Scope creep turned scope annihilation. What started as the quest for an overdrive transmission to replace the TH350 3 speed in my pickup now also a LQ9 engine swap with a 4l60e. Currently the truck has a Chevy 4.3 v6 Vortec installed by the previous owner.
I picked up an LQ9 with unknown background, other than it was purchased for the seller's abandoned project vehicle, and I was given assurances it was ~110,000 miles and had no indication of failures. The lq9 is 345hp and 380lb/ft. It's probably overkill for what remains of the mini's drive train. I was planning on dropping it in and not looking back, but after removing the oil pan and timing cover, I found crud and oil varnish. I also knew I'd be taking a risk by not inspecting the push rods, so that all pushed me over the edge and I decided to tear it all down. One bank of pushrods looks to be newer than the other. But otherwise there is no sign of abnormal wear. But since its apart, I'll take it to be cleaned and inspected by a machinist. I might throw a hotter cam in it too.
I also re-worked the wire harness and removed unnecessary circuits. I used a Bussmann relay panel to handle the few switched functions I need. I'm keeping the engine a 'drive by wire' setup as opposed to converting it to a cable throttle. This will give me the option of easily adding cruise control. I also kept a A/C clutch circuit, in case I decide to do that too. The harness work was super time intensive, and I can only hope I didn't mess up anywhere. It was mainly an educational exercise, and if I do another swap in the future Ill be buying a pre-made harness.
More to come as time allows.
I picked up an LQ9 with unknown background, other than it was purchased for the seller's abandoned project vehicle, and I was given assurances it was ~110,000 miles and had no indication of failures. The lq9 is 345hp and 380lb/ft. It's probably overkill for what remains of the mini's drive train. I was planning on dropping it in and not looking back, but after removing the oil pan and timing cover, I found crud and oil varnish. I also knew I'd be taking a risk by not inspecting the push rods, so that all pushed me over the edge and I decided to tear it all down. One bank of pushrods looks to be newer than the other. But otherwise there is no sign of abnormal wear. But since its apart, I'll take it to be cleaned and inspected by a machinist. I might throw a hotter cam in it too.
I also re-worked the wire harness and removed unnecessary circuits. I used a Bussmann relay panel to handle the few switched functions I need. I'm keeping the engine a 'drive by wire' setup as opposed to converting it to a cable throttle. This will give me the option of easily adding cruise control. I also kept a A/C clutch circuit, in case I decide to do that too. The harness work was super time intensive, and I can only hope I didn't mess up anywhere. It was mainly an educational exercise, and if I do another swap in the future Ill be buying a pre-made harness.
More to come as time allows.
