1986 GMC Sierra Classic 4x4 Possable LS swap?

[country705]

I been lurking here for awhile and I have finally decided to introduce my project truck. the truck is a 1986 GMC Sierra Classic 4x4. The truck has a 350/700r4 combo that is on its last legs. the transmission has quit shifting and the engine leaks oil from every gasket as well it is very tired. I am very intimidated by the ls swap but I need the economy/performance/drivability that the ls provides. The fuel injection is an improvement that I desire and I am sure I will love once that it is installed into my truck. So I understand from my research that I will need the 5.3/4l60e, The harness from the 5.3 sent out to remove the unneeded accessories as well as to eliminate anti theft and Vats. A fuel pump capable of providing the amount of fuel pressure needed as well as dirty dingo mounts to mount the engine. as far as the rest of it goes I am completely confused and I don't know what I am missing! anyways here are some pics of my truck thanks in advance for any help/ suggestions and have a good night!

[kewljay223]

DOOOOOOO IIIITTTTT!!!!!!

haha looks like you have done your research and got most of the basics down. thats a great start. i assume you have some mechanical knowledge since your contemplating on doing it yourself and thats pretty much all you need to do it. depends how comfortable you are on doing certain things such as reading wiring diagrams and soldering, welding for fabricating parts, time to do it, and money to buy the parts.

if your uncomfortable with the wiring, you can always have a harness made up for you. its really easy to get the motor and trans it but the hard part is all the little things that you have to search for depending on what you want and getting everything hooked up like sensors and hoses. all the little connectors and stuff is what makes it all come together and work properly. that you will have to figure out pretty much on your own. but the ls power is WELL WORTH the time/money/frustration. i can vouch for that.

take a look through my thread in my sig. and check out lt1swap.com. very good info their. and if you want to tackle the wiring...
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.as...ile=autorefctr
user:student
password:uatc

that should get you going pretty well

good luck.

[country705]

Mechanical Knowledge....if you count changing spark plugs and oil in my wife's 2003 Chevy impala knowledge then I'm a genius..lol no I have a little knowledge but nothing major. Right now I am in the parts collecting phase. I want to get everything together and research as much as possible. if there is a lot of fabrication involved then I may have to have pay someone to help with the fab part. My understanding with most of the threads that I have read that the ls swap is pretty much straight forward into one of these trucks as long as you have the right parts to aid in the installation such as the proper harness that has been modified as well as the mounts and fuel pumps to accommodate the adequate fuel pressure. I may be a little naïve at this point but that is why I am here to gain more knowledge before I jump off the deep end. I am going to make what I can't buy. I have wanted one of these trucks with a fuel injected engine since before they were becoming a fad.

[kewljay223]

haha hey at least thats a start. a lot of guys pay people to do oil changes! but hey, if your willing to get your hands dirty, it most definately can be done. your right, there is not a lot of fabrication that needs to be done if all your doing is just a direct swap. like i said, it all depends on what your end goal is and what you want and it really depends on your application. since you have a chevy truck, chances are, there are motor mounts and other parts that have already been designed so you probably are good to go. but as an example, on my truck, the air intake for these motors sits on the passenger side where my battery used to be. so i had to modify my batt tray to fit on the driver side. i did the 80e swap cuz the 60e was trash after a month of abuse (all stock 6.0) so i had to adjust for that. i put my own efans in and made my own shroud for them. had to make my own bracket to mount the fuse block and pcm for the LS motor also. as you can see there are things that will have to be done to fit a motor in a vehicle that it wasnt designed to be in. thats my point. not hard. but its not exactly a DIRECT swap. just saying be prepared to do some custom fab work if necessary or have the cash to have someone do it for you.

i also want to let you know that this sh** is addicting. im not done with my swap yet and i already want to do another! lol so i suggest picking up a cheap welder from harbor freight or whatever and teach yourself some new skills! durring and after the swap, you will want to do more and more cuz its so much fun. you will also learn a ton from doing the swap alone. i sure did. i can now diagnose a lot of things that i never thought i would know before this. all i ever dealt with was carbs. but let me tell you, fuel injection and computers are the way to go. its alot more intricate but there are soooo many things that it lets you control vs carburators!

get your hands dirty bud! enjoy!!