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What would you be looking for in an LS swap tutorial / video?

I don't know from what I've seen in my family and friends vehicles the 4L60E's don't seem to last past 140-160k miles in bone stock vehicles and that's around the same mileage a lot of us buy the junk yard setups for our LS swap. Coolers, Corvette servos, shift kits, etc will all help them last longer but if you're running a 6.0/6.2, modified 5.3, big/heavy tires and wheels, or do a lot of towing I'd personally just start with the 4L80E.
 
I wouldn't entertain the idea of a 4l60 in anything that does some offroading. That's just my opinion. I've had 2 blow up on me and I've seen countless others blow up. Sure they can be built to handle more stress but I think the 4l80 is the way to go. There's a reason the 4l65 was made and I think that's a far better choice than 4l60 but for these trucks and adventuring out to remote areas I'd rather be over built than anemic.
 
And I would run a 4l60. They are perfectly capable of handling a mild LS motor. It is true they are not a 4l80.

I like the first gear plain and simple. In something that rarely tows heavy loads I much prefer the 60 to the 80
 
4wheelinfury said:
I think calling the 4l6_ anemic is a little ridiculous.
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Sorry maybe it was. I've had some long walks home because of them.

You can't deny the consistency of problems with them on here. There's multiple users that have had one issue after another, which usually is not their fault. I think telling people not to do a 4l80 is ridiculous.
 
You hear less problems about the 4l80 because there are fewer with it than the 60( 700r4) on here.

My buddy that is going to help me build mine has rebuilt dozens.

They are awesome transmissions but just like any other they break.

In a rig like my Jimmy. Even when I go to the 5.3 that will have decent power. The size and parasitic loss, in addition to the loss of an awesome first gear assures unless I'm given one a 4l60 or 700 will always be in my Blazer.

Now my crew cab. I never even considered a 60/700. It's gonna be built to tow and the trans needs to have ability to last under those conditions. 4l80 fits the bill there
 
I am not trying to sway one way or the other, I just feel that there seems to be a substantial feeling that the 4L80 is vastly superior. I think one of the reasons for the number of issues has been like zuk said, there are waaaay more out there than 80's. Plus the 700R4 was around for years, and while it did have some issues, it was a stout enough trans. The 4L65 is a giant step forward in terms of strength and reliability.

I also think that the majority of these trans are coming from junkyards, where you don't always know what you are getting.

I think the FF vs SF 14 bolt analogy is decent. Thing is with a 4L80 you do have quite a few compromises (gear, weight, length etc) that the axle argument doesnt have.

Anyway, don't want to derail my own thread here ha ha. I will be presenting both options in the video obviously.
 
Born and Raised in England. Purpose was for several reasons. First and foremost it was fun, I have a good friend who is a producer and editor and he does all the hard work, sets up the cameras, tells me what I should and shouldn't say etc etc.

Second, there are so many videos out there that are poorly done, have bad information, are too long, bad camera angles, you name it, that I knew I could make much better videos that gave information that I searched for in a short succinct video.

Lastly, I wanted to give back. This and other forums were so helpful doing my build, that if I can be a resource and help others out then all the better. The comments and messages I get on the youtube channel with people thanking me for the videos and how it has motivated them to fix their truck, or jump into a project has been overwhelming to say the least.

The LS video in particular is something that I saw the need for. It is very popular with these trucks, and when I posted up the basics of my build I got a lot of hits quickly. Got me to realizing that this was an area where people just had questions, and hopefully I could provide entertaining, and correct information is short, succinct videos.

Does that answer your question?
 
4wheelinfury said:
Born and Raised in England. Purpose was for several reasons. First and foremost it was fun, I have a good friend who is a producer and editor and he does all the hard work, sets up the cameras, tells me what I should and shouldn't say etc etc.

Second, there are so many videos out there that are poorly done, have bad information, are too long, bad camera angles, you name it, that I knew I could make much better videos that gave information that I searched for in a short succinct video.

Lastly, I wanted to give back. This and other forums were so helpful doing my build, that if I can be a resource and help others out then all the better. The comments and messages I get on the youtube channel with people thanking me for the videos and how it has motivated them to fix their truck, or jump into a project has been overwhelming to say the least.

The LS video in particular is something that I saw the need for. It is very popular with these trucks, and when I posted up the basics of my build I got a lot of hits quickly. Got me to realizing that this was an area where people just had questions, and hopefully I could provide entertaining, and correct information is short, succinct videos.

Does that answer your question?
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Yeah! Explains the professional quality of the videos. I think they are great, I was just curious if you were doing these as an advertisement for DIY4x or your own gig or just for fun. They’re definitely top notch quality over most garbage found on Youtube. You would make a great professional speaker for commercials, infomercials or whatever for the off-road industry :waytogo:

I had the accent pegged as Irish born – NY/NJ raised :haha:
 
What I would be interested is the tuning part, with diagnostics. I've started a basic tuning class but its not LS specific. And I don't want just turn this off. I want to learn all about the PCM and engine management and how to manipulate it. I understand the VE tables, and ign timing but would like to learn way more about tuning a swap.
 
Larry said:
Yeah! Explains the professional quality of the videos. I think they are great, They’re definitely top notch quality over most garbage found on Youtube. You would make a great professional speaker for commercials, infomercials or whatever for the off-road industry :waytogo:

I had the accent pegged as Irish born – NY/NJ raised :haha:
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DUDE. You don't know how stoked I was to read this. That is exactly what I wanted to do. Create a video that was helpful, not full of shite and vaguely coherent. Thanks man, I just read this to my wife so she doesn't think I am crazy for making youtube videos in the garage ha ha
 
No she's right your probably crazy.

But I agree the vids are a step above.

Vids like yours I usually watch about half and say uh yah got it. I watched ( the ones I have watchec) all the way through.
 
X2 on consult a lot of sources, there are often several ways to do it right. And wrong.
We can help out with T-case swaps and some VSS additions, conversions, etc. That's every day stuff here.
I'd address my personal pet peeve on "LS" swaps that use iron block engines that aren't LS engines at all. But saying "Gen3/4 swap" doesn't sounds as good and it's probably too late to change the slang. It still warms my heart when someone does an LS swap with an actual LS engine.
 
Stephen said:
X2 on consult a lot of sources, there are often several ways to do it right. And wrong.
We can help out with T-case swaps and some VSS additions, conversions, etc. That's every day stuff here.
I'd address my personal pet peeve on "LS" swaps that use iron block engines that aren't LS engines at all. But saying "Gen3/4 swap" doesn't sounds as good and it's probably too late to change the slang. It still warms my heart when someone does an LS swap with an actual LS engine.
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I have the same pet peeve. Same thing with LSx. No x is not a variable...it's either 376 or 454. Lq swap sounds better.
 
Stephen, if you wouldn't mind, could I add you to the list of individuals I can send my outline to? I have several individuals whom I respect and have learned a lot from who have volunteered to take a look at it and would always welcome another set of eyes, especially if you have extra insight on the adapters and Transfer case VSS options.
 
4wheelinfury said:
Stephen, if you wouldn't mind, could I add you to the list of individuals I can send my outline to? I have several individuals whom I respect and have learned a lot from who have volunteered to take a look at it and would always welcome another set of eyes, especially if you have extra insight on the adapters and Transfer case VSS options.
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No problem, happy to help with the stuff we know. Trying to get all this documented in one place is a great goal.
 
Stephen said:
I'd address my personal pet peeve on "LS" swaps that use iron block engines that aren't LS engines at all. But saying "Gen3/4 swap" doesn't sounds as good and it's probably too late to change the slang. It still warms my heart when someone does an LS swap with an actual LS engine.
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That is funny, as we share the same pet peeve on the “LS” thing but it has become so common I even catch myself using the “LS” lingo because may people wouldn’t know what a Gen III is. Those stupid two little letters have practically spawned a multimillion dollar aftermarket industry that is based on the wrong jargon :haha:

Other pet peeves that just kills me is calling an “engine” a “motor”. As my college instructor said, “motors” are electric and “engines” are powered by fuel. That nomenclature is also one of those things where the jargon has taken on an incorrect life of its own with “MOTOR Manuals”, “Motor mounts”, “motorhome”, etc. None the less, very unlikely one will ever hear a powertrain engineer call an engine a “motor” unless it is actually an electric motor. Nothing screams ignorant redneck like hearing someone saying he’s got one of those ‘der Cummings motors in his pickup. Not a Cummins engine but a Cummings motor.

Lastly, the idiotic internet born naming convention of the different generations of GM trucks is a huge pet peeve of mine. OBS, NBS, NNBS, NNNBS,…..yada, yada, yada. WTF did that BS come from?? People, just call them what they are…..60-66, 67-72, 73 -87 or Square Bodies, GMT400, GMT800, GMT900, K2XX…and whatever the next platform will be called. GM doesn’t call their different generations OBS, NBS, etc.….

So with that James, we are all going to rely on you to keep this hobby and sport professional as possible with your top notch videos by using the correct jargon. Please don’t use any of the jargon that piss us off and make us all appear as simple hillbilly like the backwoods coal roller crowd :waytogo:
 
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