First time swap. LQ9 into 95 OBS

[Mickeymotormount]

Man, that really sucks. It's always something. Just for craps and giggles, I also checked Flea bay and was surprised at how much the Fbody and similar pans were going for. Unbelievable.

[jwang203]

I just read this whole thread. Tons of info here. I am new here but should this be a sticky before it gets buried?
Kewljay good job on the swap. Looks like it took you about 2 months? Think you can do it in 6 weeks? Lol. Im gonna try in my 1990!

Did you use your stock radiator?
Also I need my transmission in the same exact spot. Would you go with the 1" setback mounts again? I thouht about some $30 ebay brackets but idk after seeing your issues.
One more thing.. what guide did you use when modifying your harness

[kewljay223]

been a few days since i posted. just wanted to update. ive been driving the truck around for the past few day checking things out before my warantee is up in a few weeks. so far so good. runs and sounds very healthy. still no leaks. i got the fuel pump issue resolved.

i still dont know what the deal was with the temp. but i have a theory. when i took the thermo housing off, there was a lot of gunk built up behind it. i bet the water jackets were clogged and when i started the motor, it was only idling so there was not much pressure to blast through it. i bet when i hit the gas and got the pump really spinning, it probably cleared some things up. so my plan tomorrow is to run some flush through the whole system. probably do it twice, then put the thermo back in and see if that was the problem. ill keep you updated on that.

i did run into a lil snag the other day.... i got stranded on the freeway! motor just slowed down like it went into limp mode. so i pulled to the shoulder and thats when it just quit. to keep the story short, my gauge wasnt showing any fuel pressure with key on. so thats where i started. come to find out i didnt tie off a few wires good enough and the fell onto the exhaust mani, melted and shorted out my oil pressure/fuel switch unit which also blew a fuse on the old fuse box. i had some e-tape in the truck, got them off the exhaust, popped in a spare fuse and i was on my way in 5 min. lol. that was interesting to say the least.

the exhaust is directly under the cab and is waaaay to drony so it needs to be moved back. but im sick of crawling in and out to fab it up. so ill be taking it to a shop on monday. other than that, ill be doing the finishing touches to clean up the compartment and im ready to move on to the tranny swap.

[kewljay223]

I just read this whole thread. Tons of info here. I am new here but should this be a sticky before it gets buried?
Kewljay good job on the swap. Looks like it took you about 2 months? Think you can do it in 6 weeks? Lol. Im gonna try in my 1990!

Did you use your stock radiator?
Also I need my transmission in the same exact spot. Would you go with the 1" setback mounts again? I thouht about some $30 ebay brackets but idk after seeing your issues.
One more thing.. what guide did you use when modifying your harness

yeah its taken me about 2.5 months. i ran into a few issues but mostly the reason it took so long was my work schedule. plus i was still learning things along the way. but if i was to do another, i would be able to purchase more parts before hand, and with the knowledge i have now, im sure i could shave a month off. if this is your first, dont expect that tho! lol not gonna happen.

yes i used the stock radiator and it works fine with the exception of my overheating issue but thats not due to the rad. im not sure if i would go with the same mounts i got due to the extra trimming of the clamshells but i think mickey posted a set that didnt require the extra notching a several pages back. you need the 1 inch tho if you want to keep everything in the stock location.
word of advice. i know you want to do this on a budget as does everybody. but there are things that just make life easier if you pay a lil more and trust me its worth it. im not talking with motor mounts alone. 30 bucks seems cheap to me. i have a funny feeling they wont fit right. its a pain in the ass enough as it is forcing something that it wasnt designed to to. go with tried and proven parts on the major stuff and choose what you can skimp on for the minor things. just my 2 cents from my experience.

as for the wiring, there is no guide... lol every application is different so its up to you to figure it out. if you dont want to or dont trust yourself with it, have your harness reworked. this is the most time consuming part and confusing part. if you want to go through with it, all you need is diagrams from both vehicles, and do one wire at a time. i made a list of everything that needed to be cut and converted and i did them one by once checking them off as i went. but everybody has their own way of doing things. check out http://search.ebscohost.com/login.as...ile=autorefctr for diagrams. username: student
password: watc

good luck!!

[jwang203]

Thankyou so much!

[kewljay223]

i know im still not finished with the motor swap yet but i wanted to get the ball rolling on the 80e swap. im so nervous to punch it with the 60e... i really dont know what this thing can do yet! anyway, so i started looking for an 80e and last night after work i found an add that was posted yesterday for one that was a fresh rebuild with all updated parts and has only 17000 miles on it. picked it up an hour ago for 500 bucks!! i jumped on that deal since they normally go for about 850 with a lot more miles!! plus the guy knows his stuff and owns two smog stations!! craigslist can be scketchy but it can also make you new friends!!! lol. so while i finish cleaning up my engine compartment, i will be looking for the rest of the needed parts and how to's to complete the swap.

a few questions though about it.

1) since these trannys came in the hd obs trucks, i assume there are driveshafts in the yards that will be a direct change over as long as the chassis length is the same correct? should i look for one of these or just get mine shortened? if i shorten it, i will still have to get the new yolk and all. thats why im thinking a used one from an hd truck would be easier and cheaper. any thoughts?

2)anybody have the pinout diagram and which wires i need to change on the round connector? i know you did the 80e swap mickey... im counting on you for this!! haha

3) are the trans cooler lines a direct swap (thread wise) or will i need adapters?

4) mine didnt come with the black shifting module that the rectangle and square connectors plug into. will the one off my 60e bolt up the 80 case or do i have to buy one specifically for the 80? or make my own bracket to use the one i have? i read through the 60 to 80 swap sticky and it looks like it will swap over. but he mentioned something about a tcm... my truck doesnt have that correct? what am i supposed to do?

heres the new tranny. yay!

[Mickeymotormount]

Actually, I went from a 4L80E to a 4L60E. Kind of ass-backwards since the original 4L80E that came with the motor was cooked. I would have liked to stay with the heavier trans but that would mean I would have to find a donor truck with the right driveshafts in order to fit. For me, it was easier to stay with the 4L60E or 65E to keep the same driveshafts.

You will need to change some/add some wires on your trans plug in order to run the 4L80E. Also have to add a smaller harness for the other VSS on the side of the trans. This is not hard but will take time to track down and put all the wires in place.

[kewljay223]

alright thanks. ill search a lil more while i look for the rest of the parts do do the swap.

but i gotta ask how do you get the PRND light working!? thats basically the last thing i need to hook up. i cant find anywhere in either set of diagrams a specific light for the letters. all i can see is that they go from the switch to the pcm so im assuming the pcm controlls it? will the new pcm work on my old cluster? or am i supposed to just piggy back the 4 wires going to the square connector from the old harness? i dont get it.

and the only other issue is when i turn my key off, all my gauges go down except my fuel gauge, it pegs out. the only thing i did to that circuit was splice in the ppl wire to the new pcm. is the new pcm sending a signal or something? do i need to put some sort of diode in there so stop that from happening? ill check it out a lil more. just thought id bring it up to see if anyone else had that problem.

[Mickeymotormount]

After reading your previous thread, I'll try to answer a couple questions you asked.

1)You may luck out and find a 2 wheel drive 3/4 ton that had the 4L80E driveshaft. That should get you close but the rears may be different between your truck and the heavier truck. Something that will have to be investigated. You may be better off adapting/shortening your old shaft. Depends on your search outcome.


2) I have the pinout diagram for a '99 4L60E/4L80E. Hopefully it hasn't changed from this year to your year trans.

3)I don't know about the trans cooler lines. Could be a toss-up. Hopefully you win and you won't need any adapters.

4)As far as I know, they are the same along with the bracket. I will check the wiring schematic to see if the same wires go to each trans "shift switch". I will post them shortly.
My truck doesn't have the indicator light for the gear position. I guess I should say lucky me. As for your gas guage, not sure either since mine doesn't need input from the PCM to work.

[mike205]

Hey is the Gross Vehicle weight right? 8501?