89 V2500 Burb- Camping rig

[socoinslo]

Just an update since this thread is kinda slow so far. I am still waiting for my motor and trying not spend money on anything else right now, but I did get a few things in the mail the other day which is always nice.

Got a fuel filter regulator and some misc. fuel line fittings for the new fuel delivery setup, a TNA cross member, motor mounts, some new door seals (I'm tired of listening to my doors rattle as I drive down the street) and some kick panel speaker mounts that I'm now not sure if I want to use. I also have a spacer with some longer bolts to get my TH400 to mate to the new motor on their way.
I need to get over to the auto wrecker and pick up a fuel tank, sending unit, charcoal canister, vent solenoid, and hopefully some cats with rear O2 sensor bungs ( I think I will try to get the whole exhaust from a 2006 Sierra).
My motor is supposed to be ready on the 25th. Im planning on driving up to Reno to pick it up on the first! Im pretty excited about the motor... time seems to have slowed significantly lately.

 

[socoinslo]

It doesn't sound that hard to get the 4l80e to work with the LQ9.

The LQ4 ran with a 4l80e, so i think its just a matter of programming. BD said they could do it with the LQ4.

yeah, the LQ4 and the 4L80e come together factory so that is not a problem. The LQ9 came with the 4L60e and the 4L80 and 4L60 are not interchangeable. Here's what BD says about it:
"If you want to use a 4L80E transmission with full ECM control it is most cost effective to start with a 6.0L LQ4 2500 Truck motor as it came factory with this transmission and it is no problem. FYI - 4L60E & 4L80E transmissions are NOT directly interchangeable. The wiring pinout of the trans plug is different, and 2 VSS’s are used versus 1 on the 4L60E. Besides the wiring difference, the ECM also requires a segment swap as that portion of the transmission control is completely different. It can be done, but I do not do this conversion. "
It is certainly possible but would set me back a good chunk of change. So ill run my th400 for now. My th400 was rebuilt with a shift kit not too many miles ago too.

 

[dhcomp]

yeah, the LQ4 and the 4L80e come together factory so that is not a problem. The LQ9 came with the 4L60e and the 4L80 and 4L60 are not interchangeable. Here's what BD says about it:
"If you want to use a 4L80E transmission with full ECM control it is most cost effective to start with a 6.0L LQ4 2500 Truck motor as it came factory with this transmission and it is no problem. FYI - 4L60E & 4L80E transmissions are NOT directly interchangeable. The wiring pinout of the trans plug is different, and 2 VSS’s are used versus 1 on the 4L60E. Besides the wiring difference, the ECM also requires a segment swap as that portion of the transmission control is completely different. It can be done, but I do not do this conversion. "
It is certainly possible but would set me back a good chunk of change. So ill run my th400 for now. My th400 was rebuilt with a shift kit not too many miles ago too.

Got it. The Lq4 ended up being too rich for my blood, let alone an LQ9.

Best of luck!

 

[y5mgisi]

Dudes! The 4l80e is a snap to run in place of the 4l60e! Do some googling. The 4l60e program runs the 4l80e program. And if your harness is for a 4l60e, all it takes is this harness.

http://www.speartech.com/product_p/4l80eupgrade.htm

Start reading here. Should only take a few hours of googling to find all the info you can dream of on the swap. Trust me, it's not hard or expensive.

http://m.performancetrucks.net/forums/showthread.php?t=413157&styleid=4

Also, Subscribed! Love the truck and the usage plans! Sounds a lot like me and my burb! My dad also bought mine new in 89!

That headliner you got from Lmc, is it the abs plastic backed one? It looks nice!

 

[socoinslo]

Thanks for the info, but I am going to stick with the th400 for now. Probably in the future I will swap trannys.
the headliner is indeed from LMC and has plastic backing. It looks pretty good in there. It made a much bigger difference than I thought it would.
That's funny how many ppl on here have their dads old chevy! I like yours too! Your build thread is another one that I have been lurking around on ha ha.

 

[y5mgisi]

I hear ya. I kept my th400 for now too. Someday, I'll upgrade. Hopefully before my big road trip. :fingers crossed:

I really want one of those head liners, but $500 is a tough pill to swallow!

 

[muddysub]

Just an update since this thread is kinda slow so far. I am still waiting for my motor and trying not spend money on anything else right now, but I did get a few things in the mail the other day which is always nice.

Got a fuel filter regulator and some misc. fuel line fittings for the new fuel delivery setup, a TNA cross member, motor mounts, some new door seals (I'm tired of listening to my doors rattle as I drive down the street) and some kick panel speaker mounts that I'm now not sure if I want to use. I also have a spacer with some longer bolts to get my TH400 to mate to the new motor on their way.
I need to get over to the auto wrecker and pick up a fuel tank, sending unit, charcoal canister, vent solenoid, and hopefully some cats with rear O2 sensor bungs ( I think I will try to get the whole exhaust from a 2006 Sierra).
My motor is supposed to be ready on the 25th. Im planning on driving up to Reno to pick it up on the first! Im pretty excited about the motor... time seems to have slowed significantly lately.

i was in your shoes not too long ago, i know the feeling.

 

[socoinslo]

Muddysub, That's funny because I was lurking around your thread when you posted that run video from BD and I was all excited to see you get your motor. I kept checking in to see if you got it. My turn now!

 

[dhcomp]

I really want one of those head liners, but $500 is a tough pill to swallow!

Pull yours down, do all the prep work, scrape the foam **** off, and take it to an upholstery place.

I tried to do mine myself, and the glue stuck just enough to ruin about $100 worht of material.

Took it to a cheap upholstery shop, and it looks great.

 

[socoinslo]

I hear ya. I kept my th400 for now too. Someday, I'll upgrade. Hopefully before my big road trip. :fingers crossed:

I really want one of those head liners, but $500 is a tough pill to swallow!

$500 is that what I spent on that thing? I don't remember spending that much but I may have just decide to go for it. I'll have to go back and double check where I got it from cause that sounds like more than I would pay. Or maybe I shouldn't check

EDIT: I just checked and I actually got it form Rockauto for $358... still expensive but better than 500.

 

[y5mgisi]

Interesting!

 

[muddysub]

Muddysub, That's funny because I was lurking around your thread when you posted that run video from BD and I was all excited to see you get your motor. I kept checking in to see if you got it. My turn now!

It was an awesome feeling! When it comes, you gotta post your run video too, i wanna see it!

EDIT: I just checked and I actually got it form Rockauto for $358... still expensive but better than 500.

very cool, mine is still holding up but when it starts to go, now i know who to get a new one from. they aren't all one piece are they? ive never had mine down.

 

[socoinslo]

No, the headliner is two peices. The joint is in the middle. IIRC the ones from rock auto all have the opening for the rear AC unit precut fyi. Also if you have the center console thing on the ceiling, I had to cut the headliner out to accomodate mine. That wasnt a cool feeling cutting into my brand new headliner, but there were marks on the back that show you where to cut... very very faint lines that were hard to follow.

 

[socoinslo]

So last weekend I was driving my suburban around town basically just trying to burn gas for dropping the tank and to put a few more miles on the 350 and I was having trouble with brakes and/or steering. When I hit the brakes hard the truck pulls hard right. I was thinking that it had something to do with the brakes, I remember the truck doing this when I drove it as my DD, but back then I guess I was just used to things like that. I was hoping to eliminate this when I redid all my brakes. Anyways, over the weekend I was trying to diagnose the problem. I noticed that if I hit the brakes hard and let go of the steering wheel, the truck will stop perfectly straight, but the steering wheel will turn left. If I hold on to the steering wheel and hit the brakes hard the truck pulls hard right. This is leading me to think that I have a steering issue and the brakes are fine. Could this have to do with my steering geometry? I used to just have a 2.5" lift on the truck and I swapped that out for about a 3.5" lift in the front and 4" in the rear. When I lifted it to where it is now, I installed a 4" raised steering arm, and I thought that all the angles of the linkage looked good. Anyone know what my problem might be? Or where/how to start checking for problems? I would like to be able to stop effectively after I put the much more capable motor in, or just all the time actually.

 

[dhcomp]

Definitely bump steer.

Is your drag link and tie rod close to parallel?

 

[y5mgisi]

It's the angle difference between the leaf spring arc and the tie rod arc as it travels. Ultimately, the best thing to do would be cross over steering. Aside from that, if you can find a steering correction method that has only 2" or so of correction, you should be Ok. I have a theory that some how, a drop pitman arm is better off than a raised steering arm. And an offset drag link is better off than anything else.

 

[socoinslo]

Bump steer is what I was thinking. When the springs compress under heavy breaking something has to move. Right now I have a 4" raised steering arm, which makes the drag link pretty much level. Do I want it to have some angle or slope to it? I could put the stock steering arm back on and get an offset drag link or drop pitman I guess.
So hmmm... do I want to mess around with swapping steering arms, getting a different pitman arm or offset drag link OR just bite the bullet now and do cross over?? I already have the flat top passenger side knuckle on the front axle, so I would just need to get it machined, swap steering boxes, get a new drag link, two new steering arms and Im good to go I think.

 

[y5mgisi]

Keep in mind that you basically have to get rid of the sway bar if you go crossover.

 

[socoinslo]

Ill take some pictures of how it is set up now. Im reading up on how I should have it setup and it seems like I have it wrong. I might have parts laying around to make it work better atleast.
So the sway bar is in the way of the crossover drag link? I guess so now that im picturing it in my head. How does a rear sway bar work in comparison?

 

[cyclic]

As long as you have positive arch springs, I believe the best angle possible is to set the drag link angle to be slightly less angle than the front springs going from front to rear.
So if your front springs angle down from the eye bolt say 20 degrees, the drag link front to rear should be around 15 degrees. This is just my opinion, but give it a try and see how well it works for you.
Basically with what your saying I'd go back to the stock axle arm and use a 2 inch drop pitman arm and stock drag link.