Thinking of LS swap

[Rkjeepster]

Sorry, Don't know what happened to the rest of this the first time. I'm thinking of an LS swap in my Wagoneer. It's a 1970 that wasn't original when I bought it, I was in the process of putting a T18 in it and rewiring the entire truck. A friend's tranny just gave out on his 05 Silverado and the New England winters have eaten most of the body and fluid lines. I can get the motor and all accessories for a great price. When the Waggy is back on the road it is going to have to start towing my father-in-laws 21ft boat from CT to RI a few times a year. I'm thinking this is the smart way to go, especially if I run an auto tranny. Any thoughts on this? Also, if I go this route is there anyone in the New England area that would be interested in a running Buick 350/ T18/ dana 20 combo?

[joe]

Gotta ask why? What's your goal? Not the cheapest plan if you need a new motor. Hope it ain't just for trying to get 21st century gas mileage. Won't happen and you can buy a lot of fuel for the money the swap will cost you.

[Rkjeepster]

The only reason I

[Rkjeepster]

So, my posts keep getting cut off. I was thinking of the LS swap because I would have an entire truck for any and all of the parts that I would need on that end. I am the lone Jeep guy in a sea of chevy people and have access to Chevy parts for decent prices, I can probably get a good deal on either a TH400 or maybe 4L80. There was a guy in my area a while back that did harnesses for a decent price. My thought was that due to towing a heavy boat fairly regularly it might be easier with the 21st century performance and reliability, and the power of a factory 5.3 LS is decent. The Waggy is at a point where I could switch over to the swap easily. But, don't get me wrong I do like the 350/T18 combo and that would also tow the boat. That's why I put it out for other opinions

[Crankyolman]

Personally I like the idea


When I was trying to find someone willing to rebuild an AMC 360 in less than a year I almost bought a wrecked LS1 Corvette with 50,000 miles for less money than I wound up spending on my engine alone. Sometimes I regret not doing the swap. That said I am happy with my AMC 360.

[Mikel]

Where in CT are you?

[Rkjeepster]

I'm in Naugatuck.

[8man]

Motor mounts and a T-case adapter will be a necessity. Also, the fuel system is different. I put a high pressure pump in my stock Jeep tank.

It has been done plenty of times and the info is out there if you look for it. I'm happy with the power from my 5.3/4L60E.

[Rkjeepster]

Thanks, what transfer case did you run? Mine is a factory driver side drop. I kept the dana 44/60 combo from my old J20 and was going to run those, but I could switch over to a driver side drop dana 60 if needed.

[ProTouring442]

Here's my build. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=165696

[asudchiman]

following.

[rang-a-stang]

The biggest cost driver of any swap is not going to be the engine; its all the little things you need that add up. New exhaust, new rad, new power steering hoses, new fuel line fittings, etc. it is not cheap to swap an engine even if the engine was free. You’ll also need some sort of tuning software or the ability to have it tuned ($$$$) or an aftermarket computer /harness that is pre-tuned ($$$$).

All that to say: I wish I would have swapped a modern engine in my rig rather than rebuild. I think for what I paid on machine work, pistons, etc. I could have swapped a low mileage gen3 hemi (or LS).

[Rkjeepster]

Good to get your opinion. I was already in the process of custom making an exhaust since mine was rusted out, and I

[rang-a-stang]

Good to get your opinion. I was already in the process of custom making an exhaust since mine was rusted out, and I

I can virtually hear your posting frustration. This forum has trouble with apple products and apostrophes for some reason. If you are posting from an iPhone or iPad it will cut off after the first apostrophe. I think quotation marks do it too.

[Rooney77]

Harness=free using Lt1swap.com to thin it out (super easy)
Pcm programming=$75
BJ's offroad motor mounts=$290
BJ's offroad fuel pump=$170
Radiator hoses to use stock radiator=$60
Exhaust=$300
Driveshafts=TBD
Dakota digital speedo box to use stock speedo=$300

Add your motor, trans and tcases prices. The prices above are basically what I have into my swap so far. No special fuel fittings needed and no new radiator. You can swap as cheaply or as expensively as you want. My donor drivetrain was free so I got lucky. On average I'd assume $3-4k for a swap.