LS Swapping the Mini Truck (LQ9)

[dan1554]

Things are still moving despite having been overseas for 2 weeks. Got to the stage where all the little things were piling up, and it seemed a little overwhelming looking at the to-do list. But got the radiator and fans to clear with some slicing of the front body bracing. Plumbed up the power steering using the old lines from the 4.3. Squashed leaks by tightening a few connections. So far so good. Now Im tackling wiring. I think a lot of the pickup could be gutted of its harness but that'll maybe be another phase when I have the time to pull the dash apart. Really at this stage, its just the OBD2 port, CEL and oil pressure gauge that Im worried about. Need a water temperature sensor to hook up to the Toyota dash, but Im relying on OBD2 readouts for now. No RPMs on the pickup dash. Im considering my options for an obd2 display to bolt to the dash, but am wary of the quality of all the Chinesium on Amazon. I also modified the drive-by-wire pedal from the Escalade to bolt where the old toy pedal was. Its a tight fit, and needs a revisit to add another fastening point to the firewall. It'll work for now though.

Exhaust is routed to the muffler. Still need to continue it after that, but at least I can drive it semi-legally and not go deaf. I screwed up a bit and wasnt paying attention to how the exhaust clears the front drive shaft. It has no reason to be in 4wd anyway until I can get it broken in and tuned.

Speaking of driveshafts, I was hoping the old rear DS would still fit enough to get it on the road, but it doesn't. Ordered some new shafts. I think thats allI need to hobble it out on the street. Next after that is to get it dyno tuned. Its already throwing some codes for misfires which I assume is because of the aftermarket camshaft. The tune should fix it.

Yes, I suck at tig welding.

 

[DanS]

No RPMs on the pickup dash. Im considering my options for an obd2 display to bolt to the dash, but am wary of the quality of all the Chinesium on Amazon.

Swap an SR5 gauge cluster (with RPM) into your truck. Then use a Dakota digital converter to make it read correctly (if the LQ9 computer can't output correctly as is). Super clean, and easy.

Dan

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

. Now Im tackling wiring. I think a lot of the pickup could be gutted of its harness but that'll maybe be another phase when I have the time to pull the dash apart. Really at this stage, its just the OBD2 port, CEL and oil pressure gauge that Im worried about. Need a water temperature sensor to hook up to the Toyota dash, but Im relying on OBD2 readouts for now. No RPMs on the pickup dash. Im considering my options for an obd2 display to bolt to the dash, but am wary of the quality of all the Chinesium on Amazon.

Just build your own dash cluster w/ some decent gages and a piece of sheet metal.
Did you use the factory harness and computer?

 

[dan1554]

Its far from original toyota so I am considering building my own dash. The only things hooked up to the Toy dash right now are the mechanical speedo cable and the fuel level sensor. Plus maybe a few odds and ends like high beam indicator. Everything engine related is 100% self-contained and running on the GM computer/harness, so I could gut the toy harness and it'd still run. An OBD2 display and some gauges (like oil press) taped to my dash are the stop-gap until I can get the time to go nuts with the interior.

I'm half-assing some of the less-critical things in favor of having it road-worthy sooner, and to meet some self-imposed deadlines. OCD is phase 2 or 3.

 

[dan1554]

Well I got the rear driveshaft installed, and thought I was so close to taking it for a spin. Two problems arose:

1. Puking ATF all over the floor. The harness connector on the trans got punched inward at some point and broke its retaining clips, so it doesnt make a good seal. I originally pulled it upward with a small pick enough to get the harness connected, but I guess its not enough. Turns out someone makes a metal retainer for the connector, but I have to drain and drop the pan to install it.
2. I made the assumption that the ecu fan circuits were positively switched like everything else, but they are a switched ground. My Bussmann has a shared switch bus for one side of the relay, so that wont work. Ordered a new Bussmann which is basically nothing but empty sockets so I can use either switched supply or ground. I'd like to figure out something cleaner at some point, it'll be a small rats nest.

Im very ready to have this on the road.

 

[dan1554]

FINALLY got it moving under its own power. Idle is lumpy without a tune, but driving around, it wants to GO. Im honestly a little nervous about fine throttle control while wheeling. We'll see maybe the tune will help that.

Getting in to overdrive is a little strange after coming from the 3 speed. I like it!

Anyway Im not doing any full throttle runs until I break it in a bit. But even part throttle it already puts a grin on the face.

 

[Stuckinthe80s]

Awww c'mon! Everyone knows that donuts are the best way to break in a new motor!

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

Awesome! How long till she's on won tons??

 

[Doughboy]

Awesome! How long till she's on won tons??

Within 4 years.

 

[dan1554]

Exhaust is routed all the way out the back, but I've decided the single fiberglass muffler is too loud. I have two turbo style mufflers that Im hoping will fix that. It just means the never-ending exhaust work is more never-ending.

Took it out for about 50 miles of break in. Its pretty gutless (for what it should be) and has some sputters and an occasional mild backfire due to the cam and lack of tune. This is to be expected, but there is no joy in having it on the road the way it runs currently.

I was on my way to get said tune, when my serpentine belt shredded. It was off one ridge on the crank pulley, and it turns out the PS pulley is not pressed in far enough. I needed a 5 inch PS pulley, and the only one I could find (a billet $$$ pulley), looks to be slightly too small for the pump shaft. Anyway I'm going to go try to torque that pulley on even harder and hope I don't strip threads on the shaft or bolt. Im already at breaker-bar levels of torque on it. The only other thing I can think of is to have that pulley widened ever so slightly on a lathe. (IF I can ever get it off again) Or just trim the belt down to 4 ridges and run it misaligned. <redneck_emoji>

Anyway we're probably maybe moving in a few months and this 'want to' has been knocked down quite a few rungs by 'have-to's. So I get to look at it in the driveway for a while.

 

[dan1554]

Made some progress. Enough to where I think I could drive it a few hours to get it to the new place.

First order of business was to get the PS pulley aligned. @jps8460 had a GREAT idea to take a small ball hone (like for brakes) and open up the pulley enough to fit on the shaft. This worked perfectly. The only problem was getting it off after I reefed on it with a breaker. This was the aftermath on the billet aluminum. Again this was the only 5 inch pulley I could find, or I would have gone with something cheaper and more durable. After a few touches with a file to knock down sharp edges, it was functional (but ugly).

Next I took it in for a tune. It had a random misfire which I attributed to the cam. This wasnt the case, and the tuner informed me something else was wrong with it. Surprisingly, he was still able to do the tune.

He said a cracked injector was the likely culprit. So I brought it home, still popping and backfiring, but never the less running much better post-tune. Just today I was able to troubleshoot the ignition system. Thankfully the tuner was spot-on.

I just took it out for a drive this morning. This thing RIPS. At lower speeds my 35s will lose traction if I floor it. Definitely in for a world of trouble if you floor this on the trail. Stuff will break. On the highway, flooring it causes the whole truck to squat to one side, and puts a huge grin on my face.

Next order of business will be to make some adjustments to the cooling system. It definitely got a little hot after the tuning session. Mostly when putzing around in downtown traffic. Thinking Ill try a 160 degree thermostat and go from there. Proper routing of the intake where its not sitting right above the exhaust manifolds might help too, but I hear thats a questionable theory. Also still need to do the exhaust work for the front DS and new mufflers. Its LOUD right now. Not really what Im aiming for.

 

[MDH33]

Super cool Dan, it blows my mind watching you swap an engine that big into one of these. That's going to be a lot of fun when it's done. Nice job!

 

[rover67]

That’s awesome glad you figured it out and it rips. Reminds me of the old days when we’d overpower everything. Have fun with it and embrace the upgrades as they become necessary.

 

[jps8460]

Sahweet!

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

won-tons are definitely in your future.

 

[DanS]

Very cool!

If it's not drivable to the new place safely, or even if you just don't want to chance it, drop me a line and we can tow it with the big stupid Dodge if that's helpful.

Dan

 

[dan1554]

Thanks for that offer @DanS ! Hopefully things are looking up. Addad the 160f thermostat and replaced the fans with spals. Also moved the trans cooler out of the way. Temps now sit right around where fan 2 is set to engage, 210f. That seems a lot better to me. That was in city traffic with about 90f ambient. Left the intake where it is.

I also picked up a scangauge 3 because I got tired of messing around with my phone. Nice to have something dedicated.

With both fans on, voltage drops to 12.3ish, even with a big escalade alternator. For the sake of just getting things done I used the previous wiring and I'm wondering now if it's not up for the job. The used alternator could also be worn out. The adventure continues.

 

[Doughboy]

 

[dan1554]

Overdue update. We made it to the new house back in November. Loaded the pickup down with as much stuff as possible which was a mistake. Caster is still too far off to be stable. Got some good death wobble. After transferring heavy things to my wife's civic it was manageable.

Here is my to-do list to fix it:
- Higher degree shims to fix caster. This should take care of most of it.
- Sway bar (anti-rock, probably)
- New driver side shock. Bilstein is already leaking and its never been offroad.

In the meantime, I dropped it off at a local shop and had them reroute the exhaust. I don't have the space, time or desire to do more exhaust work and Im glad I let someone else take it on. This gets it out of the way of the front drive shaft. Two issues are still blocking me from having 4wd. The front drive shaft I ordered is too short at full droop, so I need to have a new one made. The shaft also barely contacts the oil pan, but Im fairly confident a bfh will fix it.

 

[Doughboy]

I'll hit it with a BFH