Engine Swap Problems

[Lincoln414]

I just finished an engine swap in my garage. We did it while the veh was on four jack stands. It was a lot of work, we basically had the whole car apart. We put it all back together and now my steering column wont lock. This is the last problem on thi whole situation and I cant figure out if I missed something as this was a lot of work and wouldnt surprise me, any help on what I may have missed would be appreciated thanks. :shifty:

 

[LS4me]

I just finished an engine swap in my garage. We did it while the veh was on four jack stands. It was a lot of work, we basically had the whole car apart. We put it all back together and now my steering column wont lock. This is the last problem on thi whole situation and I cant figure out if I missed something as this was a lot of work and wouldnt surprise me, any help on what I may have missed would be appreciated thanks. :shifty:

The steering column on the LS doesn't lock.

 

[pektel]

:lol: That's awesome if that's your only issue. LS4me is correct, of course.

 

[Quik LS]

the locking column was a second security measurement against people trying to hot-wire the car. Now that the modern cars use PATS - they don't use the locking colunm any more.

 

[Lincoln414]

I could have sworn that it locked before I did it. Sounds like Im wrong. The hardest part was pushing the engine underneath the car. Even on 4 jacks we needed more clearence. A tip for anyone doing this make sure your engine hoist boom goes out furthur then the legs of the hoist. This would have made this a lot easier when putting the engine back in. My piston rod blew out with with only 86000 miles on it. I hope it doesnt happen again, this car was designed horrible for repair. The alternator, starter, and the spot where the exhaust meets the header are in horrible locations among ther things. I cant believe the ppl who engineer this new stuff get paid so much for cramming 10 lbs into a 5 lb box. Very bad design.

PS is it needed to vaccum out the air in the steering pump system after an engine swap.

 

[gcwimmer]

the locking column was a second security measurement against people trying to hot-wire the car. Now that the modern cars use PATS - they don't use the locking column any more.

The exception was the Euro Lincoln LS converted RH drive where locking column is required.

 

[LS4me]

II cant believe the ppl who engineer this new stuff get paid so much for cramming 10 lbs into a 5 lb box. Very bad design.

That's why they get paid the big bucks! Engineers design external engine parts for ease of installation, not user-friendliness.

 

[Lincoln414]

That's why they get paid the big bucks! Engineers design external engine parts for ease of installation, not user-friendliness.

Yeh we all know that the dealers are making it next to impossible to work on cars in our garage. I was considering gettting something older so that I know I wont have so many problems trying to fix it.

 

[LS4me]

Yeh we all know that the dealers are making it next to impossible to work on cars in our garage. I was considering gettting something older so that I know I wont have so many problems trying to fix it.

Better go pre-1970/pre-emissions. Also, pre-electronic control.