87 Burb 4.8 swap

[nobox351y]

Everyone seems to doing LS swaps and I wanted to join the party.

Lots of firsts with this build:
First Squarebody
First Suburban
First Chevy Ive owned
First Big Block
First LS Swap
First motor swap on anything other than a racecar

I did my research, acquired all the parts and then waited for the big block to give up. It did about 3 weeks ago, intake gasket was leaking, tbi setup was failing and it was running really rough. I vowed to put 0$ into the 220,000 mile big block that got 9 mpg on its best day. Since then I have been working diligently to get everything swapped around.

Today was a big day, the 4.8 ran today without a lot of issues.

Not a lot of pictures, but I got a few. Got a short video of it idling and sounding like an old farm truck. The tune was very, rich because I didnt have the o2 sensors hooked up. Should get most things buttoned up tomorrow.

[nobox351y]

Parts:
01 4.8 ls motor w/pcm and harness $300
egr delete $16
Speed engineering headers $165
ICT billet motor mount adapters $35
aeromotive 340 Stealth fuel pump $100
New converter for the T400 (want to swap to 4l80 down the road) $150 (jegs special)
Dakota digital pulse generator $42
Autometer sender adapter kit $36 (Not terrible useful)
Jegs flexplate adapter and bolts $40 $25
OBD2, dorman fuse block, relays from amazon$15
Radiator hose drain, converted for steam port put it in the top radiator hose
Stock silverado air box $26 (junkyard)
HP Tuners (most expensive item for the swap) $500
Hose Ends, efi fittings to an, tube to an fittings $50ish
Oil Change $25
Dipstick tube $20
Throttle Cable $40
Trans mount $12
Intellitronix gauges $200
Sold the big block for -$300.
Scrapping old parts -$9
This is the extent of the swap to this point.

Made the choice to keep the stock radiator and use the Silverado hoses. Stock fan shroud doesnt shroud the fan, need to get a small block shroud.

Need to get it to an exhaust shop to get a y pipe and that should be the extent of the costs for the swap. About as cheap as I have seen a swap done. It is bare bones, but Im confident its going to be reliable and well awesome.

Thanks for playing along. More pics tomorrow.

[nobox351y]

Wishing I would have scrolled down on the speed engineering site to take a look at the long tube headers for $90 more than the shorties. Would have made the exhaust work doable in my garage.

[nobox351y]

Got the 02 sensors installed today, but couldn't get the engine to go to closed loop without forcing it to with hp tuners. Guessing my camshaft sensor dtc is the issue.

Broke a transmission mount bolt off trying to get it out, and bought the wrong one from Napa. So that is going to take a little more time to fix.

Got a fuel leak somewhere on top of the tank as well. Get these issues sorted out and things should be headed towards driving.
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[ElGracho]

Very cool. Nice work on keeping costs low. I used a factory tank, efi sender an ep381 pump. I also used 91 burb electronic speedo cluster and stock senders. Using the 4l60e let me do that...

[nobox351y]

Costs rising slightly today. Ordered a cam position sensor. Theres another 50.

Exhaust should be done thursday if I can get it driving by then, at least across town to the exhaust shop.

[72MARIO]

Nice swap looking forward to hear how it performs compared to the old big block.

[nobox351y]

Originally Posted by 72MARIO

Nice swap looking forward to hear how it performs compared to the old big block.

Having some minor issues with it this far, even so it feels stronger than the tired bbc. Got a few kinks to sort out and it's going to be awesome.

The 250$ I spent to have a "custom" y pipe put in at w local shop is frustrating. Good lesson, take it to an exhaust shop, not a general auto shop. Or nut up and do it yourself. Really happy no one will see it and it will be gone in a year when it gets a turbo.
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[nobox351y]

Well the cam position sensor dtc didn't do the trick. Not sure why it doesn't want to run in open loop.

It's either an issue with changes I've made in the tune or a mechanical issue. Not sure which yet. Runs okay in closed loop. Seems to be adding a lot of fuel. Why I'm not sure.

Close to being my in town driver though.
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[ElGracho]

I had a similar problem with mine. Turns out I had about 3 injectors hanging open. Way way rich. I replaced them and it has run perfect since.

[nobox351y]

Right now I think things are not talking to each other correctly. I have one o2 sensor reading lean consistenly, which I guess could be an intake gasket or vac leak on that side. The other is reading slightly rich but neither are switching like I would expect them to.

Anyone have a data log of what 02 sensors and fuel trims are supposed to look like?

Thanks for the suggestion. Ill look into that too. I would expect that to cause rich readings.

[nobox351y]

Update: Chased down a few issues. Bad "new" denso 02 sensor, a couple of wiring gremlins and thought I was in business. Took the truck on a 150 mile trip. Did everything I asked of it with one small issue. Every time I decel and come to a stop it pops through the exhaust usually 1 time some times a couple, then it cleans up and accelerates. I believe this is in the tune because I do not have the vss hooked up.

Then today, the nice aeromotive 340 stealth pump quit. I thought it was making more noise than it was. I put this pump in with future plans to make more power. So I will drop the tank for the third time. Unfortunately it has at least 20 gallons of gas in it...

Once I get that done, on to cleaning up wiring and installing new gauges.

[nobox351y]

A lot has happened since that first 4.8 was dropped in. All of the issues were resolved within a year or so. I drove the burb like this for about 10 months.



Took it camping, hauled the "race" car around a little, but mostly just used it for side jobs and my primary driver.


Then I decided that I needed overdrive. So out came the 4.8 and the t400 and I swapped in a 5.3 and a 4l80e. The 5.3 I picked up for 200 bucks as a 150k mile engine with "lifter" noise. The 4l80e I picked up for 200$ and it appeared to have been rebuilt recently. Clean fluid, non oem converter. So we slapped them together and shoved her home.









Currently she is a great driver and got a serious cosmetic update in the last couple weeks. The rockers and wheel wells were shot. The local body shop took care of me. It is not a perfect paint match and there are some minor flaws, but she isnt rotting away anymore and the price was right.







Thats where we are for right now. I have a set of 01 seats, ac, rear disk brake conversion, cruise control, and a toolbox/slide out drawer system to tackle before my dad and I head for our first power tour.


Well guess imgur isnt the best place to try and load photos from. Ill figure that out and make this post a little more interesting

[kipps]

Looks nice! What kind of mileage are you getting?

[nobox351y]

The one gauge I havent hooked up is the speedo, so I havent tracked mileage. This time of the year its rough. I let it warm up every chance I get before I go anywhere, so its idling quite a bit.

Its on my list of things, just havent wanted to take the dash back a part to make it work.

[Whamo]

dig the burb! I like how you listed the parts and prices...I've got every receipt since the day I got my square and I'd be terrified to list it all

[nobox351y]

Originally Posted by Whamo

dig the burb! I like how you listed the parts and prices...I've got every receipt since the day I got my square and I'd be terrified to list it all

I know the feeling well. Don’t want to know the number I have in my mustang. It is still relatively slow and isn’t pretty.
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[Palf70Step]

Nice job. Glad to see the parts listings. That will be very beneficial for many of us.

[nobox351y]

Palf: Some of those parts did not end up being all that useful, but were purchased.

Anyone out there combined the 87 cruise control with 01 cruise control box? I saw the older style done by ls1nova, but havent seen a write up for the 87 (which appears to be more involved).