Conversions & Swaps LSX Engines in Non-LSX Vehicles
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Old 07-25-2018, 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by BillyFargon
You may be able to just use your stock power steering hose for now and just get that dirty dingo adapter.. it will just have a weird bend in it ...

I have the plastic cradle for the computer but not like a whole enclosure.. its bulky but if you think you would want it let me know and I could at least get you a pic..
I would just have to buy the hose and the adapter, but if it don't fit, I'll just take it back to the autopart store.
As far as the bracket that you are talking about, is it black and holds both ECM and TCM one on each side? If it is, I have that and I tried to figure out where to mount it but that's when I decided on the firewall. Thanks though, appreciate it
Old 07-30-2018, 08:40 AM
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Ok guys I finally looked into addressing the long starts. Wasn't sure if it is the pump or the filter/regulator so I finally got and installed a fuel pressure gauge on Thursday and was only getting about 38psi Sometime back when I took the car out for a drive around my block and came back to the garage, I had noticed there was a leak coming from the top of the tank and figured maybe the leak has something to do with the low pressure. I dropped the tank over the weekend and applied some thread sealant to the fittings and put the tank back up. Turned on the car and still have a leak. I'm gonna have to drop it again and this time check for leaks while the tank is down so I can see where exactly the leak is coming from (fittings or maybe the gasket from the pump?).

So my questions are
1) would a leak in the system cause the pressure to be low
2) would the low pressure cause the engine to have a hard time starting?
Old 07-30-2018, 10:08 AM
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Leaks in the fuel line can cause low pressure, but not around the sender. Yes low pressure will cause the hard start. What sealant did you use? Yellow teflon is fuel-resistant, but Permatex aviation #3 (paste) is recommended. It's also possible that the filter/regulator is bad - I personally had a bad experience with the Corvette FPR, so I always recommend a true regulator.
Old 07-30-2018, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by hookemdevils22
Leaks in the fuel line can cause low pressure, but not around the sender. Yes low pressure will cause the hard start. What sealant did you use? Yellow teflon is fuel-resistant, but Permatex aviation #3 (paste) is recommended. It's also possible that the filter/regulator is bad - I personally had a bad experience with the Corvette FPR, so I always recommend a true regulator.
I used Jegs thread sealant for the fittings. Is it possible for fuel to come up from the gasket of the fuel pump? Would the Permatex #2 work since I can't find #3 locally?

As far as the regulator, it was placed next to the tank underneath on a fuel line support clip on the passenger side. I don't have a current pic of it, but here is one with a red circle showing the location where it was mounted. I did grind the area to bare metal, but would that location provide a good ground or does it have to be on the frame rail?

Last edited by jcastyo80; 07-30-2018 at 11:02 AM.
Old 08-01-2018, 11:42 AM
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Ok so I'm troubleshooting this low pressure issue and leak. This is what I found out yesterday when I dropped the tank again and this time took out the pump and the fuel level sender.

The person that did the work for me didn't know what the heck he was doing or doesn't know how to follow simple instructions.
First, the cork gasket to the pump was a bit chewed up near one of the screw holes and no sealant was used between pump the tank and gasket or anywhere, which possibly contributing to some leaking through gasket. Second, there was no adjustment made to the sender for height or for the float rod. I don't have a fuel gauge yet, but if I had one, I would have been showing lower levels than what I would actually have had. I didn't have a chance to check but I don't doubt the pump isn't the right height either. I'm hoping this is what is causing my low pressure. I think its also time for me to get a fuel access door in the trunk so I'm not dropping tanks all the time lol.

Old 08-01-2018, 12:22 PM
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Looking good
Old 08-01-2018, 04:43 PM
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Jegs sealant doesn't specify that it's OK with fuel, but a reviewer mentioned that it worked for them. If it's not leaking then I guess you're good. The ground for the FPR is just so it doesn't develop static charge (bad with fuel). That location is fine.

Leaks in the fuel line itself will lead to pressure issues, but not the gasket at the top of the tank. You're on the right path, but might have to try another FPR, then pump, if the issue continues. Does the pump prime when you turn the key to the on position?
Old 08-01-2018, 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by hookemdevils22
Jegs sealant doesn't specify that it's OK with fuel, but a reviewer mentioned that it worked for them. If it's not leaking then I guess you're good. The ground for the FPR is just so it doesn't develop static charge (bad with fuel). That location is fine.

Leaks in the fuel line itself will lead to pressure issues, but not the gasket at the top of the tank. You're on the right path, but might have to try another FPR, then pump, if the issue continues. Does the pump prime when you turn the key to the on position?
Yeah couldn't find any info on it but saw that review so that's why I went ahead and went with it. So far hadn't seen any leaks from the fittings so I'll keep an eye out on that.
As far as the pump, it does prime with the key on position, I hear it making noise and then it stops after like 3 seconds. I'm gonna make the necessary in tank adjustments and then check for leaks.

Since at the moment I don't have a way to check the top fittings for leaks when its mounted up to the car, I was thinking about having the tank on the ground, but on an old tire that I have laying around, and start the car that way. Is there any issue that could occur by doing it this way?

Thanks for the reply hookem
Old 08-01-2018, 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by lasater
Looking good
Thanks! Slowly but surely, just working out some bugs
Old 08-02-2018, 12:14 PM
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I had the same issues with leaks from the top of the tank and it was because of the shitty gaskets that come with the Tanks setup. I believe the replacement was the cork that you have so it may just be a matter of adding some #2 permatex when you reinstall. I suspect your Filter regulator to be bad. Mine is a little off as well. It will usually immediately prime to 60 psi but immediately starts to drop until I start the car. Sometimes I won't build sufficient pressure and I have to prime it again before I start. My pressure also fluctuates 5 to 10 psi at idle sometimes but smooths out when driving. I recommend mounting a fuel pressure gauge until you get it worked out. I have one permanently on my cowl so I always know what is going on.
Old 08-02-2018, 01:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Aston Tibs
I had the same issues with leaks from the top of the tank and it was because of the shitty gaskets that come with the Tanks setup. I believe the replacement was the cork that you have so it may just be a matter of adding some #2 permatex when you reinstall. I suspect your Filter regulator to be bad. Mine is a little off as well. It will usually immediately prime to 60 psi but immediately starts to drop until I start the car. Sometimes I won't build sufficient pressure and I have to prime it again before I start. My pressure also fluctuates 5 to 10 psi at idle sometimes but smooths out when driving. I recommend mounting a fuel pressure gauge until you get it worked out. I have one permanently on my cowl so I always know what is going on.
Weird thing is that the pump primes but there is no pressure at the rails. It stays at 0 and it isn't until I start cranking that it start to build pressure.
So from some of the responses I've received is that it should be marking pressure as soon as the key goes into the "on" but in my case the pump is priming but not getting past the regulator.
Old 08-03-2018, 12:27 PM
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Keep in mind that some fuel pumps don't have a one-way check valve to hold pressure. In your case, jcasty, it sounds like the FPR is bypassing too much fuel or the pump itself is bad. You should also check voltage at the pump itself to make sure it's getting full juice. Unhook the plug and have someone kick it to prime while you check the voltage; optionally, you can check during cranking.

You shouldn't have any issues starting the car with the tank on a tire.
Old 08-06-2018, 08:25 AM
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Here is an update. I received the new gasket and the white and black pickup tubes on Saturday and cut them to the correct size which btw originally was short by 1/2". Also there was no white tube on the nipple of the fuel pump which the black pickup tube goes over so I was told that would contribute to a loss of pressure. Anyway I put everything back together and cranked the engine and finally had 58psi which allowed the engine to start right away. The only issue I still have is a leak and I found it was coming from the fitting on the supply side of the pump.

Does anyone know how tight/how much torque is needed to have a good leak free connection? I wasn't sure if it was the thread of the fitting or maybe the thread of the pump so I swapped the fitting with the one on the return side since it wasn't leaking. I also applied some Aviation compound last night so I'll hook things up after work and try again. If it continues leaking, I don't know what else to do
Old 08-07-2018, 08:21 AM
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Ok well it seems I didn't tighten the fitting enough but after tightening some more it stopped the leak and pressure is up but at about 55psi which I don't know is good enough but it gets the engine started the first try and no leaks so far. I'm hoping this can be crossed off my list for good and not have to revisit.

Thanks for everyone's help on my fuel delivery issues!
Old 08-07-2018, 12:19 PM
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good to hear! 55 is a just a hair low... it should be 58±2 psi, I believe. That could be within tolerance of the fuel gauge. Just make sure it doesn't drop significantly under load.
Old 08-07-2018, 01:40 PM
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Thanks hookem will definitely keep an eye out under load.

Here are a couple of updated pics of the engine bay. Still have quite a bit of work there but slowly starting to get cleaned up especially the hoses and need to get the loose wires covered up with a wire loom.
Old 08-07-2018, 03:06 PM
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I was looking at the last picture and an idea popped up. See images below for my wild idea. Would this work?
The air box would be tied in with the radiator support and I'm sure it would require a ton of fabricating but I think it would look cool and unfortunately my fab skills are pretty much non-existent. I know Harwood sells a hood similar but I just don't like the look for some reason and I don't know if someone has already done this if so please post some links to one.
Excuse my Photoshop skills


Old 08-07-2018, 10:31 PM
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I don't see why that wouldn't work, but like you said, it would require some pretty good fab work to make the bottom of the filter housing.. You would have to seal off the majority of the cowl hood all the way back to the opening at the cowl, but that would be pretty easy. Your photo shop skills are definitely better than mine, I don't think I could have pulled off those pics!
Old 10-22-2018, 11:36 AM
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Ok guys I have been away for a couple of months but I hadn't been able to work on the car.

Here are some updates

I got a new radiator from Champion Cooling to replace the Camaro radiator I had before that. This one is the Dual Pass LS Conversion Radiator with a 23" core. This one is a much better fit and now was able to mount the battery tray and battery in the stock location. I also like the idea of not having the upper radiator hose run across the other side. I did have to get a new trans cooler though, since this radiator didn't have connections for the trans lines. I have yet to mount the cooler.



I also got the 90s Thunderbird/Cougar 2-speed fan. Man I can't believe how much air this thing blows especially in high speed. I followed Billy Fargon's tips, (thanks Billy for all your info) and cut about 3/4" off of it. I did the measure just to make sure 3/4" would be sufficient before I went ahead and made the cut. I will need to make the brackets to mount it to the radiator support.
The fan and the water pump pulley are offset from each other and I don't see anything that would come in contact with the pulley. Just wanted to check with you all and hear your thoughts on the clearance I have and if there will be any issues with the way it is now.





I also got some Classic Chambered Powerstick mufflers and I love the deep sound it gives it at idle, I haven't driven out to see how it sounds on the road yet until I finish the trans cooler setup and the electric fan.

I'll post more updates as I get more work done.
Old 10-22-2018, 11:53 AM
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Looks good! I don't think there should be a problem with that clearance. Mine is really close too and I haven't had an issue.


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