RamJet 350 Swap

[delsafari]

Hello ASV.com - I haven't posted since about the time I joined in August 2007, but browsed frequently before and since then. The site looks great - lots of features - thank you to whoever is responsible for that!!

My last post was on the V8 Swapping thread, pg3, when I was about to start a RamJet 350 crate motor swap into my 94 Safari AWD. Well, the job's done, and it's a huge success (in my humble opinion). Now that all the wrinkles are ironed out, and I've been driving it for a few months, and I'm ready to "show 'n tell" the story.

I did my swap because of what I read on this site - and I wouldn't have known where to start without it. So my experience may be of interest to others now, and I wouldn't mind sharing.

But first, I have a few questions on protocol etc, being a novice on sites like this - maybe the moderator or somebody could fill me in -
Would this be a new topic?
How much detail? How many photos? Start brief? Add detail as questions are asked?
I was quite involved in the details of the swap, but not being much of a mechanic, I paid an automotive shop to do it. So I'm not offering set-by-step details here - just an overview of how I got it done, what some of the problems were, and I have about 30 photos of the project.
Do I start with one large post, including photos, or create an slideshow elsewhere and provide a link? Such as on Photobucket?
(Don't make this too difficult.)

So depending on level of interest, I could do an overview of the swap, with photos, parts list (the main ones), problems solved, etc.

After I get some feedback, I'll get started.

Thanks

[peter]

Hey, l'il brother! Big bro Ramjet 502 here

Congrats on the swap. If you could afford to have the swap done by someone else, we won't hold it against ya!

I'd say post everything in this thread. If you started this thread, might as well keep going with it. Pics, pics, narration of pics and pics. Did I mention pics?

[Smiliesafari]

What Peter said !!!!!! Welcome to the site. We love those pics. Keep them coming. OH YEA, "Safari's Rock".

[delsafari]

Thanks Peter. Its not that I could afford to have someone else do it, I had no choice - either that or not at all.

I'll get the post going tonight. By the way, after I posted last night I was looking at your 502RJ story. Very impressive. Mine is modest compared to that, you'll see.

[Rebel]

Welcome and post post post. Like those pics.

[potskie]

Just ignore peter. He is a very special person. So special we call him the STUPID quebecer lol.

Welcome to the site. We love pics Especially in the V8SWAP section. Oh look your already posting in it.

[Rockwerx]

We will be looking forward to seeing pics of your project. I see that you live in Edmonton. Have you had your van to the track yet? Spring is close and it will be open again. What shop did your swap for you?

[astrozam]

Do I start with one large post, including photos, or create an slideshow elsewhere

It should go into our TECH GALLERY http://astrosafarivans.org/tech/

[SoCalli V8]

Welcome Delsafari, I`m also looking forward to hearing about your Ram Jet swap and seeing the pics......

[delsafari]

OK, here goes. Part 1.

I previously posted in the new members with some background on my van. Here's a picture of it, a 1994 Safari AWD, shorty, loaded (LT model), mildly customized - I'll post in a different forum on the body work. With the hood down, the before and after pictures look the same.



After reading about V8 swaps on ASV.com, I decided a few years ago to eventually do one, when I needed a new motor. At 420,000 km, with original drive train still running smooth, I occasionally looked into finding a donor vehicle and a shop to do the swap. A friend suggested the 350 RamJet crate motor, and the more I looked into it, the better I liked it. The main concern I still had was how make the RJ 350 MEFI4 controller and the van's ECM cooperate. I wanted a stealth conversion, a reliable daily driver, and did not want to lose any OEM functions. (I don't ask for much.) Hardly any shops were willing to do it. None seemed to know how the controllers could co-exist. One GM performance shop gave me a steep price, and said I would need a separate tranny controller. The whole thing looked pricey! Then I found a shop (Kartunes in Edmonton) that said it should be fairly straightforward, and were willing to do it. They said the controllers should "just work". I liked their can do attitude, and felt I could trust them, and hoped they were right. So I signed 'em up. They had some impressive project vehicles in the shop. After we confirmed there was enough vertical clearance for the fuel injection unit, and the accessories should fit, I started shopping for the crate motor. I priced it out around the western US and Canada, and found the best price at the closest GM dealer to my home, for $5,700, about $1,500 below list. So I ordered it.



The cart looks a bit overpowered.

I rounded up the other components: radiator (Modine 3341, 3-row, recommended by Racecraft), oil pan from Racecraft, engine mount adapters from JTR, manuals from Racecraft and JTR. The Ramjet came with harness etc, as well as a 250-page Service Manual, and a 20-page Specifications / Installation guide. SafariRob (I think) on another thread talked how he ordered the service manual and it looked useless. He probably didn't get the 20-page installation guide which was the most useful. I could post it sometime if anyone is interested.

With the help of my 3 sons, and a couple of 2x4s, we loaded the engine on its pallet into the van, with the other parts, and drove it all to the shop.





Over the next 2 weeks, they did the swap. Here are pictures with a few comments.















The old friend.



And the new one.



To be continued. See part 2.

[SoCalli V8]

What a Great Start, with Great pics, I`m following along from the WestCoast.......

[delsafari]

Part 2.

The shop didn't seem interested in looking at the Racecraft, JTR, and Ramjet manuals. Reading a manual is like cheatin', I've heard. Maybe they didn't think I should pay them to read, or maybe it was ego. So I looked at the manual, and asked lots of questions. I figured I was paying for the right to ask. They didn't always appreciate it, but it turns out they didn't actually know it all. We actually got along fine. I cut them some slack, and I'm sure they did the same for me. For example - a minor thing - they ordered a new flex plate, and were trying to figure out what to use with the RJ350. Turns out the RJ installation manual gave the part #, which matched the one that came off the original motor, so we reinstalled the old one, and returned the new one. Another not-so minor problem came up on the transmission, which I will describe later.

Here are some of the parts.

After reading about headers, and exhaust manifolds, I opted for the mainifolds. The friend who suggested the Ramjet to me also recommended I use exhaust manifolds from certain year 1/2T trucks (1996 - 2000 I think) because they have larger ports (squarish shaped) and larger outlet (I forget the diameter). So I went with that, and they didn't even seem to hit the frame, like the JTR manual said they would for the AWD. I don't think they had to notch the frame.



They tried to install an electric fan, but they said not enough room. So they put in about a 2" spacer and a Flex-fan, no clutch. So the fan runs full time, slower to warm up, and noisier. And they removed the shroud, so I don't know if it will have enough cooling capacity in hot weather pulling a 4000 lb boat. They assure me it will not be a problem. So I'm disappointed with the flex fan, and concerned about cooling. Hasn't been a problem so far this winter!!! Time will tell. If I have to, I'll go back and try the electric fan option again. What do you guys think??



Other parts (the pricier ones): muffler, starter, water pump, accumulator, AC hose custom assemblies (to short for rear air), rad hose, exhaust piping, air intake hose (Silicone), air intake elbow (aluminum).

So now here goes the install.





The boxes hanging on the left are for the satellite radio and 2-way security system.

















To be continued. See part 3.

[delsafari]

Part 3.

More pictures of the final details.

They were about to install a new transmission cooler, and noticed it was identical to the old one which was in good condition. So they painted it and re-installed it.



I have changed the orientation of the air intake since this picture. I rotated it 180 degrees to where there is a bit more room for it. I found a shorter radius aluminum elbow, and trimmed the silicone elbow to make it fit (who knows, maybe I could have done the entire swap myself).



Here's some shots from a few more angles.





They left the top part of the shroud on, trimmed, as a safety guard above the fan.







And the exhaust system.







This muffler alone was way too loud, so I have since added a small resonator / muffler on each pipe in front of the muffler. It still sounds great, is still a bit loud inside the van at some midrange rpms. It interferes a bit with the stereo when I don't have it cranked (the stereo, that is). Need a bigger amplifier or bigger muffler??? don't know.



Also see the air bags and new leaf springs. I've had the air bags for a few years, with a compressor on board and independent L/R side control. After this picture I removed the bottom leaf from the leaf springs, because ride was too rough with air bags that need min 10 psi. With only 3 leafs, ride is good when pressure low, and air bags pump up to 50+ psi for good support for loads and trailering.

Also, exhaust pipe runs different alignment in rear area, because spare is carried inside van, because trailer hitch is installed in the spare tire space, because of combination of roll pan and wanting to keep the hitch as hidden as possible (see rear of van in Part 1 post). I carry the spare in a carpet covered PVC box under the rear bench seat, out of sight, and the seat holds it down.



Subwoofer is on top of the spare. More on that in a future post in the audio section.





To be continued. I'll tell you how it runs in Part 4.

[dean89]

Those are great photos that you posted so far. That is one super clean van! I would love to know some more details about the rest of the van as well. It seems to be a very rare/custom optioned van with the LT door panels and regular seats, as well as being a '94 short van.

[delsafari]

Part 4.

So, when I got it back, the van ran fantastic. Amazing power, very very smooth, and the engine stable at all rpm, all temperatures, amazing!!! Recent brake job, new leaf springs, alignment, recent body work all helped.

But . . . I noticed that the tranny "slipped" when in 4th at about 60 kph (40 mph) under part throttle acceleration - engine would rev, with no power to the wheels. Hmmm. Step harder on the throttle and it would down-shift and go like a bat . .

Some of you guys would probably know what the problem was at this point, but I couldn't figure it out. So, read on, if you want.

The transmission had 420,000 original km on it, never overhaulled, but it was working fine before the swap. It's a 4L60E, controlled the van's ecm. Evertything else in the van worked fine. If the problem was electronic, then a tranny overhaul wouldn't correct it. If the tranny needed overhaul, then electronic changes wouldn't help. Maybe both were needed.???

The shop that did the swap didn't know what the problem was. In the swap they had spliced into wires from the motor to also go to the original ECM for TPS, RPM, and MAP. They did not connect coolant temp, air intake temp, or knock sensor, because they did not think they would be needed for anything in the old ECM.

A few different tranny shops road tested, and all wanted to do an overhaul, but were not sure what the problem was.

Some expensive options on the table that might not solve the problem.

So I explored buying a new tranny, because I hate all the unknowns around rebuilding them. I was reading the Racecraft manual about changing the torque converter when doing a swap, and changing the eprom. duh. . .

I called a shop that only builds performance motors, and talked to their electronics guy. He seemed to know how to solve it. First get the other wires connected to the ECM, which didn't change anything. Then he ordered the binary file for my van's eprom, and used his CATS RT tuning equipment, and he tuned the transmission settings on the eprom. Now it works perfectly. Same tranny, same TC, same transfer case. Shifts perfectly, still no overhaul needed. We'll see how long that lasts.

Here's what he did:
- ordered the bin file for my van, uploaded onto his computer
- removed the chip from my ECM box
- downloaded the bin file from the chip into his lap top (a 286 AT, same vintage as the van)
- compared bin files to ensure same
- erased my eprom with UV light
- plugged his computer and emulator into my code reader connector
- we test-drove the van with his laptop controlling the van, and he changed settings on the fly, changes took effect immediately while driving (real time tuner)
- he tuned the settings to Ramjet motor specs and my driving preferences
- copied the revised file back onto my eprom
- installed the eprom back into the ECM box, and voila!!!

Here's what he changed:
- Changed the setting from V6 to V8, which corrected the RPM input. Ya, that should help; 8 pulses = one rpm now, not 6. Before correcting it, when the V8 engine was actually at 2000 rpm the ECM read that as 2666 rpm (2000 x 8/6 = 2666)
- Changed some engine settings that no longer are even connected to the ECM, to avoid triggering the check engine light, even though the wire to the light had been disconnected
- Increased line pressure table across the board, to make shifts firmer, and reduce clutch slipping. This table involved speed, rpm, tps.
- Changed WOT shift points to better match the RJ 350 hp curve (max hp at 5200 rpm) - so shift point for 2-3 is at 5000 rpm, 3-4. There is no WOT 3-4 shift - it just stays in 3rd at WOT
- Changed 1-2 shift table to shift sooner at part throttle positions to optimize the use of available torque (400 lb-ft whoa)
- Left TC lock-up settings as is
- Changes the downshifts to match the up shift changes.

That's it. Simple. Amazing.

One last problem that cropped up. After a few weeks of driving, a nasty vibration showed up - only after the engine warmed up, worse when turning left, and too loud to ignore. Felt like it came from near the throttle, and like it was coming off a rotating accessory on the serpentine belt. The shop didn't agree, and tried:
- to bend the manifold heat shield over, to no avail
- bend fuel lines that might be touching something - nope,

So I bought a socket extension, removed the dog-house, and found that the AC rigid piping was against inside of the dog-house, had worn through the insulation, and was vibrating on the fibreglass. So I bent those pipes over, a bit and the problem is solved.

Now there is not a single problem with the van. Nothing. It's perfect. Everything works. Everthing looks stock. In cruise its a bit jumpy with the 350 hp, but that's fine. It cruises up hills in 4th with TC locked. Drives great, sounds great, looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing how it likes towing the boat, which is also running a 350 small block, 340 hp, same ECM as the van - MEFI4 - weird (Malibu Sunsetter LXI, Indmar Monsoon engine).

It's been a fun project, and I enjoy every minute driving it. Fun to watch the reaction when I pull away from people at the lights. Not what they expect from a "mini-van" - hah!! I got a little speeding ticket today. Dang.

I won't be racing it. Nice as it is, it's not that fast - AWD, etc. Fast enough for me though.

I fully expect to overhaul the transmission in the not too distant future, but not till it needs it. Amazing original powertrain in this vehicle.

Well, that's it for now. Hope it was interesting. Nice to get this "little" report done. Felt I owed my story to this site.

Any questions?? Like how much did I spend? $6000 for the motor, $10,000 for install ($4,500 parts, $5,500 labor), $600 for tranny RT tune. Those are the main items. Not including the body work. Can't have a fast van with a rusting body now.

Book value for my van would be about $1,000 to an insurance adjuster in a write-off. (I do have it appraised, so its more like $10,000 - 15,000 now)

I'll be posting on the body work I also did this year, maybe towing too, and audio . . .

Like my daughter-in-law said to me the other day "its sort of a comfort vehicle for you, isn't it?" I said yup.

later. . .