When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
It appears that the engine is the cheap part of the LS swap, even if you went with a crate LS engine.
Renegade charges $13,644 for their swap kit with all their options and Chavis is about $300 cheaper, but has what I believe is a better solution.
Are you using one of the above, or are you going to fabricate your own, or do you know of another source of swap kits?
I'm using a Renegade engine mount I got from @De Jeeper and a Kennedy Engineering trans adapter and clutch setup. I think Renegade kit is kind of a rip off, and I didn't need a lot of the stuff that they include. The Chavis setup is probably nicer and allows you to pick what you want.
I'll be posting the full parts breakdown and pricing when I'm done but just for motor and swap stuff (engine, adapter, electric PS, exhaust - no go fast stuff), TOT is a little under 10K at the moment.
The fact that the engine is cheaper is kind of the point here - cheaper to put another one in if it gets hurt, cheaper to rebuild and anyone can do it, the power gains over an M96 are a bonus.
I do not think its unreasonable for someone with a running stock engine to be into a nice complete swap for well under a $10K out of pocket expenditure after selling the stock motor.
did you toss anything else into that deal or is that really what you got for a used engine? sounds like you found the ultimate idiot if you got 10k for a stock used track engine.
Thats what it sold for and it had a fair amount of interest so there is nothing that tells me that price is off the mark.I sold it as a full drop out, throttle body to headers.
Agreed! This will be good to see completed and fun to watch on the track. Zbomb, is there any other thread that you are posting to(another forum perhaps) that discusses this kind of change?
That engine looks a little crusty on the outside. Any concerns? it's not a lot of miles for that engine if it was maintained properly.
Good luck, hoping for a not terribly late Christmas
Agreed! This will be good to see completed and fun to watch on the track. Zbomb, is there any other thread that you are posting to(another forum perhaps) that discusses this kind of change?
That engine looks a little crusty on the outside. Any concerns? it's not a lot of miles for that engine if it was maintained properly.
Good luck, hoping for a not terribly late Christmas
Not participating on any other forums, just here and IG.
Any motor coming out of a daily driven New England car gonna look pretty crusty after a couple years, aesthetically, I think it will clean up to an acceptable level. Will take a little elbow grease but my aesthetic standards pretty low
Concerns - Yeah, keeping it out of the machine shop. The good compression numbers tell me the rings and bores are likely in pretty good shape, I have to pull the heads so will end up confirming that. Assuming that holds true I've got the foundation I need, I will check #8 rod bearing if internally the engine looks so - so. Externally, not a lot of the original engine will move over, especially the crusty accessories. But, I do not plan to re-bearing or ring it unless needed.
New:
Intake manifold
Injectors
Coils
Cams
Lifters
Lifter trays
ARP head studs
Valve springs / retainers / seals / seats
Every gasket including front and rear main seals
Cam and crank sensors
Cam retainer
Plug wires
All pulleys and tensioner
Timing chain and gear
Timing chain guide
Front cover
Throttle body
Water pump
Alternator
Starter
Valley plate
Headers
Got the engine off the lift table and onto the stand without an engine hoist - total hold my beer moment I'm proud / not proud of.
Time to start seeing what we're working with and de-junking this thing.
I think the only thing being re-used from that pile is the coil pack holders.
Next it was time to give it a quick de-grease so I can touch it without getting dirty.
But - before I go too far let's see what it looks like under the rocker covers - Gross ! Not a huge deal cause I have to strip the head anyway so I'll drop them at the machine shop to be hot tanked this week. Does mean I will be putting a little extra scrutiny on stuff as I continue to tear it down. I'll cut open the filter thats on it and start assessing bottom end tomorrow.
@amargari - I was definitely hoping mine looked more like yours haha. The thing with the L92 as opposed to something like your LS6 that came in a performance car more likely to be owned by an enthusiast, the L92 came in SUV's likely to be owned by soccer moms. As a result of this, my expectations were somewhat tempered as to how beautiful the inside would look, I watched a couple of videos on refreshing these engines and what I got is pretty standard for an L92. That all said, you are getting a lot of foundational performance with the L92 for a short amount of money. Looks like LS6's are almost double what I paid. Since the stuff in the L92, or any other LS I ended up with that numbs it's performance potential was all going to be ripped out and replaced, it made sense to start with the lowest cost of entry for alum bock / 6.2L and rec port heads.
@TexSquirrel - The price of the various crate motors and the fact there are a ton of options is definitely something that should be considered and I did. When I looked at what the crate motor would cost and then factored in all the stuff I would be changing to adapt to my needs, I would be taking a lot of new parts out to replace with more new parts and it just didn't make sense. I wanted a 7.5K capable drive train and to get into a crate motor that would achieve that would have dramatically changed the price.
Also, although I feel as though I have a good plan for making the LS work in my track car, I am not certain of it, couldn't be without doing it. If some factors causes me to lunch the engine, at least I will have done it on one that is relatively inexpensive to replace and can transfer the expensive parts over. Once I have the recipe down and have built confidence I would like to transition to something more special and shoot for another big bump in power, but thats a ways down the road.
@TexSquirrel - The price of the various crate motors and the fact there are a ton of options is definitely something that should be considered and I did. When I looked at what the crate motor would cost and then factored in all the stuff I would be changing to adapt to my needs, I would be taking a lot of new parts out to replace with more new parts and it just didn't make sense. I wanted a 7.5K capable drive train and to get into a crate motor that would achieve that would have dramatically changed the price.
Also, although I feel as though I have a good plan for making the LS work in my track car, I am not certain of it, couldn't be without doing it. If some factors causes me to lunch the engine, at least I will have done it on one that is relatively inexpensive to replace and can transfer the expensive parts over. Once I have the recipe down and have built confidence I would like to transition to something more special and shoot for another big bump in power, but thats a ways down the road.
Bayside Fabrication used the same approach with several used engines and it bit him until he used a built motor.
It might be a "better to jump in with both feet" situation.
But hopefully with the modifications you plan to make (dry sump?) you'll be successful.
FWIW -I think you have a practical plan that will work .Compression #'s are good that's 1/2 the battle and I will bet the bottom end is ok too .The tricky part is getting the internals super clean .Might want to think about replacing the cam bearings .Not sure where the sludge came from -non synthetic oil or coolant leak or infrequent oil changes .If bottom end is good and you can get it clean you are off to the races (pun intended )
Bayside Fabrication used the same approach with several used engines and it bit him until he used a built motor.
It might be a "better to jump in with both feet" situation.
But hopefully with the modifications you plan to make (dry sump?) you'll be successful.
Yeah - he did what he did and I'm doing what I'm doing.
I don't see any correlation other than 2 guys swapping engines.
FWIW -I think you have a practical plan that will work .Compression #'s are good that's 1/2 the battle and I will bet the bottom end is ok too .The tricky part is getting the internals super clean .Might want to think about replacing the cam bearings .Not sure where the sludge came from -non synthetic oil or coolant leak or infrequent oil changes .If bottom end is good and you can get it clean you are off to the races (pun intended )
my guess is cam bearings are going to be fine (or good enough to run for many race miles). I just tore down a 5.3 that looked like it sat in mud for a decade. Cam bearings, rod bearings and main bearings were perfect. the amount of abuse these engines can take without any serious issues is fairly high. also, if you're doing cam bearings, the whole bottom end is coming apart anyway.
I’m on my 2nd LS1 in my swap only due to the fact the seller removed one of the crank bearing caps before selling to me and didn’t torque the bolts correctly. That engine was $900 and had 130k on it. It ran great, even after doing almost exactly what zbomb has planned.
My current LS1 was more expensive, around $2500 for short block, but it had brand new crank bearings and 24k on the rest. It’s immaculate and I can feel the difference from the 130k mile LS1. Both engines put me in my seat and dynoed well! I’d still have the original ls1 if it weren’t for that crank bearing. I built both engines from a short block and I would’ve done a 6.2 with LS3 intake if I were to do it again. Zbomb is taking the right approach IMO because he has a custom engine need and will be “abusing” this engine.
The 5.3 in my swapped Wrangler has 150k on it with swapped cam and original heads. I routinely rip around the dunes in that Jeep and the LS doesn’t complain. These engines can last a really long time with proper oiling and maintenance.
Zbomb, I’d love to buy those coils and valve covers from you if you still have them. Mine are really old!
edit: for cam bearings, pull out the old cam and inspect it. If it’s in good shape, your cam bearings are also fine. Pay attention to cam installation videos, it’s a delicate but easy process. The key is not to force the cam into place and use a good assembly lube like Lucas. Also wise to upgrade to LS7 lifters and trays. I used wood dowels to keep them from falling out during my cam swap. I also used LS2 timing chain and gears which are beefier than previous years. Your L92 should have this already but it’s cheap insurance to replace it.
12-16-2022, 07:34 AM
