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'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond

Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
Overview Gallery Discussion
I wouldn't mind putting one on the steering wheel in the 66 but that's one that worries me about having an incident. Manual steering and a giant steering wheel that is close enough to my body I could actually see it hitting or snagging on a body part.

I will say I was surprised how well the assist ram was able to keep up with my ability to turn the wheel faster.
 
mrk5 said:
The other engine oil leak was from the oil cooler fittings at the engine block. The swivel seemed really loose and I wondered if the lines were getting pulled up and down from the frame flex between the engine and core support.

I started out by replacing the leak fittings. Then I made a bracket using a line separator to hold the lines stationary to the engine so there's not much up and down pressure on the fittings.

View attachment 486466

The other thing I noticed is I had the lines held to the steering box crossmember with a clamp that was pulling a lot of slack out of the lines. I took that off. I put a zip tie thru the mounting hole I was using for the clamp to keep the lines from getting too close to the crank pulley. The zip tire is loose to allow movement.

View attachment 486467

The clamp was holding the hoses over where the ziptie goes through the hole. Hopefully this will take pressure off the fittings.
Click to expand...
On case anyone comes across this in the future, the changes I made to the oil cooler lines have been holding up.
 
@imiceman44, it has taken me a while to get this finished, but this is my parts list for the coil near plug setup on the L29. If I think of anything else, I will edit this post.

L29 Gen VI 454 with factory fuel injection and added coil near plug ignition

Parts you’ll use from factory L29 EFI:
  1. 4X crank reluctor
  2. Distributor: this is the cam sensor in the distributor (You can purchase a blank cap from EFI Connection Part #120-00005.)
Parts to purchase/source:
  1. Holley Terminator LS1/LS3 550-916(T) for EV1 injectors: you’ll be configuring a “CUSTOM” ignition setup with a 1 pulse/fire crank sensor and single pulse cam sensor. I purchased mine from Innovate Engineering (@folkenheath on CK5.com) and he setup the initial global file with the ignition parameters all set.
  2. 36” Crank sensor extension harness: ICT Billet Wire Extension WECKP30-36 – the LS1 harness won’t reach the L29 crank sensor under the front cover.
  3. Spark plug wires: Since I mounted coils on the valve covers, I purchased MSD Super Conductor 39849 for 2001 8.1L truck. I think the same year 6.0L truck wires would work, but I wasn’t sure if they might be a little short. Otherwise wire that work with your setup.
  4. Coils from early 6.0L trucks with harnesses. Other coils may work, but make sure they have the harness connection to match the Terminator.
  5. Fitting to plug EGR connection on L29 intake: I’m going to assume most people don’t plan to keep the EGR system. If this is the case you need this size plug: 1-1/16"-12 SAE ORB Thread, 3/4" Male O-Ring Boss
Optional items:
  1. Injectors: Many L29 owners change the injectors as a matter of course, because the factory injectors don’t have a good spray pattern. I would consider this a required swap – especially if upgrading the cam, but technically it’s optional.
  2. Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR): I opted for an aftermarket FPR mounted on the firewall in the return line. I came across several forum posts of people having trouble with the factor FPR. Plus an adjustable FPR gives you more options.
  3. Holley coil harness 558-321: Depending on your coil mounting setup, you may not be able to use factory coil harness with the Terminator harness. In my case, they wouldn’t fit with the way I mounted the coils on the valve covers.
  4. EFI Connection Cam Sync Distributor (1x Signal) Part #120-00003. I purchased this because I managed to break the factory distributor pulling the engine.
  5. L21 valve covers. This was a medium duty truck 454 that was used about the same time as the L29 and came with factory coil near plug ignition. There was an eBay seller with a few used pairs for sale. The mounting bosses aren’t going to work with 6.0L coils, but I used them to hold a bracket I mounted the coils on. You could skip these covers and use some other method of mounting the coils. I’ve needed to pull the valve covers a couple of times now and I kinda wish I would have mounted the coils on the firewall so it’s easier to pull the valve covers.
  6. Fuel Pressure: The Terminator harness includes connection for fuel pressure. You will need a “pressure transducer” to read fuel pressure. Luckily, I had one already for the digital dash.
  7. I also needed a 24” fuel pressure extension harness ICT Billet Wire Extension WETPS30-24 because the transducer ended up too far from the factory connection.
  8. Oil Pressure: The Terminator also has a harness connection for oil pressure. This also needs a pressure transducer which I had for the digital dash.
  9. VSS adapter, older flat style sensor to LS1 harness connector: Michigan Motorsports Vehicle Speed Sensor VSS adaptor https://www.michiganmotorsports.com...vss-tbi-tpi-gm-t5-700r4-4l60-4l60e-t56-4l80e/

Cam & Crank Sensor pin changes;

Cam: You need to replace the Terminator cam sensor plastic plug with a terminal housing that fits the L29 distributor/cam sensor. This can be confusing because the A B C terminal labels are on different sides of the terminal plug which results in the A & C terminals being flipped. To get the wire order correct, look at both terminals with the locking clip on top and keep the wires in the same order when swapping terminal housings.

Crank: The terminal housing works but as mentioned above, you need an extension harness to reach it.
 
mrk5 said:
@imiceman44, it has taken me a while to get this finished, but this is my parts list for the coil near plug setup on the L29. If I think of anything else, I will edit this post.

L29 Gen VI 454 with factory fuel injection and added coil near plug ignition

Parts you’ll use from factory L29 EFI:
  1. 4X crank reluctor
  2. Distributor: this is the cam sensor in the distributor (You can purchase a blank cap from EFI Connection Part #120-00005.)
Parts to purchase/source:
  1. Holley Terminator LS1/LS3 550-916(T) for EV1 injectors: you’ll be configuring a “CUSTOM” ignition setup with a 1 pulse/fire crank sensor and single pulse cam sensor. I purchased mine from Innovate Engineering (@folkenheath on CK5.com) and he setup the initial global file with the ignition parameters all set.
  2. 36” Crank sensor extension harness: ICT Billet Wire Extension WECKP30-36 – the LS1 harness won’t reach the L29 crank sensor under the front cover.
  3. Spark plug wires: Since I mounted coils on the valve covers, I purchased MSD Super Conductor 39849 for 2001 8.1L truck. I think the same year 6.0L truck wires would work, but I wasn’t sure if they might be a little short. Otherwise wire that work with your setup.
  4. Coils from early 6.0L trucks with harnesses. Other coils may work, but make sure they have the harness connection to match the Terminator.
  5. Fitting to plug EGR connection on L29 intake: I’m going to assume most people don’t plan to keep the EGR system. If this is the case you need this size plug: 1-1/16"-12 SAE ORB Thread, 3/4" Male O-Ring Boss
Optional items:
  1. Injectors: Many L29 owners change the injectors as a matter of course, because the factory injectors don’t have a good spray pattern. I would consider this a required swap – especially if upgrading the cam, but technically it’s optional.
  2. Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR): I opted for an aftermarket FPR mounted on the firewall in the return line. I came across several forum posts of people having trouble with the factor FPR. Plus an adjustable FPR gives you more options.
  3. Holley coil harness 558-321: Depending on your coil mounting setup, you may not be able to use factory coil harness with the Terminator harness. In my case, they wouldn’t fit with the way I mounted the coils on the valve covers.
  4. EFI Connection Cam Sync Distributor (1x Signal) Part #120-00003. I purchased this because I managed to break the factory distributor pulling the engine.
  5. L21 valve covers. This was a medium duty truck 454 that was used about the same time as the L29 and came with factory coil near plug ignition. There was an eBay seller with a few used pairs for sale. The mounting bosses aren’t going to work with 6.0L coils, but I used them to hold a bracket I mounted the coils on. You could skip these covers and use some other method of mounting the coils. I’ve needed to pull the valve covers a couple of times now and I kinda wish I would have mounted the coils on the firewall so it’s easier to pull the valve covers.
  6. Fuel Pressure: The Terminator harness includes connection for fuel pressure. You will need a “pressure transducer” to read fuel pressure. Luckily, I had one already for the digital dash.
  7. I also needed a 24” fuel pressure extension harness ICT Billet Wire Extension WETPS30-24 because the transducer ended up too far from the factory connection.
  8. Oil Pressure: The Terminator also has a harness connection for oil pressure. This also needs a pressure transducer which I had for the digital dash.
  9. VSS adapter, older flat style sensor to LS1 harness connector: Michigan Motorsports Vehicle Speed Sensor VSS adaptor https://www.michiganmotorsports.com...vss-tbi-tpi-gm-t5-700r4-4l60-4l60e-t56-4l80e/

Cam & Crank Sensor pin changes;

Cam: You need to replace the Terminator cam sensor plastic plug with a terminal housing that fits the L29 distributor/cam sensor. This can be confusing because the A B C terminal labels are on different sides of the terminal plug which results in the A & C terminals being flipped. To get the wire order correct, look at both terminals with the locking clip on top and keep the wires in the same order when swapping terminal housings.

Crank: The terminal housing works but as mentioned above, you need an extension harness to reach it.
Click to expand...
Thanks Scott.
 
The Terminator is the big expense. You'd have to be pretty obsessed with wanting CnP if you're willing to spend $1,200 to $1,500 just to do that. But if you're planning to get the Terminator anyway, you can do the CnP relatively cheap. You can get the coils (and harness) from the junkyard; that's essentially where mine came from through Nate. Replacing the spark plug wires are a good idea regardless and you don't need to buy anything special.

So far I like the Terminator best of the systems I've run which includes the Holley Sniper and Edelbrock ProFlo4. I really think this type of setup with factory hardware and the aftermarket software/ECU is a good way to go.
 
Since the engine swap my power steering pump is grumpy when I start the truck cold. After a bit it quiets down and operates fine. The colder it is, the louder it is. Using the same fluid I always have but it does seem like a viscosity thing. Any thoughts?
 
Let it warm up a bit longer. Just drive it and see if it clears up. New pump? Give it some time.
 
I had a similar but not the same issue on parts house fluid and swapping to royal purple fluid fixed my growling, aeration, and heat generation in my power steering system.
 
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