90W7's --91 K2500 build +5.3/4l60e swap

90W7 · Oct 4, 2015

I figured i should start my build thread since iv been doing a lot of work to my truck lately and to help keep track.

The truck is parked as of 10.10.15 due to winter weather so im updating the build thread on what Ive accomplished over the summer and trying to add info/pics to be as detailed and to the point as i can. I will be ordering more goodies over the winter and will resume in the spring/summer. I have lots planed for this truck so there will be much much more to come this spring.

History:
This is my 1991 K2500 (6 lug, 14bolt sf with 305<ouch>). This was my first truck that i bought when i was 16 (14 years ago now). The 305 has 189,000 miles on it and going strong and the 700r4 has been rebuilt and replaced a few times. despite owning/buying several trucks over the years Ive always kept my first truck. It was my DD in high-school and has taken me from Alaska to Phoenix for 2 years of tech school and back, -60F to 120F the truck has always been dependable.

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The truck has been sitting for over 5+ years now and its time to fix it back up and do the things i always wanted to do in high school but couldn't afford.

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Start:

Cleaned exterior
changed oil/check fluids
clean out cab
remove racing seats
install oem seats
remove +clean carpet and add insulation
repaint interior (temporary)

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The interior is a warzone. between being painted several times in my high school days, to the racing seats i should have never messed with it. (now im fixing it all)
The rear seat is gone because i built a table/platform for my sub setup i use to have. Unfortunately i don't have any pics of my truck in its prime just after its been neglected for so long. sound system was stolen in phoenix along with my deck and tach.

Interior to do list:

Gmt800 seats
Charcoal grey interior color
Charcoal grey carpet w/good floor mats(weathertech)
reinstall triple pillar pod with cobalt series gauges and cobalt Tach
R&R windshield with 4" brow tint + re-tint all other glass

Front end work:

I brought the truck into work to shake the front end down/inspect everything and make a list of needed repairs and fixed it.

Ball joints have very minor play. Ive replaced the uppers before and the lowers are still the factory riveted in ball joints ...Not bad for 189k miles
R&R inner and outer tie rods
R&R steering gear box. Ive adjusted the old one and it just needed replacement.
make a temporary exhaust. i cut off my dual exhaust/removed the cat
rebuild steering column/fix turn signal lever/cancel cam
R&R wiper motor

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Lift kit:

6" RCX suspension lift
Real Lift torsion bar relocators
new 5+1 leaf springs

This is how the truck sits now. I left out the rear AAL and need to de-crank the bars a little just while im running the 285/75R16's. ill be running 35's at the least next summer so at that point ill add in the AAL and adjust the torsion bars to the level i want.

90W7 · Oct 4, 2015

5.3/4l60e swap:

Ill slow down here and try to give back information like so many others have taken the time to do so on their threads. Its tough doing the work and documenting it as you go but i took plenty pictures and kept receipts/links to parts. I spent the majority of my summer working overtime to have the extra cash to work on my pickup so i ended up rebuilding the 5.3 and completing the swap in a matter of months. i don't have a garage so all the work was done outside at the mercy of the weather. most of the work was done in 60-70 degree weather however when i fired it up it was in the low 40's and 30's and actually started snowing days after getting it started. Alaska summers are very short unfortunately.

Originally i was kicking around buying a reman 350, 383 crate motor or a L31 with a holley terminator EFI system and while it sounded awesome i didnt think i would ever do a ls swap. my cost was higher due to the fact that i rebuilt my 5.3 but doing a ls swap can be more cost effective than building an older generation motor.

So here we go..

I went to the junk yard to find some trim pieces for my 91 and for the hell of it asked the guy if they had any 5.3's or 6.0's and he said they just got in a wrecked 2005 Silverado with a 5.3 with 110k miles on it.. this got me exited and i went to work and my grabbed tools and my bore scope, came back and inspected the motor as best as i could and told him id take the engine and trans.

So i paid 2k for the 5.3 and 4l60E, if i were in the lower 48 im sure i could have got it for cheaper but it is what it is.

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A few days later i picked up my engine and trans and had to go back because they forgot the TAC module and some misc things i needed. i also grabbed the E-fans and the DLC connector.
Get everything you can because it will cost you hundreds and hundreds more if you have to buy parts such as the MAF sensor,Tac Module,Starter,Alternator, DBW pedal (if applicable)

I picked up my engine stand and cherry picker and got to work..

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Engine Tear down:

I chose to rebuild my engine but i think it would have ran for a long time despite finding a not so good looking cam bearing on tear down

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After work and on the weekends is when i rebuilt the engine and i worked on the harness in the house at my leisure following the Lt1swap.com instructions: http://www.lt1swap.com/

Engine build:

The block and heads were striped down and dropped it off at the machine shop: the block was cleaned, honed, and new cam bearings installed and the heads were just resurfaced and cleaned.
I also picked up my rebuild parts..

Fel-pro master gasket kit

clevite bearings: main,rod,cam

sealed power rings

Gm ls7 lifters

Gm ls6 valvesprings

Melling oil pump

Double roller timing set

New crank pully bolt

New Gm lifter trays X4

Erson Cam: 210/218 --0.510/0.510 @.050 on a 112 LSA

Doug thorley tri-Y headers

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90W7 · Oct 4, 2015

The swap:

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The actual swap wasn't hard, its pretty straight forward. Once the 305 and 700r4 were out i removed all the wires that went from the TBI harness to sensors you wont use anymore like map,tps,injectors etc.. this will remove a bit of bulk from the original harness. i know some people just cut it all out but i wasn't sure of what was needed and what wasn't.

Keep the trucks original ECT sensor/wiring for the gauge
Keep the trucks original Oil press sending unit/wiring for the gauge
Keep the trucks original starting circuit in place. this will function like it always did despite having a new powertrain in place.
if using a newer transmission with a prndl/park neutral switch over the trans gear selector shaft you can take it off because its not needed and will be in the way if you have the rod linkage. (these trucks already have a neutral safety switch on the steering column) you will need to wire in the park/neutral position wire from the harness to let the pcm know when its in park/neutral vs gear. The only exception to this was my original transmission rod linkage to the new 4l60e...while i got it to work it is very tight fitting and i will probably convert it to cable down the road
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Out with the old

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With the engine/trans out of the way i removed as much unneeded wiring as i felt comfortable removing(wasn't 100% what to keep and what to discard). I pressure washed the frame and put some por15 on it.

In with the new

I used the dirty dingo slider mounts and the engine and trans fell right into place. http://www.dirtydingo.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=359_362&products_id=1367

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Transfer Case:

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The stock np241c bolted right up to the new 4l60e and all linkage reattaches and fits like it should. .
I contemplated just splicing the new harnesses vss wires into the existing vss circuit but ended up just wiring the new vss wires to the sensor directly so the cluster will receive its vss signal from the 4k VSS pcm output.

90W7 · Oct 15, 2015

Fuel System:

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The fuel system was pretty straight forward. I used 10ft of Russell pro-flex hose and all Russell -6 AN fittings/quick connects with a Napa 3737 filter/regulator. If i were to do it again i probably would run all new fuel line instead of adapting to the OE hard line with compression fittings. The compression fittings work fine tho. Also pictured are my trans cooler lines i had made locally using good braided steel hose and JIC fittings.

Swapped out the stock TBI fuel pump with the new EP381 fuel pump
Cut OE hardlines flush with each other a foot or so before the TBI fuel filter
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Install 3/8 and 5/16 compression fittings to -6 Male.
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Mount filter/regulator in original fuel filter location + make supply and return lines to regulator.
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Make and run final fuel supply line to fuel rail.
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Fuel system parts:

EP381 fuel pump
Napa 3737 fuel filter/regulator
local sources 3/8 & 5/16 compression fittings
Rus-610025 (straight hose ends) X6
Rus-644123 (3/8 quick connects) X2
Rus-644113 (5/16 quick connect) X1
Rus-640940 (adapter fitting) X1
Rus-632070 (10 ft of proflex -6 hose) X1

90W7 · Oct 15, 2015

Radiator + E-Fans:

I purchased a new Napa P/N 2819 radiator (34" W/Auto trans, W/O oil cooler). Having a new radiator is nice and the factory E-Fans fit perfectly. I also purchased a new lower radiator hose and a coolant reservoir/degas bottle to replace the TBI overflow tank.

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Talk about a size difference! the TBI radiator is tiny compared to the new one.

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There is a removable panel on the drivers side that can be removed to expose the new radiator to more airflow. The passenger side has the same size sheet metal piece however it must be cut out.

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Here is the new radiator and E-Fans in place. I need to make some simple angle brackets to secure the radiator/E-Fans to the core support and modify the TBI fan shroud or make a new shroud for the top to the radiator/core support area for aesthetic purposes. Everything fit good but the power steering pressure line is very close to the E-Fans( I moved/bent the line slightly to add clearance). I thought i would have more room in the engine bay using the E-Fans but its more room than a mechanical fan so i cant complain.

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Cooling system parts:

Napa Radiator: 2819 $150.00
Napa Coolant Reservoir: NOE 6053417 $35.00
Napa Lower Rad Hose: 9070 $22.00
Napa Serp Belt $26.00
Dex Cool $31.00

90W7 · Oct 20, 2015

Electrical:

Initially i wanted the pcm and fuse block on the passenger side but i decided i didn't want to have to shorten the harness in areas and lengthen the TAC Module wires. With that said i did lengthen many wires(alt wires, injector wires, wires going into the cab and wires from the harness to the fuse block) all the wires removed from the 5.3 harness per http://www.lt1swap.com instructions were re-purposed for any lengthening needed. I also ran the harness behind the intake instead of it coming down in the Alternator/Power steering area and i rotated the injectors in towards the intake and ran the injector wires between the fuel rails and intake to have a cleaner look.

Here is the pcm set in the general area it will be mounted and the TAC module mounted on the fire wall.

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Another pic showing a rats nest of wiring. Its always scary when its not in loom. However all the wires needing 12v switched, B+ and all output wires are in one location.

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I chose a Blue-seas split bus fuse block for my swap. This has more than enough circuits for the swap and space for future circuits.

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I began lengthening and combining wires needing to go to the fuse block. I also lengthened and ran all wires going into the cab (Vss,Tach,4low,OBD2,MIL,TCC)

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Here is everything needing 12v Switched (A) and Batt constant (B). blue and green wires are the Pcm control wires for the E-Fans

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I picked up a good constant duty solenoid to feed the fuse block and 2-5pin relays to power the E-Fans.

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A in progress picture of the relays/solenoid mounted. An ignition switch source was found at the trucks OEM fuse block and ran to the solenoid(hot in run/cranking). This will get cleaned up some more and possibly rearranged. I ran out of red wire and had to use black..minor detail but irritating.

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More to come...

90W7 · Jan 31, 2016

New Stuff:

I painted up some dash pieces and got in some other goodies.

ARP Header bolts
Ebay CAI
New cluster lens-LMC
PRNDL unit +cable-LMC
Knee bolster vent cables-LMC
Cluster LED's (blue)-Superbrightleds.com
Autometer sending unit adapter kit
Autometer Cobalt series Gauges:

Vac/Boost (might as well only buy the gauge once should i do a super/turbo)
Trans Temp
Wide Band O2

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Another expensive yet very worth it investment was the HPTuners software which allowed me to remove the PCM VATS, EVAP, and to delete the rear O2 sensors. As well as what im learning to do now which is to tune for the cam i put in. I got the truck running last fall but i had to command the truck to idle @800 Rpm otherwise it would start to idle erratic and eventually die. It started snowing just days after so this is is where i had to park it for the winter.

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Idle commanded to 850
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I Ordered the GM beginners course for tuning which covers the tuning process for Headers, Heads, Cam and other supporting mods from The Tuning School. Its another chunk of change but very worth it if you want to get into tuning. Ive actually been tweaking my 2013 silverado a little bit and its pretty cool what improvements can be made.

Anyways ive changed the tune for the truck so it should idle a hell of a lot better when i upload it this spring and then it should be a little fine tuning from there.

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90W7 · Apr 3, 2016

Minor update:

1. New charcoal carpet
2. Gmt800 seats!

The seats won't match so the trim will get painted and I'll either get seat covers or spend the money and get real replacement seat bottoms and back pieces. Either way these will be super comfy and I've got a center console that will work with the T-case shifter.

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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

90W7 · Apr 30, 2016

Replacement ext cab trim pieces painted in charcoal grey.

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Aleks2505 · Dec 26, 2019

Excellent write up, and very detailed. I am in the process of putting in a 2006 L33 in my 1988 2500 and your article is great help. Thank you! Beautiful truck.

90W7's --91 K2500 build +5.3/4l60e swap

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