First time swap. LQ9 into 95 OBS

[kewljay223]

where does the hose on the bottom of the throttle body go? i have a total of three. two are connected but the one that goes to the nipple directly under the butterfly that has the longest hose on it isnt hooked up. seems like it goes to the back of the motor? but i cant find any nipples for it...

THIS ONE THAT IM POINTING TO

[bobbylog]

This is were I put mine but I've seen people drill and tap the water pump or thermostat housing...It look "getto" but do the job.If you want to search for picture on the net it called steam line.

[gagliano7]

The 2 that are connected go to each head steam vent.The one that isn't connected on mine goes to my waterpump which is tapped with a threaded 1/4in nipple. That hose needs to go to the cooling system to get the air out of the heads. Some tee it into the radiator hose or heater hose or to a nipple on the radiator like above.

[kewljay223]

Thank you both of you. that makes total sense. i have the spare nipple on my radiator like bobbylog is using so ill go that route. made some really good headway today but just not enough to get her going. SSSSOOOOO close tho. got all the wiring routed and just about all the connectors are hooked up. im leaving the wiring un-bound just in case i need to troubleshoot anything so it looks a little messy. got the battery cables relocated to the driver side and ready to go. radiator hoses are hooked up. oil cooler lines, fuel lines are all connected and tightened ready to go. put a new fuel filter in. found that stupid oddball PF48 filter and it actually threaded on.

all i really need to do now is weld two hangers for the exhaust, get my fuse block mounted in its new home, a few stray wires that i couldnt do until the harness was in place, hook up the steam line deal, fill her up with fresh fluids and crank her over. thats how close i am!! almost positive next time i work on it will be the day. UNFORTUNATELY i think im working every day for the next week so its probably going to be a while before i can get back on it.

what do you guys suggest fluid wise? i think it has around 100k on it but im not positive, maybe more. is 5w30 ok or should i change to a diff weight? and im confused on the two diff coolant types. do i use the usual green stuff or do i go with that new orange stuff i think is what GM is using now???

[kewljay223]

one more question... i was just thinking how i hooked up my battery negative cable to the chassis. is this the right way or is it supposed to be straight to the block? i have the ground strap from the chassis to the block also, so in theory it shouldnt matter but i dont want any ground issues as i know that is the cause of a lot of stupit little problems.

[Mickeymotormount]

Hook the ground to the block since the highest amp draw on the system is the starter, and that is mounted to the block. If not, you could fry the braided ground wires since they aren't meant to handle the amperage draw.

As for fluids, I go with the high mileage oils. Nothing too fancy, usually Quaker State or Pennzoil 5W-30 synthetic blend. Sometimes Castrol if it's on sale at Walmart. I'm a nut on oil changes so I don't have to go the exotic route. As soon as it starts turning brown, I change it.

The antifreeze is the normal green stuff. I've heard some bad things about GM's Dexcool(orange). I went with Prestone since I had a new radiator and flushed the engine before the install.

[kewljay223]

good point. the ground strap is a nice size but your right about not trusting it. ill relocate it to the front of the block somewhere. and i never used the orange crap. idk what the difference is. coolant is coolant right? ill do a search and see if i can find what the differences are. but the green stuff has been around for years... like hersheys says, change is bad. stick with what is proven. looks like i wont be able to touch it till NEXT monday.... worked 11 hours today and i think thats what it will be for the next 7 days.... oh well, gotta be able to pay for the toys somehow right?

[Jeebalow]

Just want to say thanks for all the detail. I am subscribing to this since I have an 01 5.3 going into a 95 ECSS. I can't wait to see this thing running.

I will have to order the LS1 oil pan, I didn't think it would be THAT low. I will start a thread on here as well once I get working on it again. I started my swap last september, but had to stop due to an unplanned trip for a family emergency. I have most things, need O2 sensors, ls1 oil pan, and I might add the oil cooler like you did. I got an amazing deal on 243 heads and 215/223 comp cam on 112LSA and I have to put that on my 5.3 as well. Good thing is it's still on the engine stand.

Good luck with the last bit! Hope you goes smoothly!

[kewljay223]

Just want to say thanks for all the detail. I am subscribing to this since I have an 01 5.3 going into a 95 ECSS. I can't wait to see this thing running.

I will have to order the LS1 oil pan, I didn't think it would be THAT low. I will start a thread on here as well once I get working on it again. I started my swap last september, but had to stop due to an unplanned trip for a family emergency. I have most things, need O2 sensors, ls1 oil pan, and I might add the oil cooler like you did. I got an amazing deal on 243 heads and 215/223 comp cam on 112LSA and I have to put that on my 5.3 as well. Good thing is it's still on the engine stand.

Good luck with the last bit! Hope you goes smoothly!

hey. glad to hear that all my detail has helped you out. its not easy to find explanations of things cuz a lot of people dont want to take the time to type it all. especially about smog. it SOUNDS like your in the same boat as me from what you said... if your getting the ls1 pan, i assume your truck is dropped also. how much? and based on you wanting the o2 sensors and only a 112 LSA cam, sounds like your tryiing to keep it smog legal.... but i cant see where your from. are you in cali too trying to do a CARB legal swap?

ill keep an eye for your thread but just in case, post the link here when you get it started. i def want to check it out.

as for the oil cooler, from what i read, its not really NEEDED as most guys just block it off and they have no problems. but i figured since GM had it factory, and i do plan on pulling a boat in the near future, any extra cooling is benficial. so the extra 100 bucks for the parts was fine with me. plus, who can resist the cool looking braided lines and AN fittings!!!???? haha!!!

hit me up if you have any quesions. more than glad to help ya out.

[kewljay223]

Hook the ground to the block since the highest amp draw on the system is the starter, and that is mounted to the block. If not, you could fry the braided ground wires since they aren't meant to handle the amperage draw.

As for fluids, I go with the high mileage oils. Nothing too fancy, usually Quaker State or Pennzoil 5W-30 synthetic blend. Sometimes Castrol if it's on sale at Walmart. I'm a nut on oil changes so I don't have to go the exotic route. As soon as it starts turning brown, I change it.

The antifreeze is the normal green stuff. I've heard some bad things about GM's Dexcool(orange). I went with Prestone since I had a new radiator and flushed the engine before the install.

ok man, i gotta ask, how the hell do you keep up on oil changes that often? i try but damn... youd have to be checking it constantly to see when it starts to brown... how many miles do you usually get before do a change? and when you do change, do you do the filter too or do you change that like every other fluid change since the oil is staying pretty clean? seems like a lot of work but i gotta hand it to you for staying on top of that....