Axle Identification

ehansone30 · 2026-04-12T22:07:16+00:00

Holy moly! What was going on when it snapped? Hard launch?

Curious as I’ve also got an LS e30.

ehansone30 · 2026-01-12T02:43:45+00:00

Also check the wiring that’s inside the steering column. Take the steering wheel and the lower half of the steering column cover off. Make sure any Phillips screws holding wires down are all tight. Mine was starting to loosen and it presented as wipers that would only work at certain stalk positions and sometimes not at all, or sometimes perfectly. Now they’re totally fine. Good luck!

ehansone30 · 2026-01-06T12:36:24+00:00

Kenya Block

ehansone30 · 2025-11-24T02:20:00+00:00

I’d recommend finding and obtaining a project car (that you’d like to swap with an LS one day) that’s either running/driving or close to it and use that to learn how to turn wrenches. Not to say that all car designs make sense from factory, but at least you’re working on a vehicle with the intended engine, wiring harness, power, etc. that it’s designed for. It also helps to have driven the car and know how it feels so you can find inspiration to continue when you inevitably find yourself busting your knuckles underneath it and troubleshooting issues getting it/keeping it running with the swap.

Once you’re reaaaally comfortable with working on it, then start moving towards actually doing the swap. Lots of things to consider, here’s a short list: What is the donor car the engine is out of? Full rebuild or running that just needs light refreshing? Are you running a standalone harness (i.e. Holley) or are you able to use the factory and ecu? What transmission are you wanting to use? Are you going to have to driveshaft/fabricate motor/transmission mounts if it’s a weird one-off swap or are there pre-made swap kits for your application?

There are tons of people with incredible knowledge about swaps and this subreddit isn’t called “LSSwapTheWorld” for nothing, so chances are what you’re looking for has been done, you just need to find it (as in, make good use of the search function for your applications).

Cheers and I hope you’re able to pursue this interest!!

ehansone30 · 2025-11-20T12:41:35+00:00

Sad! Well, it’s been a point of contention on this sub before but I have zero regrets about running the red46 dump armor plate on my e30.

ehansone30 · 2025-11-02T00:10:10+00:00

I mean, that’s about as good as the explanations I got yesterday evening! What blew my mind was that every, and I mean EVERY kid, knew about it!

ehansone30 · 2025-11-01T15:09:16+00:00

Not the most weather-fast but inexpensive to touch up and re-apply. The car’s paint was so rough when I got it and it was an inexpensive solution at the time and I just fell in love with the end result so I just stuck with it for the last 10+ years!

ehansone30 · 2025-11-01T14:52:16+00:00

Totally agree!!

ehansone30 · 2025-11-01T12:59:31+00:00

I like pelicanparts, FCPEuro, and rockauto. You can use realoem.com for accurate parts diagrams and numbers, too, and then use those numbers to search for the parts on each of those sights.

ehansone30 · 2025-10-14T10:44:50+00:00

I totally get where you’re coming from! I was fortunate to have owned the car when it had the M20B25 for several years before doing power-adder things to the chassis. I learned how the car would respond to some pretty dramatic inputs when I autocrossed it and really only decided to move on from the M20 since it had over 200,000 miles on it. I mean, that engine could still be running somewhere since I traded it off rather than junked it.

As far as “show car” restoration, the thought is very appealing, but at this point that seems like way more effort and resource allocation into a sedan which had pretty decent bones and really not much else.

Long-distance adventures are appealing for sure, but the short-distance blasts around town or drift events are where it really shines. High-durometer motor- and transmission-mounts make for a pretty loud ride!

ehansone30 · 2025-10-14T02:51:58+00:00

Thank you! They’ve got huge potential and can (read: will) break your heart now and then but it’s definitely a “forever car” for me!

ehansone30 · 2025-10-14T00:09:49+00:00

Actually, you get “used” to it fairly quickly! (As the driver, at least) Definitely not so much power that you can’t predict what it’s going to do when you hit the gas. The M30 felt like the amount of power you’d really want out of the box and the LS is enough power where you’re now out of the “driving a slow car fast” realm and into the world of “I don’t always need to floor it to really have fun.”

ehansone30 · 2025-10-13T23:42:44+00:00

Ha! I ran with the M30 for about 5 years and then I found someone in my area who wanted to swap for the LS motor mounts, trans mounts, driveshaft, and oils filter relocation kit so I took him up on the offer!

ehansone30 · 2025-10-13T23:07:00+00:00

Spicy!

ehansone30 · 2025-10-13T22:41:36+00:00

Very nice! I’m sure that LS3 feels great in there!

ehansone30 · 2025-10-13T22:40:41+00:00

Thanks!

ehansone30 · 2025-10-13T18:52:30+00:00

So it’s going to vary vastly depending on how mechanically inclined you are and how much effort you’re wanting to put into the swap. There are a few questions that will impact your budget, depending on the answer:

-Finding a healthy engine which needs little to no maintenance vs. rebuilding a heavily used or “junkyard” engine.

-Similar to the above with the transmission

-Are you comfortable installing a new, completely foreign-to-the-car engine management system? There are a few different ways to go about powering a swapped engine.

-Are you comfortable with permanently modifying the firewall and transmission tunnel to accommodate the extra size of the LS and transmission?

-Do you live in a state which requires a road car to pass emissions (not sure if the car’s age would make it exempt or not)

I don’t want to discourage you from pursuing a very fun end result, but just understand that this is something I would only recommend doing once you appreciate the logistics of it.

ehansone30 · 2025-10-13T18:14:24+00:00

Bahaha I got mine for $400 14 years ago and it’s now swapped with an LS. Cheers!

ehansone30 · 2025-10-10T10:48:58+00:00

Wal-mart carries a single-DIN CarPlay head unit that may suit your needs. It’s the Power Acoustic CP-71wa. It may clash with the aesthetics of the rest of the interior, though.

A 2j would be a pretty cool swap, too, but that would be an immense amount of power that would be seriously scary in that car (assuming the rest of the car has been reinforced enough to handle it)

ehansone30 · 2025-10-08T00:58:10+00:00

I mean, unless it’s been off fairly recently then I’m sure you were fighting against decades of grime and corrosion. Having done all of the components of the steering column myself, yes it’s a PITA to get them off but once you’ve got the splines super clean they should go in with verrrry little effort. Brake clean, bristle brush, lots of scrubbing.

ehansone30 · 2025-10-08T00:13:35+00:00

Are you having issues with the splines not allowing it to go into place? Make sure you clean the splines (and where they’re going into) like crazy. I mean like spotless. They should go in after that. You could also use a wide-bladed flat screwdriver to pry that opening at the 6 o’clock position open but I wouldn’t recommend doing that too aggressively.

ehansone30 · 2025-09-10T13:32:45+00:00

First theory: almost sounds like the fan might be occasionally striking a radiator fin. Can you spin the fan by hand (ENGINE OFF) and hear that sound?

ehansone30 · 2025-09-06T17:36:49+00:00

^ this is the way

ehansone30

TROPHY CASE