Charlie

I just got a Vortec 4.3L out of a 1998 truck through my work, and i was able to find the motor mounts and the T-case adapter through AC, has anyone done this swap before? Any problems or snags that I should address before I start? I plan to do this over a weekend at our shop, and it has to be out of the bay by monday, so I would like to be able to crank most of it out in that time. I have the engine, tranny, and all associated harnesses and a computer. I figured I will have to make drivelines, and maybe a tranny and t-case crossmember, but other than that, can any of you see any obvious problems? I am doing the swap, because it is more economical for me than rebuilding the VG30 and auto tranny (270,000 and starting to get some piston-slap)

Hey all, I'm back, I moved, so It took me a long ass time to finally get everything situated and get my internet hooked up in my apartment, but hey, all is well now, Ill see you all in the game!

:worthless:

yeah, that is my feelings too. We can keep track of each other on this forum, as well as through messaging in the game, and when we are strong enough, we can re-form.

this is sweet! all I can say is DONATE DONATE DONATE! we need a million dollars in order to have a vault, and we are more than halfway there. We still need about 350,000, so if every member donates half of their daily oil (from voting) we should be there in no time flat. The vault is where the gang stores it's stuff like guns and rig parts, so we all benefit from it.

So far, we have TrailChaser. Yozsi, BigFisch, spacejas and myself. Hurry up and join! Edit: and now we also have K9sar

Alright you b@$tards, I started the gang, so join. Its called NPORA, what else.

Mine does, it's not loud, but it doesn't sound good. If you grab ahold of the handle and really cram it in, then it doesn't, but if you just kind of pull it back, it doesn't want to go, and the T-case makes a clicking/grinding.

It is best to come to a complete stop before you do any transfer case shifting, but 4-H can be shifted on the fly, if and only if you have automatic hubs. But your transfer case will make all kinds of scratchy grindy noises that don't sound pretty. And yes, to unlock the hubs you have to come to a complete stop, and then reverse a few feet in order to unlock the hubs. And 160k is nothing. Mine has over 250K and is still running strong. I shift on the fly sometimes, but it is always smart to stop first.

Zerks are the fittings on all of your ball joints, steering links, u-joints etc. that accept grease. You can get a cheap grease gun at auto-zone or the like for about 15 bucks. Transfer case and differential oil can be found at any auto parts store. You check the pulling the plug out in the back of the diff, about half way up. You should see fluid at, or just under the plug. Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask any questions, alot of people on here really know their stuff.

I wrapped the headers on my Dodge (340) and I haven't had any problems. I sand blasted them and used BBQ grill paint from ACE when I first got them, and it sits out side because I don't have room in my garage. IF you just let the original paint burn off, then you might have rust problems.

Yeah, its painted now, I live in Arizona so rust is not too much of a problem, though it has been raining for the last two days straight.

Thread the bolt back into the crank with out the washer and it will keep you from screwing your threads all up, because if you do that, you will really be kicking yourself in the nuts.

Tap the hole out one size bigger, and use a heli-coil. Its a threaded insert that reduces the bigger hole down to the size that it used to be. You can get them at Harbor Freight, Ace Hardware, Lowe's etc. If you don't know what I am talking about, then let me know and I will post a picture. You could also tap out the hole the next size bigger, and use the proper bolt if your balancer puller will accommodate it.

I called Rough Country today, and they quoted me $158 for UCAs, bushings, and zerks. Checker also has JGC coils for $77 for the pair. And how come 31's clear just fine with completely stock suspension, I mean absolutely no modifications, but 33's won't totally clear even with a 3inch suspension lift and a 3 inch body lift?

Ok, so no Calmini UCA's. With a 3 inch suspension lift, i should clear 33's pretty easily right?

So if I am reading this right, the control arms bend? That would be no good. I want to do the suspension lift now, because I think that it will serve to build a better foundation for a solid rig. After I do that, I will do a body lift and tires. With a three inch sus. lift and a three inch body lift, some people have said I can clear 35's. Is that true? I have 31x10.50's on it now and they articulate and tuck just fine, and all I have done is tighten the torsion bars to level the truck out. The control arms are not on either bumpstop.

I keep hearing about problems with the Automotive Customizers upper control arms. What are these problems? I was wanting to do the lift, and at only 300 bucks for the whole kit sans shocks, this seems pretty reasonable to me. I used the search but after an hour and a half I am giving up. I know that you can order the control arms separate from a few companies, and use JGC coils, but having it all in a kit would be nice.

My truck had the original spare tire, and its puny size was bugging the hell out of me. If I got stuck on the trail, I didn't want to have to limp out on a 25"x8" tire. So I went to the junk yard and bought a well worn, but good enough for me 31x10.50 tire, on a Toyota aluminum rim for 25 bucks. I then bought a Jerry can holder for the tire rack, because I was sick of keeping it in the cab and breathing the fumes . I got home only to realize that putting a 31 inch tire on the carrier, put the jerry can out over the tail light. So I came up with a creative way of fixing that problem. I moved the carrier over to the left and utilized the left two holes for the carrier, and then welded a bracket up for the other two, only my measurements were off, So I ended up welding it to the rack. (See pics) I the welded two pieces of 1" strap to the carrier and drilled the holes to mount the jerry can holder. The holder originally came with a lame cloth strap that couldn't hold a 2 month old in a car seat, let alone a full 5 gallon can of gas on a bumpy trail, so I sewed a ratchet strap to the carrier to better hold that precious petrol. I know it looks like the gas can is covering the light still, but it doesn't. You can see the light fine from the rear of the truck, plus the can won't be there except on wheeling excursions. I also left room for up to a 37 inch tire, though I only plan on running a 33 in the future.

You will still have to take off the balancer because if you don't, you wont be able to get the timing cover off, or get to the crank seal. It's really not that hard. I used a steering wheel puller, but they do make specific balancer pullers. You can rent them from Autozone or Checker if you don't want to buy one.

yeah, well, the starter gave it's last hurrah today in the driveway. It cranked for a split second, and then promptly died. Checker had them for 130 after the core, so I picked one up. It took me like 3 hours give or take, but I got it changed and I am back on the road again. That thing was a total PITA to get out. I had to take the little shield thing off, and then rotate it around a bunch to get it off.

It's been like two weeks and it still works fine, and I haven't had to hit it again. I'm not going to worry about it for now.

Well, I hit the starter with a hammer and it works now, so I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just going to put a hammer in the glove box and forget about it.

I did cycle through the gears and it had no effect. I think it could be the starter. I will try to jump it tomorow. What gets me, is that it didn't give any signs of going out. Heres how it went. I drove the truck about 20 miles to a Chilli's for a b-day party, and parked it in the parking lot. Rode with a friend to an after party, that friend drove me back to my truck. It started fine drove to the gas station, got gas, started fine again. Got home parked it in the drive way and went to bed. Went to go to work the next morning and nothing. Thats why I was questioning the safety switch.

Sorry, its an auto. The relay does not click, and the bendix does not kick out, so I think it might be the neutral safety switch.