DOD kit preferences/experience?

[bobsburban]

My 2011 'Burb is developing an occasional loud lifter tick which has me contemplating a DOD delete kit or replacing the entire engine with a non-DOD block from Jasper. I don't have the capability to do either job, so I'll be ponying up for the labor with my mechanic and have a couple of questions.

1) With regard to the DOD delete kits, I've noticed a lot of folks lean towards the Texas Performance kit and I'm curious about your experience compared to the Lingenfelter or Competition Cams kits. I see that TP allows a wide variety of components to be selected so it's a pretty custom solution whereas the Comp Cams and Lingenfelter kits are what they are. Just wondering about the advantages vs. the cost of the TP custom kits. And,obviously, the quality/reliability.

2) Camshafts for towing (aka more torque) - any preferences here? I need street-ability but wouldn't mind a bit more oomph when pulling about 4500 lbs.

3) For those of you who just replaced the engine - how has that experience been? If I do that, I'll go with Jasper through my shop for the three-year warranty and the fact that they make a non-DOD 5.3. I know it's a more expensive option but would the labor cost of swapping be less than doing the delete and might offset some of the expense of the long block? Assuming, of course, the rest of my current engine doesn't need attention which would add to the cost of the DOD delete work...

I think I've pretty much decided to keep this one; even if I replace the engine, rebuild the transmission, swap in 3.73s and put a new locker in the rear, it would be less than half of what I'd spend even on a 2500 Suburban from Chicago Motors. New is completely out of the question and we've decided to keep our current trailer so 4500-ish lbs is what we'll be pulling on trips.

Many thanks in advance for your collective wisdom,

Bob

 

[Geotrash]

I have a little different situation in that I have an XL Denali with the 6.2, but I pull a 7000 lb camper with it often. I did a cam swap with a 3-bolt (non-VVT) cam from Cam Motion and did the work myself, as documented here: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/2012-yukon-xl-denali-6-2l-cam-swap-thread.121671/page-30

I'm extremely happy with this setup. It's reliable, quiet, and generates all the power I need.

All of that said, if I were in your shoes and had an original 5.3 that's 12 years old (how many miles on yours?), and paying someone else to do the work, I would be leaning toward a reman engine without DoD, but with a performance cam that retains the VVT. I might even consider a Gen IV 6.0 with a performance cam instead for towing. As you can imagine, you have a million options, and the more you peel the onion, the easier it will be to start spending a lot of money and going way beyond your original intentions.

Some general considerations and recommendations:
- When you get rid of the DoD, you will also need a custom tune to get rid of the DoD in the ECM and tune the ignition and fuel tables for your specific cam choice. It's a good time to have the tuner also tune your transmission to limit TC lockup to gears 4,5,6 and firm up the shifts so there is less clutch slippage with gear changes. It will prolong the life of your transmission.
- Choose a cam that doesn't require upgraded valve springs unless you're planning to add a supercharger. If you think you may ever want to add a supercharger, now is the time. Choose your cam accordingly.
- If you decide to upgrade your current engine, make sure you you have them put in a new oil pump while they're in there and refresh most of the valvetrain components - especially the valve springs, stem seals, timing chain, tensioner, as well as the rear main seal, motor mounts, etc.
- I also recommend pulling the transmission and having the shop install a new/reman billet torque converter (I went with a CVC BU60-FHD) with a beefed-up lockup clutch. The 6L80E is notorious for TC failures that take out the transmission when they go, and the DoD engage/disengage is a big contributor to their failure.
- Get a cam that's specifically engineered for the the engine you're going with, whether it's your current one or another 5.3, 6.0, etc. Most of them are marketed as "compatible" with the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0, and 6.2, but compatible is not the same as optimized. I learned this lesson first-hand.
- As long as you're not going for crazy lift (above .600), I really like the Brian Tooley beehive valve springs, and either Chevrolet Performance LS7 or Morel 7717 drop-in lifters.
- Lots of people like the kits from Texas Speed or Brian Tooley, but when I looked at them they either didn't have all of the parts I wanted to replace, some of their components weren't what I wanted, or their cams would give more idle chop than I wanted, so I rolled my own. I liked the Cam Motion Stage 2 high-lift truck cam because I could use the BTR beehive springs I had on hand, and it would produce a lot more power than stock, but with stock idle quality.

Good luck with your quest.

 

[bobsburban]

I have a little different situation in that I have an XL Denali with the 6.2, but I pull a 7000 lb camper with it often. I did a cam swap with a 3-bolt (non-VVT) cam from Cam Motion and did the work myself, as documented here: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/2012-yukon-xl-denali-6-2l-cam-swap-thread.121671/page-30

I'm extremely happy with this setup. It's reliable, quiet, and generates all the power I need...

I read through that thread while doing my research. It as an excellent writeup. Looks like you've had good results from your choices.