93 XJ BUILD (WITH LS SWAP)

9

92xjRJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Arroyo Grande, CA
I have been a kind of a ghost follower of all these amazing 5.3 builds for a while and im hoping to get a whole bunch of input as this is my first motor swap of any type.
A little back ground, i bought this jeep for 500 bucks off craigslist with intensions of swapping interior over to my at the time XJ but when i got there to pick it up it was to clean to rip up so I took my wheels and tires and slapped them on it, trimmed the fenders and daily drivin it for about a year, started having one little thing after another go wrong so I bought a 2006 L59 5.3 and am going to throw that in and over the year i have collected a few parts to add to it as i go. I have disk 8.8 with factory LSD. and i have a set of king 2.5 10" remote resi for the rear and 2.5 racerunner coilovers for the front. Some photos of where it started.

the first xj i ever did own haha







then came along the new one...









dont have a photo of the kings at the moment, hers the race runners

 
so as of the last month or so the jeep began to start hesitating upon acceleration and That was the point where is said im done with this and im going LS. So i got on the web and found a good deal on an 06' L59 with harness/ECU/TAC with pedal assembly and a 6 month warranty. now the goal was to get it installed in under that so i can use the warranty need be. The motor arrived and i find that the car it came from had caught on fire and i lost the harness from flexplate back, 1 bolt in each head snapped off (manifold) and like with any LS i was pulling the intake mani to do the knock sensors and harness only to find what looks like my motor had been in a mud hole lol.



 
so now this is where I stand today, this weekend calls for removing the heads to clean all the mud that fell in the intake ports when i pulled the intake. already ordered all new gaskets (including rear main)











 
At this time I have placed an order to novak and should have headers and mounts on monday, i should also have the motor painted and back together. I plan on running a 4L60E an Np241c with a jb conversions SYE, I will run an adjustable fuel pressure regulator somwhere off the fuel rail, I plan on using all aftermarket gauges (undecided on what brand) and an aftermarket shifter. then of course will need drive lines and all the misc. stuff along the way lol. any input or advise is always welcome here.
 
That I am sir. Literally a 5 minute bike ride to pismo! Unfortunately this one won't be smog legal. Well at least not at first. I want to get it in a fired up to make sure the motor is solid then from there I might venture out and try to get it legal! That's one of the shifters I was looking at. Where did you purchase it?
 
A couple of pointers, do the GM TSB and make the RTV damn for the rear knock sensor. Replace both knock sensors while the motor is out. I would also replace the front cover, rear cover gasket, rear main seal and slap a new oil pump with shims while I am there. Cheap insurance for known issues. Trust me, its much easier to do this when the motor is on a pallet then while in your jeep.

Also, if I remember correctly, the L59 pan is different than the LM7 or L33 pan. The L59 pan will interfere with up travel, depending on the axle you have. I would look for an LM7 pan since it has the most clearance for what would be the cross member for a stock GM pan. It has really good baffling and has been proven by the tube chassis rigs on Pirate on steep inclines. If you wanted to get fancy, Pacific Fabrication has a sweet pan with REALLY good oil baffling, but its gonna cost you a bit.

One last thing, the L59 is flex fuel. I would see about getting a non-flex fuel tune to flash on your PCM or swap it with a 58x PCM from a newer L33 or LM7. You can always flash tunes onto it, if necessary. I am not sure if you are going to have issues with it wanting to do fuel sampling, etc whenever you get it running. I would invest in HP Tuners while you are at it, since you will use it often and will need it to remove VATS anyway.

Just my .02 cents.
 
I will dig through my receipts to find out where I got the shifter. I will def have to meet up with you when Im down there (will be staying in Morro Bay) and want to take my XJ on the dunes.

The reason I ask on the smog is that the Novak headers will not pass the referee because they aren't CARB legal. I will def be following this thread because i want to see how the headers fit. Clean XJ BTW.

And def get the LM7 pan as stated above. If your gonna be hammering this thing on the dunes I would def add an oil cooler too. Also for smog, the only thing you are allowed to tune out is the VATS, all other calibration numbers/ids need to match the CARB calibration numbers put out by GM (major PITA). I wouldn't bother with the CA smog if you can avoid it. It took me about a month to do the swap and then about 11 months to get it through CA smog. I know a lot about the smog side of making it legal so if you want to go that route let me know I will PM you my number.
 
the_midwesterner said:
A couple of pointers, do the GM TSB and make the RTV damn for the rear knock sensor. Replace both knock sensors while the motor is out. I would also replace the front cover, rear cover gasket, rear main seal and slap a new oil pump with shims while I am there. Cheap insurance for known issues. Trust me, its much easier to do this when the motor is on a pallet then while in your jeep.

Also, if I remember correctly, the L59 pan is different than the LM7 or L33 pan. The L59 pan will interfere with up travel, depending on the axle you have. I would look for an LM7 pan since it has the most clearance for what would be the cross member for a stock GM pan. It has really good baffling and has been proven by the tube chassis rigs on Pirate on steep inclines. If you wanted to get fancy, Pacific Fabrication has a sweet pan with REALLY good oil baffling, but its gonna cost you a bit.

One last thing, the L59 is flex fuel. I would see about getting a non-flex fuel tune to flash on your PCM or swap it with a 58x PCM from a newer L33 or LM7. You can always flash tunes onto it, if necessary. I am not sure if you are going to have issues with it wanting to do fuel sampling, etc whenever you get it running. I would invest in HP Tuners while you are at it, since you will use it often and will need it to remove VATS anyway.

Just my .02 cents.
Click to expand...

I did not know that about the oil pan, thanks that saves a bunch of headache! I am sending my harness and ecu out to a company called 150tunes. I've been in contact with them and will be having him get rid of all vats and a non flex fuel tune because I never plan on running E85. And I will look into the oil pump as well. I tech on Hondas and that's a common problem for them didn't think the same for chevy haha.
 
clydefrog said:
I will dig through my receipts to find out where I got the shifter. I will def have to meet up with you when Im down there (will be staying in Morro Bay) and want to take my XJ on the dunes.

The reason I ask on the smog is that the Novak headers will not pass the referee because they aren't CARB legal. I will def be following this thread because i want to see how the headers fit. Clean XJ BTW.

And def get the LM7 pan as stated above. If your gonna be hammering this thing on the dunes I would def add an oil cooler too. Also for smog, the only thing you are allowed to tune out is the VATS, all other calibration numbers/ids need to match the CARB calibration numbers put out by GM (major PITA). I wouldn't bother with the CA smog if you can avoid it. It took me about a month to do the swap and then about 11 months to get it through CA smog. I know a lot about the smog side of making it legal so if you want to go that route let me know I will PM you my number.
Click to expand...

Sweet thanks! The only place around here I can think would be a few miles north in San Luis obispo at poly performance. Yeah man when the time gets close I'll shoot you my number and we can head out to the dunes! And sweet that's what I wanted to hear, I hope to have it done in under 2 months just depending on Financials haha.
 
So I guess the swap get put on hold for at least today. Little brothers tahoe needs a smog on Monday and has comes for knock sensor. So I just so happens to have the sensors and harness so in they go to his truck. Lol
 
Ya I ordered the shifter and had it the next day! I constantly have people envying it even though its a super simple no-nonsense shifter. Super easy to use too.
IMG_3804.jpg
 
clydefrog said:
Ya I ordered the shifter and had it the next day! I constantly have people envying it even though its a super simple no-nonsense shifter. Super easy to use too.
IMG_3804.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah I love the looks of that shifter. Plus it has the neutral gate so you can slam it in to neutral without slamming into reverse haha
 
I would say no. It sweeps very far forward and very far backwards (angle wise). In 'P' you can see the shift knob almost touch my ham radio. In '1' its so far back my e-brake handle almost hits if i want to use the e-brake in '1'.

Still...would not trade it for anything else, the design is simple and functional. The console I have is made out of fiberglass and wood, very simple/easy to build.
 
92xjRJ said:
Yeah I love the looks of that shifter. Plus it has the neutral gate so you can slam it in to neutral without slamming into reverse haha
Click to expand...

Love that shifter-- I have the same one :-)
 
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