Manual Transplant in the aut'Hoebot

[chaingun427]

spent entirely too much time yesterday getting the donor dash pulled enough to start removing the clutch master and pedal and the wiring harness. Probably wouldn't have been so bad if the A pillar on the passenger side wasn't 4 inches inward from where it should have been lol. Finally got it loose and pulled the pedal, now to get the holes cut in the Aut'Hoebot and get the pedal mounted.


I had heard there is a braided line that I can run for the clutch, anyone know what applications it was originally for so I can get one?

 

[chaingun427]

Productive Day today on the parts truck anyways. I've got the entire wiring harness out finally (in one piece no less!) and i've got the shifter and 4wd shift assembly ready to be removed. After that it's sawzall city on the floor pan so I can get to the rest of the bolts holding the transmission and exhaust in.

New OBX shorty headers on their way, i know what people will say about shorties and I dont' care lol. I don't want to play with having to redo the entire exhaust for long tubes to fit around the front driveshaft.

I was just going to knock the blank out on the Tahoe firewall for the clutch master, but I realized that the hole is smaller than the blank so I need to fine an appropriate hole saw kit and go to town with it before I can mount the cylinder and pedal, Also just going to cut down the brake pedal, I don't want to have to tear the entire dash apart to get to the bolt that holds the pedal in...

 

[chaingun427]

Got the front seats and center console removed from the tahoe today, i'm pulling the entire carpet to be professionally cleaned before it goes back in. What I though were gray floor mats turned out to be OEM Maroon ones SCORE! both sides and the rear full mat are in the truck.

cut out the rubber floor and pad in the donor truck around the transmission tunnel today as well. Due to the way it sits on the trailer there is no way I can pull the motor and trans like I normally would, so instead I'm about to remove the entire floor of the cab and take it straight up and out.

 

[rabbiporkchop]

If it was me, I would transplant the complete drivetrain from the donor vehicle and keep the computer from the donor vehicle and disable the VATS.

 

[chaingun427]

That's the plan, however the newer computer is a 2000 black box, so I've got a free wiring issues I haven't tackled yet and haven't found much on.

The first is the nss, and where it connects to the cruise system. The second is fuel gauge wiring, iirc the 2k should get the fuel signal to the pcm, then send it to the gauge, whereas the 98 goes straight to the gauge

 

[chaingun427]

Got the floor pan in Rollie cut out today, and the transmission unbolted from the cross member, and the cross member unbolted from the frame as well. all that's left to do is drain the tcase and lift it out!
I'm considering dropping the Tcase right off the driveline so the entire package is a bit lighter but we'll see.

Used the section of the transmission tunnel I removed from Rollie to template the floor for the new holes i'll need to cut, both for the shifter and the 4wd lever.


thinking that the brake booster might have to come off so that I can drill out the holes for the clutch pedal but i'm trying to avoid that if at all possible...

 

[chaingun427]

Whelp looks like that booster has to come off either way the biggest obstacle on this project is almost finished, the down pipe and transmission are gone, and the old motor is unbolted from the frame. Time to go around cataloging electrical connections as i pull them and getting it ready for the new powertrain.

with any luck I'm going to pull it all at once and drop it in as one piece.

 

[chaingun427]

Today was a good day, finally got the drivetrain out of rollie and into my shop to get it cleaned up and ready to install. only oil leak is a bit around the dipstick which should be an easy fix.

Also bought me an engine hoist for $50. Since the 'Hoe is sitting normally where as Rollie was on a trailer i should be able to work with it with this hoist to get the job done.
It needs a new seal on the lever piston but otherwise it's in super shape

Most of the prep for the clutch master is done now, holes are drilled in the firewall, the plate is cleaned and primed and ready for painting.

To anyone else that does this swap, check your master cylinder before you start cutting., Mine required a 2 1/16th hole cut out. so i used a 2 inch hole saw from Milwaukee which cut it like butter, then dremeled it out a bit.

To gain the necessary clearance to drill the holes I pulled the brake booster, fuse panel, and abs/pcm mount and moved them back a bit. Inside, the foam firewall insulation is already perforated to be torn out at that point.

 

[chaingun427]

Not much done today, got the clutch pedal mount painted WOOT


Got the tcase shifter hole cut, going to clean up the edges and get the shifter mounted tomorrow (pic coming)

Also pulled the neutral safety switch wiring out from the old harness, now I just need to get it wired into the existing harness
1) I believe it's the wiring going to the starter itself (maybe not have to trace the other side yet

2) cruise control disengage, runs to the cruise control module in the engine bay through a clear resin on top of the wiring harness

3)this wire goes to the #8 fuse in the interior fuse box

4)is part of a 2 leg circuit with #5 this end runs to the brake switch I believe

5) the other leg of the #4 circuit, it runs to pin e on the pictured connector (no idea where that sucker is on the tahoe lmao)

 

[chaingun427]

Holey mackerel! there are holes in the floor of my truck!.... Oh wait those are supposed to be there. Finished cutting the floor pan out today, cleaned up the holes a bit and i'm getting ready to mount the tunnel bracing for the 4wd shifter in the morning.

Physically mounted the clutch master cylinder today as well

Ran the line down to the tunnel and installed 4 of the 5 wires to the Neutral safety switch as well. I have to confirm that #4 came from the brake switch before I pull it and swap the wire over.