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New motor

rollerlocked

Well-Known Member
Messages
60
Location
Wendell, NC
Good Job Brother, I have been lingering and looking forward to reading your update since the begining of the swap... I will be trodding down the LSX path soon, I already have purchased an 08 hummer LH8 , and just today found a 08 alpha 4l60e with 60k miles and that is being shipped in right now, should see it next week.

The engine came with a mostly uncut harness it looks like its missing 1 or 2 plugs.(who did your harness work , how do I get in touch with him?) The engine also came with the ecu and most of the sensors haven't done a full inventory on sensors yet (i definitely need a coil pack one is broken physically). It has the factory alpha headers, looks like the accessory brackets are in place, and factory alpha motor mounts. Will need to go thru and replace rear main seal , front main seal , oil pane gaskets , valve cover gaskets prior to install its always easier to do on a motor stand.

The two bigger hurdles are now out of the way now to the nickle and dimeing stuff im still searching for

-Still on my list of parts to get prior to starting-
a/c compresser
power steering pump
alternator
starter
flywheel
torque convertor
hptuners standard version (to hack & slash the ecu to proper behavior)
some headers to modify to fit our engine bay(probably from an avalanche)
Some misc. SS piping with proper mandrel bends for routing and building exhaust and most likely vband clamps and proper flex sections

Ill quit hijacking for now and create my own thread after it has begun.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
Heres an update, logged about 400 miles on it now and its back to daily driving duties.

Mileage is around 12-13 mpg. I live in a hilly area so it really depends where I am going but I would say about 13 mpg is average. I did get 16 mpg at one point where I was driving around 60mph for an extended period of time. I noticed my rpms at 60 were where they should be at 65 so 5.13s are a tad steep for the v8 but for now its doesnt affect driving, just hurts mileage a tad.

the v8 just laughs at 37s and makes short work of any long freeway hill climbs around here. I can accel in overdrive depending on the hill and if not it will downshift to 3rd and pull to 80 if I want to where before if I hit a big hill I would drop from OD to 3rd and even in to 2nd sometimes.

Other then that all is well. I have the A/C compressor covered and will probably wait till school ends to find an A/C shop to make me custom lines...I wasnt expecting to get any a/c lines super cheap but when I hear that CaseyS got his done for 29 bucks and I was quoted 500 you can kiss my ass! Things in CA are more expensive I get that but not that much!

the a/c line crimp tool isn't $500, make your own lines FTW
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,418
Location
Meridian, ID
I'm running stock alpha headers, get in touch with 04colyzq8 he may be on this forum but is definitely on 355nation.

Seeing you got an h3 alpha motor just buy stock h3 alpha parts. As for steering lines you can get some for an alpha if u want. Mine are custom made for my SAS. Just adapted with jegs adapters and JIC fittings but I'm running a Nissan Xterra box.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,418
Location
Meridian, ID
Also what's your guys opinions on exhaust wrap? I was thinking to exhaust wrap the portion of the exhaust by the t case? I've noticed these t cases get VERY hot and the fluid is dark within 20k miles on an I5 and a v8 may be worse.

Pros are it can contain heat
Cons I've heard of it rusting out as moisture gets in the wrap...but doesn't it burn it off?

What do the hot rod guys say?
 

abearden

Well-Known Member
Messages
609
Location
N. Idaho
In California, it's unlikely to be an issue unless you go a lot of water crossings. In wetter climates, it holds too much moisture.

You could always fab up a heat shield/sleeve for the exhaust if you're worried about it.
 

rascole

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,693
Location
Bellflower, CA
Also what's your guys opinions on exhaust wrap? I was thinking to exhaust wrap the portion of the exhaust by the t case? I've noticed these t cases get VERY hot and the fluid is dark within 20k miles on an I5 and a v8 may be worse.

Pros are it can contain heat
Cons I've heard of it rusting out as moisture gets in the wrap...but doesn't it burn it off?

What do the hot rod guys say?
Give it a shot. When I put headers on my 95 it made a big difference in keeping the starter from dying every few months and it keeps the under hood temp down as well and will help with the dessert runs. Rust is a non issue, will actually protect better than exposed bare metal header because it slows down the moisture from hitting the bare metal. Fiber wrap is cheap and easy to do. I actually still have a roll 1.55" wide if your interested.
 

Best4x4

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,042
Location
Vidor, TX
When I drained/filled both my 07 I5 & 08 V8 H3's transfer cases the fluid was exactly the same color dark brown. 07 had 80K 08 had 122K.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
I used it for years under the hood of my turbo'd 6.2 diesel. thin-pipe headers will rust out pretty quickly... but, did you use the stock Alpha exhaust? if so, it's stainless. If you're concerned about water trapped again the pipe, simply make an aluminum shield and hold it on with stainless hose clamps. Put the material only on the aluminum shield or clamp it between the shield and the pipe.

There's other stuff out there that doesn't trap water - titanium wrap is an example of that stuff.
 

whylee

Well-Known Member
Messages
98
Location
Reno NV
I cant see it holding too much water. I wrapped my street bike exhaust years ago. Whenever it got wet I just let it run for a few minutes and it was bone dry.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,418
Location
Meridian, ID
Thanks guys, I already have some and will throw some on. I am just trying to keep the t case as cool as possible. I have done fluid at the same time in the trans and t case and when I swap them again the t case is MUCH worse.

Got about 600 miles on the setup and last tank got an average of 12 mpg. I looked back to see what I got with the I5 and each tank would vary from 11-13.9 mpg and this tank I was still hammering down from time to time having some fun so next tank I will try to stay off the gas and see what I can get.

The fans work great, I havent turned em on at all this week because its been cool but last week when it was in the 90s I had them on and here is what I noticed...When I turn the fans on the second I turn the truck after 20 miles temps will be roughly 10-15 degrees cooler. If I turn them on after the motor gets hot it doesnt drop it 10 degrees right away, I would need to run them for a while to get them to cool.

As for A/C lines I may get the tool or call around a few other places and see.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,418
Location
Meridian, ID
An update, school is over and now I have some more free time. I took squeaky off road for the first time and flexed her out and made sure my exhaust clears the 3rd link which it does. I also hit some high speed dirt sections and with the revalved shocks it works awesome! Handles MUCH better! I was able to hit 50mph in some sections and it felt good. No whoops but that will be next.



Today I went on a little road trip, about 300 miles round trip. My brothers 3.8 is slow and ripp superchargers are 5-6k and v8 swaps are 10k minimum so he found a used avenger supercharger last year for less then a 1/3 of a ripp SC so he jumped on it. He never installed it until just this past week. Since then avenger went out of business and the tuning on it is a BITCH, diablo tuners are a PITA, diablo support sucks and in the search of finding a tuner he found one well over 100 miles away. Turns out there was a big miscommunication and they dont do tuning, their sales moron said they do extensive custom tunes and have the software to do custom tunes turns out they are like a 4wheel parts. So we had it towed out there via AAA but we cant use the AAA tow back due to "piggybacking" tows. So with all the driving today to and from the shop I drove just under 300 miles and hit 1200 miles overall on it. Now his jeep is stuck back at that place. I gotta go get my old hitch I took off and go to storage put it back on and tow his jeep to another shop. After speaking with the other shop they in fact do extensive tuning and will keep the jeep for a few days doing dyno runs/tuning and street tuning to get it very drivable and reliable. I figure I am an h3 alpha now which has a 6k tow capacity. I am running an add a leaf in the rear which stiffens things up a tad so I will give it a shot. I have pusher fans to help cool and a trans cooler as well. I will go slow and think squeaky is up for the task.



After yesterday and today I am happy to see how it did off road and on a long drive. Next up is towing and then some rockcrawling.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,418
Location
Meridian, ID
I also picked up my old A/C lines and some my old harness. Figured I can reuse some portions of the old A/C lines and I also figured why throw out a perfectly good harness. I just need to get my old oil pan.
 

Best4x4

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,042
Location
Vidor, TX
I pulled a 4600LB 98 Land Rover Discovery with my Alpha a month ago. Zero issues, just took it easy until I got up to speed. No cooling issues, or stopping issues. With the trailer weight and D1 I'm sure I was at the max tow rating. Only sagged in the rear a tiny tiny bit. Very impressed with how it did and I towed the D1 for 3.5hr in hilly conditions.
 

Zach

Mall Crawler
Messages
4,812
Location
So Cal
An update, school is over and now I have some more free time. I took squeaky off road for the first time and flexed her out and made sure my exhaust clears the 3rd link which it does. I also hit some high speed dirt sections and with the revalved shocks it works awesome! Handles MUCH better! I was able to hit 50mph in some sections and it felt good. No whoops but that will be next.



Today I went on a little road trip, about 300 miles round trip. My brothers 3.8 is slow and ripp superchargers are 5-6k and v8 swaps are 10k minimum so he found a used avenger supercharger last year for less then a 1/3 of a ripp SC so he jumped on it. He never installed it until just this past week. Since then avenger went out of business and the tuning on it is a BITCH, diablo tuners are a PITA, diablo support sucks and in the search of finding a tuner he found one well over 100 miles away. Turns out there was a big miscommunication and they dont do tuning, their sales moron said they do extensive custom tunes and have the software to do custom tunes turns out they are like a 4wheel parts. So we had it towed out there via AAA but we cant use the AAA tow back due to "piggybacking" tows. So with all the driving today to and from the shop I drove just under 300 miles and hit 1200 miles overall on it. Now his jeep is stuck back at that place. I gotta go get my old hitch I took off and go to storage put it back on and tow his jeep to another shop. After speaking with the other shop they in fact do extensive tuning and will keep the jeep for a few days doing dyno runs/tuning and street tuning to get it very drivable and reliable. I figure I am an h3 alpha now which has a 6k tow capacity. I am running an add a leaf in the rear which stiffens things up a tad so I will give it a shot. I have pusher fans to help cool and a trans cooler as well. I will go slow and think squeaky is up for the task.



After yesterday and today I am happy to see how it did off road and on a long drive. Next up is towing and then some rockcrawling.

Soooooo, should I order you the Alpha emblems? [emoji15]
 

whylee

Well-Known Member
Messages
98
Location
Reno NV
I can honestly say, as nice as the RIPP superchargers are, they dont help the dog motors much they put in the jeeps. I traded my RIPP supercharged 08 Jeep in on my Alpha and would never go back.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,418
Location
Meridian, ID
I can honestly say, as nice as the RIPP superchargers are, they dont help the dog motors much they put in the jeeps. I traded my RIPP supercharged 08 Jeep in on my Alpha and would never go back.

Ive heard that as well. For the price he got it at anything helps. It just sucks, some vehicles will cater to certain modifications well and others do not. An LS swap in a JK requires a big list of adapters and brackets and for that its 5200 bucks. Then you still need the motor and trans. Even doing it yourself you hit 10k quickly. My brother was thinking about doing a 3.6 swap one day. They are cheap because people ditch them in favor of the v8 swaps and they make a ton more power then the 3.8.

Luckily for us engine swaps, such as my 5.3, one members 5.3 to 6.2 swap and Caseys diesel swap all can be done for way less then the JK swaps. A diesel JK swap is 20-30k, ridiculous!

Also our H3s adapt well to solid axle swaps not all vehicles adapt too well to certain things without extensive modification driving up the cost.
 

rascole

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,693
Location
Bellflower, CA
Just my suggestion for a new badge.
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06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,418
Location
Meridian, ID
Got some more miles on her. Took her wheeling and sliced the lower rad hose. I learned the hard way the fan shroud from an alpha has clips to prevent it from hitting the crank pulley. Well I hit it and slice! Got a new one from Zach with an oem fan shroud and the clips. I also zip-tied the hose to the shroud as well for extra insurance.

Off-roading with the v8 was awesome i need to be careful on the skinny pedal :)
 
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