Engine Mounts & Intake Install Instructions

Companion Video

The engine mounts are installed with the intake off and the engine attached to a hoist for best mobility and adjustability.

Loosen the two transmission mount nuts.

The engine mounts have a left and a right. The long one goes on the right side of the vehicle (USA passenger side).

Install the engine side brackets onto the engine. Hand thread only, do not tighten yet. Some bolts may be easier to install from the top looking down.

Install the U bracket into the frame rail tab. Raise the engine further if needed to clear. Add the nut (keep it loose) so the bracket doesn't fall out.

Next, install the long bushing bolt. With a washer on either side of the U bracket.

Tip: On the driver side, you might have trouble installing the bushing bolt because the exhaust manifold is in the way. Just loosen the bolts to the engine, and you will have wiggle room to get the bolt in.

Now, fully tighten all 8 bolts that go into the engine block.

Before lowering the engine, make sure there is a gap between the engine mount and the steering rack and they are not rubbing. If you forget to do this, you can put the U-bracket away from the steering rack with a pry bar later on.

Tip: you could flip this U-bracket 180 degrees so the notch is facing the engine instead. That way the edge of the bracket will be resting against the weld on the frame rail tab, and there is no chance of it getting too close to the steering rack.

Now, with all nuts and bolts in place, lower the engine.

Time to torque everything:

Bracket to engine block: 35 ft-lb
Bushing bolt nut: 75 ft-lb
U bracket nut: 75 ft-lb
Re-tighten the transmission mount nuts to 54 lb-ft

Done! you can remove the engine hoist.

Intake Fitment

If you are using the truck intake (which we highly recommend) you will notice that it does not fit under the cowl. We can fix that by forming the metal upwards to make it fit.

The engine mounts place the engine rather high up. This accomplishes several good things:

Avoids the differential from hitting the oil pan even when fully compressed. No lift kit of bump stop extensions needed (as long as you use the recommended oil pan).
The transmission is in the same position as it was stock, thus preserving stock driveline angles.

The only downside is we have to deal with the cowl fitment.

You could use a lower profile LS1 or LS6 intake but you are going down a rabbithole:

It will cost ~$500 because you also need different injectors and fuel rail.
The throttle body is lower and it will not work with the truck water pump.
You will need a different water pump or modify the truck one.
If you use a different water pump, you will have compatibility issues with the accessory brackets.
You will need to bring your engine to a tuner to get tuned because you not longer have a stock truck engine.
If you have strict emissions testing in your area (e.g. California) using the wrong intake could fail inspection.
You will need a custom bracket to mount your throttle cables.

Modifying the cowl to fit the truck intake

Step1: Remove the plastic cowl cover. So you do not risk breaking it. You will need to remove the wipers arms, remove the plasticclips holding the cowl (they use a philips screw head), remove the center 10mm bolt holding the cowl, and remove the cowl.

If your cowl is broken, we have had good luck with this replacement.

Step 2: Use some pliers to bend the middle of the flange forward to a 45-degree angle (or even a little further). This will help us to bend the cowl up easier, and it will help the gasket not to press to hard against the hood.

Now, we will use the factory bottle jack to for the metal upwards. Use a piece of wood or something on the base of the jack. Avoid damaging the sensors at the rear of the engine. Remove them if that make you feel more comfortable.

Stuff some rags or a piece of rubber between the jack and the cowl to soften the contact point.

Pump the jack to put the metal up. Keep in mind the metal will "spring back" so you will need to go a little further than you think so it springs back into the desired position.

Move the jack around a little to massage the metal in different places.

Take your jack out and place the intake to test the fit and see if you need to need to bend the metal more. We got 1/4" of clearance above the intake.

Reinstall the hood, and the weatherseal that goes on the metal cowl flage. We are going to test if the hood shuts properly and we get a good seal.

If you bent the flange forward, the seal should not sit higher that it did before and it should sit in a smooth line all the way accross.

With the intake off, close the hood and look at the seal from behind the hood. You can also feel it with your hand. If the seal is putting too much pressure on the hood, bend the flange forward some more.

You can also flip the gasket around so that the bulb is facing down and putting less pressure on the hood.

Now put the intake back into place. and close your hood again (gently!). You will see that it does not shut properly.

For fix that, you will need to shave some of the studs, tabs, and other features that are high points on the intake manifold. You hood should shut now.

If your MAP sensor is top mounted, you will have to rotate it sideways as shown so that the connector will clear.

Reinstall your plastic cowl. You may have shave the plastic a little bit to accommodate the metal cowl that we bent up.

Page updated

Report abuse