Thinking Northstar Conversion?

[aaron88]

Heater Core Lines:

On the body side I used ¾” hose, and on the engine side I used a combination of ¾” hose and the old metal lines that were used on the Northstar.

On the body side it’s as simple as can be seen.  I used a length of aluminum to guide the hose.  The aluminum is fastened at both end to original brackets that existed on the fire wall.  Be careful here with the height of this supporting member because at first I made mine too high (the rubber hose came too close to the tensor pulley for the water pump).  I then lowered the aluminum bracket 4”.

On the engine side, I cut up and re-bent the steel lines that came with the motor.  In some arias I used only the elbows (joined with the ¾” hose).  The heater core inlet (manifold outlet) line was protected from direct contact with other components with the use of weather-stripping (and then fastened with zip ties to other brackets).  The heater core outlet (manifold inlet) line has a ‘T’ on it with a section that is caped off at the top.  This is so that the system can be properly filled with coolant (a dry pump won’t pump fluid).

Aaron

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[aaron88]

Brake booster hose:

The brake booster hose has a 90° elbow on the engine end and fire wall end.  The rest was routed using ½” hose.  The hose follows the heater core return line (kind of).

Note: the EGR system was later removed.

Aaron

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[BootMachine]

The flywheel (when it finally came in) wasn?t quite the right fit.  I had to take 4 mm off the face because it was too thick, the clutch would have made contact with the inside of the transmission housing. I think this is a very important thing to check, all too often this sort of thing goes overlooked. Aftermarket parts are put into a vehicle without checking clearance of the parts both new and worn.  In this case I also had to shave a little off the flywheel bolts too.  Although there was no contact it was surmised that a completely worn clutch plate would have caused the springs to make contact with the bolt heads.

Check out the shine on that face.  This also gave me the opportunity to put a much fetter finish on the face of the flywheel than originally offered.

Aaron

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What about the amt of stress the new flywheel can take?

I would not have shaved my flywheel without a test flywheel to just how much it can take without snapping.

That northstar engine has quite a bit of torque and if you spend a lot of money on a REALLY nice clutch the flywheel could be the weakest link in the chain.

4mm is a lot of meat.

What do you think?!?!

[BootMachine]

what is your flywheel made of?

[aaron88]

Boot

The flywheel is steel.  I'm not sure what alloy, the manufacturer didn't specify

There is still a lot of meet left on this flywheel, almost double the stock 2.8 thickness.

(EDIT : after further consideration, I realized that the Northstar flywheel is only marginally thicker than the stock 2.8 one.)

Aaron

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[hellfish87gt]

hey i'm new to this forum, and i am starting a N* swap as we speak, i just have a couple questions.
will the engine mount you used work with the 87 cradle, and if so, what would you charge to make one. yours is simple and works, so i'd be very interested in it.
i think that about covers it right now.
thanks
ian

[aaron88]

Hellfish

Welcome to the club!

It looks like you have one of the new northstars?  What are you planning to do for your computer?

Due to the nature of the motor mounts I used they are very versatile, however you will still need to cut out your old motor mount and weld in supports for the rubber spacers onto your cradle.  Depending on the transmission you are deciding to use you may want to go to solid mounts.  The 88 cradle is solid mounted which is why I had to use rubber mounting to the cradle but you may find it easier (depending on transmission) to mount solid to your cradle since it’s rubber mounted to your frame.  Unless you are planning to use poly cradle mount.  These will not dampen enough of the vibration.  Also you (87) can mount the engine 3/4 of an inch farther to the right side than I did (88), which may help with the placement of the mounts.

So here’s the skinny of it.  If I make you a set of mounts you will still have to weld the bottom ones to your cradle (and possibly have to grind them into shape better to fit your cradle verses mine), and drill the holes for the mounting bolt (due to the alignment you chose).  Plus I will need to know what your mounting height is (depending on transmission).

Aaron

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[BootMachine]

Boot

The flywheel is steel.  I'm not sure what alloy, the manufacturer didn't specify

There is still a lot of meet left on this flywheel, almost double the stock 2.8 thickness.

Aaron

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oh its an aftermarket one!

OK...I thought you took the stock one and shaved it down so it would fit!

[hellfish87gt]

hey thanks for the welcome,
it's acually a 94 sts N*, for the computer i'll be useing the holley 950, its not worth trouble shooting a computer that does not tell you what is wrong, in my opinion anyway.
i will be useing the getrag 5 speed, and i would prefer a solid mount set up. i have a bad history with rubber mounts, so if i have ot make aluminum spacers so be it. the welding is not really a problem.
i really just need one mount, be cause the one side N* mount seems to line up pretty well, the one that bolts to the head. i just need a second one that you have fabbed up. as long as you throw in the holes so it mounts to the block, i should be set for install the rest is just like lego,

[aaron88]

My bad (about the motor year).  I should have noticed that.

check out how Archie mounts this ZZ4:
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/037222-2.html
It’s the way to go if you are solid mounting.  Also if you are going to use a solid mount for the motor, you really should use a solid mount for the transmission as well.  That way not too much stress gets transferred to the engine mount.  However if you have and plan on using the rubber motor mount that came with the Northstar and the rubber transmission mounts, it's just as easy to use my mount with rubber.  Once you have the bracket It's just a matter of welding it in place (tack to check the placement, then weld full).

Aaron

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[hellfish87gt]

i was only thinking solid mount purely for ease, but in the end it's acually more work. i would like to use the n* mount, and just use the other mount you did. as it seems to wrok out alot better.
oh and do you have any pics of the position of the stock N* mount? the mount you made is pretty clear i just need a pic of the N* mount

[aaron88]

I didn't get either of the northstar mounts with my engine.  I only know what they look like from my manual.  I can post a pic with this reply later.  The front mount also bolts to the stock auto transmission (which isn't there).

Which mount of mine do you need?

Aaron

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[hellfish87gt]

i REALLY like the look of this mount, so i'd be interested in that one case it looks like it is the easyiest mount to do.

[bushroot]

Aaron, that's awesome.   I'm putting a 2001 DTS engine in an '88.  I'm not as far along as you are, so your pictures answered a few questions for me.  As far as the placement issue on the passenger side, I'm cutting part of the strut tower and inverting it.  I'll have to use coilovers, but I had planned on that anyway.  I don't live in Canada, but I had to sign up to let you know what an exceptional job you're doing on your swap.

[Garcarracer]

  Fantastic write up. Best one I have seen yet. I would of liked to do a N* conversion, but published problems with the Computer changede my mind.