05 LLY into 99 RCSB 1500
- Thread starter thunder550
- Start date
Got the alignment done today. Drove the truck into town and back, finally got the temp up to normal. Do people ever put in lower temp thermostats? I was logging with EFILive and on the way down (elevation drop of about 1500 ft) I never got over 185. On the way back up the hill I got up to about 205 (gauge went to the normal position just a tad left of center), but as soon as I got back to flat ground it dropped again to about the quarter mark and EFILive showed 175-180 for coolant temps. Is that normal for the LLY? My old LBZ and the current LML never drop once they reach operating temp.
I just did stats in an 04LLY the other day, and it's guage did the same as you describe. The scanner showed 178-180 while the guage was sitting just over the 1/4 way mark. Got up to 185-190 and it went almost straight up.
It's pretty fun so far! Light throttle response is great, I can really feel the weight difference between this one and my LML. I haven't really beat on it yet since the driveline guy warned me about HP levels on the temporary driveshaft he made me...waiting till I get my permanent ones in. I'll probably drive it to work tomorrow, will take a couple videos if I remember 
Once I get the rear window replaced, sides tinted, and A/C charged it'll be a nice cruiser!
Once I get the rear window replaced, sides tinted, and A/C charged it'll be a nice cruiser!
Attempt #1 at emissions testing was not successful. The lady who was doing it saw the 2005 engine sticker on the airbox that said Catalyst and said it needed one. When I argued back that the county had told me differently, they told me to call the state's emissions board. I promptly removed that sticker when I got home and will try another testing facility Friday.
Drove it to work today to two different sites, 167 mile round trip. 7300ft to 11,300ft and back, averaged 19.4 mpg on the DIC doing 70-75 mph. I think eventually with a good tune and 3.42 gears, mid 20's will be achievable.
I have some good news and some potentially really bad news.
I spoke with the folks at the state's emissions board today, and apparently the swap that I did is illegal according to the EPA. They define a heavy duty truck as one with a GVWR of 8000 lbs or higher, and a light duty truck as one less than 8000. Apparently putting a heavy duty engine into a light duty truck is not legal because the emissions requirements were loosened a bit for the heavier vehicles.
After hearing that, I decided to stop dicking around with different emissions stations and just put the cat on from the donor truck. Took it in, passed emissions, and got the truck registered and plated through my local county office. That's the good news.
Bad news is that apparently all title corrections (I had to change the title from gas to diesel) go through the state for review. If they forward my change on to the emissions board for approval, they may want me to come in for an inspection, in which case I'm screwed. Clearly the lady at the county MVD office that I spoke to at the beginning of all of this didn't know what the hell she was talking about, which I guess shouldn't come across as too much of a surprise. Anyway, I guess it generally takes around 4 weeks before my updated title would come in the mail, so I'll be biting my fingernails for awhile hoping they don't send me to the emissions board.
This is the shitty part about trying to do this the right/legal way. My dad lives in a non emissions controlled county. I could have easily registered the truck under his name, not updated the title, not had to deal with emissions, and been fine...now that this process is started there's no turning back. If it goes well, that's great, if not, I'll have to see what they require...best case would be they would return the title to me and say sorry we can't update this, in which case it may still be possible to register it at my dad's address. Worst case is they will red flag it, and I'll have to convert back to a gas engine to be able to register it, or just say f*** it and sell it to someone out of state. We'll see.
Took it to the landfill today and weighed it. Their scale initially said 5760 lbs, but by the time I left it had creeped up to 5900. The guy said that it could fluctuate due to wind, up or down...so I'm just going to say 5800. This was without me, and with a half tank of fuel.
I spoke with the folks at the state's emissions board today, and apparently the swap that I did is illegal according to the EPA. They define a heavy duty truck as one with a GVWR of 8000 lbs or higher, and a light duty truck as one less than 8000. Apparently putting a heavy duty engine into a light duty truck is not legal because the emissions requirements were loosened a bit for the heavier vehicles.
After hearing that, I decided to stop dicking around with different emissions stations and just put the cat on from the donor truck. Took it in, passed emissions, and got the truck registered and plated through my local county office. That's the good news.
Bad news is that apparently all title corrections (I had to change the title from gas to diesel) go through the state for review. If they forward my change on to the emissions board for approval, they may want me to come in for an inspection, in which case I'm screwed. Clearly the lady at the county MVD office that I spoke to at the beginning of all of this didn't know what the hell she was talking about, which I guess shouldn't come across as too much of a surprise. Anyway, I guess it generally takes around 4 weeks before my updated title would come in the mail, so I'll be biting my fingernails for awhile hoping they don't send me to the emissions board.
This is the shitty part about trying to do this the right/legal way. My dad lives in a non emissions controlled county. I could have easily registered the truck under his name, not updated the title, not had to deal with emissions, and been fine...now that this process is started there's no turning back. If it goes well, that's great, if not, I'll have to see what they require...best case would be they would return the title to me and say sorry we can't update this, in which case it may still be possible to register it at my dad's address. Worst case is they will red flag it, and I'll have to convert back to a gas engine to be able to register it, or just say f*** it and sell it to someone out of state. We'll see.
Took it to the landfill today and weighed it. Their scale initially said 5760 lbs, but by the time I left it had creeped up to 5900. The guy said that it could fluctuate due to wind, up or down...so I'm just going to say 5800. This was without me, and with a half tank of fuel.
Good luck man I really hope you can get it registered with no more problems. Regardless you can't sell it after all that work. It would be like building someone else a kickass truck
That sucks about the title stuff....Makes me really glad that I live in an area that doesn't care. Hopefully they don't power trip on it and pass it.
That's about what I was expecting on the weight as well, mine came in at 5,860, so I'm right there with you power to weight wise. Wait until you start adding power, I just went with a cheapo used Predator that is on the 85hp setting and it made a HUGE difference. Hang in there on the title stuff, it will be totally worth.
That's about what I was expecting on the weight as well, mine came in at 5,860, so I'm right there with you power to weight wise. Wait until you start adding power, I just went with a cheapo used Predator that is on the 85hp setting and it made a HUGE difference. Hang in there on the title stuff, it will be totally worth.
I would think if you have all the emissions equipment for the engine installed then they have no grounds to deny the title. Might be a good idea to ask Eric how they deal with this. Good luck.
My wife just told me that if it came down to it, her brother would let me use his address in AZ to register it. There's no emissions requirements in his county, so if Colorado does flag it for some reason I'll just title and register it in AZ instead. Hoping I don't have to do that...crossing my fingers that the state review is just checking for correctness, not actually analyzing the changes.
That sucks about the title and seems like a huge pain in the ass for no reason. I just got mine done and didn't have any issues. Since my truck was totaled I have to get it inspected but its not a huge deal since I have all my receipts for all the work done and new frame.
Hope it goes well for you!
Hope it goes well for you!
Eric at Duraburb posted in my thread on another site and told me that I can get a reconstructed vehicle title, which basically takes it from being a GM vehicle to being a custom vehicle, show that all of the safety equipment works, that the engine is the same or newer than the chassis/body, and that I meet the emissions requirements for the engine, and I should be good to go. That's how they do it on their d-max swaps when the GVWR is less than 8000 lbs. So that will be another option if the state flags me.