Many folks have been jumping over to the dark side lately, and moving into the 90's with an LS swap in their Scouts. There are a lot of ways to skin that cat, but this is more or less our recipe for the job. Our parts we manufacture and sell in house are geared toward this recipe, and if you veer off this course with one component, we cannot guarantee fit of ANYTHING. I will go over the how and the why for what led us to this recipe, and I hope it helps you out as you decide which way to go. Over the years, I have spent HOURS on the phone with folks who hear me say it, then they do not listen, and end up searching for a needle in a haystack transfer case, or wondering why they need to buy hundreds of dollars worth of stuff to make their speedometer work, or whatever....so please, please read and try to understand that we have done these things several ways, and from our experience, THIS is the way to go. Not an all inclusive list, but this wil answer some of the most commonly asked, or misunderstood, questions I get calls and emails about:
Choosing an engine:
-We like to use a "fly by wire" throttle body. It is a personal preferrence alone, but it's what I like. It allows you to run cruise control with a simple 4-wire hookup, rather than spending an extra couple hundos on an aftermarket system. Also, it cleans up the engine bay a little bit as well, and saves you a few bucks by not needing a throttle cable. Those are really the only "pros". The "cons" are that the throttle pedal isn't going to be factory style. That's really about it. If you go fly-by-wire, make sure you nab the TAC module and pedal from the donor vehicle, too.
-Also, make sure it is an LS engine...no 2014 and up LT. We have done LTs before, but they are a whole 'nuther process, and parts of this recipe aren't applicable!
What transfer case do I use?
-Some folks are all about the NP241. I am NOT. Let me explain the two situations:
-First, the NP241 is a hard one to find, as 90-91 Blazers and Suburbans are the only ones you are going to find that work, as they have the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) built in, which is required by the LS engine's PCM (powertrain control module...the computer) to tell your transmission when to shift. So, let's say you find one for $300...pretty decent deal, but not unheard of at all. Best part is, it bolts right up to the 4L60e! Boom!...money saved! BUT, you are going to likely need a slip yoke eliminator, especially if you are running a lift at all...that's $400. If you want to run the cable driven speedo to retain the stock appearance inside, that'll run you another $300 or so. You'll also need to either modify the shifter, or purchase a new Scout-specific shifter for it, which is another $200. At this point, you are basically all in at $1200 to get your $300 transfer case to work in the Scout. Now let's look at the exhaust...you'll need to route the passenger side under the transmission or transfer case to get around, becasuse there is no room for it between the frame and the transfer case on the passenger side. That means a Y-pipe and single exhaust, or else a snake-like routing to get your cool "true duals" that everyone thinks is a must have. You still need to modify or replace the driveshafts, too...but either recipe will result in that.
-Now, MY choice is the Jeep Dana 300. Most of the time, these can be found for $350 if you spend some time searching, but let's say you spend $500 on it. Getcha an Advance Adapter 50-0432 adapter...$600?!?!?...yep, trust me. This transfer case has the cable driven speedo output, and the AA comes with the VSS in it that your PCM is looking for, so you have all that covered. It already has no slip yoke. It is small, and when you go to run the exhaust, you'll find that it allows the same space as your original transfer case left! Let's add up the total...gee, it's just 2 things...$1100, and that's starting with estimating a premium price for the transfer case to begin with!
-Disclaimer: I have seen the Jeep 300 become harder and harder to find over the past couple years. I want to try the Novak Adapter piece that allows a Scout D20 to mate to the 4L60e, but I have not done it, yet. As soon as I can no longer find a Jeep 300, that is my next plan!
Will your mounts work with Anything Scout's xxxxxxx? Will Anything Scout's xxxxxxx work with your mounts?
-Dude, I have NO idea...but I seriously doubt it. We did our first one in 2012, I think it was...and spent hours getting it all to clear everything...hood, firewall, steering, axle housing (it was stock height), etc. I can tell you the things do NOT leave as much room as you'd think. They have to be pretty well dead on, or they will hit something somewhere! A.S.'s mounts have to land it close to ours, or they wouldn't work...but I know we use different headers, and I have no clue if their headers clear our mounts, or vise-versa. I tell folks to pick a vendor and go...us or them, either way you'll be happy. Their team is good folks, and we have nothing against them at all! We buy and sell parts and pieces between the two shops, and we are both just out here trying to put these things on the road with smiling faces behind the wheel...we just have different ways of skinning the cat, that's all. After that first one in 2012, we reverse-engineered it to make it easy for us to do our next one, and decided to offer the mounts up for sale...they took off. We have since added a few other pieces to try to make the simplest, most wallet friendly recipe we could for folks, and if you run the numbers on it, I think you will agree.
Do you have an all inclusive kit?
-Nope. There are a few things that we've fabbed up in house, or have fabbed up for our in house swaps. We market those pieces, and we'll tell you where to go to get the best deal on the other parts to complete. it. I don't stock all the stuff that we simply source elsewhere...and it may make me less money, but it will save you money by eliminating me as a middle man, and samves me time fo gathering it up, repacking it and marking it up to resell to you...so we kinda both win. Buy mounts, fuel system, or whatever from us, we will send a spreadsheet with all the links to the headers, sending units, vendors we use for the wiring harness mods and programming of the PCM, etc...then you have all the info you need to get yourself on the road. Again...simple and cost effective.
Hope that answers a few questions, and puts a few minds at ease. I also hope it lowers the number of phone calls we get on these swaps, as popularity of both Scouts AND LS swaps still climbs! Don't take it as us trying to get out of being available to talk...we're here to help. Email us and we'll do what we can. We are not hard to get ahold of, its just that we have projects to work on in the shop, too! When I am on the phone answering LS swap questions, I am not in the shop doing LS swaps, in other words. I still love you guys...but I still gotta keep the light bill paid here, too!
