91 Isuzu Pickup LS Engine Swap

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) : I hadn't thought of that.  It's sure something I'll look into.  Thanks.

In reply to Honestbroker :

You're welcome. Ive seen it a few times, and always struck me as a good solution to a problem i haven't encountered yet. 

944s have those too.

In reply to GCrites80s :

Hmm.  Something to look into.  Thanks.

Only thing that kinda sucks about it on the 944 is that it hits your leg when you get in and out. But on most 944s someone has driven around with the handbrake on which wears down the handbrake-only shoes inside the hat section of the rotors and throws off the adjustment -- which means you have to pull it way up. So in another application that may not be a problem especially since you might have some freedom in where you locate the handle and how high up your seat sits.

In reply to GCrites80s : Thanks.  Good gouge.  Still figuring out many things.  I appreciate the input.

I'm back and still working on the truck.  A few updates:

- Parking break problem solved, although a bit inelegant.  I bent the arm a little and made room for the headers.  The inelegant part is that I had to rig a pull-off spring to keep the cable from resting on the headers when set and from rubbing against the headers when setting.  Actual brake lever stays in the same position as stock.

- Drive shaft has been shortened and installed (with two new u-joints).

- Lots of dash work, but I believe the Rodeo cluster has been wired correctly and put in place.  The fit  looks as good as the original.

- Most of the wiring harness has been installed.  The feeds to the O2 sensors seem a touch short, but thankfully the sensors themselves have fairly long feeds.  No real problem after all.

- Starter installed.

- Heat wrapped the headers to keep heat down around them.  Things are kind of tight.

- Still need to figure out how to fit a radiator.  I'm not a welder and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need some welding fabrication.

- Still need to get accessory drives straightened out for alternator and ac compressor.

- Once all of that's done, I still need to get an exhaust put together.

More updates soon.  

Check out Jegs/Summit for their massive selection of aftermarket full aluminum radiators.  Have your measurements and hose locations handy and I bet they can fix you up affordably.  The other option is to bring your measurements to your local parts store and hunt thru what they have off the shelf. 

Thanks.  I understand the selection thing, but the fore to aft fit is pretty tight and I just don't know if I can fit in a new radiator without cutting the heavier part of the core support.  I'll try to give them a call though.  In the past I've only run into a person who takes orders and can't speak about nuances like fit into a specially confined space (or any other type of technical issue).

Just saw a space cab for sale; right after I fixed my truck, and it looking for anything. 
Saw this from s google search for engine info. 
I like your engine choice better!

I'm originally from Hampton; are you from VA, or get there via military?

In reply to 03Panther :

Sorry I missed your post.  I lost track of some things.  Regarding being here in Hampton Roads, military brought me here.  I'm retired now, but have settled here just fine.  I'm still working on the truck.  Getting close to turning the key.  
 

Update after quite some time.  Part of the reason this is taking so long is that the truck is garaged about 15 miles from my home.  There are plenty of other things I have going on, or should have going on, that keep me away. Also, this is not a "paint by numbers" proposition. I'm kind of figuring things out as I go.  Anyway, I'm on my final push.  For me, the big thing is to get it started and moving.  Follow-up stuff like putting the body panels back together are not my worry for now.

So, a couple of things I've had to do:

1.  Swapped the truck water pump for a -1 CTSV pump (shortest available) to make as much space as possible for a new radiator.

2. Bought a Be Cool radiator that fit within the original radiator's mounting frame.  It's thicker and consequently I'm mounting a pusher fan instead of a puller.  
3.  At the recommendation of a friend who's already something like this, I've mounted the fan in front of the condenser coil.  It fits nicely and the grill fits over everythIng (barely).

4.  Have found a person who has experience in fabrication and LS swaps.  Hopefully he'll be able to help me with some plumbing challenges.  I hope he'll be able to help with an exhaust system.

For now I'll be trying to keep the battery in the same place as original.  I'm not going to do the AC yet, but when I do I'll likely have to move the battery to make room for the compressor.

That's pretty much it for now.  I hope to have more progress to report in the not-to-distant future.

Radiator, condenser coil, and fan fitting/mock-up.

How it going? Just found this thread while researching this exact build!

Love the way you are headed with this.

Any recent progress?

Very Cool!

I had the previous body style p'up, and loved it. 

In reply to GATORED : Well, I've solved a problem with the lower radiator hose. I found a hose with lots of twists and turns and cut it in a couple of places and now it fits (very short reach, but fits).  At present I'm looking for someone to help with an exhaust system.  I never thought it'd be so much of a challenge.  I'll get through this.

Pretty much next though is to put fluids into the engine, gas tank, and transmission, get a battery, and try to fire her up.  I've got a very temporary exhaust rigged for this evolution.  We'll see from there.

Any questions or advice/ideas/critique are welcome.

In reply to 84FSP :  by the way, I did wind up ordering a Be Cool radiator from Summit.  Tight fit, but placing the fan in front works.  Thanks for the recommendation.

Thank you for providing your trials and tribulations. 

In reply to Honestbroker :  Update - My LS fabricator help fell through.  Plumbing challenges have been overcome, for now.  Still looking for some welding help, especially for exhaust system.

Okay, here I am 3+ years after starting.  I've got fluids in the motor and have tried to start it.  It tries, sputters and at times, when I fiddle and pump the gas pedal, it'll start and roar.  Just can't keep it going.  It won't idle so I can't even fill the transmission completely.  I've changed out injectors,checked for noid light, and spark seems good.  Fuel pressure sits at around 58 psi.  I think the PCM needs a look and I'm taking it to a tuner in the next day or so.  I'm at a loss.  I hope things can get settled out.  More updates later.

Pleasantly surprised to see this on page one.

Honestbroker said:

It tries, sputters and at times, when I fiddle and pump the gas pedal, it'll start and roar.  Just can't keep it going.

The first start of my LQ4 in my '61 Apache was similar.  Turns out I forgot to connect the cam sensor. 

I trust you've double checked that everything is plugged in?

Do you have a way of checking the the cam and crank sensors are working?

In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :

I believe I have checked all connections, but will do so again.  On the rare occasion that it actually starts, I can get a strong rev going, but it doesn't last.  I can't help but think it's running rich now, very rich.  The best chance of starting and getting it to respond to throttle is when the car has sat for a good while.  When I try then, it tries harder and, as I said before, it may actually start and run briefly.  It won't idle though.  Would the motor start and rev if the cam sensor was faulty/not working/hooked up?

As far as checking whether the cam or crank sensors are working, would I see that with an OBD2 reader?

 I appreciate the comments and pointers.  I'll take a look tomorrow, Monday, and see if anything is out of place.

In reply to Honestbroker :

Fiero hand brake is mounted on the driver's left as well. Oops, I didn't note that this part of the thread was past. Looking Good! Betting it is a bad sensor or something hooked up incorrectly. Look for bent pins in all connectors, a personal fave, it's bitten me twice! MAF is a usual suspect in start/no run. A dead open vacuum port? Cable throttle?, those often have a bad idle bypass/clog or wide open or bad communication from TB. Have you checked fuel pressure at the rail? Bad bypass/ pressure regulator will dump pressure quickly. Good Luck and I'll be watching!

The trip to a tuner should be helpful as they should be able to look at all sensor inputs to the ECU.

Hopefully whatever it is, is an easy fix, and you can be on to the next phase on the project.