chuck45

I paid 7500 dollars including shipping. I was hoping to fins something a year or two old with 10 to 40, 000 miles on it for 4000.00 to 5000.00 but didn't have any luck. A friend found this for me when he bought a 2012 5.3/LS3 with only one mile on it for 5000 including shipping. He is putting that in an LJ. He asked if they had a 6.2 and then told me about this one.

I think I got a pretty good deal because it seems the hot rodders and buggy guys have discovered how good this combo is. I've heard of people paying 8000 to 11,000 for the motor alone. There are still some 6L80 trannys out there for 1850 but they are about gone.

A real cost savings can be had by going with a 5.3 and a 6L80. In a 2 dr JK or lighter 4 dr it would be fine. The 5.3's can be hot rodded relatively easy too. There are a lot of 5.3's out there and they are much much cheaper. The other thing is that because of the 6 speed 6L80 the 5.3 out performs the 5.7 Hemi. I decided to go with the 6.2 because when we are loaded for a week of camping with extra ga, water, full fridge and all recovery gear, we weigh 6800 pounds.

I'll respond to another post about the Hemi relative to the LS Gen 3 and 4 motors.

chuck45

That is correct. The front input gear of the transfer case needs to be swapped for one that will accomodate the much larger 31 or 32 spline output shaft of the 6L80. This can be done in the standard TC but not the Rubi.

The funny thing is that you end up with the same crawl ratio because the first gear of the 6L80 is 4:1 as opposed to around 3:1 in the stock auto.

chuck45

I live in Colorado and the trip I mentioned from Ouray to Durango involves an altitude of around 11,000 ft. The 3.6 may be Ok in a flat land environment. I will say listening to that doggone 3.6 wind out was nerve racking. We had friends riding with us who own an LJ and they were disappointed also. Truly the best thing about the vehicle was the 5 speed automatic and the tap shift. I think the tranny is the real upgrade, no the engine.

Phil Howell, the editor of one of the off road 4x4 magazines, who lives in the west too, feels the same way.

chuck45

The owner of the company that does the conversions bought a JK and loved it but for the power. He was going to put a Hemi in it but had problems with some customer vehicles with Hemi's, primarily overheating. He fought the battle but then said he'd been doing Chevvy engine conversions for 20 years and decided to see if he could put an LS in a JK.

The 6.2 I am using, and what they recommend is lighter (it is all aluminum) and smaller than the Hemi. It does not have to be mounted forward as in one kit, or have the firewall pounded in as with the other. LS engines also run cooler. I could not keep my 3.8 from overheating when pushed. in the summer when going to Denver my Aeroforce Scan Guage says my temps are 250, and I have to shut the air off and run in 2nd gear on the freeway.

The 5.3 conversion can use the stock JK radiator with no problems. They recommend a HD Griffin radiator with the 6.2 but had a situation were they were short a radiator and tried the 6.2 with the stock radiator. It did not overheat in Las Vegas in the summer.

There is a lot more room in the engine compartment with the LS motor than the Hemi too.

One of the off road web sites did a huge two part article on the LS motors and that convinced me that the LS is the premium pushrod V8 available. With the VVT it's torque is available at a very low RPM and seems really suitable for a JK. How many Hemi's are in buggy's racing at the King of the Hammers? How many LS's? All the high end buggy guts around here are running LS's.

The only reason to run the Hemi is to make it easier to rig up the wiring. But running a GM motor, with a separate OBD II port and separate computer eliminates a serious weak link with JK's; their complete relying on the TIPM which is failure prone. If I am way back in the boonies I don't care if my wipers work but I'd damn sure like to be able to drive out. We spend a week in the Maze district of the Canyonlands last year. When we checked in the Rangers told us to be careful as a tow out cost 2500.00. The stand alone ability of the LS in the JK is reason enough to go with it over the Hemi.

I think the cost is relatively the same, with the Hemi maybe being a tad cheaper. I figure this is going to cost me 14,000 to 15,000 which will include the engine and trans, install kit, the HD radiator, tap shift and cruise control option and custom exhaust. This is with me doing all the work. I will keep track of it.

Malan35

That sounds like a sweet build. I love driving the Yukon/Escalades with the 6.2. They sound mean and have a ton of power.

ShakyJake

I live near you, but up about 4000 ft higher in elevation.i have a 5.7vvt AEV conversion. I run an Aeroforce gauge and don't have overheating issues, nor feel overweight. Ive put 25,000 miles on the swap and, other than the initial 200 mile bugs, havent had any issues. That said, I'm very interested in your conversion. I love the fact that all the factory goodies like remote start, cruise control, and warning lights work with my conversion. Other than JSS, I haven't heard anyone make these things work with an LS. PM me when you get done, and maybe we could meet and swap rides for a mile or so. I have another JK (with stock V6) and am wanting to do something new.

chuck45

Actually, from what I understand JSS has not made one work. I hear that they can get it to run but that the dash looks like a Christmas tree. The one I drove had no dash lights and everything works, including the remote start. I will grant that it took more work to make an LS work in a Jeep. But I think that the end results are worth it. I have driven both and prefer the LS over the Hemi. FWIW it has a more calm or refined feel to it. It just doesn't feel like it is working.

The final, and perhaps main, selling point for me was the stand alone feature of the LS. We get out in some real remote areas and I've always felt a good bit of trepidation with the Jeep electronics. I actually stated once that I was considering ripping out the whole CANBUS system and building a wiring harness from scratch, going totally old school on everything. On the other hand if I was to do a JK again I would look for a high milage 4DR 2WD for as cheap as possible realizing I'd be replacing the whole drive train and suspension.

Flip94ta

I'm not sure why guys aren't buying older JK's and doing the LS swaps. Screw the factory dash, just put a piece of stainless steel in there with procomp gauges, it's a shame all the accessories run though the Chrysler computer because it's not needed. 5.3's are cheap and awesome, the torque curve is all in at 2000 rpm. As mentioned the six speeds are light years ahead of most the options. I just drove a 4L60e for six years and I wouldn't pay money to install it in a jeep, but the 6l80 and A580 are good choices. Keep us updated.

hypeiv

the OP was pretty long winded for someone basically asking to trade transfer cases...

included the life story of the LS and a bash of the new pentastar... good work

anyways... In CO I am sure you will have no trouble finding someone to swap t-cases with you might want to try the local board but be a little more direct with your question this time.

Also you could have always swapped t-cases with your rental JK and they would have never known.

Ryan0260

Looking forward to seeing this build