2000 sierra rcsb lq4 4l80e 14 bolt build

DMarts10 · May 29, 2014

Got a little more work done today (took Monday off to enjoy the holiday at the beach). My plan was to install the valve cover and intake gaskets and bolt them all up, but isoon after realized that I don't have the ls6 intake manifold bolts, and they aren't the same as the truck ones. So I ordered them from ebay for 15 bucks. I got the valve covers done, then cleaned the coils and mounted them to the brackets and to the valve covers, along with routing the wiring. Then I got my oil dipstick sanded and painted, along with the power steering pump, which is still hanging. I pressed on the harmonic balancer/ damper and hooked up all the sensors on the engine block. I had to bend the fuel line out of the way of coil #5 as well. I had to bring my water pump to the machine shop at my bowling alley to press the pulley off it. I will be using an ls1 pump with a truck pulley to get the neck away from the throttle body. Here are the updated pics:

cowboy63645 · May 31, 2014

Gotta love progress pictures! I may have missed it somewhere but any idea on hp/tq numbers for this motor?

silverado13 · May 31, 2014

what intake is that

DMarts10 · May 31, 2014

Going for 375 to 400hp at the crank. It's the ls6 intake.

silverado13 · May 31, 2014

cool beans, ive been in the market for one

DMarts10 · Jun 6, 2014

been busy the past few days and havent done much with the engine. It has oil in it now and is really pretty complete anyhow. Tonight I'm picking up a 4l80e trans for 300 bucks. I'll just have to wait for my stall to come in the mail, to bolt it all together. As for the truck, I pulled the seats and console out to clean and shampoo it. I also bought two headlight restore kits to do the lights. I was impressed with how well those kits work. I also received my ls1 waterpump from ebay, removed the pulley with a big two jaw puller, then pressed my truck pulley on it with my 30 ton press (while supporting the bearing on the back). Here's the result.

silverado13 · Jun 6, 2014

nice, man if you ever find another 5l80e for $300, let me know, thats a steal

silverado13 · Jun 6, 2014

to run that intake, do you need a different accessory mount, like the alternator?

DMarts10 · Jun 6, 2014

silverado13 said:
to run that intake, do you need a different accessory mount, like the alternator?

You have to modify the bracket by relocating the idler and cutting the casting

silverado13 · Jun 7, 2014

how hard was that, if thats all you have to do, it seems worth it

DMarts10 · Jun 7, 2014

Pretty easy. Cut it with a saws all, then smoothed it out with a grinder. I used the dirty dingo idler relocator kit

silverado13 · Jun 7, 2014

i might do that if i can find a good deal on a LS6 intake, do you know if you would need a retune for a LS6 intake?

DMarts10 · Jun 7, 2014

You need a retune, injectors, fuel rail from a 97-98 vette and new electrical connectors for the injectors. Really not worth it unless ur spinning your motor to 6500rpm and up.

silverado13 · Jun 7, 2014

ahhh see thats why i have been skeptical, id rather have a torque based engine and not have to spin over 6000, i think the truck intakes can handle that

DMarts10 · Jun 7, 2014

Truck intakes are very good for low end torque.

silverado13 · Jun 7, 2014

i just wish they had some sort of upgrade, over my intake

DMarts10 · Jun 9, 2014

worked on the engine for quite a while today, on my day off. Mounted the waterpump and the air conditioner compressor, set up the s-belt, cleaned up the throttle body a bit, put in the sparkplugs and installed the wires (yeah I have to remove them to install the headers, but they look so damn good), and I started wiring the harness. The wiring looks like it's going to be a bit challenging, but I want the looms to be somewhat hidden. Many guys doing the ls6 swap leave the looms over the top of the intake. I want them to be tucked away and less noticeable. I should be getting my stall in the mail some time this week, then I can bolt up the trans and start the transplant.

Here's a pic of my 4l80e I picked up for $300 with 12k on a goodmark rebuild

DMarts10 · Jun 16, 2014

Finally started working on the actual sierra today. Got the engine and trans ripped out of there. Went pretty smoothly overall. The only pain was disconnecting the fuel lines behind the distributor, where is no room to work. That, and the lift I was using broke at the beginning of the day. I ended up using a bumper jack for a lot of the work, which wasn't too bad, though a lift would have been nicer. I hope to get most of the wiring squared away next week and get the motor in. Im not sure if I will be putting the engine and trans in separate or mated together yet. I also found a small setback with the trans. Because it is a 4l80e from 97, the shift shaft is different, and the neutral safety switch can not be mounted on the case. I plan to pull the pan off, replace the shaft with a newer version, and make a bracket off of the pan bolts to mount the switch to. Ill snap some pics of it when I get to it. Here are a few pictures, including my throttle body polished up.