Local Legend Don't Call It An S10

[the bodj]

oh snap. motor mounts gonna be on ford part of frame right? you gonna cut firewall or what?

I made my own mounts for the 4.3L and they are on the ford part of the frame. So I'm anticipating having to make new mounts that will also be on the ford part of the frame lol.

Nope, no firewall cutting is required. The 6.0 is only a few inches longer than the current motor. the core supports on these trucks are pretty deep, so I'll be hollowing it out to move the radiator into the core support, and probably going to electric fans.

 

[juberafab]

I like ur s-10 bodj. Someday I will see it in the dirt. Ps it was hard me me to type that...

 

[Chancegoodman]

*in the most effeminate voice you can imagine* I did a thing ysterdayyy

If you can't see that emblem on the door, it's a 2500. It's got a 157,000 mile 6.0L LQ4 mated to a 4l80e with a brand spanking new (floor shifted) transfercase. Runs like a top and is the donor vehicle for the sonoma's heart transplant that will hopefully be starting around the middle of next month.

are you going to do any cam swap or anything like that or are you going to run it as is

 

[the bodj]

I like ur s-10 bodj. Someday I will see it in the dirt. Ps it was hard me me to type that...

Hopefully soon! Let’s get Betsy out there!

are you going to do any cam swap or anything like that or are you going to run it as is

trying to resist doing a cam right now. I’m sure I’ll be more than happy with stock power, but who doesn’t love the sound of a canned LS? Probably just going to put the cam money towards a prebuilt wiring harness

 

[85Yota]

With added weight and speed of the v8 are you going to add a secondary shock?

 

[Motiracer38]

Oh dang, those are tough to come by for a decent price. Not that I've been looking....

 

[the bodj]

With added weight and speed of the v8 are you going to add a secondary shock?

I'd like to, but realistically I don't know when that will happen. I don't really see myself shooting for a much higher top speed through whoop sections. The 55ish I can cruise through decent whoop sections is where my comfort level is. A bit faster would be good, but I'm fine saving money and not adding a second shock for a year or two. Also, it shouldn't be a huge weight gain from my research. About 150#, so I'll be going up in spring rate.

Oh dang, those are tough to come by for a decent price. Not that I've been looking....

Exactly. I had a top dollar I wanted to spend for it, but his bottom dollar was $250 more than my number. Rather than lose the truck, spend weeks to keep looking, I decided to just eat it.

 

[the_fablab_]

What harness is needed? Between the donor truck and the S10 you should be able to use all factory wiring to get the motor swap done and it be 100% factory functional.

I would look into purchasing something like this for your year S10

Amazon.com

We use those books all the time for the Bronco and F Series truck for doing swaps, electrical repairs, adding factory options that trucks didn't come with, etc. because if you don't know Ford is notorious for changing stuff year to year.

I'm willing to bet with an ecu reflash, some depinning for different pigtails and plugs, the factory S10 drivetrain harness would mate right up to that engine and transmission and work as factory.

 

[the bodj]

What harness is needed? Between the donor truck and the S10 you should be able to use all factory wiring to get the motor swap done and it be 100% factory functional.

I would look into purchasing something like this for your year S10

Amazon.com

We use those books all the time for the Bronco and F Series truck for doing swaps, electrical repairs, adding factory options that trucks didn't come with, etc. because if you don't know Ford is notorious for changing stuff year to year.

I'm willing to bet with an ecu reflash, some depinning for different pigtails and plugs, the factory S10 drivetrain harness would mate right up to that engine and transmission and work as factory.

Planning on calling these guys and having them make me a harness.

https://www.currentperformance.com/shop/98-up-s10-sonoma-jimmy-blazer-s-t-truck-ls-swap-direct-fit-wiring/

There's also these guys

1998-2004 Plug and Play S10 Swap Harness H1000

LS Swap Harness for S10 truck. Plug & Play allows for a quick & easy swap. Call BP Automotive for all of your Performance race truck parts. Shop Now!

bp-automotive.com

It's not cheap, but wiring is not my strong suit.

What does a reflash cost? I already have the 6.0 computer so will I still need that? If I'm understanding right, with the purchased wiring harness, the 6.0 computer is used in place of the original s10 computer and is then used to run all of the engine and body electrical systems.

 

[the_fablab_]

Never heard of the first company. BP Automotive is who I would use hands down. They are our go to company for LS swap harnesses. It's cool that they make something plug and play for your exact application.

You are probably going to have to get into the ecu anyways to turn off down stream o2 sensors, vat, manipulate shift points, etc. I think current rate for a serial from HP Tuners is $50 bucks? So prepare to pay that plus an hour or two rate for a local tuner or you can get the hardware and do it yourself. What you are looking to do isn't all that hard.

 

[the bodj]

Never heard of the first company. BP Automotive is who I would use hands down. They are our go to company for LS swap harnesses. It's cool that they make something plug and play for your exact application.

You are probably going to have to get into the ecu anyways to turn off down stream o2 sensors, vat, manipulate shift points, etc. I think current rate for a serial from HP Tuners is $50 bucks? So prepare to pay that plus an hour or two rate for a local tuner or you can get the hardware and do it yourself. What you are looking to do isn't all that hard.

Current performance is who everyone on the s10 forums use.

I'll have to look into what tuning rates are. It looks like the hp tuners thing and the 2 credits required for my truck is a bit over $500. But I did get a speedo calibrating hp tuners for the 4.3 that I can set back to stock and sell to put the money towards the tunable hp tuners unit...

 

[juberafab]

Hopefully soon! Let’s get Betsy out there!

trying to resist doing a cam right now. I’m sure I’ll be more than happy with stock power, but who doesn’t love the sound of a canned LS? Probably just going to put the cam money towards a prebuilt wiring harness

Great work man . Truck is looking good. Soon we will get them out together. We have been super busy with the kidos. No time to work on our own projects.

 

[the bodj]

Great work man . Truck is looking good. Soon we will get them out together. We have been super busy with the kidos. No time to work on our own projects.

That's the best thing to be busy with. Spend the time with them while you can.

 

[the bodj]

Never heard of the first company. BP Automotive is who I would use hands down. They are our go to company for LS swap harnesses. It's cool that they make something plug and play for your exact application.

You are probably going to have to get into the ecu anyways to turn off down stream o2 sensors, vat, manipulate shift points, etc. I think current rate for a serial from HP Tuners is $50 bucks? So prepare to pay that plus an hour or two rate for a local tuner or you can get the hardware and do it yourself. What you are looking to do isn't all that hard.

I'm trying to get understand what doing the wiring on my own would entail. I know nobody can tell me specifics without looking at wiring diagrams, but as a summary...

I have the computer that came with the motor and transmission. So everything there is solid and ready to be ran by that computer. The stock 4.3L/4l60e computer would be totally removed from the Sonoma. If I'm understanding this correctly, the new computer will basically just need to be connected to the PCM so it can tell the speedo and tach what to say, and to turn on with the ignition, correct? Is that how I should be thinking about it?

Here are links to the 6L computer pinout

https://lt1swap.com/1999-02pcmpinouts.pdf

and the 4.3L pinout
file:///C:/Users/bodja/Downloads/PCM%20Conectors%201.pdf

And I started a google sheets file where I can compare the pins side by side. Is this even necessary since it looks like the pins connecting to the pcm are in the same place?

 

[the bodj]

My wife’s best friend and husband came out from Ohio. Decided to take him to Gorman for the day while the girls hung out. We did a quick prep the day before (nut n bolt check, tighten rear passenger hub, and check oil). Truck worked great on the way there and was a fun couple of hours in the dirt. It was great going on a Thursday. Basically had the place to ourselves.

 

[85Yota]

Nice. You gotta do the lake los Angeles/Palmdale to Barstow del taco run. Always a good time, some whoops, jumps and Barstow del for lunch.

 

[the bodj]

Started at 9am yesterday, took a break at 3pm. My dad came by at 6:30pm and the motor was on the garage floor by 7:30pm. Came out really easy as one unit. Waiting on oil pump, rear main seal, some of these gaskets and bits and pieces, and then I can get it all together early next week.

 

[85Yota]

Looks good. I miss removing LS truck motors. @the_fablab_ and I got pretty good at it with doing over 20 in a 3 yr period.

 

[GahnRacing]

Clean that garage you filthy animal. Nice garage fridge!

 

[the bodj]

Clean that garage you filthy animal. Nice garage fridge!

I need to put up a shed in the back so I can get the dirtbikes out of there. It’ll open up a ton of room. And thanks! Still need to go grocery shopping to fill it with burr

Also, I borrowed a lift plate from @the_fablab_ , but he needs it back to put his motor in this weekend, so I made my own. Longest pulls I’ve done on the squirt gun in nearly 10 months.