Vortec Swap Guide

I put this together for another poster and thought it might be useful for others...so here ya go:

Sounds like you already did the most important thing: buy the entire truck!

As for mounting, you can use the UC kit, if you can find one. However you will need old style motor mounts to work with the kit, these (stock vortec) will not work:


If you are rolling your own mounts you will need to fab a new cross-member to clear the oil pan. Here's a shot of the UC crossmember:


I'll assume that your using the trans that came with the truck and that it's an auto. A custom driveshaft is easy, and a generic trans mount will work. I think you can get a motor to drive the speedo off of the vss signal.

Speaking of instrumentation: I could never get the tach to work right. Granny's has a conversion for RX7s if you want to try that. Didn't work for me. I suggest tapping a hole for the stock coolant sensor, I couldn't get the GM sensor to work with the Mazda gauge.

Your rear end should handle the Vortecs torque, but it may burn up diff pinions. I suggest the RX7 LSD if upgrading.

The stock cooling system is adequate to cool the 4.3, but the radiator outlets are crossed at the bottom. I think a B2600 would fix this and allow you to use the S10 hoses. As an aside, I installed an electric fan driven by the ECU. It DOES NOT come on the whole MI winter!

Fuel: If you don't already have an injected truck, you'll need all the hardware. Either that or fab your own lines. Personally, I like brake line flares and rubber hose for cost and simplicity. You'll need a new fuel pump and a baffled tank. The tank comes from the injected equivolent of your truck. Get the pump from the same source, but consider upgrading to a Walbro (RX7s cross). If you do get the walbro make sure your wiring is up to the task of driving it. The stock GM wiring has IIRC 18-20 gauge feeding power to the fuel pump. This will result in a significant voltage drop, and the Walbro won't have enough juice to open the poppet valves on the injectors. I say hardwire it directly off the battery.

Exhaust: Some manifolds will hit the Mazda frame rails. I think you already have the right ones. If not you'll need to experiment or build headers. I suggest using as much as from the stock S10 as possible. The stock S10 manifolds and crossover will include all the O2s necessary to keep the stock ECU happy.

ECU: you have the entire truck, so use the stock ecu and sensors. You may need to get the anti-theft systme disabled. If you do get a reflash it may make sense to eliminate the O2s as well. Maybe EGR and cannister purge too.

Here's some random pictures of my swap:

Wheres the other 2 cylinders? Haha just buggin. Awesome writeup man. If i were to swap this i would be all over your article like a fat kid on a smore

I could ask you the same question!
Lol, thanks

Are you talking about Ultimate customs in Ajax ontario Canada because if you are that crossmember is not from them at all.

then where is it from because i am about to start on this swap like next weekend...this weekend i am getting the donor truck so yea...

Yeah, it is!
I think they may have changed their design along the way.

They never changed they're design all they're crossmembers are bolt in and they look way nicer than that . That looks like it's just some piece of bent tube welded in. I'll put up a pic of the crossmember I was around Ultimate for years and concider Loyd one of the best fabicators out there and a freind, and I know he never had a croossmember out there like that when I was around.

Well, it did look pretty nice before it rusted And it is bolt in. I'd be interested to see what you can dig up.

If he's one of your friends ask him if he has got any more vortec swaps he would sell or if he would make me one cause i need to start on this project ASAP!

thanks

He doesn't do that kind of work anymore and I even don't have any thing for that swap except for the 350 swap or the 5L swap and then only if I can get 5 people buying the kit to keep the cost down.