80 series PHH delete with extra steps (Cammed L92/6L80 swap)

[mikedrom]

Figured I’d document this swap as I go along. This is not going to be extremely detailed since many threads on mud already exist about LS swaps, so this will just cover the general path I’m taking.

Beginning in the garage: shop space is ultra tight. On 37s, I actually need to go to 1psi so I can pull the 80 in without hitting the garage door. It’s not deep enough to pull the motor with the garage door closed, either:

What’s going in:

A 6.2L L92 from a 2007 Yukon Denali. I pulled it apart and replaced everything that needed attention.

Exhaust valves were pitted, so I replaced all of them. This photo was after a lot of lapping trying to save them:

The cam bearings were shot, so I replaced them, deleted the VVT and installed this Texas speed truck cam:

Also (not pictured) took the opportunity to put a billet torque converter in, as that is the weak spot in the 6L80.

Engine is fully assembled now, but I’m horrible at taking pictures, so I’ll get some later.

Today I yanked the 1FZ out:

Coming up tomorrow: fitting the Denali DBW gas pedal

 

[Inukshuk]

Nice score on the 6.2. How many miles were on it?

 

[mikedrom]

Nice score on the 6.2. How many miles were on it?

200k. I bought the whole Denali for 3k and parted it out. I’ve already made the 3k back on parts and still have a lot to list on eBay from it.

 

[mikedrom]

Manifolds came:

Threw them on in prep for a test fit. Yes, there is still tape over the exhaust ports:

Current progress is tracing all wires in the L92 harness and removing any extras. It’s pretty straightforward except for a plug that I couldn’t find a pinout for:

Luckily, I was able to CTRL+F the electrical diagram for the truck to find the name of the connector and the various pins scattered through different sections of the 670-page PDF. Took a while to create a pin out sheet, but it will make it a lot faster when I’m building the harness on the bench!

 

[mikedrom]

Got everything labeled on the LS harness. Obligatory intimidating-appearing spaghetti wiring loom pic:

also tackled the fuel filter/pressure regulator today. I’m going to use the factory Toyota lines to test, then upgrade the diameter if I need later on. I sliced the send and return lines right after the tank and mounted the filter to the frame with a rivnut. A very small AN hose completes the setup:

The 6L80 has one more shift gate than the 93-97 cruiser has. Many folks get a 91-92 shifter to solve this, but I solved it myself for free in about 10 minutes with a dremel and a file:

It may not look perfect, but it shifts buttery smooth into the extra gate.

 

[mikedrom]

I spent most of the day pouring over wiring diagrams for the Denali and the 80. I intend to repurpose most of the 80 wiring for two reasons: first, I don’t have to run new wires, and second, I don’t have a bunch of random plugs that used to go to stuff just hanging around everywhere. I will find new things for those plugs to plug into!

That being said, I did opt to add an additional fuse box. It’s possible I could’ve made it work with just the 80 fuses and relays, but the labeling would be super inconsistent, and there were certain things I didn’t want grouped together behind the same fuse.

The only action that happened in the garage today was installing two auxiliary fuse boxes—one for swap-related fuses, and another for all of the extra stuff I’ve added (and plan to add) over the years (winch, mobile radio, trailer brakes, compressor, lights, etc.).

The “extra stuff” fuse box is from an older Outback. I picked it up randomly at the junk yard because it is the same 90s-style box and blends right in. It wasn’t until afterward that I realized how genius this fuse box actually is. It essentially has two large (8ga) wires that power separate sections of the fuse box, meaning I can dedicate half to switched power and half to constant power super easily. I know that it’s easy enough to do that with any old box, but I was very pleased that it came like that already.

Ignore the section chopped off the shock tower—it will eventually support a tower brace: