I'm going to be pulling the engine out of my car, and putting in a remanufactured one, and just want some ideas on other stuff.
-Firstly, is this new engine going to require me to get the PCM reprogrammed for it, or can I leave it all as is?

-Is it possible to get a set of lift springs for the rear of the car (nothing crazy, maybe like 3 inches MAX), and if so, where, how much, and how much work is involved in installing these?

-Right now I have a set of Jet Hot LT's going to a custom y-pipe and straight out the back with no cats. I HATE that loud raspy sound whenever I get on the gas, and want a unique exhaust, so I was thinking of doing a side exit exhaust. Basically, I'd have the headers going straight to a muffler/resonator like the flowmaster hushpower 2 on both sides, then that connecting to a 45 degree angle pipe, then to the tips, which would be lined up almost parallel with the sides of the car and come out right in front of the rear wheels. Any ideas or recommendations on this setup?

-Are there any problems associated with removing the A/C system completely from the car? I'm aware that there is a new belt and/or pulley needed for this, but does this cause any problems with the way the car runs?

-With regards to the actual installation/removal of the engine from the engine bay, I found this tool online that supposedly makes removal a lot easier from above, its called the Happy Hooker . Anybody ever use this thing, or hear anything about it? How useful/good is it?

Any other ideas, I'm open to, so feel free to post anything. I just want to make this car worth the work and money I put into it. Its been almost 2 years, but its good to be back with the bird.

Thanks in advance,

Rich

If it is an actual reman'd LT-1, then you should be fine.

Lift springs? You can check with Eibach, or any other big name and see. You would need longer bolts for your sway bar, longer shocks, I think the brake lines would need to be extended, and I think the rear differential would need to be indexed for proper driveshaft angle.

Sounds good, but to help with the raspiness you can try using a Cat. That will change the tone and potentially lessen if not eliminate the rasp.

I have not heard of anyone having trouble after removing the A/C system.

I would be interested to hear anything on this "Happy Hooker" myself.

Glad you are back with your bird too. If I may, did you get deployed or something? I remember you, then you just disappeared.

Matt

Yeah the engine is a real LT1, and the company seems to be a good one, and the price is insane.

The lift springs sound like more hassle than they're worth, lol. I may leave that until later. Thank you for putting that all into perspective for me though.

I used to have a cat on it, and it sounded perfect with the SLP loudmouth, not too loud, and definitely not too quiet. But, I don't think that I'll be able to fit a cat on the new system I'm installing due to the fact that the mufflers/resonators are going to be something like 18" long alone, but I'll get exact measurements to see.

A/C system - done

Sorry about the happy hooker, I thought I included a link in my post to it, but it didn't show up. here's the site for it:
http://www.tpis.com/index.php?module=catal...ry=Happy+Hooker

and here is the article I found where I first learned about the thing:
http://www.automedia.com/Camaro/CherryPick...pht20020701ch/1

And to answer your question, I didn't get deployed, I actually just enlisted in the Army a few weeks ago, and leave for basic training in June. There are a number of reasons why the bird came off the road, it all started with a simple water pump leak, which led to me being stupid and disassembling the whole top of the engine for the winter, but then going back to college full time to graduate last weekend, as well as working 2 jobs on the side, and not having time to work on the car the whole time. Now I'm gonna have some free time to myself I wanna get it back on the road. I'm tired of driving "daily drivers" they just ###### off my feet and my need to just go fast on an empty highway.

Thanks again,

Rich

Glad to help. I know how it is putting a project down for a while. Hard to get it back going.

Matt

**-Firstly, is this new engine going to require me to get the PCM reprogrammed for it, or can I leave it all as is?

If the remanufactured engine has basically the same specs as the stock engine - displacement, heads, cam, compression ratio, injector size - you can likely get away with a stock tune. Change any one of those items and a "tune" is mandatory to realize the benefits of the new specifications. If the price of the engine is "insane", its quite likely that its going to need a custom tune.

**-Is it possible to get a set of lift springs for the rear of the car (nothing crazy, maybe like 3 inches MAX), and if so, where, how much, and how much work is involved in installing these?

Why? The stock 4th Gen sits way too high in the back already..... I fit 28" slicks back there, and there's still a gap between the fender and the tires at the top. Raising tha back end 3" would make it look like some sort of off-road vehicle, destroy the handling and the straight-line traction.

**-Right now I have a set of Jet Hot LT's going to a custom y-pipe and straight out the back with no cats. I HATE that loud raspy sound whenever I get on the gas, and want a unique exhaust, so I was thinking of doing a side exit exhaust. Basically, I'd have the headers going straight to a muffler/resonator like the flowmaster hushpower 2 on both sides, then that connecting to a 45 degree angle pipe, then to the tips, which would be lined up almost parallel with the sides of the car and come out right in front of the rear wheels. Any ideas or recommendations on this setup?

I have Borla XR-1 shorty mufflers on the collectors, and 3" pipes straight back, with turndowns in front of the axle. Just bend the pipe at 45* instead of using the turndowns. VEry loud, but definitely not "raspy". Clearance will be tight under the rocker panels, unless of course you have jacked the rear end up 3" higher than stock.



**-Are there any problems associated with removing the A/C system completely from the car? I'm aware that there is a new belt and/or pulley needed for this, but does this cause any problems with the way the car runs?

No problems, other than diagnostic codes for the missing temp and pressure sensors. You will need the 1LE "delete" pulley, but most people use the stock belt. A few engines seem to have had a slightly different A/C clutch pulley diameter, and might need a slightly different belt length.

**-With regards to the actual installation/removal of the engine from the engine bay, I found this tool online that supposedly makes removal a lot easier from above, its called the Happy Hooker . Anybody ever use this thing, or hear anything about it? How useful/good is it?

Good if you decide you want to pull it out of the top. but you might want to research pulling it out of the bottom. Buddy of mine unbolted the K-member, pulled the front of the car up off the engine with a hoist attached to the shock tower brace, and the engine rolls right out from under the car on the front suspension. He got it down to 3 hours for the removal. I'll see if I can find the links to his pictures.

Here's a pic of a 4th gen. driveway motor swap from here on TFS -

Thanks to Confused for the shot of the 'bird all jacked up in the driveway

Why on earth would he have used the front rims as jackstands for the rear tires??? putting all that weight on the front rims like that definately couldnt be good for them. Interesting way of getting it high enough but I seriously disagree with using the front tires like that. Gotta be a better way. just my 2 cents.

I agree, probably not the best idea for a set of alloys. Good catch there! The cars are fairly light though once removed of that ft. mass of engine, wheels, suspension, tranny, and cradle. Wheels are strong too(those 3 spoke swirlies were probably the beefiest of 4th gen alloys) so it might not be as bad as it looks. Maybe Confused will see this and tell us whether it hurt 'em or not. No matter, if you go a similar route Rico, try to use something else other than good wheels under the back tires.

hey thanks for all the input guys. I just went to talk to a guy about the remanufactured engine and on their site it says:

"We sell what is called a "longblock engine." This means that you get the short block with the cylinder head(s) and the timing components installed. The balance of the gasket set and oil pump and/or oil pump kit are also included. You then need to transfer your old external components such as manifolds, starter, alternator, ignition system, carburetor or fuel injection system, flywheel, etc. onto our remanufactured Engine."

The parts that are not included with the engine, are they difficult to install, or is it fairly simple?

Also, if I got one without heads, and had to transfer my current heads over to it, is it as simple as just cleaning the surfaces a little and bolting them on, or is there a whole machining process involved here too?

I'm just trying to figure out worst case scenario situations, so that I'm not in for any shocks when I come back from boot camp.

Thanks again,

Rich

For the most part it is straight forward, unbolt and bolt on the new block.

I would have the heads checked to make sure they are not warped. If they are, then you would need to have them decked to level them back out. If they are the stock one, you can do a port match on them yourself to clean them up a little.

That is my $.02.

Matt

hey everyone,

I just got back home from basic training, and finally got my car back with the new engine and stuff in it. The car runs perfectly, theres a ton more space underneath the hood because i had the heating AND A/C systems removed, (plus I already had the emissions system junk out last year). It feels good to drive this thing again finally, and it feels even better when guys with mustangs and/or imports (same thing basically) see/hear my car and feel obligated to rev at me. The only thing that sucks is that my engine only has 100 miles on it, so I need to baby it still. One thing I have a question about is the engine coolant temp gauge no longer moves, has the sensor gone bad, or is it just no longer hooked up to the system?
if anybody has any questions about the install, feel free to PM me, or e-mail me.

Rich

Good deal for you and the car!!!

As for the sensor, well it could be bad, the sending unit could be bad, or it could just not be plugged up. I'd be sure to find out soon though

So how was basic? You running as strong and fresh as the car is? Congrats!!!

i pulled my LT1 from the top with transmission attached, no problems, took me 30 minutes from shutting the car off to having her out.

nice project good luck.