forcefeedws6

iTrader: (1)

5 YJ 5.3L LS buildSo I picked up a pretty worn out 95 Wrangler with a blown up 2.5L with a plan to do a 5.3L LS swap. The wife has been wanting a Jeep for a while and I finally talked her into picking this one up. After tearing the thing apart I quickly learned that this was gonna have to be a complete rebuild/restore and not just a motor and trans swap. This thing ended up being way over budget and is almost completely new short of the frame and Jeep tub/body.

So overall the build consisted of these major pieces:

-2004 Yukon Denali 5.3L motor
--Used Pontiac G8 manifolds that I had in the shop from a previous car build (truck manifolds would not clear)
-2001 4L65E trans w/B&M trans cooler
-Novak transfer case adapter kit and motor mounts
-Stock YJ NP231 Transfer case (rebuilt)
-Ford 8.8 Rear w/disk brakes and 4.10 gears
-DIY standalone engine wiring harness
-Autometer Phantom gauges
-B&M shifter
-Stock TJ seats with Bestop seat covers
-Grant steering wheel
-New 2" body lift to replace the half assed home built body lift from previous owner
-New front and rear bumpers
-New front and rear fenders
-Rhino lined interior
-OME 2.5" lift leaf springs
-BFG KO2 33X12.5X15 tires

Things still in the works:
-Rock sliders/side steps
-Front winch
-Trail recovery gear
-Center console
-Sound bar
-Rear corner guards
-Radio and CB

Now onto the pictures!!

Here she is the day we picked her up, in all her glory...







First started by tearing everything out of it. Gutted the interior, pulled the engine wiring out, and started stripping and coating the frame and firewall.








Then came the main objective... test fitting the 5.3L LS motor. First I got the new radiator bolted up to the core support and then the motor hoisted in.






Then once I got the motor and trans positioned where I wanted them, the motor mounts got welded in and the motor was finally officially sitting in the Jeep.





So after this, I decided to switch gears and focus on the interior. Finished Rhino lining the floor, swapped in a new steering wheel, put some Jeep TJ seats in, fixed the lower seats support wires, and got some seat covers to put on them, and put in new seat belts. I also took out the stock gauges and replaced them with Autometer Phantom gauges.




Then after this was accomplished, the part that I was dreading the most... the LS engine harness. I tore it apart and started depinning the wires that were no longer needed.





So now that the harness was done, I got it routed and connected and spliced in into the Jeep body harness and power distribution center box. I mounted th eECU behind the driver side fender on the lower part of the firewall and also got the front fenders on. I also put the Ford Taurus fans in to check clearances.






After many more hours of work the pretty much final product emerged from the shop. Ford 8.8 rear with disc brakes, 4.10 gears, and factory LCD installed, interior is mostly done, front and rear bumpers installed, gauges wired up and installed, and a ton of other odds and ends of things were done.

G Atsma

Nice job! How does it run?

forcefeedws6

iTrader: (1)

It runs great!!! Fired up the HPTuners and tweaked the stock tune and trans settings. Had a local exhaust shop weld up an exhaust and it's a little louder than I would have liked, but it does sounds pretty nice though. I finally got a soft top put on it the other day and took it out for a small road trip and it drove really, really nice. I'll try to take some updated pics tomorrow and maybe even a video or two.

G Atsma

Looking forward to them! But no big deal if you don't. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!

forcefeedws6

iTrader: (1)

Didn't get a chance to get any videos, but here's a few shots of the Jeep after a trip to town and back.

G Atsma

Nice rig! I bet that 5.3 lets it get NOTHING in its way!

forcefeedws6

iTrader: (1)

Yea, this thing is a blast to drive. It's amazing how quick this thing is with just a stock 5.3 in it. The fact that it only weighs 2800 - 3000 pounds may have something to do with that.

LS1 TJ

My 98 Wrangler LS6/4L60E with AFR heads and 4.10 gears smoked a couple of Harley guys past 80 mph. Of course this was on a closed course past the local mall!.

pdxmotorhead

So how many days ballpark did you put in to finish it?

forcefeedws6

iTrader: (1)

It was right at 6 months total. That was working only about 8-10 hrs total each weekend.

forcefeedws6

iTrader: (1)

Nice!!! I was originally not going to mod this motor, but I'm already contemplating an intake swap and maybe a cam upgrade. HAHA