LS swapped XJ
06-07-2017, 09:51 AM
#61
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6.0 LS
Update
- Cooling system is complete except for the fan controls.
- Engine harness is complete and wired into the XJ's system, except for speedo, tach and cruise.
- Shifter works fine.
On Sunday I drove it out of the shop and was making black marks in the driveway
I was debugging the dash temp gauge, reading way too low. I shut if off and went in for dinner. When I came out it would not start, fire, die, fire, die,....
After rechecking everything I've concluded that the VATS has somehow re-enabled itself. After looking at my options I've purchased HPTuners and I will now tune the PCM myself. Waiting at the front door....
- Cooling system is complete except for the fan controls.
- Engine harness is complete and wired into the XJ's system, except for speedo, tach and cruise.
- Shifter works fine.
On Sunday I drove it out of the shop and was making black marks in the driveway
I was debugging the dash temp gauge, reading way too low. I shut if off and went in for dinner. When I came out it would not start, fire, die, fire, die,....
After rechecking everything I've concluded that the VATS has somehow re-enabled itself. After looking at my options I've purchased HPTuners and I will now tune the PCM myself. Waiting at the front door....
06-08-2017, 12:10 PM
#63
CF Veteran
Update
- Cooling system is complete except for the fan controls.
- Engine harness is complete and wired into the XJ's system, except for speedo, tach and cruise.
- Shifter works fine.
On Sunday I drove it out of the shop and was making black marks in the driveway
I was debugging the dash temp gauge, reading way too low. I shut if off and went in for dinner. When I came out it would not start, fire, die, fire, die,....
After rechecking everything I've concluded that the VATS has somehow re-enabled itself. After looking at my options I've purchased HPTuners and I will now tune the PCM myself. Waiting at the front door....
- Cooling system is complete except for the fan controls.
- Engine harness is complete and wired into the XJ's system, except for speedo, tach and cruise.
- Shifter works fine.
On Sunday I drove it out of the shop and was making black marks in the driveway
I was debugging the dash temp gauge, reading way too low. I shut if off and went in for dinner. When I came out it would not start, fire, die, fire, die,....
After rechecking everything I've concluded that the VATS has somehow re-enabled itself. After looking at my options I've purchased HPTuners and I will now tune the PCM myself. Waiting at the front door....
06-12-2017, 07:25 PM
#64
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6.0 LS
Well I guess we both learned something today, never too old.
EDIT: Just to be clear, the VTAS was never actually "programmed" out. I had disconnected the BCM in the donor vehicle while it was running so that the PCM would not "lock" the VATS. It worked until recently.
BTW it would be nice if Amazon CANADA would tell you that your item is coming from out of country and you may be charged duty when you order from your own country because you didn't want to pay duty. But, I'm cool right now because it's running again, glad you made the sale.
HPT was pretty straightforward for a first time noobie. The Windows 10 install went fine, it installed the drivers without me doing anything.
As far as the actual editing it helped that I had downloaded the demo and knew where to find the VATS.
Last edited by LS XJ; 06-12-2017 at 09:00 PM.
06-13-2017, 11:28 AM
#65
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6.0 LS
Just a quick teaser for you all.
I just got it running again after the VATS had locked up the PCM. This morning fired it up to bring it back into the shop, just couldn't resist a little play time.
The PCM still has the Torque Management in effect so the throttle and engine don't respond quickly off idle and I had no room to "open it up" and let 'er rip!
I didn't really punch it. It was early morning and I only had about another car length behind the camera to stop.
I just got it running again after the VATS had locked up the PCM. This morning fired it up to bring it back into the shop, just couldn't resist a little play time.
The PCM still has the Torque Management in effect so the throttle and engine don't respond quickly off idle and I had no room to "open it up" and let 'er rip!
I didn't really punch it. It was early morning and I only had about another car length behind the camera to stop.
06-13-2017, 02:51 PM
#66
CF Veteran
Glad the HP Tuners got you going! Once you learn the basic functions of the program, its not that bad to use. Cruise around on their forum and there will be step by step instructions on how to get rid of the TQ management as well as a lot of other things that you will need to do.
06-14-2017, 11:03 PM
#69
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6.0 LS
Small update
Since disabling the VATS I've moved onto the cooling fan controls as I can now program the PCM to control them. I bought a couple of PICO relays and sockets. I used jumpers to temporarily make all the connections. I simulated the ground signals of the PCM and the relays operated the fans. I soldered and shrink tubed everything and started the engine. I was watching my scanner for the magic temp to arise but nothing happened. After it passed the required temp by several degrees I decided to investigate.
I've done many many relay installations, and so far on this I've not had one circuit that I've wired wrong.
I check the relays for and the PCM wires for ground, all was good. I pulled the low speed relay out and checked the socket connections for power & ground. The power in connection was dead. I checked the relay and it had fried itself. The 25 amp fuse was still good but the relay was toast, and it burned the socket connection.
I went and picked up some Hella relays and sockets, much better quality. Rewired the new relays and everything's a go. The fan on low cools the idling engine down from 93ºC to 89ºC in less than a minute. With the hood down the fan is hardly noticeable.
Now I've got just the speedo and tach left to wire up and I'm done under the hood.
I've got several little things to tidy up and it'll be ready for the road, maybe another couple of weeks.
Since disabling the VATS I've moved onto the cooling fan controls as I can now program the PCM to control them. I bought a couple of PICO relays and sockets. I used jumpers to temporarily make all the connections. I simulated the ground signals of the PCM and the relays operated the fans. I soldered and shrink tubed everything and started the engine. I was watching my scanner for the magic temp to arise but nothing happened. After it passed the required temp by several degrees I decided to investigate.
I've done many many relay installations, and so far on this I've not had one circuit that I've wired wrong.
I check the relays for and the PCM wires for ground, all was good. I pulled the low speed relay out and checked the socket connections for power & ground. The power in connection was dead. I checked the relay and it had fried itself. The 25 amp fuse was still good but the relay was toast, and it burned the socket connection.
I went and picked up some Hella relays and sockets, much better quality. Rewired the new relays and everything's a go. The fan on low cools the idling engine down from 93ºC to 89ºC in less than a minute. With the hood down the fan is hardly noticeable.
Now I've got just the speedo and tach left to wire up and I'm done under the hood.
I've got several little things to tidy up and it'll be ready for the road, maybe another couple of weeks.
07-07-2017, 04:50 PM
#71
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6.0 LS
Thanks
Well folks, the first test drive happened today.
I took a short but not so discrete drive around the block this morning. Suffice to say the 225 Michelins cannot hold the power. From a rolling start in a straight line on clean pavement, rolling on the throttle produces much wheel spin, all the way through first, second and into 3rd. I DO have a video but I will not post it, I'm ashamed of my behavior.
I've got a short list of things to do before it gets released on the public; gas gauge, tach & speedo and tidy up the wiring.
I'm hoping to have it ready for next Friday at our local track. I promise I WILL post a video.
Well folks, the first test drive happened today.
I took a short but not so discrete drive around the block this morning. Suffice to say the 225 Michelins cannot hold the power. From a rolling start in a straight line on clean pavement, rolling on the throttle produces much wheel spin, all the way through first, second and into 3rd. I DO have a video but I will not post it, I'm ashamed of my behavior.
I've got a short list of things to do before it gets released on the public; gas gauge, tach & speedo and tidy up the wiring.
I'm hoping to have it ready for next Friday at our local track. I promise I WILL post a video.
07-08-2017, 09:34 PM
#73
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6.0 LS
So today I got a permit to drive it for the day.
The engine ran perfect all day, 30º+ C ambient. Cooling was not an issue at all. It runs between 89-94º, it was stop and go, the fan only came on a couple of times.
It runs strong, real strong. That 6.0 has been hauling around a 5000 lb work truck all its life until now. A 3400 lb feather weight is nothing for that engine. I accelerates so quick, and goes through the gears so quick that I'm in 4th by the time I'm across an intersection, and doing the speed limit with all the traffic far behind me.
The 4L80 shifts plenty firm, chirping tires in 3rd. I'm going to dial down the pressures because with this so much lighter I don't need the higher pressure to keep the transmission from slipping.
Not too pleased with the mount and header swap kit I bought. Besides being difficult to get the engine positioned properly in the mounts, the upper control arms on the front axle hit the mounts! On my first road test, when I hit a dip in the road, or hit the brakes hard after accelerating I would hear a metal to metal bang. So now I'll have to grind some of the underside of the mount to get more clearance. If I have to grind much more than a 1/4" I'll have to remove the mounts and refabricate them!
I'm still bummed out about my gauge cluster not working. After many hours online and hours on the phone, companies claiming that they could rework my gauges, when it came down to committing that they would work, they backed out. I refuse to spend $500 for aftermarket gauges, I want something that looks OEM. I'm considering adapting a Chevy Tahoe, 1999ish cluster. It is about the same dimensions and is already 100% compatible with the PCM.
So the plan is to get some things sorted out for this coming Friday in hopes I can make a few passes at the track.
Stay tuned.
The engine ran perfect all day, 30º+ C ambient. Cooling was not an issue at all. It runs between 89-94º, it was stop and go, the fan only came on a couple of times.
It runs strong, real strong. That 6.0 has been hauling around a 5000 lb work truck all its life until now. A 3400 lb feather weight is nothing for that engine. I accelerates so quick, and goes through the gears so quick that I'm in 4th by the time I'm across an intersection, and doing the speed limit with all the traffic far behind me.
The 4L80 shifts plenty firm, chirping tires in 3rd. I'm going to dial down the pressures because with this so much lighter I don't need the higher pressure to keep the transmission from slipping.
Not too pleased with the mount and header swap kit I bought. Besides being difficult to get the engine positioned properly in the mounts, the upper control arms on the front axle hit the mounts! On my first road test, when I hit a dip in the road, or hit the brakes hard after accelerating I would hear a metal to metal bang. So now I'll have to grind some of the underside of the mount to get more clearance. If I have to grind much more than a 1/4" I'll have to remove the mounts and refabricate them!
I'm still bummed out about my gauge cluster not working. After many hours online and hours on the phone, companies claiming that they could rework my gauges, when it came down to committing that they would work, they backed out. I refuse to spend $500 for aftermarket gauges, I want something that looks OEM. I'm considering adapting a Chevy Tahoe, 1999ish cluster. It is about the same dimensions and is already 100% compatible with the PCM.
So the plan is to get some things sorted out for this coming Friday in hopes I can make a few passes at the track.
Stay tuned.
08-01-2017, 05:52 PM
#74
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Year: 1992
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6.0 LS
So it's been a while since I posted an update.
For the last few weeks I've been trying to wrap up some things in hopes of making it to the track. Now that I've got HP Tuners I feel like I'm going brain dead! So much so quickly. Everyone on the internet is an expert and none of them agree.
I logged a drive and my fuel trims were off the charts. I was advised not to take it to the track.
I spent the next 2 weeks trying to find out where my problem was. It turned out to be me. Seems everything I was doing was just me chasing my tail. I read that I could tune my VE table with the factory O2 sensors, but I wasn't able to get it right. I wasn't logging it right, or I was changing the wrong things, something was always messing me up.
Yesterday I got my wideband and today went for a drive in speed density mode, no MAF. My fuel trims are darn near perfect, so I would have been OK to take it to the track.
So today I'm going to tweak a couple of wee spots on the table and then see if it's worth my trouble to tune the MAF, or just leave it speed tuned.
As far as the cooling system I am very happy to report that surpassed my expectations. While tuning for the last couple of weeks the temps here have been in the low 30º C. The engine never got over 96º, the 2nd speed rad fan has not needed to run. Even running on the freeway at 2500 RPM the engine temp was only 94º on a hot day.
As far as taking it to the track, the next date for me is Aug 11th.
For the last few weeks I've been trying to wrap up some things in hopes of making it to the track. Now that I've got HP Tuners I feel like I'm going brain dead! So much so quickly. Everyone on the internet is an expert and none of them agree.
I logged a drive and my fuel trims were off the charts. I was advised not to take it to the track.
I spent the next 2 weeks trying to find out where my problem was. It turned out to be me. Seems everything I was doing was just me chasing my tail. I read that I could tune my VE table with the factory O2 sensors, but I wasn't able to get it right. I wasn't logging it right, or I was changing the wrong things, something was always messing me up.
Yesterday I got my wideband and today went for a drive in speed density mode, no MAF. My fuel trims are darn near perfect, so I would have been OK to take it to the track.
So today I'm going to tweak a couple of wee spots on the table and then see if it's worth my trouble to tune the MAF, or just leave it speed tuned.
As far as the cooling system I am very happy to report that surpassed my expectations. While tuning for the last couple of weeks the temps here have been in the low 30º C. The engine never got over 96º, the 2nd speed rad fan has not needed to run. Even running on the freeway at 2500 RPM the engine temp was only 94º on a hot day.
As far as taking it to the track, the next date for me is Aug 11th.