LS swap into a 97 TJ

Strodinator

Strodinator

Caught the Bug
Looks like I'm finally getting around to it. I have most of the pieces together and got working today. I picked up an Lm7 from a 2002 Chevy Tahoe and spent about 5 hours stripping it apart so I can clean it and replace all the gaskets. I plan on running the LM7 in front of an nv3550 manual transmission, retaining the np231 transfer case and upgrading to a Ford 8.8 rear end using the artec truss kit.

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Lots of pictures for this thread! The better part of my night (7:00-1:00) was spent labeling the wiring harness and stripping the motor down. IMG_20170902_185724.jpgIMG_20170902_192056.jpgIMG_20170902_192345.jpgIMG_20170902_211604.jpgIMG_20170902_214651.jpgIMG_20170902_215938.jpgIMG_20170902_221302.jpgIMG_20170902_223001.jpgIMG_20170902_224408.jpg there you can see my wiring harness mostly labeled and strung up for splicing later. IMG_20170902_224416.jpgIMG_20170902_230657.jpg I didn't know what these were to find out they are the knock sensors (duh). IMG_20170902_231220.jpgIMG_20170902_232524.jpgIMG_20170902_232531.jpgIMG_20170903_005543.jpg heads came off smoothly and will be sent to the shop come Tuesday.

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There's a lot more pictures than what I posted. The tear down was fairly easy, but I was very meticulous so it took longer than it generally would.

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Nice [emoji106]! I put a 6.0l from a 05 Denali in my 98 TJ! Nice to see a tj build!IMG_0098.jpgIMG_0648.jpg
Just got home from Drummond Island had a blast this weekend! You'll love it... keep the pic/updates coming!


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More progress tonight, I flipped it and worked on stripping down the bottom end. Got all the way to the crankshaft before breaking my pulley puller so I gave up for the night.
 

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Little more work before I start cleaning up. I got the crank pistons all removed along with their bearings. All the inner cylinders look great with no grooving. I'm waiting on the machine shop for a quote on machining the heads and block if needed, balancing the crankshaft, and installing a new cam with new valve springs. Until then I'm stuck in limbo with not much to do. IMG_20170904_130448.jpg
 
Strodinator said:
That's pretty sweet. I love how clean the wiring is under the hood.
Click to expand...

Thanks Man!!! The wiring was my biggest concern... spent lots of time with wiring diagrams and on the phone with tech support to find out exactly what was needed and what could go. There is nothing left that wasn't need in the engine harness from the tj original harness but maybe 5 wires. All gauges where converted to use the jeep gauge cluster an gm sending units!!! It was fun lol! Hit me up if you have ????'s I'll do my best to help!! Keep up the work!


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Looking good. It's the whole hurry up and wait game. Hurry to stop it down and wait for the machine shop to get it done. That waiting is the hard part!
 
Machine shop finally got back to me. I'm zilching the oversize cam idea just because of money and because I can do it any time after. 265$ for both heads, thermal clean, resurface, and valve checks. I just put a master rebuild kit for the motor on my credit card (700$) it should be here Thursday. I finally got the crank pulley off, got the crank and camshaft out, got the timing assembly off and now have one solid block with nothing on it ready for me to attempt to clean it.
 
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Some pictures for you, IMG_20170918_174145.jpgIMG_20170918_174149.jpgIMG_20170918_175236.jpgIMG_20170918_203620.jpg I decided to jump the gun and clean it. The only things left on the block was one sensor, the camshaft bearings, and some plugs. Soaking it with degrees error seemed to help and a stiff bristle brush helped break up the worst of it. Before reassembly I still need to chisel the mounting surfaces to remove all remains of the previous gaskets. IMG_20170918_215752.jpgIMG_20170918_203629.jpgIMG_20170918_203639.jpg as you can see I made quite a mess, I didn't anticipate this much blowback when using compressed air. IMG_20170918_215759.jpg
Just to show you how the whole guts of the motor is sitting, I have everything separated and laid out on plastic, I utilized cardboard to arrange important bolts as I removed them, and I strung up the wiring harness to make it easier to reference. IMG_20170918_215809.jpgIMG_20170918_215812.jpgIMG_20170918_215817.jpgIMG_20170918_215825.jpgIMG_20170918_215832.jpgIMG_20170918_215837.jpgIMG_20170918_215844.jpgIMG_20170918_215855.jpgIMG_20170918_215855.jpgIMG_20170918_215900.jpg
The only bench I didn't care about organization for was the accessory section. Also there's a side by side of the two valve covers, one mostly cleaned and one as I received out of the motor. That should give you an idea of the kind of buildup I'm dealing with.
 
Kind of jealous, not of the amount of work you have ahead of you, but of the soon to be V8 TJ you will have. A V8 is on the upgrade/rebuild list for my TJ down the road.


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