Hello all, I plan to use this thread to chronicle my LS Swap into my Jeep.

I really had no intention of doing the LS Swap until around the 4th of July this year when I thought it would give some added power and an automatic transmission to make riding the trails a bit easier.

In December of last year when I got the Jeep my son was pushing me to use the 4.8l LS from his wrecked 1999 Chevy 1500 2wd. I'm assuming the transmission is a 4L60E. I little research shows the 8th digit of the VIN to be a "v" indicating the 4.8l LS motor with a cast iron block and aluminum heads, if I have read everything correctly. Continuing my research I find that Novak Adapters has a kit to adapt the NP231J transfer case to the 4L60E transmission, though I'd need to have a 4x4 output shift put into the transmission. All this sound s great and as I have the mechanics skills to do the work I thought it would be a great Fall/Winter Project.

Last week my wife and I went to Ouray, CO on vacation and ran a few of the mountain passes. We Drove the Jeep out from Tulsa, OK as I felt confident that the engine and Jeep could handle the trip. during the trip out it was painfully obvious that the Jeep was underpowered with the 4.2l inline 6 cyl. Top speed was 70-75mph and that was pushing it. The Jeep is geared higher and I know that contributed to the issue the most. Running the Mountain Passes for the next 2 days was great, 4 low and First thru Third gears and the Jeep had plenty of power for the passes and pulling the hills and switchbacks. After 2 days of mountain passes we decided to take another little road trip to the nearest WalMart, 28 miles away, and pick up a few things. On the return trip and 2.5 miles from our cabin the Jeep transmission hung up in 1st gear. Two to three miles back to the cabin in 1st gear was painfully slow, but we made it. Long story short I bought a 1994 GMC Suburban K1500 and towed the Jeep home.

I guess really I said all that simple to say my LS Swap has been moved up and will likely start in the next couple weeks.

Currently I plan to use the Novak kit for the transfer case and Holley makes a set of motor mounts that work well with a set of Holley headers. I'm leaning towards a Holley engine harness and ECM that will also control the transmission, I can't remember the model. But I also have the complete donor truck that just has the front crashed in and frame bent. Holley also makes a "front plate" assembly that replaces the water pump and pulls all the accessories in tight to the engine which may be required for everything to fit under the hood of the Jeep.

Any suggestions or tips on what may have failed in your LS Swap would be most helpful and appreciated.