Not bad at all.
I wonder if the LS will work with my tna crossmember
I wonder if the LS will work with my tna crossmember
CK5
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I bought a new steel tank (my leak repair didn't hold) and I'm wondering if there is any quick and easy way to add some sort of baffling to it or around the sending unit before I put it in.
I never noticed any issues before the LS swap but now if I let the tank get too low I can starve the fuel pump on hard acceleration. Obviously the easy answer is to keep the tank fuller
but is there anything else I could do?
I never noticed any issues before the LS swap but now if I let the tank get too low I can starve the fuel pump on hard acceleration. Obviously the easy answer is to keep the tank fuller
but is there anything else I could do?
Get one of those new Holley fuel mats and stuff it through the sender hole...
Seems like a pretty ingenious new product.
-G
Seems like a pretty ingenious new product.
-G
You'll want to do something or you'll have trouble on the trail with steep angles.
It is a pretty cool product, but they want a lot for it. The cheapest one I've been able to find was more expensive than the tank.
I guess I'll try and bend something up like this for now:
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
One option that works ok for me is I bent my return line in the tank so it aims at the pickup tube. Haven't noticed any fuel issues at fairly steep angles, but I did have it stall out on me on the street when I was down to about 2 gallons in the tank.
That's a good idea. I'll try that too.
There's always warlboro pick ups. But it would take some fab bing
I got the new tank installed over the weekend.
Old and new tanks:
You can see my ill-fated repair on the old tank covered by the heat shield tape.
I replaced the ground wire on my sending unit as well.
My gauge was reading full until at least 1/2 a tank was gone and then it dropped like a rock. It turns out that my ground wire was pretty much shot. I was reading way too much resistance across it. Once it was replaced I was getting 2 ohms to 105 ohms from the sending unit. Still higher than 90 ohms but it should be pretty close now.
I also wanted to try and help keep the fuel from sloshing away under acceleration, but at a reasonable cost. The hole for the sending unit is only 1-3/4" wide so that limited what I could do. I ended up using a piece of 1-1/2" exhaust pipe ($4 
).
Unfortunately I forgot to get pics of the process but I cut the top off so it was a U shaped bowl and then welded the ends closed. I left a gap at the bottom for fuel to get in and out. I didn't know how big to make the gap but I figured if I made it about the same size as the feed tube I wouldn't be able to draw more fuel than could flow into it. I spot welded the feed tube into it and it was good to go.
Since the tank was less than 1/4 full I was able to romp on it a bit and test my new bowl. So far, so good. I wasn't able to starve the pump like I did before so I guess that's a win.
One last installed shot:
While I was at it I redid the exhaust pipe so that it is more like 3" away from the tank. No pic of that either though
. Hopefully everything will work a lot better now.
Old and new tanks:
You can see my ill-fated repair on the old tank covered by the heat shield tape.
I replaced the ground wire on my sending unit as well.
My gauge was reading full until at least 1/2 a tank was gone and then it dropped like a rock. It turns out that my ground wire was pretty much shot. I was reading way too much resistance across it. Once it was replaced I was getting 2 ohms to 105 ohms from the sending unit. Still higher than 90 ohms but it should be pretty close now.
I also wanted to try and help keep the fuel from sloshing away under acceleration, but at a reasonable cost.
The hole for the sending unit is only 1-3/4" wide so that limited what I could do. I ended up using a piece of 1-1/2" exhaust pipe ($4 ).
Unfortunately I forgot to get pics of the process but I cut the top off so it was a U shaped bowl and then welded the ends closed. I left a gap at the bottom for fuel to get in and out. I didn't know how big to make the gap but I figured if I made it about the same size as the feed tube I wouldn't be able to draw more fuel than could flow into it. I spot welded the feed tube into it and it was good to go.
Since the tank was less than 1/4 full I was able to romp on it a bit and test my new bowl. So far, so good. I wasn't able to starve the pump like I did before so I guess that's a win.
One last installed shot:
While I was at it I redid the exhaust pipe so that it is more like 3" away from the tank. No pic of that either though
. Hopefully everything will work a lot better now.
Looks good driving around 
Thanks! I've been out having some fun lately.Looks good driving around
I decided I wanted a dedicated bikini top (for the blazer ya weirdos!) since I had the sides rolled up almost all of the time during the summer anyway.
final fitment:
I can also have it just covering the front seats:
It's much less bulky than the full soft top so it's a lot easier to take on and off and folds up small enough to stuff in the console. It also generates a lot less wind noise with no rolled up vinyl windows catching the wind.
I had it made to attach to the existing hardware of the full soft top so the cost wasn't too bad either. Overall very happy with it so far.
I also got a chance to get down to Moab. It was a family trip so nothing too spectacular to report wheelin' wise but I did get out for some fun with the new engine.
I tried to get some vroom vroom video along with a nice sunset but the gf kept sticking the camera in the wind so it got drowned out a lot. Still pretty though.
Nice poser shot:
Representin'
On the first test run of the LS swap front everything ran perfect! I can't tell you how nice it was to be on as steep an angle as I could handle and not have to worry about the engine dying!
I did have another oil leak show up though. I haven't had a chance to look it over real close to see for sure where it is coming from, but at a quick glance it might be just coming from the oil filter. Hopefully it's just on a touch loose.
After playing around a bit I did come to a few conclusions about my next upgrades.
1. I need to fix the gearing asap. 4.56 gears are my next major project.
2. The throttle is way too sensitive for rock crawling atm. I need to add stiffer springs to it, increase the "throw" of the pedal or maybe mess with the programming. If I let the blazer get bouncing I'd start bouncing the throttle and it really sucked. I had a real hard time keeping the throttle stable during any bumpiness at all.
3. auto tranny is in my future for sure. Just one less thing to deal with. I'm old.
4. My suspension needs work. I'm going to need some advice here. It just feels way too stiff on the rocks. I'm running 6" skyjacker softride springs with crap rancho shocks. I'd like to start planning on some simple upgrades here.
As I'm sure a lot of you know, solving one issue (engine) just highlights others but I do feel like I'm making improvements. It runs way better and is far less rattly (although you can't tell from the video. The passenger door is the worst!) than it was last year so I am making progress.
final fitment:
I can also have it just covering the front seats:
It's much less bulky than the full soft top so it's a lot easier to take on and off and folds up small enough to stuff in the console. It also generates a lot less wind noise with no rolled up vinyl windows catching the wind.
I had it made to attach to the existing hardware of the full soft top so the cost wasn't too bad either. Overall very happy with it so far.
I also got a chance to get down to Moab. It was a family trip so nothing too spectacular to report wheelin' wise but I did get out for some fun with the new engine.
I tried to get some vroom vroom video along with a nice sunset but the gf kept sticking the camera in the wind so it got drowned out a lot.
Still pretty though.Nice poser shot:
Representin'
On the first test run of the LS swap front everything ran perfect! I can't tell you how nice it was to be on as steep an angle as I could handle and not have to worry about the engine dying!
I did have another oil leak show up though. I haven't had a chance to look it over real close to see for sure where it is coming from, but at a quick glance it might be just coming from the oil filter. Hopefully it's just on a touch loose.
After playing around a bit I did come to a few conclusions about my next upgrades.
1. I need to fix the gearing asap. 4.56 gears are my next major project.
2. The throttle is way too sensitive for rock crawling atm. I need to add stiffer springs to it, increase the "throw" of the pedal or maybe mess with the programming. If I let the blazer get bouncing I'd start bouncing the throttle and it really sucked. I had a real hard time keeping the throttle stable during any bumpiness at all.
3. auto tranny is in my future for sure. Just one less thing to deal with. I'm old.
4. My suspension needs work. I'm going to need some advice here. It just feels way too stiff on the rocks. I'm running 6" skyjacker softride springs with crap rancho shocks. I'd like to start planning on some simple upgrades here.
As I'm sure a lot of you know, solving one issue (engine) just highlights others but I do feel like I'm making improvements. It runs way better and is far less rattly (although you can't tell from the video. The passenger door is the worst!) than it was last year so I am making progress.
Last edited by a moderator:
Simple upgrades and suspension. ........I'm confused
LINK IT!!!!
LINK IT!!!!
I think that is a little outside my skill level at this point but it would be nice.
I was thinking more along the lines of different springs and/or shocks.
I did the ORD leaf springs in the front and it rides really nice. Ran 4" lift springs with blocks in the rear for a couple years, but I knew the rear was not complimenting the front. After the shackle flip, the ride is amazing. Even before the shackle flip, I've had people comment on how much smoother our ride looks. The only thing I would change now is I would like a stronger shock in the front but I need to wait and see what my weights are after the engine swap.
Truck sounds good!
Thanks stump_puller! For the first 9 seconds it was coming through nicely. 
Shackle flip for a better ride huh? :think:
What about shocks? Should I be looking at a custom setup? From where?
Those ORD springs are the custom ones based on weight, right? I figured that is probably the way I wanted to go.
Shackle flip for a better ride huh? :think:
What about shocks? Should I be looking at a custom setup? From where?
Well Stephen has a system based on what you're running but it basically boils down to weight I think.
You should at least look at a good, rebuildable 2.0 smooth body monotube shock and try to get it mounted vertical. Mine are made by Doetsch Tech. Bought them 8 years ago and haven't had to touch them. But they were set up for my K5. Crew cab is heavier with a much different weight distribution but they still work well enough.
I did the shackle flip to get rid of 5" lift blocks. Didn't expect the ride to improve but it did so well enough it still impresses me a couple months later.
You should at least look at a good, rebuildable 2.0 smooth body monotube shock and try to get it mounted vertical. Mine are made by Doetsch Tech. Bought them 8 years ago and haven't had to touch them. But they were set up for my K5. Crew cab is heavier with a much different weight distribution but they still work well enough.
I did the shackle flip to get rid of 5" lift blocks. Didn't expect the ride to improve but it did so well enough it still impresses me a couple months later.
I think that is a little outside my skill level at this point but it would be nice.
I was thinking more along the lines of different springs and/or shocks.
Keep it stock, like me.
-G
As long as it has hubcaps everything counts as stock, right?
