Opinion on donor vehicle for LS and 1 ton swap.

I have a 90 XJ two door with a bad motor/trans in storage I have been saving for a 1 ton swap.
I also have a 2002 2500HD Silverado fleet truck that has been my plow truck up until this year. It has: 6.0L, 4L80E, manual shift (not electric) transfer case, and 14 bolt with 4.11 gears and gov-lok. It has 220k miles on it, but I have known the truck since new and it has been meticulously maintained. All fluids changed religiously with synthetic, etc. It never saw any hard plowing mostly just my driveway. It has always been an excellent runner and last year I did a crap load of maintenance/repair work on it.

Well...this fall woodchucks got the better of the 2500 and chewed most of the wiring harness as well as the rubber fuel lines. They really made a mess. Because of the damage (list on an engine harness is $2300!!), the mileage, and a few dents insurance totaled it. I bought it back cheap and was going to fix it, but I really don't need to plow any longer and was thinking of selling it as is.

Since I have the entire truck I was considering stripping it for a donor swap into the XJ. The transfer case is drivers side drop although it does use slip yokes. Considering I would have the whole truck to strip for all kinds of various parts instead of just a junkyard drivetrain makes it attractive. I would have to have the computer flashed and buy a stand alone harness for the swap. I know that the gov-lok is a time bomb and I plan on tearing down the txfer case to do the upgrade for pump wear in the rear housing.

Before I commit to keeping the truck and not selling it, does anyone see any issues with using this engine/trans/transfer case/rear axle as a starting point for an LS/1 ton swap? Am I missing something with this combo that would make it a bad idea?

BTW....this Spring is open season on woodchucks at my house.:explosion Bill Murray is coming over to help me.

here is the link to my build im doing now. http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1132921 im using a 4L60E little smaller trans and a 231 t case. the one from the truck, the tail shaft housing is long and you will have a steep rear shaft angle.

I finished an LS swap a few months ago and transplanted a 5.3L, 4L60E, NP241C (rear SYE, front already non-slip yoke). Still using the stock XJ axles and considering putting some ford one tons I have underneath. If you have the truck, try and scrounge the harness from a junkyard or buy an aftermarket swap harness. You only need like 3 wires to get the engine running in there and it is absolutely incredible having the LS! I wouldn't hesitate for a second to pull that engine and put it to use.

You're most of the way there, I would use whatever you can out of that truck.
All you need is a 60, or 9" for the front

Johnnie Walker said:

You're most of the way there, I would use whatever you can out of that truck.
All you need is a 60, or 9" for the front

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That's what I figure. Having every last bracket, mount, crossmember, cooler, line, nut, bolt, etc at my disposal is a major plus! I just wanted to know if there is anything specifically about the 4L80E and NV261 that would make them not worth considering for a swap. It was mentioned that the rear output housing on the 261 is long, but I plan to either buy(if available) or make a SYE for the rear and probably the front too. If it's not available i'm sure I can use the spline section off of the stock yoke and machine my own flange to make something similar to the hack and tap kits that are available for the 231. I do have a a machine shop as well as MIG and TIG welder.

Thanks to everyone for the replies!! Lots of useful info!!
Nick

Regardless of T-case, Engine+ trans + 14b gets you most of the way there. Not sure if they ever had a nv242HD behind the 4L80 or not, but they are pretty stout. You could always go with an atlas..

FWIW, that t case is notorious for the oil pump chewing its way thru the case.there are some different aftermarket parts to address the issue. Do it now before you have to replace the case half. If it was mine, there was a company making a pump half with a wider flange that would eliminate the problem.

Me? 1st Gen Forerunner.