Locating LS Engine
 

I'm making good progress on installing my little 5.3 starter engine. I wasn't sure what kind of pre-fab mounts would be right for my car. I decided to use universal engine mounts. They look nicer and are rock solid. So now I'm trying to locate it properly before I fit weld up the frame side mounts. I know that the Pontiac engine was offset to the passenger side. The passenger frame stand is 1/2" shorter than the driver side on. Now they set on and angle, so that's not a full 1/2" offset. Anyone have any suggestions on how, and where, to measure? Needs to be level side to side, centered so the centerline of the crank is parallel with the frame, and angled up to closely match the angle of the pinion under load. Something like that. I wish I had taken some measurements before I removed the 455.

It's being mated to the 400 turbo for now. I used an adapter plate. What a POS!!! I had to modify it so it would even work. Countersunk the back side and TIG welded some flatheads in it. Don't know how average Joe six-pack would ever use this thing. I have an SFI bellhousing on order with BOP and Chevy patterns.

The kits Holley makes get very high reviews for ease of use, and proper mounting location/geometry. I'm sure they're not cheap. But the headache factor may make it a good deal... FWIW

I have read good things about Holley also. I've seen where people bought the engineered mounts and had to modify anyway. So I figured that I might as well do the whole thing and end up with a nicer mount. I can do this easily once I get a handle on the numbers.

Test fit Speed Engineering headers. Hitting on driver side lower control arm bracket a little. NBD.

Just as a quick visual, I put a framing square on the firewall and checked to see if the engine is perpendicular. Looks perfect.

They seem to be well engineered and avoid obstacles in the common stuff anyway. A, G, F body gm, Fox, sn 95, and trucks of all sorts. Looks like you have a firm grasp on it without, so that's good. Keep up the good work. And update for those of us yet to take that plunge.

Getting closer. Trying to get front and back u-joint angles proper. Have the engine about as flat as it will go without hitting crossmember and steering. Shimmed the trans up as far as it would go (5/8" higher). Gonna have to get some adjustable upper control arms for the differential to get the rear angle in.

How do I fix the turned pic syndrome? Ugh

Idk, but pass along the answer if you find out! Mine do that too...

Even with a truck intake, the hood closes with about an inch to spare.

Still plugging away at it. I re-routed the brake line. Factory routing loops behind the crossmember. Interfered with the oil pan. Also tucked it outside the frame rails on the sides for better header clearance. Have the frame stands all welded up and bolted down. Also installed the Ultra Bell on the 400 turbo. Switched from 13" Continental converter to a tight 10". The Ultra Bell will only accommodate a 11" or 12" converter max depending on when it was made. The newer ones apparently have a little more clearance.

Wow that truck intake is tall, compared to the CTSV intake on my LS2 Solstice!

Good work so far.

I was pleasantly surprised that the intake clears my hood by about 1-1/2". I want to clean off some of the unused brackets.

Thanks!

I TIG welded my collectors on last night. I can't see for $h!t these days and I'm out of practice. But got it done with a little cussing. :) I decided to go with stainless ball and socket design. It doesn't require a gasket and/or sealer. Also smaller. I like it! Yes, the passenger side is angled down a little on purpose! :)

A Little Pissed
 

As I stated previously, I put a J.W. Ultra Bell on my TH400. Last night I got the starter hooked up. I decided to crank it over a little. Immediately heard a grinding ringing sound. WTF? Lifted the car up for a look. Found that the flex-plate is barely rubbing on the bell housing!!! I was reluctant to spend $350 on a bell housing. But I figured it was the right way to do it. This is inexcusable!!! This is as simple of a design as it gets. No mystery here. The only odd consideration is that it's a 5.3. The flex-plate is offset about .400" to the rear on these. But the bell housing is machined parallel to the crank centerline. I'm not past the machined portion. So it shouldn't hit. Everything went together with no indication of binding. Oh well, more work...

I think I've read somewhere about different flexplates being required for different i.e. older transmissions behind these engines. No firsthand experience here though. LS1 Tech has a special section devoted to retrofit/putting LS engines in cars that never came with them. It's called Conversions/Hybrids I think. Bet you can find the answer to your issue there.

I searched about it. There are a few stories about this same problem. I'll get it fixed. Just a little extra work. I'm sure most here don't give a rats a$$ about my "LS" problems. LOL! I have perused the LS conversion boards. Lots of good info out there. Thanks!

I'm interested in it and I'm sure others are as well. I'm gonna build an LS engine one of these days. Whether it goes in my Pontiac or not it undetermined as of now.

I appreciate the interest! Good luck with your build!

I will tell you that J.W. Performance Transmissions was very nice about the whole thing. They offered to replace it or re-machine the part. I will try to do it myself likely.

Did they understand you were mating to an LS engine? Is it the correct part in other words...

Actually, I thought so. I thought I bought the one specifically for TH400 to LS. Turns out that I screwed up. I bought a 92451. There is a 92451 LS. It looks like the only difference is that the 92451 LS has an extra tab for the top center bolts on the LS block. :( Damn! This should NOT make a difference in terms of the flex-plate interference. Next time I have it out, I'll weld a tab on the top. NBD.

J.W. confirmed that the only difference is that the LS model comes with metric hardware and the extra bolt tab. So I'm good. :)

I really like the ball and flange collectors! I had to ding the passenger floorboard a little to clear the O2 sensor. Probably should have taken the header off and tweaked the bung. Oh well, hit the easy button instead.

Just installed ICT Billet brackets for alternator, PS pump, and tensioner. They are top notch! Only minor gripe is positive stud is very close to oil filler neck on valve cover. Will cut stud down accordingly. Haven't bought PS pump yet. Have new GM pulley though.

Looking good. Keep up the updates.

Thanks! Will do.

I just started taking all of the wiring out today. Gonna be a while...

You could change the clock position of the alternator...

Didn't think of that. I'll take a look. It came with a Alternator battery post kit #551900. No instructions though. Just pictures. Not sure what the deal is. It's just a bolt and a aluminum spacer. I can cut the stud down a little and it'd be fine.

Not much progress lately. I have the accessories all mounted up. Will plumb the PS pump next I guess. The interior is completely gutted including the dash. Gotta paint the dash, treat and paint the floor pans, and sound deaden. Then I can start wiring the whole car. Plus I'm building a cabin and about a dozen other things. Ugh.

Nice work!! Looking good. Power Steering. I used 98-2000 f body pressure line. Just had to replace metric end with oem flared end. Tweek the hard line section to line up at gear box. Easy!!

Thanks! Thanks for the tip on the pressure line. I've been looking at the pieces to run braided line. I like simple and cheap though. :)

I installed an F-body high pressure hose like suggested. Not thrilled with how it looks. But will work for now.

I couldn't take the factory style pressure line. I Fabbed one with Russell Powerflex and associated AN fittings.

I chipped the first POS plastic pulley when I was tightening the pressure hose. Barely bumped it. Had to cut it off. Puller ripped the flange off and it still wouldn't budge. Bought a new one. It wouldn't press on. It seized up just short of going on all the way. Ugh! I bought a billet pullet this time, Put the pump in the freezer overnight. Put the pulley in boiling water. Greased the shaft real good. Went on like butter! School of hard knocks in session again.

Then I decided to test the system before firing the engine. Cut the head off of a bolt and used a drill to spin it. Works perfectly! No leaks. Turn the input shaft by hand since the steering column is out. Lock to lock smooth as glass.

Perseverance wins again. Good work

Perseverance and cash lol. Thanks!

The pump pulley is meant to be a dry interference fit to keep it on the shaft. Using grease on the shaft is questionable. The pulley may come off easy as "butter" too. JMO

I'll have to disagree with ya on that one. A proper press fit isn't going to come apart because lubrication was used to assemble it. The lube just ensures that the metal doesn't gall and seize up. But I also added a retaining bolt with lock washer and blue Loctite. I guess, even though I disagreed with ya, I was a little concerned. Lol! :)

Made some more progress. Fuel lines are done. I pressure tested those to 100psi. Installing 1/2" & 3/8" stainless lines was not fun! Is overkill. But planning for much more power later on. Had to replace the Strange master cylinder that was leaking.

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1653478636

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1653478653

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1653478667

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1653478687

I got the fuel pump wired and fired. No leaks and about 62psi. I had fired the engine on starting fluid and all cylinder fired (verified with IR temp gun on headers). So I figured it would fire right up once I got the fuel system charged. Nope! Only #7 was firing. This is a high mileage 5.3 that has been sitting a long time. The fuel logs were pretty nasty when I flushed them out. Classic rotten gas. So, I checked to make sure all of the injectors had 12volts and grounds were pulsing. I'm getting a handle on this new engine troubleshooting game! I removed all of the injectors and tested them with a power supply. As expected, only the #7 clicked. I drilled holes in cardboard so the injectors would be vertical. Filled them up with carb cleaner and let them soak for a couple of hours. No improvement. When I went to A&P school, one of my instructors told me a story about cleaning some Lycoming injectors. He had some that would NOT come clean. He had tried every available cleaner and solvent. One night he was cleaning his guns. He was using Hoppe's #9 nitro bore solvent. My dad used the same as I do. I even like the smell of it! Lol! So, he decide to soak the nozzles in it. Amazingly they came as clean as new! I've had a bottle of it in my shop ever since. If you soak brass parts in it overnight, they look bright as new. I soaked the 5.3 injectors in it. Within 15 minutes they started freeing up. Four started working so far. I still have three that are being stubborn. Might have to spring for three new ones. It only takes about ten minutes to throw it all back together. So I put it back together with three bad injectors. To my amazement, it started right up and idled! Couldn't even tell that three cylinders weren't firing. Can't wait to get all eight clicking.

I also made a billet mounting block to support the supply, and return, fuel line

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1654163016

Nice work on the mounting block and lines. You might get a spare injector connector and hit them with some power intermittently while they're soaking.

Thanks!

That's exactly how I got them working. Used my battery charger and my Fluke leads to hit them with juice until they started clicking and the solvent fed through them. Also ordered a cheap cleaning kit from Amazon. Comes with two sizes of power leads and a couple of adapters. The adapters are supposed to hold the injector and take the spray tube from a can of cleaner. The leads work great. The injector fits the adapter. But the hole for the spray tube is way too big. Still gotta mess with that some more. Might just make a billet one.

https://www.amazon.com/AUTOOL-Inject...a-897935207641

If you can find it, aerokroil is a very good penetrant for unsticking things. Though honestly, if they're stuck that badly, replacing them may be a better long term plan.

Ok. I'll check that stuff out. I ordered three new ones. I'll keep trying to free these up as an experiment though. I figure if the coil is good you should be able to clean them out and use them. We'll see how my theory plays out. lol

If the sealing surface is pitted from rust they may never seal completely when closed even if they free up. I'd make sure they hold pressure afterwards if you get them unstuck.

Good point. I would normally just buy new. But trying to minimize investment in this high mileage engine until I get it tested out a little. Thanks for your suggestions!

I can pressure test them with a rubber tip air gun and some soap solution I'm thinking. Quick and easy...

Anything to have confidence that they're not leaking fuel into your engine.

I started it again last night. Firing on all 8!!! I guess soaking in gas after the cleaning attempt was enough to free them up.