Build thread - LMG 5.3 to L96 6.0 swap

SpareParts said:

Transmission lines bolted to the side of the oil pan?

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Yep, that was on of the things I caught last night. Thanks

LMG is out! Now begins the journey of getting the L96 in.

LMG is actually sold and gone already. I advertised it on FB marketplace a couple weeks ago when it was still drivable. Buyer wanted it for an 09 caddy cts wagon! Was going to put a 6l80 behind it. I triple checked to make sure I got everything off the LMG I needed. I hope I didn’t miss anything.

Tonight was installing the last parts on the engine before it goes in. (Except flex plate - has to be off the stand before that)

New genuine GM knock sensors
New Delphi crank and cam sensor
New AC delco iridium plugs
New fel-pro valve cover gaskets
Brand new OEM GM motor mount for DS and one year old GM mount for PS (PS got the mount I installed on DS a year ago.

Everything else will get installed when engine is situated to give plenty of room to maneuver. It had to be turned sideways to get it out so I’m sure I’ll have to same getting it in.

Rocker arms and related inside valve covers are amazingly clean. The drivers side cover itself was a little dirty due to PCV, but it cleaned up easy. I’ll use a catch can which will help.

Had to spend some time organizing the tool table too. Hoping to get bulk of install done this weekend.

Veery nice project, Jasper does a really nice rebuild so you found a great engine. (assuming a fair price?). It should be a real runner for you.

West 1 said:

Veery nice project, Jasper does a really nice rebuild so you found a great engine. (assuming a fair price?). It should be a real runner for you.

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$1800 out the door for the motor.

Very nice. I plan to rebuild mine.

Input shaft seal and o-ring replaced today, Luk torcon TC filled with 1 qt delco dexron VI, and in place in bell housing. Ready for engine drop in tomorrow.

Interesting how much smaller the Luk is than the JMBX. I should have taken a pic of them side by side.

Didn’t get a chance to work on the project today, but got some yard work done and now I have most of Sunday and Monday free. Plus I was waiting for some bolts today….

A dilemma on the flex plate to crank bolts. Plan all along was to reuse the bolts that came with Jasper engine, as I don’t believe they are TTY. But yesterday I discovered I was missing one so I ordered a set off Amazon.

But then today I found the missing bolt, so now I have a choice - new 12.9 gr from Amazon (China) or the 10.9s that came with the engine. Pretty sure I’ll use the new ones, but just slightly leery regarding quality. They are GSTP brand and 4.6 rating n Amazon. Bad reviews were about not threading properly into crank, but these go in fine. Any concerns?

Depending on reviews and how many i would probably use the new set just because the head is a little bigger.

I would use the old bolts. Your new ones have a taller head on them, wondering if they are flywheel bolts and not flexplate? Had that issue a couple years ago... The nose of the torque converter made contact with the bolt heads about a 16th of an inch before the mounting pads contacted the flex plate.

If you want to use the new bolts, Mount your flex plate and check the clearance by test fitting the torque converter.... The bolts have a short head on them for a reason.

..... And don't forget the blue loctite.

rdezs said:

..... And don't forget the blue loctite.

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Definitely a good thing to check, thanks. There is plenty of clearance, tho. I put all six crank bolts in the flex plate and then lined it up with TC mounting tabs. The way the Luk is designed, there is a lot of clearance back there. With plate snug against TC I could push the crank bolts far enough back that they’d fall out.

And yep, using blue loctite

Engine in! Got it on the motor mounts and got the trans at the right height, simultaneously trying not to crush any harnesses or cooler lines/making sure they were in right location, getting AC comp in its bracket, etc. Got the dowel pins to line up and got trans to mate part way; had to very gingerly and slowly use the bell housing bolts to snug it up and fully seat. As of tonight all 8 bell housing bolts in and tight.

Had my 18 YO son helping me with the alignment and lowering and muscling. Even had my 15 YO daughter out as another set of eyes for a while. Neither of them are real into it, but it was good to have them help.

Assuming you have a new oil cooler line set to install to the driver side of the oil pan?

If so, before you do anything make sure the plug on the back side of the oil cooler block is tight. They frequently ship barely finger tight. Most have an allen head, I've seen some with a thin six point head like a bolt. There is a thermostat in there that is pressed in.

I always remove it, you'll see it has a thin o-ring. I add thread tape onto the threads and torque it down. Probably the number one leak spot of a new install, mimicking the gasket between the oil cooling line block and the oil pan.

Also, think ahead to when you get to the harness part of assembly. These vehicles are prone to failures of the battery cables internally. Excellent time to not only replace those, but grounding problems are a common issue on these vehicles. Clean down to bare metal prior to attaching grounds, and nothing wrong with adding an extra ground location to the block itself.

The proverbial list of "things to do while you are in there" can get quite extensive.... All of which is good preventative maintenance, but heavily dependent on one's budget. (Power steering pump & hoses, O2 sensors, the heater hose t connectors at the firewall, etc)

rdezs said:

Assuming you have a new oil cooler line set to install to the driver side of the oil pan?

If so, before you do anything make sure the plug on the back side of the oil cooler block is tight. They frequently ship barely finger tight. Most have an allen head, I've seen some with a thin six point head like a bolt. There is a thermostat in there that is pressed in.

I always remove it, you'll see it has a thin o-ring. I add thread tape onto the threads and torque it down. Probably the number one leak spot of a new install, mimicking the gasket between the oil cooling line block and the oil pan.

Also, think ahead to when you get to the harness part of assembly. These vehicles are prone to failures of the battery cables internally. Excellent time to not only replace those, but grounding problems are a common issue on these vehicles. Clean down to bare metal prior to attaching grounds, and nothing wrong with adding an extra ground location to the block itself.

The proverbial list of "things to do while you are in there" can get quite extensive.... All of which is good preventative maintenance, but heavily dependent on one's budget. (Power steering pump & hoses, O2 sensors, the heater hose t connectors at the firewall, etc)

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thanks for all the suggestions. I'll go through them one by one. I'm limited by time and also trying to stick to a budget, so I did have to make some hard decisions of what all to do.

Oil cooler lines - I just added an OEM cooler to my truck less than 2 years ago, so I'm keeping what I had. They weren't leaking at all, so I just left as is.

Harness - I'm pretty sure I've changed one or both of the main battery cables since I've had this truck. I'll have to go through my records and make sure. (I've had two different 900 tahoes in four years, so it's hard to keep track of what I've done to this one.) But yes, definitely aware of the issues. And I may add a heavy gauge ground, engine to frame on the DS.

PS pump and hoses - Yep this one definitely would have been awesome to do at this time, but it didn't make the time/budget cut.

O2 sensors, definitely considered it, but same as above. I did replace crank, cam, and both knock sensors thought. Was looking at sensors that require removal of other parts to get to.

Heater hose T-connectors: definitely have done that to this rig. All the hoses were replaced since I've owned it, except the upper rad. And there's a new Delco one of those waiting to get installed in this round.

One thing I couldn't not do during this project - trans pan drop and filter change. Current fluid had probably about 20k, so a little early, but worth it since I am replacing torque converter. Reset the clock. Did all that today and avoided getting soaked with ATF!

Pam drop and filter change today, as mentioned above. Saw some very fine silvery residue in the bottom of the pan. How bad does this look to y’all?

DaveO9 said:

Pam drop and filter change today, as mentioned above. Saw some very fine silvery residue in the bottom of the pan. How bad does this look to y’all?

View attachment 486289

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doesn't look bad.
How many miles since last drop and clean-out?

donjetman said:

doesn't look bad.
How many miles since last drop and clean-out?

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About 20k.

I always go by the feel. If it feels like find powder between your fingers, normal wear of things like clutch plates. If it actually feels like larger particles that are sharp and gritty.... The transmission is further along in it's lifespan and you might want to plan accordingly for the future. Even then though, with regular fluid changes driving it normal, it could go for a long time

That's the transmission oil pan? If so, that looks perfectly fine...