On-Road Chevy LQ4 to 500hp Marine LSX Build

[@ACatKrom]

As a officially trained mercruiser guy for the last 20 years.. You're going to want the correct marine thermostat/water distruibution housing, to control engine temp. Not circulating the coolant will give you hot spots and cold spots. There have been companies that have spent a lot of time and money getting the cooling system correct. You are going to need a powersteering cooler for sure, should be about to re-use the existing one. You're going to need a manual flywheel, may have to re-drill it for the coupler. The shift plate has a microswitch on that, wire it to the holley so it cuts idle down to 400 rpm or so, if you don''t take the load off the gears, it won't shift into neutral. Make sure you get the engine alignment right before sliding on the drive I'd mount a belt driven seawater pump now, as that alpha drive won't live long behind the 6.2, and you'll be doing a bravo swap video sometime next year.

[@Speedcircle78]

I'm doing the same swap right now. I would like to use the raw water pump from the crusader 6.0 mpi engine (Lq4) . Do you maybe know whether I need a extra bracket for the pump or whether it would fit right in? The pump has some kind of bracket already mounted.. Thanks on advance :)

[@ACatKrom]

@@Speedcircle78 Havent ever seen the crusader setup in person, but looks like itll bolt right on

[@Speedcircle78]

@@ACatKrom Thank you. Guess I'll find out 👍🏻

[@shade610]

sounds like some minor stuff to make this work. That's encouraging. Not sure why this swap isn't done more often. Maybe it is.

[@ACatKrom]

@@shade610 its pretty expensive vs just building more hp in the existing engine

[@kevenhiemie]

Rick Just a friendly reminder it's probably about time to change the battery in your truck, for the power seat. 😂

[@kiiiisu]

😁😁

[@kerryminigringo]

I could listen to Scott all day long,he has a great way about him when explaining stuff

[@ajherman]

I'm sure you looked into it, but keep in mind those Alpha drives can only handle so much torque before eating themselves. Hence why when you get to the fuel injected 5.0 and 5.7 Mercruisers you'd start finding Bravo 1 and Bravo 3 drives. That Alpha might need some love to live behind a 6.2 LS.

[@1RickBaja]

yeah needs the bravo

[@natevanbynen6595]

I also believe the Bravo 1 drives you don't need an interrupter to sync gears to shift, Bravos use a cone clutch and it isn't required, and yes handle more power.

[@ajherman]

@natevanbynen6595 I'm not as familiar with Bravos, but yes, Alphas need that interruptor or else you'll be likely to destroy the gearcase

[@miketee2444]

Best ease into her for sure.

[@davidomarine71]

With that more prop pitch which the alpha will definetly will not handle. 330 hp is max and that is pushing it. In a nutshell the alpha is the 4l60 of outdrives.

[@CajunGreenMan]

That's a real reason Rich does these videos, all the chicks that follow him around everywhere!

[@Shadeza1373]

😂

[@sickstringbender1364]

You need the thermostat housing that feeds not only the block but the manifolds too. Plus the motor will really only run around 70c or 80c. You will need the power steering cooler and the right flywheel for the outdrives input shaft. Go ahead and do the bellows and shift cable boot while you have it all apart and save a couple thousand bucks by not taking it to the shop. Thats where I work. Thats not a cheep job and takes a good week of working it all out. Good luck. There is a shift bracket that mounts to the top of the motor that synchronises the throttle and shift cables and has the interrupter microswitch built in. The old stuff that was in the boat should work. It is a must have to get the out drive to shift and not kill the dogs in the foot.

[@mbkomfort]

Some manifolds use raw water and some use engine coolant. I would just use raw water in that application 🙂 1. The main heat exchanger might not be large enough to cool both engine and the exhaust. 2. The exhaust manifolds are cast iron so they can take raw water (salt water) and as i understand this boat will mostly run in freshwater lakes/waterways 👍

[@SamCyanide]

Those birds were big chillin

[@kennyspry5189]

I really like how you painted the motor awesome choice with the colors.

[@Slaytanic187]

The O2 sensor needs to come up to a high temperature in order to work properly to send the computer the right signals. Having it go through the cooling jacket of the exhaust on its own could very well mess with the O2 sensor signals. I suppose one could use a piece of round stock, drill and tap for an O2 sensor. It'd have to drilled out deep enough to allow the O2 sensor to reach the exhaust and wide enough to get a socket on it to tighten it. I don't think you can weld the round stock in place, as how do you get weld on the inside. Maybe the exhaust walls are thick enough to tap, and the round could be threaded. I don't think the exhaust walls are thick enough though. This is probably why another bracket is used for the O2 sensor.

[@supertrucker5000]

Take it easy on that Alpha. In stock form, they are merely adequate and the top of the case likes to overheat. The factory interrupter setup can be modified to work. Keep your idle under 650 rpm. Bravo drive is a night and day upgrade. Shifts like butter too without an ignition interrupt. I love every second of this build

[@openliquor]

I don’t know Jack about boats, have a sliver of the mechanical skill of Rich, but here I am, watching this entire video…thanks Rich!

[@SlowdeathO9]

Chris over at B is for Build had problems with the O2 sensors in the manifold, he spaced them off with some interesting pipework

[@Moonsauc3]

Fortunately he won't have that problem in the near future

[@mikkokuusisto833]

Overlapping cams arr the problem, rich shouldnt have that

[@Freydale]

Still want another boat with a diesel engine. You're one of the few that i see could do it. Really would like one in my wakeboat/surfboat. That low RPM torque would be great for a boat with lots of ballast. And lets not forget running off road diesel as a plus

[@Freydale]

Second thought. I'd like the Edison motors hybrid setup too

[@blackshirtsrule4ever]

An LBZ in a boat would fascinate me, not going to lie.

[@PapaWerks]

Impatiently waiting to see it on the water! Doing virtually the same project, 6.0 closed loop into a fully (and I do mean fully) rebuilt '97 Larson SEI194. Haven't swapped cams yet, will do that once I've run the cooling system in and confirmed it performs as it should on the stand. Crank-driven raw water pump, MarinePower manifolds, twin-exchangers, custom spacers for twin O2 sensors, Holly Terminator X, 90mm, etc. Following your lead on the SeaDeck, very likely wrap it too. Get back on it, let's see yours go!

[@lspoweredcouch1549]

You only need a shift interrupt when coming out of gear. A way you can do it is by using the factory shift interrupt switch bracket, then hook up the coil signal to the switch. when enough tension is exerted on the lower shift cable, a limit switch temporarily sends the signal to ground thereby temporarily killing the ignition. the original distributor setup uses the magnetic pickup signal. interrupting the signal going into gear is actually a symptom of a sticking shift interrupt switch. the dog clutch is designed to engage with either the foreword or reverse bevel gear in the lower unit. the dogs are slightly tapered to hold themselves in gear. as long as you "shift with a purpose" and don't grind it, you will not have issues. Bravo drives do not use a shift interrupt due to all bravos using a cone clutch in the upper unit. when you get the motor running in the boat use an idle rpm of 700 rpm max. any higher and you start to run a risk of damaging the dog clutch and prop shaft.

[@cantrela]

i was looking through this build trying to see how the interrupt was wired? and saw your comment im working on a carb on LS build on sterndrive scratching my head on how to wire interrupt with an MSD 4016. I've heard some guys try to knock out ( ground) a bank of coils as a solution. sounds heavy handed.

[@cantrela]

I meant 6014

[@gregholmes3661]

Never doubted you for one minute. It just takes time and money. Have a great day Rich.

[@abc-bm8pl]

@30:58 I'm not familiar with Holley specifically, but a few different EFI systems. There are potentially quite a few ways to tackle this. If there is a nitrous control feature it will have ignition retard. Have an input active when you want to change gear and set it to nitrous then map how much ignition retard you want to pull power. How to have an active input when changing gear. This could be an input based on a timer. Some ecus have race timer functions. Gear position = 1, timer starts. input is active until timer reaches 500ms. Or it could be as simple as button on the shifter, grab the button when moving the shifter. or even just a little switch that is hit by an arm like old WOT switches, or the little switches that used to ship with nitrous kits so it could be hit by the throttle arm or pedal. Another method could be a flat shift feature. Have a switch that is active when moving between gears or use a potentiometer to give all positions as a variable input. A strain gauge can also be used here to trigger the cut. Clutch switch or position based flat shift inputs usually have a setting for throttle position >xx% to make them active. This would need to be set to 0% to work. The idea here is to make it think you are flat shifting when you move the gear selector. Flat shift features also usually have multiple ways of retarding power such as ignition retard, ignition cut, fuel cut or close throttle (dbw). Some will have features for ending the cut after xx time or switch states no longer active. Some will have features for limiting to xx rpm during the shift. Or there may be some map switching or generic tables that you can use with an active input when the boat is in neutral, then have a retarded timing map or a timing correction table that retards timing to a level that makes selecting a gear easy. Many of these settings will also have a setting for how fast to return to normal ignition timing after a retard event which might be in degrees/sec or %/sec, something like that. This can be used to make the transition smoother. Although it is expected that this change would happen at idle so it's not likely to be that much of a problem. None of this really takes in to account that modern efi systems control idle speed with ignition timing as it reacts significantly faster that air control, so making changes to timing at idle may just encourage the engine to stall, which is getting mighty close to the olden days method of engaging the drive gear on a ski boat...turn if off, put it in gear, turn it back on.

[@bostemaly1348]

It would be really cool for you to have Vince weld up a cool aluminum or stainless steel cover for the engine with your logo or something on top instead of the plastic.

[@Specialized1993]

This is so awesome, always wanted to do this but new its pretty labor intensive. Now that i can see how its done, it makes it so much easier. Great video

[@Torch4ya]

Definitely need to make sure the water pump is marine-rated - same with alternator and every other electrical device.

[@TokyoCraftsman]

It looks great Rich. Use the heat gun, or propane torch trick to make that stock black engine cover look like new! Cheers from Tokyo!

[@larrydavidson3402]

That is one classy looking engine!!!!!!!!

[@hillonwheels8838]

B is for Build ran very similar manifolds but without the risers and found on ebay a aluminum 2" riser with o-rings and a spot for an o2 sensor. My guess is that you need the riser height you have so that way the water won't back up into the engine when not running. Not sure if this will help you or you have already figured out a solution but it was something I say and wanted to pass your way.

[@bartismoellis1052]

Except Cris won’t be using his boat for a bit after it sank.

[@GreatnPwrfulSteve]

Harden marine has a perfect solution for the o2 bung situation.

[@Zone6G]

Great video. I'm in multiple LS swapped boat groups and have never seen the pool heater idea, or someone add the O2 sensor (though that one I have heard of).

[@sethhoward1445]

28:30 I'm not a professional when it comes to boats, but I remember from a B Is For Build video where Chris is swapping the twin LSX's into his yacht, that he kept having issues with the O2 sensors fouling out because they were getting wet from the water in the exhaust. I believe he ended up making a tube that came off the side of the manifolds, to keep the sensor out of the water. While it might not look the best, it seemed to work for him, until he boat sank in the harbor.

[@knowyuhgrow420]

You can also hook the water pump too the temp sensor and that will turn it on

[@jehines3]

Need marine starter and alternator. Not sure where you are putting the pressure cap, they are usually in the heat exchanger. The Apha has the raw water pump in it, but if you switch to Bravo when you torpedo the Alpha, you’ll have to spot a pump on the motor. Fun build, been boating and done a few swaps, cool project.

[@mbkomfort]

Pressure cap goes on a separate header tank mounted on a high point in an application like that 🙂

[@codycopeland7527]

You should just put a thermostat in and treat the heat exchanger as you would a radiator. Would make everything more simple then trying to cycle the electric pump. Just my thoughts. Excited to see this thing rip on the water!

[@mbkomfort]

All marine heat exchangers run the raw water through the core of the oil and water coolers. You explained to do the opposite on that "pool heater" 🙂 Easier to get air out and up to the (high up in front mounted) header tank when you run the engine coolant on the "outside". And same way i've seen the heat exchanger mounted on some marine engines like "Ford Lehman" and "Iveco Aifo". Good luck that will look very nice when finished. -Arne 😊

[@mbkomfort]

Sea water/salt water (raw water) side in coolers sometimes need cleaning and it's "easy" to clean the core pipes with a "barrel brush" 😁

[@mbkomfort]

Good idea with that heat exchanger cant wait to see it tested 👍

[@mitchellsies]

Hej rich! You have surprised me so much when you showed me the heat exchanger haha I actually use the same one in my boat. It's very good quality and works great so far! Always nice to see people you look upto do the same 👌

[@mysticvalley2003]

Excellent explantion in the difference of Marine versus auto engines...

[@GrandPitoVic]

I am doing a Ls3 swap in a 03'Crown Vic Police Interceptor. Ls3/6L80. I am making videos for my grandkids. It's alot of fun. My one grandson can't stop going on about it. Lol. I was going to do the 6.0 to 6.2 like you did. But a L94/6.2L block fell in my lap for $500. And a ser of 821 heads for $300. I just picked up a 2015 6L80 core for $300 as well.

[@farmdog93]

Another great video from king rich, keep it up haus, amazing work you and the guys do

[@keiths4874]

Man that is coming together nicely, Lot of stuff to take into consideration when installing in a boat, I've only ran 2 stroke outboards so your work on the cooling system and keeping engine operating temps in a good range is very intriguing👍

[@joewaun894]

Im thinking about the O2 sensor. If you want to drill it. Id go a little oversized and weld in a sleve. Im sure your welder can handle that cast ! Ive welded cast iron steel and aluminum not as big if a deal ad many people think. Just keep an eye on it. The heat cycling if the exhaust may cause some issues tho. Best bet is to probably buy thag adapter and paint it. ORRR make a new spacer from scratch. I don't think it would be hard tk make. And just paint that one. ( Probably your best bet IMO) then you can have two made and run two o2 sensors if you need to so you can compare banks when tuning

[@martyniner8893]

Scott is an engine wizard!

[@JamesWhite-tw4hw]

Rich, have you thought about using a thru hole threaded nipple , tig welded in for your O2 ? Just remember to use nickel filler rod.. good luck and have fun

[@X_Peak]

The guitar during the machining process was 👌🤌🤌🤌🤌

[@manoo422]

Any idea who it is?

[@scottreeder7023]

I've never built an LS motor. Last motor I built was a 355 Chevy alcohol injection that would drink 3.5 gallons in the 1/4 mile running 6.10

[@gavinkeller183]

Don’t forget the alternator and starter need to be marine grade or sealed so they can’t ignite fumes Also the insurance companies used to deny claims on boats if you didn’t have the correct marine grade equipment if you were insuring it

[@DegenGarage643]

Rich thank you for this series! I’ve been wanting to ls swap my boat as well but been waiting for your video and see how you do it because you are smarter than me when it comes to this. Again man thank you!

[@Shiftyspeedshop]

Stuttering the ignition on the ls should be as simple as a strain guage like they use in sequential boxes. Even easier for me because i dont have to do it. Lol

[@peterme7265]

I can't wait to see the finished product I hope to see videos soon nice build

[@jasoncheyne78]

Also you also need a marine grade starter not sure about alternator the reason for this is spark hazards if you ever have a coastguard/police inspection can get tickets if they look close enough

[@WBOS72]

Excited to see more of this build.

[@fatbackjacob5738]

Great choice on the song with the engine rebuild at Scott’s shop.

[@manoo422]

Any idea who it is?

[@BerryMcCaulkiner859]

Most mercruisers only have forged internals in there mag motors

[@lynntatro7374]

This is really interesting! Keep up the good work with this project!

[@my.little.80]

Love Scott from north town just a good guy. Pick his brain more often. Go with a pushrod ford 5.0, 351w?

[@rondierckens6618]

Boat is looking sick!!! Nice work

[@Velislide]

Curious how that heat exchanger works out. Building two budget 6.2 L92's for my boat.

[@kodde0304]

Chris from B is for Build did an entire episode on problems they were having with the o2 sensors on his LS swapped yacht. I think he found out that most marine engines run closed loop on the o2 sensors. Check Chris episode out so you don’t destroy your sensors for nothing.

[@knowyuhgrow420]

Thanks for sharing

[@jeremyportz1097]

Working on LS swapping. A 4.8 in an Alpha one Dealing with crank alignment, The LS Crank bolt pattern is smaller than old Chevy crank. Looking at bravo parts,

[@1RickBaja]

Cant u put o2 sensor after the collectors? I wouldnt try to modify those crusaders. Crusader Marine was the goto shit in the day. with them being risers if u cant weld ur through cast sensor bung correctly, u risk flooding the engine with water. Just my thoughts on what I was seeing....Love what ur doing. Specially with the electric control able water pump, and the heat ex-changer...which by the way is how most salt water and big boats are. Plus now u can isolate the internal to antifreeze...so the block is already winterized. Sweet man

[@jackpinesavagerepair1918]

They make what's called a dry well sensor port. They used in the heating and boiler systems. It's a well that screws into a water jacket and allows a probe to go inside dry. Just throwing that out there

[@minnesotatomcat]

Ratcheting like a Mennonite🤣 that cracked me up

[@peterfriesen5927]

Makes me wonder what Mennonites did with ratches

[@minnesotatomcat]

@@peterfriesen5927 mennonites are kinda like Amish to where they do everything by hand. Rich couldn’t fit a power tool in there so he was joking that he had to use a ratchet like a Mennonite

[@DOCTRJ]

7:01 those bores are mint

[@maxiumgolf1]

Looks great Rich!

[@kathylondon-anthony368]

that truck they're tearing up is in in better shape than your white winter beater!!

[@michaelparker4598]

It's prbly a title issue once they can't be registered most cars and trucks are worthless to people

[@Black_noir_mw3]

I absolutely love these videos

[@shanethompson7543]

Engine looks awesome

[@OnlyTheEd]

Would be great to see the V-10 Mustang if it is finished.

[@0002sbc]

still waiting for the part 4 of your boat built :)

[@aloken9250]

Congrats on 700K subs!

[@johnd21]

Looks great!

[@polarisoutdoors3105]

This boat identifies as a hot rod now

[@tr6scott]

check out B is for Build boat conversion video about the O2 senor issues, and water jacket exhaust. May save you some grief.

[@timothymilam732]

Question you are pulling straight from the lake correct? You might want to install sand trap if you plan on beaching the boat on shore, because it protects the water pumps as well as other surfaces inside the engine from the abrasive effects of sand and other grit picked up through the inlet that's typically stored up by the prop when you reverse in shallow water. Just a suggestion, but entirely up to you of course. I've seen numerous engines that have suffered from this issue especially with people who either party on islands, or those with young kids that often are in the shallow water for numerous reasons. Love your thinking way out of the box with your choice of components, and accessories you adapt to suit the purpose you need.

[@jaydunbar7538]

Lake water won’t be in the engine, he’s putting in a heat exchanger which he covered in the video.

[@stanleymartin1613]

Cool stuff. Enjoyed watching ✌️ 😎

[@BackyardBeeKeepingNuevo]

I recommend a 10 quart Dooley Oil Pan for high hp marine applications at a minimum and an oil cooler as well and a mechanical water/coolant circ pump. PS. I love this video and project. I have a 2004 Sea Ray 200 Select and I am planning a new motor to replace the 5.0. I am going to build a 400 hp. 5.3 with 10.5:1 Compression. I know it will cost me thousands but what the hell. I’d power add to my existing 5.0 if I could figure a way to do it. Any ideas? Everyone I’ve talked to says to build a new motor.

[@allencoxx5739]

That’s was a hell of a hood mount at 2:38

[@quadbilly2106]

Im a long time fan. Glad to see the subscriber # climbing

[@ronladuke7235]

When the kids were little I brought a twenty foot Sea Ray and we put over 100 hours on it the first year. We live one block from the boat launch and in nice weather would have supper on the water 2 or 3 times a week plus weekends? That electric pump neads an alarm or you will cook that motor before you realize it is hot.

[@jaydunbar7538]

It will all be through the Holley so having an alarm is a simple matter of clicking the box

[@jeffreyadkins5014]

Rich been watching since day one.. late subscription unfortunately. But gotta say love the videos cool as a fan. Giving you a shout from south Florida

[@jamestaylor4126]

Ditch the Alpha and get a Bravo one or three. Bravo will handle the power and no need to muck around with a shift interrupt switch.

[@craigmandall9420]

46 year old diesel mechanic here. I know exactly what you're talking about with the hernias Rich

[@amiabledave50]

Just seen your video that's a day old. Have to say a few things. First is the alpha drive. It'll handle 300 HP (221kw) . NO hole shots with that engine. You're going to have to eeeease into it. If you jump a wave, the prop comes out of the water and you don't back off on the throttle before it re-enters. You could blow the engine coupler or twist the input shaft. Bravo outdrives HAVE an interrupter when you shift. Never seen one come out of the factory without one. Bravo's are good for 650 HP. If you change to a Bravo you'll have to change the engine coupler the rear engine mount. Along with the outside transom assembly and outdrive..I would run Mercruiser high performance outdrive oil. Your engine mechanic or machinist talked about max cam lobe separation because of water reversion. Then stopped short. Would like to know what he thinks it is. What is yours?

[@mbkomfort]

Some car engines have a valve overlap so that drags it a tiny amount of exhaust back into the cylinder, it helps for emissions (like an EGR) You do absolutely not want that in a boat motor with a wet exhaust 🙂

[@mikaelmigeh5835]

Would recomend an oilcooler. And will the sump fit in the boat?

[@AdamDeal-KF0PRI]

rich your a chic magnet!😂😂😂😂

[@dannycrooks8462]

Watch B is for build he's an expert on boats now even recovering sunk boats 😂😂

[@donhappel9566]

yeah, watch him for everything you shouldn't do! Aside from sinking it, he pretty much destroyed any resale value by swapping the diesels to gas. I don't think he ever even got it on plane after the swap before sinking it from lack of maintenance. Gas motors have a place - small boats. Not small yachts.

[@maxst2]

Know this maybe done already, but I think B is for Build would have ran into several of these issues when they did their Yacht LSX series just in case...

[@JoeHyper200]

Have a look at b is for build boat build, they manifolds where killing o2 sensors due to the water from the manifold, not sure if you would have the same problem or not.

[@BerryMcCaulkiner859]

Have to make sure your cam specs won’t cause reversion to the point it kills your engine

[@madmanmechanic8847]

I love this build I would of went thru hull exhaust the kids can speak louder when you crank up the engine and blast across the lake you only live once

[@christopherlenahan3906]

700K! The O2 sensor, I would put it in the exhaust pipe. Reason being, more homogeneous gas mix from that bank of cylinders and likely much easier install. As long as it's more than 12"-16" from the exhaust tips you should get a good reading(not getting air pulsing back into the pipe.) *from what I searched on O2 sensor placement. -Drilling and welding in a sleeve in cast will diminish exhaust cooling and be a nightmare to do and make sure it's pressure-tight. It will need to be a huge sleeve to accept the O2 sensor AND a socket to install it. No one seems to make a long O2 sensor.

[@Guns_N_Gears]

It won't work that way because the raw water is dumped into the exhaust.

[@davem7722]

Deboss looks like he needs a storage building for all his projects.

[@henrycharette7024]

I also was told the mercruser blocks have a higher nickel content

[@kennyspry5189]

That's too BAD that fire truck got wrecked it looks like it was a nice truck before getting wrecked.

[@hildablanco1591]

Get stainless steel manifolds and titanium valves with steel valve guides for faster and smoother running engine

[@rdsledge]

Yes I had a hernia! No big deal. Laparoscopic surgery. Back to my old self in 2 wk .

[@brentmcmahon8188]

I always see boat V 8 like 454 or 502 or 525 and they are always have 450-500 hrs on them when they are for sale so to me 500 hrs are stick a fork in me Dolly .

[@willmorton6800]

B is for Build put LS engines in his yacht. May want to watch his video series on that... May be something in there that he learned that may help with your build.

[@NickManCuso59]

Wish I had your talent and know how !

[@user-ke2hc9me1y]

You shouldn’t need a raw water pump if you’re keeping the alpha drive. They have the impeller inside the lower unit. If you’re switching to a bravo drive you’ll need a raw water pump.

[@TaunusMicha]

what about welding a piece of pipe into the spacer to fit in the o2 sensor?

[@alanwheelock1460]

b is for build put lsx ? and had problems with o2 sensors getting water on them. he made custom water deflectors worked

[@Aheitchoo]

This is neat! But Indmar will sell you a 550hp supercharged ford 6.2 for about the same money

[@georgedreisch2662]

Not that it matters, but, thought it interesting. Back in the day, -80’s, I had a -72 SleekCraft, with a 455 Olds and a Jacuzzi Jet. Thought it interesting that parts catalogs like TRW, etc., listed the engine, as, “Marine / Irrigation” motor, with differences, like higher CR forged pistons, heavier rods, forged crank, different heads w/ larger valves, different cam, etc., from GM. Also, found out, these engines got used in some aircraft starter carts.