Pretty sure I have some bad cam lobes in the smoking engine... I retarded, advanced and drove the truck for about an hour today, stopping frequently and adjusting the timing. No wires are crossed, correct firing order verifi ed.
I get a popping sound out of the exhaust when I ham on the gas, it's not very loud at first but if I stay on the gas it becomes more pronounced and my acceleration is pretty much at a stand still until I let off the gas and ease back into the pedal.
I was going to drop my 355 in that's on the engine stand but I planned on a serpentine setup and some other things that I wanted to put on the engine before it went in and buying that stuff right now is gonna cut into my funds for the suspension (August's hobby funds) so I've been tossing around the idea of an LS engine swap just because it was on the list later on down the road anyway. I can make some decent coin on all my SBC stuff especially if I pull all my stuff off of the smoking engine and put it on the 355 and sell as a complete engine.
I'm looking into the 4.8L (LR4) LS1. They're pretty cheap with everyone going after the 5.3 and bigger engines.
I'll be free of carburetor problems, rejetting (moving back to Colorado the 1st quarter of next year), elevation problems, fuel bowl flooding, timing issues etc. etc.
I was reading a thread on here earlier of a guy with a 4.8L LS swapped in with a 465/205 and he was getting 18-19 MPG on the highway, If I remember correctly he had 3.73's and 33's. So I could look forward to better gas mileage (something I've never had), even better than my '09 Rubicon.
Been looking at the Tilden Motorsports engine packages through Tilden and Pacific Fabrication. Baseline is $1,750 (not sure on shipping)... not really wanting to drop that much coin when I hear of complete 5.3's including the pcm and full harness going for $500 from wrecked trucks.
Saw some good stuff on eBay, saw a 4.8 for $350. Found one close here on Craigslist for $500 but it got some decent miles on it.
Planning on tearing the front clip off, pull fuel tank (replacing with 31 gallon unit) and some other stuff. Gonna be doing the shackle flip, shackle hangers, B52's, ORD engine X-member, both steering box braces then roll the axles under and get the brake plumbing and steering together, I plan on beautifying the firewall and probably putting in a 3/4 ton MC and brake booster. I've got some sheet metal work to do in a few spots that rust is present and I plan on making a fuel tank access hole in the bed, maybe do something fancy with some small hinges and pop rivets?
I don't plan on purchasing a soft top anymore, found a local guy that's gonna sell me his for $70. No fiberglass damage and both windows (solid no sliders) are there and unbroken. I plan on jamming a piece of plexiglass in the rear window channel to hold me over when it's cold out and running some rubber or something to seal the plexiglass to the truck tailgate.
