FJ62 LS Swap - Lone Star Sleeper - Stoffregen Motorsports

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

There is a common notion these days, that a Vortec LS V8 is as ubiquitous as jam on toast. Well, there's a reason for that. Because they're freakin' awesome!!! Actually, the choice is made simple when comparing all the attributes. In the case of the Toyota 2F, the numbers add up to about double the horsepower, almost double the torque and just as good (if not better) fuel mileage. The physical size comparisons are favorable too. The V8 is shorter and fits very nicely under the hood and in between the frame rails of the Toyota.

Case closed, right? Maybe.

There are other options. Hardline Toyota nuts will ask, "why not a 1UZ or 2UZ ?" Cost per HP and parts availability are the two main factors there. GM is a language spoken everywhere and future service requirements are going to be easier to satisfy with the LS than with the Toyota.

The numbers just add up.

I don't know how many of you saw the green FJ60 I LS swapped last year. That was my first FJ60 LS swap, and as it turns out, became my favorite vehicle build to date. I absolutely love the feel and look of the FJ60/62 body, both inside and out. It is as American as Toyota ever got. And that's too bad. The Americans definitely hold the standard for what a truck is supposed to be, and the FJ60/62 (though not a truck in the strictest sense of the word) has that truck-like feel in both the driving characteristics and inside the driver's compartment. I think we can all agree that the Toyotas are far superior in their build quality, but we can still make them better. Right?

Here it is, another FJ LS swap. Let's hope it holds true to everything I just said.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Complete teardown is easy, but I like to document everything with pics. About 90 pics were taken before I turned a wrench. The motor came out as a complete package and will be for sale (along with the trans and all associated accessories) as soon as I get close to the end of the project.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Parts started showing up just in time too. The engine (a Gen IV 5.3L out of a 2010 Silverado) was chosen to power the rig and will be backed up by a 6L80E 6 spd auto trans. We'll rebuild and reinstall the split case transfer case.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I thought I'd knock some of the small stuff out of the way while I was waiting on the t-case adapter. The axles were rebuilt and ARB lockers were installed. Minor upgrades to the brakes were made as well. The addition of 150 HP means we'll need better brakes (though the original brakes are pretty good) so we bought some slotted and cryo'd rotors and we'll install some good brake pads. That's about all it needs. We may install a FJ80 booster/master combo, but it's not required. We'll get to that later.







Another simple upgrade is made to the brake lines. I don't know how many of you get absolutely ticked off when working on the stock Toyota front brakes, but having to disconnect the hard brake line from the backing plate to remove the calipers is one of the dumbest ideas ever. One that's easily changed with the removal of the stock hard line and installation of flexible steel braided lines. Future brake maintenance will no longer be followed by bleeding the air out of the system. It's so easy, a chimp could do it. But first, the axle housings and hubs were blasted and painted.

 

[Metcalf]

Cool! This is gonna be a neat project!

It will be interesting to see how you like working with the 6L80. They are kinda HUGE. They are about the same height from centerline as most of the others, but they have about an extra 2-4" depth when compared to even a 4L80.

Are you going to keep the BCM in the harness so you can have truck based tap shift, tow haul, cruise, etc?

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

At this point I still haven't figured out how to shift the trans at all. We want to use the original Toyota floor shifter, so I will probably have to fab up some linkage pieces and hopefully we can work around the factory detents. I haven't mocked it up yet, so I don't know for sure if it will work.

We are using the original GM computer to control the engine and trans. Cruise and tow/haul are extras that we'll address as they come up.

The length is something that may actually help us. It should allow us to actually lengthen the front driveshaft, which will be an improvement.

 

[Metcalf]

At this point I still haven't figured out how to shift the trans at all. We want to use the original Toyota floor shifter, so I will probably have to fab up some linkage pieces and hopefully we can work around the factory detents. I haven't mocked it up yet, so I don't know for sure if it will work.

We are using the original GM computer to control the engine and trans. Cruise and tow/haul are extras that we'll address as they come up.

The length is something that may actually help us. It should allow us to actually lengthen the front driveshaft, which will be an improvement.

You should be able to make the Toyota shifter work with enough time. The truck 6l80 only need PRNDM however. There are other gates but they don't really do anything.

The 6l80 is actually pretty compact in length, shorter than a 4l80 for sure, but a bit longer than the 4l60 depending on the adapter. The narrow pan on the passenger side is a big bonus, but watch the clearance on the starter.

I'd suggest looking into keeping/adding the GM BCM module into the wiring harness, its a pretty cheap Can network box. There are other ways to do it, but the GM BCM retains all the 'truck' functionality. You will also need to add the pin to the ECM for the low range switch or else the trans shifting becomes pretty annoying. On the trucks the BCM provides the tap shift function also. You can flash the TCM ( which is inside the transmission pan ) to use a car type tune and add a pin for the tap shift that way. The side bonus is that when you are ready, you can use the 'other' stuff the BCM provided like cruise, tow haul, etc.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Good info. Thank you. Your knowledge on this topic is greatly appreciated.

We're using a steel oil pan from Tilden. It's pretty compact, but still holds 6.5 qts.

Honestly, I haven't even opened the box or electronics we got from Tilden yet. We did specify that we wanted full trans functionality, so I'm hoping the right parts are in the box, but if we do have to go custom (or integrate some OEM GM electronics into our package) I found this company that sells all kinds of electronics for swaps - http://tbmsport.com/6l80gm6spdinformation/6l8090eswapcomponents.html

I PM'd you on FB messenger with some questions about your trans cooler, but I went back through your thread and found the AC/Delco part number. I think I'll give that one a try. I think we may use the t-stat from Derale too.

 

[Metcalf]

Good info. Thank you. Your knowledge on this topic is greatly appreciated.

We're using a steel oil pan from Tilden. It's pretty compact, but still holds 6.5 qts.

Honestly, I haven't even opened the box or electronics we got from Tilden yet. We did specify that we wanted full trans functionality, so I'm hoping the right parts are in the box, but if we do have to go custom (or integrate some OEM GM electronics into our package) I found this company that sells all kinds of electronics for swaps - http://tbmsport.com/6l80gm6spdinformation/6l8090eswapcomponents.html

I PM'd you on FB messenger with some questions about your trans cooler, but I went back through your thread and found the AC/Delco part number. I think I'll give that one a try. I think we may use the t-stat from Derale too.

Do you know exactly what engine you have? I'm not 100% sure, just working off memory, but I remember there being something tricky about changing the oil pans on versions of the LS engines that have the DOD/AFM type system on the engine. See if this link works, it has something to do with the oil pressure system for the lifters.

https://books.google.com/books?id=T...epage&q=LS oil pan swap on AFM engine&f=false

I sent you back a message of FB also with some details and then my personal contact info if you have any more questions.

There are a lot of ways to make the 6L80E stuff, but I was advised by a few people to keep as much of the stock 'truck' programming for the engine/trans as practical.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The engine is a 2010 Silverado 5.3, which makes it a Gen IV. It's fly by wire, it has variable cam timing and truck style accessory drive. I wish it had a cable throttle, but the Gen III electronics aren't capable of shifting a 6L80E trans.

The oil pan came pre-installed, but I am going to remove it and replace some gaskets before the engine is in for the final time.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The disassembly and cleaning phase is finally over, for the most part at least. Now it's mock up and assembly time.

Most of my time has been spent ordering parts but now that the majority of the parts are here, the fun begins.





The 2010 Silverado doesn't use a mechanical fan (at least not the 1500), but I do like to use them, as they pull a lot more air than electric fans do, and they're not likely to fail. Luckily the water pump still includes the fan drive, so installation is a snap.





One item I made a mistake on is the oil pressure sender. On the last truck I built with an LS, I was able to delete the GM pressure sender and use the Toyota sender to run the gauge. On this later model engine, the pressure sender is required, so the pieces I put together here are not going to work. Still deciding on which path I want to take to get the Toyota sender working.



We took the body off the frame to give the frame a new coat of clean.









I even took some centerline measurements on the frame and ran a string line to see if the frame was straight. It was.



I took Stan's advice and draped plastic off the sides of the truck and actually pressure washed the underside of the body, on the lift, in my shop, with tools and stuff all around that I don't want to get wet. It worked like a charm. Thanks Stan. Didn't get any pics of that process. Sorry...

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Re-assembly of the frame and body is pretty simple. The hardest part is lining everything up. Before I took the frame out from underneath the body, I marked on the floor the position of the frame stands. The body never moved, so marrying the two required only a couple nudges with my foot.

But before we put them together, a good coat of paint was applied and the rubber isolators were cleaned and reinstalled in the frame with a thin coating of white grease (to make sure nothing squeaks).

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

With the body and frame all back together, it was drivetrain mock-up time. We hit a huge snag there.



The transmission we got was not the right one. The 6L80E and 6L90E are very similar, so the mistake was an honest one, but it's a setback nonetheless, as I now have to wait for the correct transmission to get here. The differences are: the 6L90E is about 1 3/8" longer (which isn't a problem), and the spline count is way off (29 vs 32), and that is a problem. As Advance Adapters does not make the larger 29 spline spud shaft, this trans was not going to be an option. Here are a couple pics of the adapter.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Not to be deterred, Mock up resumed, though we're not going to mock up the t-case or crossmember. I know where I want it to fall though, so once we get the new trans, nothing I already did should have to be changed.





The engine and trans were offset 1" to the driver's side, which meant I had to modify the Advance Adapters supplied engine mounts. A simple elongation of the slot in the passenger side is all it needs.







Then the mounts were cut down to match the profile of the frame.



The engine oil pan ends up sitting 1" below the bottom of the frame, which should get us enough room up top for hood to intake clearance. The power steering pump, however, needs some attention. On the last one I built, I used the original PS pump, but modified the inlet to get it to clear the PS box. I think that may have something to do with the problems we had bleeding the air out of that setup, since the top of the reservoir was about level with the hoses on the box. On this one, we're going to use a remote reservoir and a PS pump can from a Renault Fuego...yes, I said Renault Fuego. We will then mount a Toyota pickup PS reservoir in the fender well. Using OEM parts will help keep the original look n tact. Here's a pic of the stock pump next to the PS box. The inlet is already twisted out of the way.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Here's the motor in its new home.











Since I'm at a standstill on the engine placement, I'll move on to the fuel system. Stay tuned...