ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[Finallygotit]

Oh HELL yes!!!

 

[Yarz]

I've been following along, but haven't commented because I'm too busy drooling over your work. The Jeep looks awesome!

I like that you want to do your projects the best way possible. I've found myself trying to do more of that when I can, but can't even come close to your caliber of work.

I hope I won't let anyone down on the actual project.

I don't think you could let us down if you tried!

 

[fnieto]

Hey Mike, Your sons Jeep really turned out sweet.
Looking forward to your V-8 conversion. I been following some other conversions with the baby Cummings 2.8. I agree the EPA is a PITA. I'm still sorting out items for a 1HD-T for the FJ 40. I have a feeling you'll be long done with your swap before I find all the components for my conversion.


Always fun to follow your projects.
Happy Thanksgiving brother.

Paco

 

[GRN96WS6]

Keep it here, it's being built in the shop!

 

[shortykorte]

I believe I was first to guess LS. Do I get a prize? [emoji16]
You could have got more HP out of a 5.3 with additional parts and work but I like your idea of stock as possible and the 6.2 gives you that.
At the swap meet this past weekend there was a 4dr with a 6.4 Hemi. I think the asking price was $68k. I like the Chevy better, too. You’re right on the mark keeping both systems stock. Nothing worse than buying parts for something like an International or AMC. Another great idea is doing the gearing now. After the trials of the engine swap, it will be better to go wheeling, not changing gearing.
Last, I say keep swap here. It is a garage project and you’ll have the YouTube series that will reach others. I have the recliner ready and a bag of popcorn, looking forward to this awesome swap.



Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,

I have been reading this thread from day one. I envy your shop and talent. Many times I have referenced you to my GF as having my dream setup. I'm always impressed by not only the quality of your work, but also the shear volume. I have a list a mile long of things I would like to complete, but it seems the days are too short.

Also your lawn appears amazing.

Thank you very much, I am flattered by your comments. To be honest, I agree the days don't seem long enough and I don't feel like I get as much completed each night as I should. These 10-hour work days really bite into my shop time.

Thanks for the comments on my lawn. It has been a tedious task getting it to look as nice as my last house and not quite there yet but getting closer. That picture was taken around late July/early August if memory serves, back when I took delivery of my engine and went and picked it up from the trucking company on my little utility trailer.

Thanks again for following along and for the comments.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike this is going to be an awesome project. . . . . waiting on the project to officially start.

FWIW, if you start a stand alone thread build on it and decide later to merge it into this ZMSP2.0 thread, all you have to do is shoot me a PM and I can merge them with a few clicks, no big deal.

Thank you Eric, I appreciate that.

 

[zmotorsports]

Oh HELL yes!!!

Thank you Dan. I hope you enjoy it.

I've been following along, but haven't commented because I'm too busy drooling over your work. The Jeep looks awesome!

I like that you want to do your projects the best way possible. I've found myself trying to do more of that when I can, but can't even come close to your caliber of work.



I don't think you could let us down if you tried!

Thank you very much for the comments, I am flattered.

 

[protegeV]

This is going to be epic. Cant wait for the new thread. Lack of power is my main gripe with wranglers.

Only way I'd ever own one would be exactly like you're planning, with an LS motor.

 

[zmotorsports]

Hey Mike, Your sons Jeep really turned out sweet.
Looking forward to your V-8 conversion. I been following some other conversions with the baby Cummings 2.8. I agree the EPA is a PITA. I'm still sorting out items for a 1HD-T for the FJ 40. I have a feeling you'll be long done with your swap before I find all the components for my conversion.


Always fun to follow your projects.
Happy Thanksgiving brother.

Paco

Thank you Paco. He's really been enjoying it the past several days and I am glad I can think about something else now. I am exhausted thinking about all of the pieces that have to fit together on my project the whole time while building his Jeep and trying to figure out how to do various parts of it. It has become mind boggling to say the least.

I will definitely be following along with your FJ40 project when you get around to it. That turbo-diesel will be sweet in that clean and immaculate FJ40 of yours. Your work is amazing and as clean as that FJ40 is it should be a great starting point, coupled with your outstanding workmanship and it will be a nice ride.

I had thought very briefly about a diesel but only briefly as not many would fit the bill for the EPA and I wanted V8 power under the hood.

 

[Pressingonward]

Looking forward to reading about your swap, thanks for taking us along for the ride. I vote to keep the swap in this thread

 

[zmotorsports]

Keep it here, it's being built in the shop!

I believe I was first to guess LS. Do I get a prize? [emoji16]
You could have got more HP out of a 5.3 with additional parts and work but I like your idea of stock as possible and the 6.2 gives you that.
At the swap meet this past weekend there was a 4dr with a 6.4 Hemi. I think the asking price was $68k. I like the Chevy better, too. You’re right on the mark keeping both systems stock. Nothing worse than buying parts for something like an International or AMC. Another great idea is doing the gearing now. After the trials of the engine swap, it will be better to go wheeling, not changing gearing.
Last, I say keep swap here. It is a garage project and you’ll have the YouTube series that will reach others. I have the recliner ready and a bag of popcorn, looking forward to this awesome swap.



Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

Thanks guys, I think you talked me into keeping here in this thread as it is a "shop project".

Shorty, the 5.3 would have worked but by the time you go through all of the headache of importing tunes and tweaking them here and there they are not an OEM tune and therefore many of the safety parameters are not present any longer. I want to keep things like hot protection mode and oil aeration monitoring, etc.

I know what you mean about IH or AMC mods, I built a chassis for a guy about 10 years ago who was resurrecting a Scout II. He wanted so much to keep the OEM drivetrain but have it modded to perform better and improve drivability. He wanted a Sunday driver and trail rig he could pile the family in and take off reliably. In the end I talked him into a small block Chevy backed up with a 4L60 transmission and a NP208 transfer case. A good solid drivetrain that would run dependably and perform well for well over 100k miles. I completed the chassis for him after powder coating and all of the fabrication and then he dropped the ball on having the paint and body work done. He wanted me to do the paint and body but that was when I was trying to get out of it and told him I would do the drivetrain and chassis but he never finished it.

As for the Hemi, I know there are a lot of guys running them and even companies like AEV will put them in from the get go but I'm not as big a Hemi fan as I am an LS fan. Plus the Hemi is heavier (approx 150 pounds) and physically larger. This changes the dynamics of the Jeep in my opinion because the engine being taller now affects the center of gravity and handling characteristics. Also people are having to relocate the steering shaft and beating in of the firewall to accommodate the Hemi which is not what I want to do. To top that off they have overheating issues and to be honest I don't know how they are getting around EPA.

This is what baffled me about my county. They told me all of the hoops I will have to jump through to get it tested when I walked in with a copy of the USEPA guidelines and showed him everything I was doing and being in compliance. He said "why don't you just put a Hemi in it and be done with it?" I was dumbfounded because I explained that just by importing a Hemi tune into the V6 operating system is a violation of the USEPA because the Mode 6 data will not be available and that is how the testing stations conduct their onboard emissions testing. He couldn't explain that one. I want to keep the Chevrolet side (engine/transmission) pure and the Chrysler side pure and this is the best way I have found to accomplish that.

Sorry for the long explanation but I have a tendency to ramble when I'm passionate about something and this whole EPA thing and dealing with the people at the testing station who should know what they are talking about and don't is just a little upsetting.

 

[zmotorsports]

This is going to be epic. Cant wait for the new thread. Lack of power is my main gripe with wranglers.

Only way I'd ever own one would be exactly like you're planning, with an LS motor.

Personally, I think the LS is the perfect package for the JK/JKU and more than likely even the JL into the future, but that isn't a concern of mine.

I've driven as well as wheeled with Hemi powered JK's and they have that hot rod feel and kind of brute power if you get what I'm saying. That is NOT what I want. I don't want a hot rod, I want a dependable and driveable Jeep. I want it to drive like a Cadillac with a Jeep body on it that I would let my wife hop in and drive without hesitation. Basically I want to build the ultimate "sleeper" that sitting at the gas station next to another black JKUR you wouldn't even think twice about it.

Even my exhaust is going to be very mild. I want it kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Very docile and mild when driving yet when I jump on the skinny pedal I want it to come alive. I think this package will accomplish that.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looking forward to reading about your swap, thanks for taking us along for the ride. I vote to keep the swap in this thread

Thank you. I appreciate you following along.

 

[zmotorsports]

Well today was a very productive day overall. Operations got done early at work and they kicked us out early so I sure as hell wasn't going to argue about it.

I came home and worked on my Jeep parts. I got my ECM and TCM back from Robbie @ Motech a few weeks ago so today I installed the TCM back into my 6L80. Robbie had offered to flash my TCM to match up to the ECM if I sent it back to him so I took him up on it. He also said he had a tune that would firm up the transmission shifts slightly and add a few more horses to the engine without compromising the OEM tune or messing with any of the protection modes.


Here is the TCM being installed back onto the valve body and everything torqued to the proper 71 in/lbs.




Transmission pan cleaned and ready to temporarily install. I won't button it up permanently until after it is in the Jeep so I can see where I want to run my transmission temperature gauge. I know the ECM monitors that and I will be able to access it via the Aeroforce gauge I will be running but there are a few things I like to monitor old school with a gauge and transmission temperature is one of them. I can watch it easily while wheeling without trying to scan through parameters trying to find it.


Valve body installed in the transmission along with the connector in the body.


I then removed the OEM GM transmission/transfer case adapter, replaced the transmission output seal while I was there and installed my Advance Adapters adapter that was designed to adapt the 6L80 to an Atlas transfer case as the Atlas and the NP241J TC.








I also installed the heat shield near the electrical connector on the transmission. I had asked the salvage yard for it but they said it didn't have one, I called BS on it but came to the conclusion I wasn't walking out with it. Funny thing is that little heat shield was probably the hardest part to acquire. GM could not find the part number for it and when I googled part #'s they said they were discontinued. It took me several weeks to locate a good part # and then my GM dealership told me that they were backordered so it took about 5 weeks for it to arrive. I know I could have just fabricated one but like I mentioned earlier I want to keep this as OE as possible and look like a GM under the hood and in the chassis.


While I had the afternoon to myself I went ahead and replaced the input and output seals on the NP241J transfer case, then installed my Tom Woods output yolk that will accept the 1350 rear driveshaft that I will be running.


New input seal installed.


Lastly, here is my hydro-assist ram and ported gearbox that I got back from West Texas Off-road a few months ago. I will install this along with my front gears prior to the engine swap.


And that's about it for tonight. All in all a very productive afternoon and everything is ready to bolt together and into the chassis at this point. I've tried to get as much done prior to actually lifting the body as possible and I think I am about there, just awaiting gears and hydro-assist then I can dive full bore into the actual engine swap.

My goal is to have this done before the end of 2018 so I can go into 2019 ready to enjoy the new year and play. I will probably hold off on tires until after the first of the year although I have bought my new wheels already. My wife wasn't too happy about the wheel purchase but I told her the ole' girl is getting a new drivetrain so I wanted to give her a bit of a facelift to go along with it. I think new wheels wrapped by the new 37" tires will introduce the whole thing nicely into it's new life in our stable.

Thanks for looking.

 

[protegeV]

Personally, I think the LS is the perfect package for the JK/JKU and more than likely even the JL into the future, but that isn't a concern of mine.

I've driven as well as wheeled with Hemi powered JK's and they have that hot rod feel and kind of brute power if you get what I'm saying. That is NOT what I want. I don't want a hot rod, I want a dependable and driveable Jeep. I want it to drive like a Cadillac with a Jeep body on it that I would let my wife hop in and drive without hesitation. Basically I want to build the ultimate "sleeper" that sitting at the gas station next to another black JKUR you wouldn't even think twice about it.

Even my exhaust is going to be very mild. I want it kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Very docile and mild when driving yet when I jump on the skinny pedal I want it to come alive. I think this package will accomplish that.

This is pretty much how I would do any daily driver type build. Hot rodding too much can make the driving experience less enjoyable as time goes on.

 

[zmotorsports]

This is pretty much how I would do any daily driver type build. Hot rodding too much can make the driving experience less enjoyable as time goes on.

Agreed. I drove a 6.4 Hemi powered JKU a couple of years ago for a few hours and that pretty much pushed me back to the LS that I had originally wanted. I leaned towards the Hemi solely because people kept saying it was an "easier" swap. I think they were saying that based on it being a Chrysler product but I'm still not convinced it would be an easier swap with having to deal with the firewall and steering issues. The overheating alone makes me want to search out any other alternative. A couple people I know with the Hemi's admit they have designed in their own overheating issue and have had to learn how to drive them especially offroad or slow speeds.

I think it has to do with the shear size of the engine create a positive pressure in the engine bay and the heat can't escape and air can't flow through. Not for me.

I will be installing a 2018 Camaro SS fan which is a PWM fan and should be able to keep 'er cool on even the hottest days, along with a 52mm dual pass radiator.

 

[Bob Heine]

Mike, I understand and agree with your Cadillac idea. We bought a slightly used 2011 CTS-V sedan and it is just what the doctor ordered. Mild mannered when you drive to the store and a merge monster when you get on the interstate. Hopefully it won't see any off-road adventures but I do like watching other people doing that with a purpose-built machine. I was blushing a little looking at all that **** in Post 1815.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, I understand and agree with your Cadillac idea. We bought a slightly used 2011 CTS-V sedan and it is just what the doctor ordered. Mild mannered when you drive to the store and a merge monster when you get on the interstate. Hopefully it won't see any off-road adventures but I do like watching other people doing that with a purpose-built machine. I was blushing a little looking at all that **** in Post 1815.

Thanks Bob, but if you think Post 1815 was **** you just wait.

When you see the accessory drive brackets and the radiator you'll be needing a cigarette afterwards.

 

[Bob Heine]

Now I'm really hooked....

 

[rpenner54]

I like how you spell out all the parts your using in your swap. I feel that can be handy for all people that want to do some kind of LS type of swap into any kind of vehicle.

 

[Pressingonward]

I like how you spell out all the parts your using in your swap. I feel that can be handy for all people that want to do some kind of LS type of swap into any kind of vehicle.

Agreed - the detail in your posts is great! Curious to learn more about the emissions hoops you have to jump through. Here in Washington you can swap to any newer engine as long as you include all of the emissions components from that newer vehicle. I'm sure all of the Can-bus stuff can be tricky on newer vehicles though.

 

[C_F]

New input seal installed.

Okay, I'm curious. Seeing this got me wondering if you have a super snazzy seal puller for applications like that where you are pulling the seal out of the housing & leaving the center shaft in place?
Or do you do like me & use a wood screw & vise grips? This was the inner seal on the output shaft of a P/S box, just above the pitman arm..

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I will be happy to follow here for some legal swap games.

Not sure what Z uses, but I have one of these little pullers I've used more than I ever thought I would

https://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/lil-58430/

 

[Ohmthis]

Wow! I’m gone for 12 hrs and I’m three pages behind! I’m looking forward to this swap, mike is there going to be much fab work from you, or are you seeking out items that are built specifically for this swap?

 

[HEEP]

Mike,
As others have said, your work is top notch. I am thousands of miles behind you in ability, but I learn much by following your threads. I can't wait till I see this next project going through. I am sure there will be things I will take away from it to improve my skills but more importantly my knowledge.

I'm currently working on a 1984 K10 Chevy for my son. We are swapping in a LS5.3 and as you have stated, the time in the shop with him has been invaluable. He is learning and seeing how things can be done.

Keep up the great work.

Happy Thanksgiving !!!!

 

[Duker]

Mike, I hope you get to enjoy some more shop/son time today! Happy Thanksgiving !


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[zmotorsports]

I like how you spell out all the parts your using in your swap. I feel that can be handy for all people that want to do some kind of LS type of swap into any kind of vehicle.

Agreed - the detail in your posts is great! Curious to learn more about the emissions hoops you have to jump through. Here in Washington you can swap to any newer engine as long as you include all of the emissions components from that newer vehicle. I'm sure all of the Can-bus stuff can be tricky on newer vehicles though.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments. I'm not breaking any ground here with this swap so I can't take as much credit as you guys are giving me. Others have done this and I have merely been following along for a while and doing my own research. I think my build will turn out nice and hopefully nicer than many that I have seen but I'm definitely not reinventing the wheel here and can't take all of the credit. I really appreciate the encouragement and enthusiasm though.

 

[zmotorsports]

Okay, I'm curious. Seeing this got me wondering if you have a super snazzy seal puller for applications like that where you are pulling the seal out of the housing & leaving the center shaft in place?
Or do you do like me & use a wood screw & vise grips? This was the inner seal on the output shaft of a P/S box, just above the pitman arm..

As far as seal replacement, I do have the exact tool that ole slewfoot showed but in this case I used my trusty small screwhead slide hammer from Old Forge tools. It basically works like your screw trick but a bit more "refined".

The tool ole slewfoot showed would have probably worked as well though.

I am embarrassed to admit this but after replacing the seal and thinking it is ready to be bolted behind the transmission I realized something. I was walking through the shop this morning doing a short video and realized I have to disassemble the transfer case in order to swap out the input shaft with the new Advance Adapters input gear. The Jeep TC has a 23-spline input gear and the 6L80 transmission output is 32-spline. I bought the AA gear but forgot I had to install it until I was walking through the shop today looking at all of my piles of parts and refining the plan in my head. So basically now I need to tear the transfer case down to replace the input gear and do it in a manner than I won't damage the new seal.

So next pictures will more than likely be the transfer case split apart.

 

[zmotorsports]

Wow! I’m gone for 12 hrs and I’m three pages behind! I’m looking forward to this swap, mike is there going to be much fab work from you, or are you seeking out items that are built specifically for this swap?

That'll teach ya to not stay tuned.

As for the swap, not much in the form of fabrication on this build. I was going to build the motor mounts to accept the OEM GM hydraulic motor mounts and the 2-stud heavy duty transfer case mount but then while talking with Robbie @ Motech earlier this year about the electronics he informed me that he has bolt in motor mounts that will bolt right to the Jeep engine cradle/mounts so rather than build from scratch I will be using Motech's engine brackets and the GM hydraulic mounts.

I've sourced quite a bit from Robbie @ Motech as he has pretty much revolutionalized the LS swap into the JK's but many of the parts I bought myself as I trying to do this on somewhat of a budget. Not that Robbie is overly priced on his parts, I get that he has to make some money and he should where he has done most of the legwork on these swaps, but being able to get dealer pricing on many of the parts from either my local parts store as well as my local GM dealership I have been able to save some money sourcing my own parts. I have suppported Robbie by purchasing some of his specialty parts but mainly because they accept OE parts and that is the direction from the start that I have wanted this build to go, all OE off the shelf parts rather than full on one-off parts like many of my projects.

I hope people will understand my reasoning for using off the shelf parts on this build and not think less of me but for a daily driver and the fact that we travel all over the western U.S it makes much more sense to keep it simple and supportable where parts can be sourced from a local parts store whether I am home or a thousand miles away in a small town.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,
As others have said, your work is top notch. I am thousands of miles behind you in ability, but I learn much by following your threads. I can't wait till I see this next project going through. I am sure there will be things I will take away from it to improve my skills but more importantly my knowledge.

I'm currently working on a 1984 K10 Chevy for my son. We are swapping in a LS5.3 and as you have stated, the time in the shop with him has been invaluable. He is learning and seeing how things can be done.

Keep up the great work.

Happy Thanksgiving !!!!

Thank you very much for the comments and I hope you are able to enjoy yours and your son's build. I look forward to seeing the progress.

You have a Happy Thanksgiving as well.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, I hope you get to enjoy some more shop/son time today! Happy Thanksgiving !


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks Duke. It's just the wife and I today as our son and his girlfriend went to Phoenix for Thanksgiving with her family so it will be a lot of sitting around and hanging with the wife. We took them to the airport this morning and are just chilling in front of the fireplace this morning.

I may make it out to the shop a bit over the weekend but not planning on doing much as I want to hit the front axle hard on Monday night and start getting this project kicked off.

I wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving as well.

 

[LXCam]

Oh that ***** Mike.

I'm sure you figured this out by now but I'm probably the biggest modern hemi freak on this board. It's what I specialize in and build a ton of them. It also helps that the best in this small nich community have all become very close friends over time not including my relationship with Chrysler proper.

But I can't disagree with your choice of combos here. Fitting a genIII is a PITA and there are concessions to be felt with for fitment. The worst being steering which is a battle I've dealt with enough times to not what to deal with it anymore if possible. On my 8:71 chally I moved the motor back 4" and then spent over a hundred hours n a ton of money making her turn. So not worth it. As for cooling this isn't rocket science but you're not going to deal with it properly with a off the shelf radiator ...cha ching. Then there's the very limited world of tuning options and parts, ain't nothing cheap when it comes to mopar. Where as for the LS and ford community even the factories offer all kinds of help to the aftermarket side. Mother mopar, not so much.

Anyhow if you need anything hit me up. I've got two very complete 6.0's here with all the goodies. I had already bought a complete set up for my kids 69 bird and then he went and rolled my Denali which I ended up keeping. So you're welcome to any widgets I've got piled here.

Btw what are you doing for configuring all the accessory drives and mounting. I just can't imagine the stock truck stuff will work but I've also never bothered to look.

 

[zmotorsports]

Oh that ***** Mike.

I'm sure you figured this out by now but I'm probably the biggest modern hemi freak on this board. It's what I specialize in and build a ton of them. It also helps that the best in this small nich community have all become very close friends over time not including my relationship with Chrysler proper.

But I can't disagree with your choice of combos here. Fitting a genIII is a PITA and there are concessions to be felt with for fitment. The worst being steering which is a battle I've dealt with enough times to not what to deal with it anymore if possible. On my 8:71 chally I moved the motor back 4" and then spent over a hundred hours n a ton of money making her turn. So not worth it. As for cooling this isn't rocket science but you're not going to deal with it properly with a off the shelf radiator ...cha ching. Then there's the very limited world of tuning options and parts, ain't nothing cheap when it comes to mopar. Where as for the LS and ford community even the factories offer all kinds of help to the aftermarket side. Mother mopar, not so much.

Anyhow if you need anything hit me up. I've got two very complete 6.0's here with all the goodies. I had already bought a complete set up for my kids 69 bird and then he went and rolled my Denali which I ended up keeping. So you're welcome to any widgets I've got piled here.

Btw what are you doing for configuring all the accessory drives and mounting. I just can't imagine the stock truck stuff will work but I've also never bothered to look.

Thank you Cam, I appreciate your very generous offer. There is just so much support for the LS engine and I'm a big Chevy fan so it's a win/win for me. Take my Jeep that I have built and love and then combine it with a 400+ HP LS and you'll never get it away from me, especially if it turns out the way I have it envisioned in my head anyways.

As for the accessory drives, I was going to go with the GM drive that came on the crate engine and work on wiring everything over to integrate it into the Chrysler wiring but upon more thinking I kept thinking it would be nice to be able to keep the Jeep accessories as they are already set up. The power steering pump was designed for the Jeep and will work perfectly with my hydro-assist, the A/C compressor is sized/designed for the larger cabin area of the JKU and will sit in the same location which will NOT require any special A/C lines whereas if I were to use the GM A/C compressor it resides on the lower right side of the engine where the front suspension could possible contact upon full stuff due to the right upper control arm mount being on top of the live/solid axle. It would also require custom A/C lines which I would prefer to stay away from for my reasoning mentioned above. Lastly the Chrysler alternator will still be able to charge through the TIPM and maintain the smart charging whereas if I were to run the GM alternator that would have to be wired in discretely vs. charging through the TIPM, which is not a huge deal but not as Chrysler designed it and I am again trying to maintain OE level of integration.

I was going to build/fabricate an accessory drive but again, Robbie @ Motech has recently switched over to his all new billet accessory drives that use all of the 2007-2011 3.8 liter Jeep accessories and most importantly, these brackets put the components right where they were and belong so no custom A/C lines or power steering modifications.

Again, I hope you don't think less of me for not designing and building my own components but I figured where someone like Robbie has already revolutionalized these swaps and components I would support his efforts and merely purchase them from him, especially because they simply work and are reliable which is exactly what I want in this build.

Again Cam, I really appreciate the comments and especially the offer. The 6.0 would easily haul my heavy JK around with ease but I'm not gonna lie, I am kind of excited and intrigued by having 400+ HP at the ready. I'm excited to have this thing cruise down the interstate @ 70 MPH @ 2k RPM and smooth and quiet with power on tap when needed. I'm also looking forward to how docile it will be idling along over rocks off road @ 550 RPM.

 

[LXCam]

Oh I get it bud. If somebody else has already done their homework I'm all for buying the package.

 

[C_F]

I will be happy to follow here for some legal swap games.

Not sure what Z uses, but I have one of these little pullers I've used more than I ever thought I would

https://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/lil-58430/

As far as seal replacement, I do have the exact tool that ole slewfoot showed but in this case I used my trusty small screwhead slide hammer from Old Forge tools. It basically works like your screw trick but a bit more "refined".

The tool ole slewfoot showed would have probably worked as well though.

Thanks guys! I haven't seen that one before, I'm going to have to include one in my next Summit order & give it a try.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks guys! I haven't seen that one before, I'm going to have to include one in my next Summit order & give it a try.

It works very well for smaller seals. I originally bought mine about ten years ago for removing the small seals around the shifter rod on motorcycles and ATV's but found it works on other things as well.

 

[zmotorsports]

Last night I thought I had better pull the snowblower into the shop and give it a once over as we were told to expect snow on the valley floor this morning.

I had delayed getting it ready because in my head if I prepped it for that white **** I was pretty much giving consent for it. [emoji45] I checked oil level which was fine and then tire pressures and fired it up to let it run for a few minutes.


I then started to disassemble the NP241J transfer case in order to swap the input gear before the wife got home.




My sister was down from Wyoming for the holiday and so I decided to give her Acura MDX a once over. Her husband has been gone for about fifteen years now and seeing as how she lives a couple hundred miles away I worry about her on the road and she is on the road a lot. I don’t trust anyone else to keep an eye on her vehicles so when she comes down to visit I like to give her vehicles a once over. Now that she is retired she is down to one vehicle as she sold her small SUV and her car and replaced them with the MDX about a year ago.

I ended up replacing the battery in it and installing new wiper blades this morning. The battery was the original at 610 CCA. After testing it was still in the good range at just over 400 CCA but just barely and seeing as how we’re just entering the cold part of the year I didn’t feel comfortable letting it go so I replaced it.




Her tires and brakes will need some attention in a little bit but I feel comfortable with them for another 4-6 thousand miles before replacing them. Maybe around the first of the year or early spring but she’s still got good tread on the tires and well over a quarter inch on the brake pads for now.

Looks like the sun is out now and melting our snow and luckily we didn’t have any stick to the concrete so no need to use the snowblower today.

 

[zmotorsports]

Shop tour #3 video where I introduce my new project.

Thanks for looking.

 

[LXCam]

Excellent job on the vid Mike! Hey something you said caught my attention. That being the new fuel pump for the jeep. I'll be honest and tell you I know nothing about the small motors but I'm insanely versed on the WK SRT stuff. Basically the WK uses a internal regulator to the fuel hat and output is ~58psi. If memory serves me right your LS needs 65psi and does GM still use the fuel rails with the built in regulator and a return. The mopar is a dead head system if it mimics the V8 motors. Now mind ya I have no doubt you've done your homework which is what baffled me when you said you were replacing the stock pump. Am I wrong about the LS psi requirement?