abritton77

Another thing I need help on is the A/C. It is very high on my list of things to make work. It still has all of the factory A/C stuff but the compressor seems to be locked up. The motor that I am getting has an A/C compressor on it that I hope to be able to use. Any advice on what I need to do to make it function properly.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

I have mine stock Chevelle one, I am only using the LS1 Compressor and some custom made lines. Else, everything is stock 71 Chevelle.

One issue is that some of the Compressors are Variable Displacement as compared to fixed Displacement compressors. Another tip would be to replace the Condenser for on rated at 134a if that is what you’re going to be using.
I have mine stock Chevelle one, I am only using the LS1 Compressor and some custom made lines. Else, everything is stock 71 Chevelle.

One issue is that some of the Compressors are Variable Displacement as compared to fixed Displacement compressors. Another tip would be to replace the Condenser for on rated at 134a if that is what you’re going to be using.

It works ok as long as I am moving, will blow at about 46-48 degree. But once I am stuck in traffic.. it doesn't cool that well. Starts blowing around 58 degree..

I suppose if I knew more, I could get it to work better as well as swapping some parts.

But it works good enough for me.

BC

garys 68

iTrader: (1)

If the AC compressor is locked up you may want to consider a sanden compressor mounted high passenger side. That eliminates the potential crossmember/mount interference issues too. Holley and Kwik make a bracket for it.
If you're going to keep you current setup, contact Classic Auto Air. They seem to be pretty good at updating AC systems. If you want to swap it out completely Vintage Air and Classic both have kits.

oldgoat69

I just recently got my factory AC running with the truck compressor. I modified the 2 truck hoses to work. I will be happy to provide the part #'s and show the mods. So far all works flawlessly, wife even complained about being too cold.
I used the OE F-body fans on a Northern Radiator for the LS swaps. Always runs right on the thermostat.
Yes you can modify your own harness, look at www.lt1swaps.com for a very detailed pinout chart.

abritton77

Ive been looking at that site and feel like I am ready to start on the harness. I would appreciate any part #'s and pics you have of the AC setup. Thanks guys for all of the info.

abritton77

I finally picked up the motor today. He said that it is from a 2002 Suburban. He has had it sitting in his shop since about 2004 and thinks it has about 40 K miles. I am wondering if I should tear it down and see if it needs honed or anything.

abritton77

Here are the Ebay headers...amazed that you can get these for less than $200 shipped.

oldgoat69

Did you get the coils with the engine? How about AC compressor and starter? The coils on some of the truck engines are unique. According to MSD's coil engineers other coils do not play well with the PCM. Make sure to get the correct ones. I will get you the hose part #'s. Just remember that you either need to have your POA recalibrated for 134a or use a pressure switch setup. You will find the specifics listed on the site in other threads.

abritton77

I got a set of coils, but they are not the originals, I also got the starter and compressor. The only thing missing is the alternator.

abritton77

On the right side of the motor there is a place for some type of sensor I guess. This is a round hole just above the oil pan at the back of the block and has a bolt beside it that appears that it would hold somthing in. Can anybody tell me what this is.

abritton77

Well I believe it is for the crank position sensor. I guess I will be needing one of those.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

Yes, it a should be the crank Sensor...just above the starter.

abritton77

I have read on here that one way to tell between a 4.8 and 5.3 is a tab on the head gasket. Mine said 4.8 but I pulled the head and it is a 5.3. I guess thats not a good way to tell. My fears are confirmed that it does need to be at least honed and maybe new rings. It got a little bit of rust in the cylinders where a valve was open.

fox12303

iTrader: (7)

I believe the tab only indicates pre-2002 or manufacturer of head not the engine size. So long as the cylinder is not pitted, a hone would be fine. Use a plateau hone as the final hone if possible as it helps seat the lower tension rings in LS motors. Check the instructions included with the ring set.

chuckd71

iTrader: (23)

Will those headers fit without too much modification?

abritton77

I hope so, Ive read several threads where they were used. Ive got to weld up the egr holes but that wont be a problem.

abritton77

The motor looked pretty bad and was stuck pretty good but I am very confident that a quick hone and new rings will fix it up. I took it mostly apart yesterday. My only concern about the pistons is I had to hit them pretty hard with a hammer to free them up. I was using about a 6" block of soft wood to hit with the hammer of course but I wonder if they may break later. Any thoughts, are they damaged? Im tossing around the idea of getting it bored out and putting in some ls1 pistons or just dropping in a set 4.8 pistons for a compression bump.

chuckd71

iTrader: (23)

Did he say when this pan would be coming out?

Someone mentioned windstar fans, that is what I'm using as well.

Plastic fuel line and fittings can be pulled from 90s Cadillacs pretty easily at a yard, probably for less than $10. Some have plastic lines in front connecting to metal lines underneath, but some have plastic the whole way back in segments of various sizes. Wish I had known that from the start. It's on plenty of other cars, but that's just one I recall having at least one large continuous piece.

fox12303

iTrader: (7)

I wouldn't believe you would damage the pistons with wood. Did you clean them up yet? Any visual damage/impressions/fractures? If not, i'd say they are OK to use. If you decide to overbore to LS1, I have a nice matched set of pistons/rods and a pair of LS1 heads. PM me if interested.

The compression bump with 5.3 heads may be too much using the 4.8 pistons. Did you do the calculation? What camshaft are you going to use? You will want to decide this based on your compression ration or vise-versa. You can pickup a 6.0 camshaft pretty cheap or even a Z06 camshaft. I've used both.

You can do LS1 heads on a 5.3 with 4.8 pistons since they have a larger combustion chamber it keeps the c/r lower for pump gas. A 5.3 with 4.8 pistons, LS1 heads ported/polished and a Z06 camshaft makes 350HP+ and it runs on 87 octane.

abritton77

I was actually thinking about getting a set of ls1 heads. I figured that may be cheaper than getting larger valves put in the 5.3 heads. Just guessing cause I am not sure where I can get the heads done around here. I really havent put much thought into a cam but was thinking about something in the 220 @ .050 range. Its not going to be a race car, but it will get raced. My initial plan was to not do any mods at all right now and if all it takes is a hone then I will probably continue that route. I am going to port my current heads and rig up something to measure flow. I wont be able to calculate actual cfm but will be able to measure improvements.