5.3L MJ D44 and Junk.

[Vanimal]

thanks man! huge improvement over the leafs i had, yes... but they were crap. they do work well, however i probably do notice a little more body roll than someone with leaf springs. there's probably ways around that though, and it isnt really that bad.
as for running the coilovers on the insides of the rail, i could imagine that would really hurt stability and/or ride quality. figure your axle and body is going to be a lever force on the springs when you go off camber or drive over a rock. the distance from the outer edge of your tire to the shock mount is your lever length, and being so far away, it'll likely have quite a bit of body roll. you can try to run stiffer springs, but that effects your ride when you hit bumps straight on with both wheels or when you jump, as that lever action and the jeep's center of gravity doesnt really come into play there.
in short, i always believed the farther out you could get the shocks and springs from the vehicle's center, the better off you are.

but again, not an expert, someone else could probably go into more detail for you. and i've been drinking, so there's that

 

[xj+rcks]

thanks man! huge improvement over the leafs i had, yes... but they were crap. they do work well, however i probably do notice a little more body roll than someone with leaf springs. there's probably ways around that though, and it isnt really that bad.
as for running the coilovers on the insides of the rail, i could imagine that would really hurt stability and/or ride quality. figure your axle and body is going to be a lever force on the springs when you go off camber or drive over a rock. the distance from the outer edge of your tire to the shock mount is your lever length, and being so far away, it'll likely have quite a bit of body roll. you can try to run stiffer springs, but that effects your ride when you hit bumps straight on with both wheels or when you jump, as that lever action and the jeep's center of gravity doesnt really come into play there.
in short, i always believed the farther out you could get the shocks and springs from the vehicle's center, the better off you are.

but again, not an expert, someone else could probably go into more detail for you. and i've been drinking, so there's that

I agree and it seems like they are running them a bit too far in, which is probably why they are running a sway bar in the rear. I don't want to have to run a sway bar! More money!! AAAAAhhhhhhhhh. I'll have to pull the bed off and look at it again. There's nothing wrong with drinking! This MJ would be stock if it wasn't for beer.

 

[MoparManiac]

Can you notch the frame and run them outboard?

If you plan on a cage then it will get tied in anyway and won't be a big deal.

 

[Vanimal]

plus with coilovers and a linked suspension, you have far less force on the frame behind the wheels than with a leaf sprung suspension, depending on how you have your shocks mounted of course.

 

[MoparManiac]

And where your bumpstops/limitstraps are...

 

[twodoorXJ]

thanks man! huge improvement over the leafs i had, yes... but they were crap. they do work well, however i probably do notice a little more body roll than someone with leaf springs. there's probably ways around that though, and it isnt really that bad.
as for running the coilovers on the insides of the rail, i could imagine that would really hurt stability and/or ride quality. figure your axle and body is going to be a lever force on the springs when you go off camber or drive over a rock. the distance from the outer edge of your tire to the shock mount is your lever length, and being so far away, it'll likely have quite a bit of body roll. you can try to run stiffer springs, but that effects your ride when you hit bumps straight on with both wheels or when you jump, as that lever action and the jeep's center of gravity doesnt really come into play there.
in short, i always believed the farther out you could get the shocks and springs from the vehicle's center, the better off you are.

but again, not an expert, someone else could probably go into more detail for you. and i've been drinking, so there's that

http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/categories.aspx?id=1234

 

[Vanimal]

http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/categories.aspx?id=1234

soon! $$$$$$$ though for 2 of them.

 

[xj+rcks]

Hooked up my LS1 throttle cable with only minor filing on the firewall. Also fitted a radiator hose and started messing with my clutch hydraulics. Lots of little things to fit together.

 

[bails85]

What all is involved with the wiring and computers/ guages. With the 5.3

 

[userbmx1315]

thats what i want to know. i'm thinking about a 5.3. then i could sell my stroker. the 5.3 is lighter isnt it?

 

[HKB3]

What all is involved with the wiring and computers/ guages. With the 5.3

thats what i want to know. i'm thinking about a 5.3. then i could sell my stroker. the 5.3 is lighter isnt it?

http://www.ls1tech.com
All you wanted to know about LS_ and more

 

[bails85]

I didn't know the 5.3 was an ls engine. I thought it was just the 5.3 vortec that comes in a lot of Chevy trucks.

 

[Vanimal]

similar enough.

 

[yossarian19]

The first LS engine, fittingly enough, was the LS1. It was 5.7 liters, all aluminum, and 15 years after it came out they still sell for 2500 and up around here.
The 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 and 6.2 Vortec motors are all descended from the LS1. Most of them have iron blocks. Trucks share a common accessory layout, F-bodys had another, the Corvette had a 3rd.
Parts can interchange between LS engines almost at-will, though to put a car intake (higher peak rpm) on a truck motor requires a car style accessory layout.

It seems like making the gauges work is the hard / expensive part anymore, Novak and Advance have a lot of parts support for the swap.

 

[kastein]

Getting the gauges to work on a 96 and earlier should be easy, it is the 97 and later ones that are a little more involved (dual ECUs, custom electronics, or other methods.)

 

[bails85]

Ok so where would I look to learn about the gauges and wiring and more info on the swap. I would love to have one in my renix. I'm not a very knowledgeable engine guy. But I'm going to assume the ls engines came in gm cars and the vortecs came in the trucks. Is that right? Not meaning to hi jack your thread but I'm interested in the swap as well.

 

[bails85]

Ok so where would I look to learn about the gauges and wiring and more info on the swap. I would love to have one in my renix. I'm not a very knowledgeable engine guy. But I'm going to assume the ls engines came in gm cars and the vortecs came in the trucks. Is that right? Not meaning to hi jack your thread but I'm interested in the swap as well.

 

[cracker]

Ok so where would I look to learn about the gauges and wiring and more info on the swap. I would love to have one in my renix. I'm not a very knowledgeable engine guy. But I'm going to assume the ls engines came in gm cars and the vortecs came in the trucks. Is that right? Not meaning to hi jack your thread but I'm interested in the swap as well.

Don't forget to keep California Smog into consideration.

 

[John D]

Ok so where would I look to learn about the gauges and wiring and more info on the swap. I would love to have one in my renix. I'm not a very knowledgeable engine guy. But I'm going to assume the ls engines came in gm cars and the vortecs came in the trucks. Is that right? Not meaning to hi jack your thread but I'm interested in the swap as well.

For the gauges there's a link in my sig. It's old, but still mostly relevant.

For the swap You can find a teensy bit of info in here
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=735270

Frankz has a good thread here on .

Novak has a pretty good knowledge page.

And the billion other sites and articles Google will turn up.

 

[bails85]

Yeah I have looked at some of the threads you mentioned. My problems is that I'm not familiar with the engine lingo. So half of the time when I hear engine guys talking I don't know exactly what they are talking about. It definitely something I would love to learn about. I thought about taking an engine rebuilding course. Or apprenticing at an engine shop every now and then. I would just be a hobby not a full time gig.