I guess I kind of missed the LS3 install. There was a picture with the drivetrain out and some talk about it. Then another installment about having the correct harmonic damper. Then it’s all back together again. Did I miss something ?
Previously, we detailed how our newfound love of E85 means that we need to supply the engine with a lot of liquid fuel. This will be especially true with our C5 Corvette Z06's 430-horsepower LS3, which will drink even more of the sweet corn juice than our 405-horse LS6 did.
To make sure the engine got all the fuel it could want, we upgraded the fuel pump in the Corvette while we had things torn apart. Installing a fuel pump in a C5 is—to put it bluntly—challenging, as it requires removal of the driver’s side fuel tank, then the tricky removal of the pump cradle itself.
Our go-to pump for this application was a DW400 unit from Deatschwerks, which is actually rated for 415 liters of flow per hour. That’s slight overkill, but we opted for slightly too much capacity than barely enough, leaving us room to modify in the future.
Lowering the tank is a bit of a challenge. Dropping the metallic protective cradle supporting it is simple, but after that, releasing the lines and clamps connecting the tank to the right side tank and the filler neck is a grade-A pain. Many of the connections simply pull apart, but as these cars are nearing two decades of age, “simply pull apart” isn’t always so simple. We advise caution and profanity at every juncture.
And once the tank is out, removing the pump itself is equally frustrating. The well containing the pump fits into the tank through an opening that is exactly the same size and shape as itself, leaving no room for inserting tools for removal. The best we can tell you at this point is several sets of needle-nosed pliers, lots of yelling and patience. If someone knows a trick for this, we’d love for them to share it.
Currently the tank and pump are on our bench awaiting reassembly and a thorough cleaning. After this frustrating exercise, though, that’s a project for another day.
I guess I kind of missed the LS3 install. There was a picture with the drivetrain out and some talk about it. Then another installment about having the correct harmonic damper. Then it’s all back together again. Did I miss something ?
A 401 CJ said:I guess I kind of missed the LS3 install. There was a picture with the drivetrain out and some talk about it. Then another installment about having the correct harmonic damper. Then it’s all back together again. Did I miss something ?
oldpeople schmarded
Nope, not back together yet, but close.
Looks like we actually did a YouTube video about the new engine going in, but I didn't write a dedicated web update about it. I should do that :)
In the meantime, here's the video on where we're heading:
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