My L67 swap from LesabreT.com

Z-type wrote:

Ah! I like that idea. Thanks Albert. I'll do that!

Since you swapped the series l S/C into that car would it be a similar swap to do in a 88-90's Bonneville?

Yep! I know the Bonneville's have a bit more wiring to get through than the Lesabre's, but there would not be a lot that's too dissimilar between the two. It really all depends on your donor car. Mechcanically speaking, the only difference would be getting the correct ABS axles for the Bonneville.

Best bet is to get a '92-'95 SSEi and swap the subframe and engine with the suspension all as one unit. It will ALL bolt right in.

Z-type wrote:

Yep! I know the Bonneville's have a bit more wiring to get through than the Lesabre's, but there would not be a lot that's too dissimilar between the two. It really all depends on your donor car. Mechcanically speaking, the only difference would be getting the correct ABS axles for the Bonneville.

Best bet is to get a '92-'95 SSEi and swap the subframe and engine with the suspension all as one unit. It will ALL bolt right in.

Thank Good Sir PEOPLE on other Forums said it can't be done I just bought a Nice looking 88-90 Bonneville Lol I already Have a CAI hooked up to it and Nitrous the pass in the 1/8mile was a 9.50 it beat my 99 Grand am Se by allot.

I forget how to do math anymore because of my calculator.
Because of my cell phone im now at risk of forgetting my punctuation

Update! I finally got a chance to go out and buy the supplies I needed to make my PCV oil intercept system. I've been meaning to get to this for oh, I dont know...4 months now? That being said, it seemed to go together pretty smoothly.

Here is the catch can I ended up buying. It is simply an oil separator for an air compressor. Good Kobalt unit.


BUT, there is a drain plug that comes with the unit, but I can't have a drain unit on mine or it dumps oil and crud into the engine bay. I ended up blocking it off with a bolt and o-ring. Simple but effective!


I didn't want to have just barbed ends sticking out of each side of the catch can, so I cobbled together some fittings to make what you see here. That way it looks slightly more uniform for the area I had planned to install it.


I did something similar with the PCV valve cover that Karma made me. I'm not sure how I feel about the looks...I may at least paint the brass pieces black.


The catch can really only had one or two places I could mount it, so I picked the one where it would be most hidden. I hung it with just zip ties but you don't really notice them. The bottom of the can was hitting some sheet metal, so I glued a piece of foam to the sheet metal to avoid paint damage.


Everything installed! I got a 10 foot piece of tubing from Advance and routed it nice and neat, perhaps like the factory may have done it.



The car seems to be running normally. I don't detect any leaks of any kind, and there doesn't seem to be any pressure building or anything. Time will tell, but this was such a simple installation I don't think I could have screwed it up too bad lol.

Clean install as always Andrew!

And yes, those fittings might look better black.
(You did remember that the tiny arrow on the top of the SC intercept piece is the flow direction right? Just checking!!)

Thanks man! Yeah after looking at it again today I decided it should at least be black. It looks terrible, really. However, function first, looks second. And yes, surprisingly I remembered . I also double checked it with where the valve entered the piece from the bottom.

Drove about 30 miles today with it, and no issues. I didn't check the catch can yet but I think it probably needs a bit more driving before I see anything collect in there.

Seems good so far! And like you said, Andrew, that little bit more equipment somehow makes the engine bay look more badass haha .

One small update, fixing one MAJOR problem I've been having with the car.

I don't remember if I ever mentioned it, but I was having a huge problem with my shifter ever since the swap was finished. It felt like the shifter arm on the P/N switch was not moving the same as the shifter mechanism inside the car. Park was ok, everything else was misaligned. You could still shifter but you had to feel the transmission, but not the shifter in your hand. If you thought you were in Overdrive, you were actually halfway between reverse and neutral. Very exciting and annoying. I lived with it until I got a tip from a friend on LesabreT.com.

He mentioned that apparently, since GM likes to do strange things every once and again, the shifter 'arm' on the trans was a different length between the two transmissions. He asked me to take a look and this is what I found.



The Riviera's 4T60's arm is on top, the Lesabre's old 440T-4 on the bottom. There's about 1/2" difference between the two, and yes, they're swappable. Apparently all the transmissions in the 4T series are capable of being swapped, up through the 4T65. Anyway, I swapped the two arms in about 15 minutes, made a small cable and bracket adjustment, and the shifter feels and acts like the old one.

It's amazing the little things that are involved with projects like this. What is weird is that neither myself, or anyone else, had heard of this being a problem in previous swaps. However, I've never seen anyone else use a Riviera's 4T60 either...usually a Bonneville's. Oh well! I'm just happy it's fixed.

...leave it to GM

Hows that PCV intercept going Andrew? Much gunk in it?
(Mine's been reallly clean since I fixed a ruptured FPR.)

Hey Andrew! I really haven't seen much of a noticeable build-up, if any, yet. Though I really haven't driven more than probably 100 miles since I installed it, all of which are shorter trips (under 10 miles). I guess it takes a bit more travel to see any sort of results?

And you know, not a broken FPR lol.

Hello all, again.

I have a question for you transmission-savvy folk. I have a good sized trans cooler on the 'ol Lesabre, and it's certainly doing it's job. However, it's getting cold out in the mornings and evenings, when I drive to work and back. I do take the T-type 2 or 3 times a week and I feel that, judging from my scanner's info, the transmission cooler is cooling too much. I'm barely reaching 130 degrees after the 7 mile drive to work. I'm wondering in these colder months if I should make some sort of cover for the cooler so it can let the trans get to operating temperature? I'm going to quit driving it in November or so for the Winter but the Fall months still count, I think.

I have some thin aluminum plate I can use. Does that sound like a good idea? I'm not interested in doing a by-pass in the tubing anywhere.

Any other advice? Thanks everyone.

So you want ideas...

Problem with a trans cooler is they can cause trans failure due to plumbing failure - some piece of road trash busts a line for instance.

That said - maybe what you want is more plumbing (heh heh) in the form of a bypass. If you have the space a valve to block the cooler and restore normal flow. A metal shield will reduce cooling but your trans temps are still going to run low due to radiant cooling thru the pipes and shrouded cooler.

Thinking about it you might want to simply disconnect the cooler for the fall, and cap the lines. Reroute flow as original (thru the radiator).

do an old truckers trick and put a piece of cardboard over the cooler.works great!

Haha sorry Robo, cardboard is a no-go. This ain't no truck .

Albert, I think I like the idea of just removing the cooler lines and capping them. The trans fluid is still going through the radiator first, so all I would really have to do is replace one small section of line to 'reroute' everything. I like that idea, thank you!

If cardboard is a no-go, get some black spray paint onto that cardboard! I have used a piece of thick heavy cardboard in the cold months to get some heat and cover the trans cooler on some older cars (and yes the thermostat was working fine).

Last winter in my Yukon I completely removed the mechanical fan (no electrical backup). Kept a close eye on all temps and was able to run without any fan until we had some 85 degree days in May. It was just an experiment to see if MPG went up any, and I will probably do it again this year. Different vehicles, different cooling systems I know, but it worked fine. I didn't have a chance to see how it would work while towing, but am curious.

You could make a bypass circuit with some manual valving so you could enable the trans cooler when temps determined it necessary and shut it off when too cool.

edit: found what I was looking for - a 3/8 Diverter valve:
http://www.drillspot.com/products/355617/apollo_valves_7060201_ball_valve

Here's what I use: http://www.bulkpart.com/2/product/tru-cool-hd/708-4739.html

This bypass enables the trans cooler active only above 180ºF.



See write-up: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t1748p45-write-up-transmission-cooler-install

PS - just noticed you aren't interested in a bypass. In that case, cardboard seems like the best option!

The bypass is badass. Works great, plus the 4t60 is designed to operate at 180.

After further reading and consideration of my setup, I've decided to go with this fancy bypass thingy . Looks like it'll be perfect for the car. I have a spot for it where it'll be well hidden too.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

Aaron - I just re-read your edit from a few posts ago. I meant bypass as in valves and extra tubing and T's and all that...not fun or aesthetically pleasing. I thank you for turning me on to the actually bypass/thermostat that you use!

Speaking of which, it arrived today!



On that note, it should be installed tomorrow at some point I hope. I can't imagine it taking much more than 10 or 15 minutes where I want to put it.

In other news, the PCV oil catch can is finally leaving some 'evidence' behind. There's not a lot, but what's in there looks a lot like coffee with heavy creamer. It's hard to get a picture of since where I located it is behind my intake tubing. Once more builds up I'll update.

The bypass is a good product that does exactly what it says. Mine's been in almost 3 years now, no issues.

If you have any installation questions, see the write-up link I posted above. If they didn't include hose with the bypass (I'm guessing not), I recommend a high pressure braided nylon fuel/oil hose like Earl's or JEGS equivalent. It's pricey, but I think it will last forever, and a little overkill is a good thing with the high pressures present in our trans lines.

Good luck!

Thanks! I don't have braided hose on the system right now, but I'll keep an eye on it. I read through your installation thread and read the risks of the regular hose, but I think I'll be good for a while.

I honestly never knew such a thing existed like that! Looks good too.

Small update. I did end up installing my transmission thermostat thingy today. Simple, slightly messy job, which is why there are only two pictures lol.

I was going to put it outside of the car behind the air dam, but there was exactly ZERO room to work, so I opted to stick it in the engine bay near the hole where the external cooler lines come in.


And done! Only took probably 5 minutes, and it doesn't look too shabby. You really don't notice it down there in a normal setting, even though it's blue.


It seems to be allowing the transmission to warm up a little quicker, but even with today's warmer weather it didn't climb much higher than it normally does. I hit a high of 147 according to the scanner after a half hour country drive. Not the best way to test drive something like this, but I had to make do with the roads around here. Good news is, it's flowing right and nothing is leaking.

Also, I decided to get a picture of the crap that's collecting in my PCV oil catch can. It's not a lot yet, but it sure is nasty looking.

The saga continues. Since my last post, the Lesabre has gone about another 150 miles or so and I've collected a little bit more crap in the oil catch can. I'll have to empty it out soon, because storage time is coming up soon .

In other news, I just ordered a set of lifters for the car. GM # 12499225 . From several pages back there is discussion about how there was a bit of play in my rockers and I had to uninstall those Yella Terras because of it. I'm hoping there's new lifters will help do the trick because they have a bit more preload. If not, I have new lifters inside the engine and rockers for sale lol.

Z-type wrote:

The saga continues. Since my last post, the Lesabre has gone about another 150 miles or so and I've collected a little bit more crap in the oil catch can. I'll have to empty it out soon, because storage time is coming up soon .

In other news, I just ordered a set of lifters for the car. GM # 12499225 . From several pages back there is discussion about how there was a bit of play in my rockers and I had to uninstall those Yella Terras because of it. I'm hoping there's new lifters will help do the trick because they have a bit more preload. If not, I have new lifters inside the engine and rockers for sale lol.

I got FIRST DIBS IF THEY DONT WORK!!!!!
I sed it FIIIIIIIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!