicker. In addition to that, i was impressed by the design of the bushing. it has 2 V shaped grooves for oil feed. Certainly a step up from Mopar's single oil feed hole in the center of the rod with no groove. L33 Rod on the right. Stock LM7 on the Left I also managed to score this PCM from a 2004 Chevy Express Van for $50 and free shipping. For anyone looking for a PCM, the part number is #12586243. I specifically chose this PCM because it is the faster 1MB flash memory (versus 512 kb), and it also is setup for DBW, but has the chip to control the IAC stepper motor to run DBC. This PCM is mostly found in the GTO's and the Express vans, which is important to know if you are running a PCM that has the Blue and Green PCM Connectors, but you want to run a cable throttle body. All the trucks went to drive by wire in 2003 and no longer had the chip for the IAC stepper motor. Total invested in project so far for anyone who cares: $1168 + $105 because i need to order my adapter plates.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 24, 2016 2:09:14 GMT -5
Quick update, got the new rings in, and got the L33 rods and pistons in. Since this is more of a build thread than a tutorial thread this is mainly an update just for anyone who might be following along to do a 5.3 build and swap themselves. This is the before picture for cleaning. i have no after picture. i had to do a lot of cleaning on these pistons to get them looking nice. In the meantime while waiting for parts to come in, i decided to start on the transmission for the TransGo shift kit i am putting it. i did one of these on the 46RE in my built 360 durango and i was very pleased with it. Great kit. Easy instruction if youre mechanically inclined. The kit im using is part# 4L60E-HD2. href="http://s285.photobucket.com/user/scottscompany08/media/13823558_10155146035817575_2105261131_n.jpg.html"] [/a] to get the filter off, just grab each side and pull. When you pull the valve body off, all your check balls will fall out so its best to either get the transmission perfect flat upside down, or if its right side up, you will be alright. i ended up dropping a check ball down in the casing. so off came the pump to find it. when pulling the pump off, the orange O-ring on the input shaft stopped me from getting the pump off. mainly because i didnt want to pry on it any harder. so just pull the O-ring off if you need to pull the pump for any reason. time to start on the valve body.
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Post by sbatiste92 on Jul 27, 2016 2:59:15 GMT -5
Managed to get a steal in some heads today. I have the stock 706 heads that came with the LM7 I bought. I was planning to run these and maybe get the ported. But port work isn't currently in the budget. Happened to come across a set of 243 heads off an 05 GTO for $500 with Comp Cams .650" lift dual valve springs already installed. The guy got Trickflow heads and didn't need them anymore. Definitely a good deal.
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