First time swap. LQ9 into 95 OBS

[kewljay223]

thanks for the heads up. yeah i saw that. i have an obs so theres not much i can use besides the harness, but i can re-pin mine and get the vss conn from the local JY for a lot less than 50 bucks. lol all i really need is flexplate and dipstick tube but i can pick those up anytime locally.

im trying to decide if i should get a stalled TC that will work good now and later with turbo (which i can always upgrade if need be) or just wait until i get the snail and have some dyno numbers... decisions decisions!!

i know this doesnt pertain to the swap but i pulled off my ugly rusty drums and sh**** autozone brakes that are basically new. they squealed like crazy!! and that kinda thing drives me nuts. spent a lot of time removing rust which i absolutely dreaded doing and sprayed them with 3 coats of black caliper paint. its cool to have some shinny 20's but not cool when there is a huge chunk of rusty steel that they are bolted to!!!! i replaced the shoes with raybestos shoes, lubed the contact points with this stuff creates a "membrane" and wouldnt you know, they are quieter than a mouse!!! the expensive shoes and the time to make the drums "hide" was worth every bit. something so simple but im so happy i did it.

[kewljay223]

little update. got some parts in the other day. as i stated, trying to go through with the 80e swap. should be pulling the 60e tomorrow. figured while i was at it might as well add the trans cooler. read great things about the tru cool 40k but as im trying to do this on a budget i couldnt afford it. so i got the dimensions of it and matched it with a summit brand cooler for almost half the price. figured this was the next best thing. also got required hoses and fittings to get it hooked up.

i wanted to keep an eye on the temp so i got a gauge for it too. then since i need a place to put the new gauge i figued i might as well get the piller pod to hold it. and since im putting a turbo, might as well get one that holds all the gauges i need along with a boost gauge. i havnt got the third gauge yet but i plan on getting an A/F gauge to keep an eye so i dont go lean. so i got 3 pods instead of two. but i couldnt afford the A/R gauge and sensor yet so i will get that later once i get the turbo.



obviously the boost gauge wont be hooked up. just getting things ready. its funny how one thing leads to another... and boy does it start getting expensive!! lol but hey, power cost money right!!

anyway, that is it for now. tomorrow i will be parking the truck and pulling the tranny. also hope to finish getting the shift kit installed. would like to get the 80e in by the end of the week. durring that time the pcm will be sent out to get reprogrammed for it along with some 50# injectors from a forum member. so hopefully i can have this thing running again in the next few weeks.

im also talking to chris at circle d right now and ill probably be putting in a new TC at the same time. still waiting for a reply from him tho. so thats where im at now. ill keep updating as things progress.

[kewljay223]

i was able to get the new trans cooler installed the other day. that took a lot longer than i thought but it doesnt leak anywhere which is great! havnt got the temp gauge in yet so i dont know what its running at. im waiting until the 80e is in to hook it up. i made the brackets out of some super light scrap aluminum tubing i had laying around. i wanted to keep as much airflow as possible and they worked out perfect. i also kept it about a half inch away from the ac radiator to help airflow. and the latch doesnt budge an bit. the whole thing is very sturdy. i didnt really want to paint it but i have a phantom grill so it needed to hide away. that grill also gives me tons of clearance in there!!! i could probably fit another one if i wanted to...



i decided i will be getting the new torque converter now. so i will be purchasing that in the next few days.

i also finished the shift kit install. that actually wasnt that bad. just have to pay close attention to the instructions. i replaced the rear seal on the tailshaft and when i pulled the front off to replace it, i checked the bushing on the pump cover and it was shot. so i had to pull the cover off. i will be stopping by a trans shop tomorrow to get the old one pressed out and get a new one pressed in. and while its off ill be drilling out the oil drain hole to 1/4". then that should be it for the trans.

[kewljay223]

another update. 50# injectors are on there way. 80e flexplate is on its way. both thanks to a couple forum members. and also got a 2800 stall circle d verter being made at the moment so hopefully they will all be showing up in the next week or so! all i need now is the 2nd vss plug which i plan on getting at the JY AND getting my driveshaft shortened to fit along with a reflash.

i cant wait until the new tranny is in cuz i can tell a HUGE difference in the way the 60e is shifting now compared to when i first got it running.... im not going to lie, ive been giving it hell lately with all the new power and the clutches in the trans are.... well... pretty much gone!! it is slipping like crazy.

more updates soon!

[kewljay223]

another update. parked the truck the other day. pulled the 60e and the pcm out. pcm is on its way to get a flash for the 80e, 50# injetors and the stall. also recieved the new injectors/adapters and 80e flexplate. those will be installed tomorrow. if i have time im going to drop the tank and see why the line isnt holding pressure. hopefully its just that the short hose moved and ill clamp it down with some better clamps than the plastic ones that came with the kit.

i was also looking around the engine compartment trying figure out how i am going to finally permanantly mount the pcm and fuse block and a few other things. i am going to be installing a dual battery setup so i need to make space for the batt also. so to make life easier on me and just do it right the first time, i ordered a set of 16" efans, smaller overflow tank that i can tuck away, and a CARB legal spectre CAI kit. that way i can see how i will fit everything in there. the CAI will only be used when smog time comes around so i dont really care if it gains me any HP or not. it was cheap and comes with a sticker! thats what matters. lol but i do know taking that clutch fan off will at least help some.

anyway, all these parts will come in this week but ill be installing them next week. ill be taking a few days off to get the install finished. and once all thats done, its time to take it to the ref and get this thing passed so i can start getting a list for the turbo!!!

im super stoked ive come this far in such a short amount of time. if you saw my first post, i was a total newbie and had a lot of goals that i thought would take forever to accomplish. im already about half way there in just 3-4 months. i want to thank everyone here for that. its been a while since i posted any pics but like i said, i havnt done a whole lot to it. but i got boxes of stuff ready to go on!! THANKS!!

[kewljay223]

hey its been a while. i been kinda busy lately so not too much has happened. but im still wrenching when i can. i go t a few things done but no pics yet. hopefully tomrrow. i got a lot of stuff in the mail recently to hopefully get this thing going again. pcm is back with the new flash for the 80e and bigger injectors. got the CARB legal spectre intake. got the new 2800 TC from circle D was able to get some new zirgo 16" efans and made a shroud for them. got the replacement pump bolt o-rings for the 80e but havnt put them on yet. got the tripple pillar pod painted and ready to mount. made a battery tray for the second battery for a dual setup. made a box that will house the LS fuse block and pcm. there are a few other minor things i got finsihed as well. no pics yet as nothing is permanent untill painted and mounted...

tomorrow i should have a more finished setup so i should have some pics up then. i wish it was moving faster but i know you all know how it is... lol. it takes longer than you think. anyway here is the only pics i got so far.

new TC

efans mounted on my "shroud"

[kewljay223]

so i got a little done recently. this trans swap is really kicking my ass. i know nothing about them and didnt want to take it apart but i figured id give it a shot. thats how you learn right? well it has fought me the whole way through and at this point, i think from now on i will be taking any trans i have to a shop. its just too much headache for me until i have time to really concentrate on how it completely works. but anyway, i finally have it all buttoned up and ready to install.

the most recent problem i had with is was with the neural switch shaft. the one that it came with was the shorter kind. so i had to swap it out for the longer one. i was able to stop by a local trans shop i trust and got the shaft, new seal, nut, and retaining pin for 10 bucks!! the shaft alone new is 50 bucks!! what a deal. heres the diff.


one thing the shift kit doesn mention and idk if this just happened to me or what, but the new seperator plate cover the retaining pin hole. this will not allow you to put the pin in after the valve body is on AND the pin sticks up high enough to hit it if your put the pin in prior to installing valve body. i thought i could bend it up out of the way but then this would cause interference with the "piston" (idk what its called) that moves in/out of the VB. so i had to take some tin snips and cut the corner off for clearance.


heres a shot of the new shaft on allowing use of the neutral switch


and heres the new circle D TC installed. this was the last step of the tranny update. im so releived that it is now ready to install! im pretty sure its seated all the way.... first time stabbing a stall.... well see when i try to install it... lol


more pics when i can....