eviltwin
"junkyard syclone"
I am going to post on here and share what works and doesn't work for AWD LSx swaps. If anyone has anything they would like to add, I will edit it all into my posts. This will be an ongoing thread that I will update when I have time and find new information. In doing this, i hope that it will answer questions for other who want to do the swap. Just like me, Im sure that TryMe, PPI Tyhpoon, and others like us are getting tired of the million P.M.s from people every month asking the same questions over and over again.
*Disclaimer*
... Most of what I am posting is from my personal experience or from research I have done on the matter. Take what I post as strictly suggested information. I can not guarantee that any of these parts will work with each other or on your specific application......
OIL PANS
To start off, as of now, THERE ARE NO FACTORY OIL PANS THAT BOLTS RIGHT IN. I don't care what your cousins friends brothers uncle told you, none of them will fit a stock syty. To my knowledge there is only one company that make a pan for this swap that will and another company that is supposed to fit.
RPM... steel sheet metal pan, includes new pickup, no oil filter provisions. To use this pan you run lines from the oil galley plugs on the block
I hear its a pain to get the right oil line fittings BUT it can be done without modding the new pan. If I were to buy a new pan, it would be this one,
Turbotime... aluminum sheet metal pan, includes new pickup, male -10 fittings for remote oil filter
IMO, nothing about this pan is good. It has to be heavily modded to work even with there motor mounts. The mounting surface has to be clearanced for the starter, the pan hits the diff, and the oil line fittings are in a horrible position. To get the oil lines to fit without hitting the flange of the diff is trial and error with expensive fittings. Here is a pic of the mod to clear the diff.
Milodon
I have been made aware of this pan recently and it looks like it would fit real good except for the oil fittings look to be in bad positions. But for the price you could easily fit that!
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MIL-31083/
Modified factory pans and custom pans
Modding a factory pan is the cheapest way to do things. IMO, only start with a truck pan or a H3 alfa pan. They allow you to keep the most oil after the modding. The best part of using a factory pan is having the oil filter mounted on the pan, its convenient and same tons of money on expensive lines and fittings. Here are two different ones.
If you want to be super fancy you can go full on custom but its gonna cost $$$$$$$
At the end of the day, if you choose a pan that requires a remote oil filter, ONLY use -10 lines.
Motor Mounts
There are two different ways you can go here, solid or rubber/poly mounts. I choose solid because of the tight clearances all around the engine. If I were to build a N/A setup(would never happen) I would use rubber/poly mounts since there is alot less going on under the hood. Again there are two companies that I know of that make these.
RPM... Solid mounts, need to use their solid frame mounts too.
From what I have seen, these mounts will only work with their pan and require no modding to either!
TurboTime... Rubber mounts that utilize factory 4th gen f-body clam shell mounts and new frame mounts.
Again, there mounts will not just bolt right in. The inside of the frame mount will hit the clam shell so it needs to be clearanced.
Custom mounts
If you can use a grinder, drill, and a welder, you can make solid mounts VERY easily. I have done these on both swaps. Utilizing the stock frame mount, just bolt plate to the motor and make 2 ears that drop down to the frame mounts. Simple yet effective!
Transmission Crossmembers
You cant use the factory crossmember for this swap. You can make one or buy one. This is going to be a tricky decision if you are going to mix parts. Here are whats available
RPM... chromoly tubing, cant be used with torsion bars, a perfect crossmember to use with their motor mounts
Custom Crossmembers... I made both of these. The first one is on my Ty and cant be used with torsion bars, the second one is on my Sy and can be used with torsion bars
Cooling
Radiator A good radiator for this swap is a 31"X16"X3". This is the one I have used on both my swaps. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GRI-1-25271-X/ Its really good for the price and fits in the core support really well. On the LSx family of water pumps, the water feed and return are both on the pump its self and in most cases, both point to the passenger side. Because of this, running the radiator hoses can be difficult.
Fans Dorman part# RB620005 fit almost perfect into the griffin radiator and work amazing at keeping the motor in optimal operating temperature. The fans are about 1/4" wider that the core of the griffin. The mounts on the side of the fans will have to be trimmed alot. These fans can be had for around $220 new!
Thermostat I suggest getting a 160* thermostat compared to the stock 187* one. All 98-02 camaro, c5/c6 corvette, 99+ trucks and some others have interchangeable thermostats. Autozone stocks 160* ones. Make sure that you take yours off to see if you need a thermostat and housing(most thermostats are fixed to the housing) or if you just need a thermostat its self.
ECM settings My best suggestion is to set the fans to turn on at 186* and off at 174*. The fans should keep the temps right in that area.
*Disclaimer*
... Most of what I am posting is from my personal experience or from research I have done on the matter. Take what I post as strictly suggested information. I can not guarantee that any of these parts will work with each other or on your specific application......
OIL PANS
To start off, as of now, THERE ARE NO FACTORY OIL PANS THAT BOLTS RIGHT IN. I don't care what your cousins friends brothers uncle told you, none of them will fit a stock syty. To my knowledge there is only one company that make a pan for this swap that will and another company that is supposed to fit.
RPM... steel sheet metal pan, includes new pickup, no oil filter provisions. To use this pan you run lines from the oil galley plugs on the block
I hear its a pain to get the right oil line fittings BUT it can be done without modding the new pan. If I were to buy a new pan, it would be this one,
Turbotime... aluminum sheet metal pan, includes new pickup, male -10 fittings for remote oil filter
IMO, nothing about this pan is good. It has to be heavily modded to work even with there motor mounts. The mounting surface has to be clearanced for the starter, the pan hits the diff, and the oil line fittings are in a horrible position. To get the oil lines to fit without hitting the flange of the diff is trial and error with expensive fittings. Here is a pic of the mod to clear the diff.
Milodon
I have been made aware of this pan recently and it looks like it would fit real good except for the oil fittings look to be in bad positions. But for the price you could easily fit that!
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MIL-31083/
Modified factory pans and custom pans
Modding a factory pan is the cheapest way to do things. IMO, only start with a truck pan or a H3 alfa pan. They allow you to keep the most oil after the modding. The best part of using a factory pan is having the oil filter mounted on the pan, its convenient and same tons of money on expensive lines and fittings. Here are two different ones.
If you want to be super fancy you can go full on custom but its gonna cost $$$$$$$
At the end of the day, if you choose a pan that requires a remote oil filter, ONLY use -10 lines.
Motor Mounts
There are two different ways you can go here, solid or rubber/poly mounts. I choose solid because of the tight clearances all around the engine. If I were to build a N/A setup(would never happen) I would use rubber/poly mounts since there is alot less going on under the hood. Again there are two companies that I know of that make these.
RPM... Solid mounts, need to use their solid frame mounts too.
From what I have seen, these mounts will only work with their pan and require no modding to either!
TurboTime... Rubber mounts that utilize factory 4th gen f-body clam shell mounts and new frame mounts.
Again, there mounts will not just bolt right in. The inside of the frame mount will hit the clam shell so it needs to be clearanced.
Custom mounts
If you can use a grinder, drill, and a welder, you can make solid mounts VERY easily. I have done these on both swaps. Utilizing the stock frame mount, just bolt plate to the motor and make 2 ears that drop down to the frame mounts. Simple yet effective!
Transmission Crossmembers
You cant use the factory crossmember for this swap. You can make one or buy one. This is going to be a tricky decision if you are going to mix parts. Here are whats available
RPM... chromoly tubing, cant be used with torsion bars, a perfect crossmember to use with their motor mounts
Custom Crossmembers... I made both of these. The first one is on my Ty and cant be used with torsion bars, the second one is on my Sy and can be used with torsion bars
Cooling
Radiator A good radiator for this swap is a 31"X16"X3". This is the one I have used on both my swaps. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GRI-1-25271-X/ Its really good for the price and fits in the core support really well. On the LSx family of water pumps, the water feed and return are both on the pump its self and in most cases, both point to the passenger side. Because of this, running the radiator hoses can be difficult.
Fans Dorman part# RB620005 fit almost perfect into the griffin radiator and work amazing at keeping the motor in optimal operating temperature. The fans are about 1/4" wider that the core of the griffin. The mounts on the side of the fans will have to be trimmed alot. These fans can be had for around $220 new!
Thermostat I suggest getting a 160* thermostat compared to the stock 187* one. All 98-02 camaro, c5/c6 corvette, 99+ trucks and some others have interchangeable thermostats. Autozone stocks 160* ones. Make sure that you take yours off to see if you need a thermostat and housing(most thermostats are fixed to the housing) or if you just need a thermostat its self.
ECM settings My best suggestion is to set the fans to turn on at 186* and off at 174*. The fans should keep the temps right in that area.
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