Re: 1984 Gen IV 5.3 Swap

erioshi Thu Nov 17, 2016 10:22 am

Will the new engine have the same reluctor wheel and crank angle sensor as your old one?

My L33 (aluminum 5.3) uses the older 24 tooth reluctor wheel, pick-up and ECU, but I thought the LS3 used a 58 tooth wheel.

There are signal conversion boxes; I think Lingenfelter makes one for about $250. That said, some users have had issues with it.

The quick check is the sensor - Grey for 58x, black for 24x. IIRC it is on the block near the starter on the passenger's side. I would have to go look again to be sure.

Here's a thread from norotors.com that talks about the differences:
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sharkey Thu Nov 17, 2016 1:14 pm

all gen 4 engines use the 58x crank and 4x cam trigger setup. ls3 is a gen 4, his engine was a 2008 so that would make it a gen 4 as well. should be the same.

im not sure what would be different with the clutch assembly, everything im seeing shows the flywheels are the same for ls1/2/3. the truck engines use the same flywheel and clutch as the ls1, so i would think it would work.

superman22x Thu Nov 17, 2016 2:29 pm

All Gen 4 stuff, not worried about controls. I've been running a mix of LC9 and LS3 cals anyway. Now I will just run the LS3 cal and make some tweaks.

I know the flywheel will work as far as balance. But what I'm not sure about is the additional torque of the LS3. I have an LS1 flywheel/pressure plate. I know that will have to be switched, just not sure if the friction plate will as well.

sharkey Thu Nov 17, 2016 4:54 pm

if your only reason for swapping the clutch out is for holding power you would need to change the pressure plate and disc, the flywheel can be used again. id give the guys at spec clutches a call, they make the ls swap clutch kit for our cars, they could recommend what you should get.

erioshi Sat Nov 19, 2016 10:29 pm

superman22x wrote:All Gen 4 stuff, not worried about controls. I've been running a mix of LC9 and LS3 cals anyway. Now I will just run the LS3 cal and make some tweaks.

My bad then; I wasn't sure if you were running all gen VI or not. Good to hear you have that part covered. No input on the clutch.

superman22x Sun Nov 20, 2016 11:16 am

I think what I am going to do is continue using the Sachs clutch disc that TPC provides, and use an LS7 flywheel/pressure plate. I have read a lot of people do not like Spec clutches, and there don't seem to be many other options.

superman22x Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:16 pm

Been a while since the update. I have been working on sanding the car for paint. Now I'm on to filling all the little dings with Evercoat's Quantum One filler. However, I took a break from this to get the engine back in the car so I could make some more room in my garage. I now have a nearly stock LS3 engine and LS7 flywheel/pressure plate. I found it very easy to install the engine with no accessory drive on, and the transmission already in the car. I lowered the engine into the engine bay, and then slid it as far forward as possible. I then bolted the bellhousing on the back. I put 4 ~100mm long thread rods/studs in the back of the bellhousing and used those to help align the engine with the torque tube adapter plate that was bolted to the torque tube. Once I got them aligned, I could use an M10 nut on each to pull the engine and torque tube together. I used a jack to lift the crossmember with steering rack attached into place then. I just drop this about an inch to get the steering shaft and driver side header in. Overall this process was way easier than removing the transmission I think. It would have been even easier if I hadn't installed the harmonic balancer. Installing the accessory drive with the engine in the car is super easy as well. All I have left to do now is change the injector connectors from the LS1 to LS3 style injectors, plug a few things in, flash the ECM with the LS3 cal, and it should be ready to fire up.

superman22x Wed Mar 08, 2017 9:47 pm

Engine is in the car, new power steering lines made, no leaks and it runs great! Haven't driven it, just started it briefly in the garage. Just took it off jack stands, so maybe soon I will roll it outside and let it run for a while, make sure nothing is melting or anything. I bought a 37* flaring tool so I could make a nice steel power steering line and flare it for AN fittings. It worked pretty well. I bought a cheap tool, and the bar that clamps the tube while you flare it didn't work too great. But I had some others from old flaring tools that worked better (can't beat old craftsman quality).
I have my car sanded down and repaired all the dents. Just waiting for the weather to warm up so I can start spraying epoxy and the Featherfill primer I have. I just recently found where I think I want to buy my paint from. Autobody101 carries a brand called, "Tamco." It is supposed to be of good quality, and it was the best price I have found at $125/qt vs other high quality paints. Comparable to PPG DBC apparently, which was quoted around twice the price. Check it out if you are thinking about painting. I think 2 qts, so 1 gallon sprayable will be more than enough.
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Christopher Moffett Mon May 01, 2017 6:18 pm

superman22x wrote:So, I've been posting questions and such, but it's time to finally make a thread. I started this project about 9 months ago when I bought a 2008 5.3L off craigslist. Aluminum block, 243 heads, flat top pistons. It was a good start. I didn't even have a car yet. A few months later, my friend offered to sell me his 84 944 with a bad engine. The car has been sitting in a barn for a number of years, and is in OK shape. Seats have no rips or anything. The car just picked up a little mold in the barn. It cleaned up pretty well. The outside is still a mess. It's been repainted at some point, and the updated paint isn't holding up well. That's not a problem for me though, it's a great mule platform for this swap. If I really like it, I'll repaint it or get a different car and carry my parts over. I've repainted a few bikes now, can be a long process, but I've had good results.
Onto the swap. The motor I have is a gen IV engine, so I needed to get a 58x controller to match. I originally opted for an e38, and I was going to just use HPTuners on that. Since then I have changed to an E67 and plan to use a GMPP calibration. To do this, I had to rewire my E38 harness to match the pinouts for the E67. I also had to order the 56 pin blue and 73 pin grey connectors for the E67 -mouser carried these. Rewiring was easy then. I used LT1Swap and the wiring diagram for the GMPP crate engines to do this.
I have the corvette fuel filter installed in place of the original 944 filter. I reused all the Porsche fuel lines and bought some 10mm swagelok to NPT fittings for spots where I cut the line. On the engine end, I cut the line and used the same swagelok fitting with a -6 JIC/AN fitting and used a stainless braided line to the inlet of the fuel rails (billet eBay models).
For brakes, I am using the mustang hydroboost setup with the stock Mustang hydroboost master and a wilwood prop valve. I used the mustang mounting plate, but drilled four new holes and welded in three studs on the plate, and then one stud to the car. So one nut can be put on in the engine bay while I crawl under the car and connect the push rod. For the pushrod to brake pedal, it was nearly lined up from the get go, but I needed to move it about 1/16” so I was real happy. I did this by sanding a small amount off the plastic bushing that sticks out the end. This seems to line up well visually.
For the clutch I used a wilwood master and welded a 5/16-24 hex coupling onto the stock Porsche clevis.
The only thing I really have left at this point is to get my manifolds from TPC and install them. I also have a few wiring odds and ends to wrap up once I find the place for the O2 sensors and such. I just built my intake duct yesterday, so I can wire my MAF up now.
With all that, here’s some pictures:

The car shortly after it arrived:
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Engine when I first got it and removed the heads:
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The engine first installed. Surprisingly easy to fit it in. I used the summitracing oil pan and pickup. It’s a copy of the Moroso pan.
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Master cylinder to valve cover clearance. Tight, but I was able to fit three coils in the stock location. One is on the strut tower (stock wire used).
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Intake duct made. It’s only 3” tubing. Just tacked together for now. K&N sells a 4” diameter by 6” length round filter that I think will just fit about the headlight. I’m hoping it’s not all too restrictive. My main issue is that with the LS6 intake and 4bolt TB, I have to run a ¾” thick spacer. Removing that might allow me to run 3.5” or 4” tubing up to the MAF. I’ve seen a company that cuts the 3bolt flange off the LS6 intake and installs a 4bolt one. Maybe doing that and shortening/turning the flange would be a good option for us 944 folks.
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I did some rough trimming of the hood latch. I need to do a little more and make sure there is nothing sharp touching the intake. It would be easy to move the hood latch over ½” or so I think too.
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what summit racing oil pan did you use

Christopher Moffett Mon May 01, 2017 6:21 pm

what summit oil pan did you use

Christopher Moffett Mon May 01, 2017 6:29 pm

can you post pics of the final setup under the hood. kinda like a walkaround under the hood

superman22x Tue May 02, 2017 9:04 am

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Pretty sure it was this one.

superman22x Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:54 am

I used Eastwood powder to powder coat these Cayenne 18z calipers. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I need to stencil on the Porsche logo still. These calipers are skookum as frig!

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jshprd Thu Jan 18, 2018 2:34 pm

what oil pan from summit racing did you get? i tried looking for it but im not sure which you use other than that nice build!!

superman22x Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:03 pm

This was the pan that I used:
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cazbah362 Sun Apr 29, 2018 10:07 am

Superman22x (Former call sign?),
Very cool build! So, what radiator did you end up using? and on the oil pan, did you have to make any modifications? Reading this thread, sounds like you have some great mechanical skillsets, very cool. and what is the progress to date?

Thanks

LStuner Thu May 03, 2018 12:32 pm

superman22x wrote:This was the pan that I used:
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cazbah362 wrote:Superman22x (Former call sign?),
Very cool build! So, what radiator did you end up using? and on the oil pan, did you have to make any modifications? Reading this thread, sounds like you have some great mechanical skillsets, very cool. and what is the progress to date?

Thanks

Also curious about the oil pan modifications.

superman22x Fri May 11, 2018 1:23 pm

For the oil pan, it's a copy of the pan called by the swap instructions on this site, so the cutout I had to do was this same. The only thing I would rather have is an oil filter that mounts in the stock location rather than the remove mount.

For the radiator, I am using a stock 944 turbo radiator.

Current state... I am doing an interior swap to the late interior (keeping the early HVAC though). It's coming along decently, but I'm going to have to make a custom unit for fan speed and vent controls. Not sure what I'm going to do with that just yet... But that's low on my list.

I also have my Cayenne 18z front calipers mounted and they are SWEET! I'm working on putting Boxster calipers on the rear using stock 290mm 944 rotors. I have a design, it's pretty simple. But I just moved, so I'm still working on getting my garage setup before I can work on those again.

superman22x Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:12 am

Been a while since I've updated this. I need to update the title to say LS3 swap instead of 5.3.
. Anyway, brakes are completed. Fronts are 6 piston 18z from a Cayenne. Rears are Boxster calipers on stock NA rear discs. My interior conversion is nearly done, I put in a late interior. Everything went in pretty easy, wiring was a bit of a pain. Still have a few switches to wire up. HVAC is not really plumbed...
My final update is that I ordered an 01E transmission from Germany today. With the 944s going up in value, the price if turbo transmissions is going up. So this seemed like a better alternative. It will be here in a few weeks. I plan on using the center section of a clutch mated to the 944 torque tube sleave to combine everything. I have a small machine shop in my garage, so hopefully I will be able to make it work.

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