I have a 97 4.3l LS SS ZQ8 S10 w-vin with a 4l60E. I have recently purchased an 02 5.3l LMF engine, pcm, wiring harness and all engine accessories. I understand I need I need a motor mount kit, headers, fuel line adapters elec. fans and lines and hoses. I want to use the 4.3 torque converter and any other existing parts for a "factory" installation. If I have both wiring harnesses and PCMs is there a way to make it work without flashing a PCM? What do I need to make the torque converter/flexplate work? Do I need and adapter? Can someone make me a list to see what I am missing or pass on some intel? Please Help!!!!

 

Before you end up with speculated answers you need to be where this swap is done on a regular..
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f213/p...x-swap-283608/

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f213/l...mation-390967/

enjoy the abundance of info you will gather...

 

I appreciate the response, I must however say that I have read that already and asked them the some of the same things. I am not getting all the answers that I need as everyone has different opinions. I am trying to find out what I really need to spend money on in order to do the swap and I dont want to get parts/services I dont need. I am having trouble finding the answers i need because one man says u need this and the next says u dont.

 

You need to do a lot of reading and use the search button. You will have to decide which mounts and exhaust to use. There are different setups and of course everyone has different opinions. In the end, make your own decision based off of research.

 

I did a 98 and like you want to, i wanted to reuse as much as possible. BUT - I did it because i am undecided on what transmission to run. Here is what i did in regards to your questions...

Motor mount kit- http://www.currentperformance.com/Swap_Parts/parts.html
I used his bracket and eurothane mounts- It was $150 and well worth it.

Exhaust- The above link also has headers you can use, my swap is 4x4 so i used modified 98/99 f body manifolds.

Fuel system/adapters- I used the factory 4.3L pump since it was a brand new Bosch pump and havent had any issues yet, but havent driven it much. I used the truck intake manifold/fuel rail setup that has 2 fuel line connections feed and return- and made 2 adapters that connected to the S10 hard lines in the center of the firewall to the intake- they were seriously less than 12" long each. The adapters were the nylon fuel line like newer cars run with the proper push-on fitting for the fuel rail on one end and the threaded connection on the other for the S10 fuel lines.

Fans- I wanted to reuse the factory shroud/mechanical fan, and the only reason i couldnt was my engine sat about 1/2" too high- besides that i had plenty of clearance BUT that was becuase i recessed my radiatior into the core support completely, not like it is normally done here, but it wasnt that hard- did require alot of cutting, then rewelding the old lower mounting tabs for the radiator mounts into the core support.

Fans- Now i am going to get a set of the fans that alot of people use for these swaps- the Ford Contour fans- it has been done many times.

Radiator- I reused the factory one as it had been replaced not too long ago.

Hoses- Radaitor hose- if you have the truck style water pump that i do that exits angled to the front passenger headlight then you want an upper hose for a fullsize truck like a 2001 Chevy 1500 with the 5.3. You may need to shorten it a little, I will be swapping to this hose likely.
Lower radiator hose- i dont have the model number of this hose but its pretty easy to match up
Heater hose- get some 1/2" and 5/8" heater hose from your FLAPS and route it how you want, only note i will make here is that i am chaging how the S10 cooling system was setup to match the cooling system design of the newer engine- I am going to install a radiator cap on the radiator that is a solid cap/ no pressure releif, and i am going to run a "T" in the larger heater hose (return hose from heater core) up to a pressureized coolant jug/degas bottle, and i also will be routing the small coolant line from the steam tubes on the heads to this degas bottle just like they did from the factory. This design allows that any air in the system will find its way to the bottle as its designed, I know that the older system did this also with the overflow bottle but I feel this is a better design. Also this put the system at a slightly higher pressure- i believe that the s10 system is 15psi and the newer trucks are 21psi (could be slightly off here) but every pound of pressure you put on the cooling system raises the boiling point by 3 degrees. So a 15psi system raises it from 212 to 257 degrees, and the 21 PSI system raises it to 275 degrees so that is just a small added benifit.

Transmission- There is a GM kit that has a crank spacer and bolts that you need to reuse your factory torque convertor and flexplate assembly. I paid $50 for it i believe.

Wiring- No matter how you build your harness you will at the very least need to have your computer tuned to have VATS- Security- removed. I would send it to a reputable place, I have 2 computers in 2 different swaps that I now have to pay to either have them fixed to be exactly what i want or buy HP Tuners myself and fix it either way i have wasted $400+ already.

Good luck

 

I have brand new LSX swap shorty headers that are cermaic coated black with the 2.5" collectors with O2 sensor bugs in them. I just picked up a set of long tube outside the frame headers and dont need these if your interested. I can send you pics/link to them.

Also have a few truck A/C compressors if yours is a high mile or you dont have an AC setup and want one.

 

Thanks so much for ypur help marky and every1 else. K11per what u want 4 the headers? As for the crankshaft adapter, Will my 5.3 starter fully engage the ring gear on the flexplate and everything will be cool then??