Just bought an LS drivetrain.

[Kane]

I have been in limbo the past two weeks waiting for parts and it has been crazy cold so that hurts my motivation to be in the garage. I have a free weekend coming up with no kids or wife so I plan to get some heavy work done. I plan to do the fuel delivery system, paint the motor, clean up the tranny and swap the fluids, Install shifter assembly. I hope to drop the motor and tranny in for a mock setup for the exhaust and placement. Then I will start tearing down the Dana 300 for the new input shaft. Here are some of the newest parts.

 

[bigwalton]

I haven’t brought myself to be out in the garage even once this winter. I feel you there.

that’s a purty pile of stuff though

 

[Kane]

My family took a trip this weekend and I stayed home so I had the entire time to work on the Jeep. I got a lot done and am in a great place with the project now thank to that time. Here is the list of things I got done and I have some picture but the one I will go over the most in this post will be the Advance Adapter kits. Here is what I completed this weekend.

• Degreased the motor and painted
• Cleaned the nastiness out of the head ports.
• Went to a pick and pull to get a new intake. Mine had a hole. I got it and degreased the nasty oil out of the runners and cleaned the rest.
• Got a dual fan setup from the pick and pull. I looked for a Taurus but they didn’t have any so I grabbed a nice set from a Ford Five Hundred. It is close but I will need to make some adapters.
• Painted and installed the new Dave’s motor mounts. These are a work of art. Very nice piece.
• Installed the Advance adapter kit to 90%. Will explain in a bit.
• Installed the brackets for the tranny shifter. Also lined up the dual transfer-case shifter and checked for clearance issues.
• Installed the motor in the Jeep to line it up. Right now, it is just clamped to the frame. I need to check for clearance on everything before I bolt and weld the mounts in place. That will be close to the last thing I do.
• Tried to install the headers but the bolts were the wrong size, so I ordered a new set online.

The Advance adapter kits is a nice piece and the company is great to work with. When the kit was in route to my house I got a call from Nicki. She told me the reluctor ring may not be in the box and for me to check when it arrived. The box arrived two days later and while I was looking at everything she called back to ask me again. I verified that it was missing and they shipped it out the next day so I should be getting that part today or tomorrow. I printed the directions and got to work on it Sunday morning. The shaft on the transmission has to be cut shorter for the adapters to work correctly. In the directions I noticed two measurements. On one page it said cut it to 3.85 inches and on another page it said cut to 4.10 inches. Now in my lifetime of home renovations I have learned to cut longer first because once you cut it too short it will always be too short. I cut the shaft to 4.1 and finished the assembly minus the reluctor ring. I converted the Dana 300 over which went surprisingly well. You do need a shop press for the job. I do not recommend using hammers to install the bearing and seals.

For the wiring I got about halfway through stripping the stock setup down and I could not get past the fact that I can’t move the ECU to inside the Jeep. I do not want it on the fender since I want everything to look clean and uncluttered. I decided to follow Mysunnshine’s advice and I splurged on the PSI wire harness. What a beautiful kit she is. When I took it out of the box I knew it was the right decision. The time I will save is massive when it comes to hooking it up and knowing this part of the conversion is a slam dunk.

I was hoping to get on the fuel system but I never made it that far. I really needed to get the motor in to clear up shop space for removing the fuel tank. I usually have the wife’s car in the other bay so space is tight. The next steps will be to install the fuel system, install the front-end accessories on the motor, installed the grill and radiator to test fit the fans. After that I will start on installing the PSI wiring harness.

 

[Kane]

The motor and the mounted all painted and pretty. The mounts are like a piece of art.

 

[Kane]

Transmission work. New filter and cleaning of the pan. Cutting the shaft and checking the fitment.

 

[Kane]

Dana 300 input shaft installation. New bearing, shaft and seal. So interesting note. The directions have you install the seal backwards. I found this to be strange but the new bearing is a 2RS meaning it is double sealed already and this national seal is double lipped.

 

[Kane]

Transmission shifter fitment. I checked to make sure the Dana300 dual shifter will work. A plug on the tranny was interfering with the shift linkage so I cut it a bit shorter and all is good now.

 

[Kane]

The engine being put in place. The Dana300 will not be installed until I get the reluctor ring installed. Once I get that I can install the Dana and then make sure the shifters line up correctly in the tunnel opening. Then once I know the front end has clearance I can measure for new driveshafts.

 

[Kane]

Here is the cover I bought on E-bay and the headers that will go in once the bolts arrive.

 

[Kane]

So I mentioned earlier that the shaft had to be cut to 4.1 or 3.85 inches. I called Advance Adapters yesterday and talked to them about it. I showed them in the directions were it shows both measurements and they admitted that it was missed and will be fixing the directions. The measurement is in fact 4.1 inches.

 

[Ron84cj]

I may have missed it but did you replace any gaskets and seals on the engine?

 

[Kane]

I may have missed it but did you replace any gaskets and seals on the engine?

With only 78,000 on the motor I opted to leave it sealed. I did a compression check and the cylinders were good and there was no visible sign of any leaks. The intake ports were not that bad either but I do plan to install a catch can on this motor.

 

[Ron84cj]

With only 78,000 on the motor I opted to leave it sealed. I did a compression check and the cylinders were good and there was no visible sign of any leaks. The intake ports were not that bad either but I do plan to install a catch can on this motor.

Milage is not the issue but age is. The gasket for the rear main housing likes to dry out and crack. Every one I have taken apart crumbles into a hundred pieced the second I pop the cover off. My suburban I had years ago also did this and was only 10 years old at the time. Trust me when I say this, do the timing cover gasket and seal, the rear main gasket and the seal, as well as the oil pan gasket. I'm trying to save you from a big headache later on. Just make sure the rear cover is flush with the bottom of the block and the pan is flush with the back of the block.

 

[Kane]

Milage is not the issue but age is. The gasket for the rear main housing likes to dry out and crack. Every one I have taken apart crumbles into a hundred pieced the second I pop the cover off. My suburban I had years ago also did this and was only 10 years old at the time. Trust me when I say this, do the timing cover gasket and seal, the rear main gasket and the seal, as well as the oil pan gasket. I'm trying to save you from a big headache later on. Just make sure the rear cover is flush with the bottom of the block and the pan is flush with the back of the block.

Understood. I had plans to remove the motor one more time anyway. This install was a mockup for the motor mounts and clearances.

 

[Boomer]

Looks like a truck oil pan. Any pics of how low it hangs?

 

[Kane]

Weekly update on the swap progress. I pulled the motor back and replaced the rear main seal and a few other gaskets. I then got the motor back in and drilled the motor mounts to bolt them to the frame. I got all the front end accessories cleaned up a bit and installed and the power steering hooked up. The grill is attached with the radiator and dual fan setup. I am pleased with the clearance on the fans to the motor. I worked a bit more on the shifter linkage for the tranny as well and should be able to finish that part up tomorrow. The reluctor ring for the transfer case adapter was delayed in shipping due to all the bad weather and should arrive today. I hope to get that finished up this week so I can measure driveshaft and get them ordered. That is my last expensive purchase on this swap. Once that is all in I decided to build my own crossmember and skid plate. Serviceability will be key for this so I want a dedicated cross member and then have a skin that can be removed without removing the crossmember. My exhaust parts will be setup for all quick removal as well by using band clamps were needed.

 

[Kane]

Overhead shot.

 

[JPCRZY]

I don’t know if I missed it, but which fuel pump did you go with? Asking because Novak makes a drop in fuel pump module for the stock 20 gallon tank.

Gen III+ In-Tank Fuel Pump Kit for Jeep CJ (1972-1986) | Novak Conversions

Novak’s Gen III+ in-tank fuel pump system provides clean, reliable EFI fuel delivery for LS / Vortec Jeep swaps. Available for 15, 20, and 21-gallon CJ tanks, with or without regulator.

www.novak-adapt.com

I am in the middle of all of this myself. I am using a 2008 aluminum 5.3 (LC9), Novak AX15 and Dana 300. I also used a PSI harness and computer.

 

[Ron84cj]

I don’t know if I missed it, but which fuel pump did you go with? Asking because Novak makes a drop in fuel pump module for the stock 20 gallon tank.

Gen III+ In-Tank Fuel Pump Kit for Jeep CJ (1972-1986) | Novak Conversions

Novak’s Gen III+ in-tank fuel pump system provides clean, reliable EFI fuel delivery for LS / Vortec Jeep swaps. Available for 15, 20, and 21-gallon CJ tanks, with or without regulator.

www.novak-adapt.com

I am in the middle of all of this myself. I am using a 2008 aluminum 5.3 (LC9), Novak AX15 and Dana 300. I also used a PSI harness and computer.

That looks like they just adapted a pump to a CJ sending unit. If that's that case you could just do that yourself for a lot cheaper.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpn-gca758-2

I have an inline Walbro 255 on my frame rail and has been working great.

 

[JPCRZY]

That looks like they just adapted a pump to a CJ sending unit. If that's that case you could just do that yourself for a lot cheaper.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpn-gca758-2

I have an inline Walbro 255 on my frame rail and has been working great.

I agree. Just thought it was worth mentioning. I also used a Walbro GSL392 (255lph) on the frame rail. Did you use the stock sender? Just wondering if you have had any issues with the 1/4” return not returning enough fuel and potentially causing to much fuel pressure at the rails? Thanks and sorry OP for the high jack.