6.0 or 5.3

[David Smith]

Good Morning All,

My 01 Tahoe 4x4 is getting up there in miles (216k) and I am thinking about going ahead and starting to get another engine lined up. I know these trucks will go much further than that, but I would rather have an engine on hand ready to go when mine does crap out.

So I have a friend that works at a junkyard and I can get my hands on either a 6.0 from a 2500 or another 5.3 to drop in. I plan on replacing all seals and gaskets on the motor prior to install, and MAYBE a small cam upgrade...maybe...

My question is which one would be better. I rarely pull anything or do not go off road. It is just my daily driver.

Is the extra work worth the bigger motor? What all is needed? Will my current transmission work with the 6.0?

 

[Tonyrodz]

I'd go with the 6.0. I had the 4.8 in my 03 and did the 6.0 swap. I also did a cam with long tubes. Externally these motors are exactly the same. Everything is plug and play. I don't know if your stock trsns will hold up to the new motor, whatever you pick. Depending how heavy your foot is, it might not last long. I blew mine within a few months. Check out my build page for more details. Also, whatever you decide, make sure you get it tuned by someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[David Smith]

I'd go with the 6.0. I had the 4.8 in my 03 and did the 6.0 swap. I also did a cam with long tubes. Externally these motors are exactly the same. Everything is plug and play. I don't know if your stock trsns will hold up to the new motor, whatever you pick. Depending how heavy your foot is, it might not last long. I blew mine within a few months. Check out my build page for more details. Also, whatever you decide, make sure you get it tuned by someone who knows what they're doing.

Yeah, I was not sure about the transmission. The previous owner claims it was rebuilt not too long ago, but you never really know. I plan on getting a Black Bear tune when I do the swap. I wonder if the tuner would help with the transmission, or if it just can't handle the extra power...

 

[#1taho]

Mine is holding up and I took all the torque management off. How do you drive ? That will mostly determine how long it will last.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Mine is holding up and I took all the torque management off. How do you drive ? That will mostly determine how long it will last.

Personally--if my gf drove mine all the time, the trans would still be alive! Unlike me

 

[#1taho]

Very true.

Any thoughts on 4L80 swap ???

 

[David Smith]

Mine is holding up and I took all the torque management off. How do you drive ? That will mostly determine how long it will last.

I'd like to think that I am not too hard of a driver lol. But if it is going to come down to that, I might as well get a tranny to go with it. I would rather not have to baby it all the time.

 

[95escahoe]

6.0 ftw you won't regret it


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[Tonyrodz]

Good Morning All,

My 01 Tahoe 4x4 is getting up there in miles (216k) and I am thinking about going ahead and starting to get another engine lined up. I know these trucks will go much further than that, but I would rather have an engine on hand ready to go when mine does crap out.

So I have a friend that works at a junkyard and I can get my hands on either a 6.0 from a 2500 or another 5.3 to drop in. I plan on replacing all seals and gaskets on the motor prior to install, and MAYBE a small cam upgrade...maybe...

My question is which one would be better. I rarely pull anything or do not go off road. It is just my daily driver.

Is the extra work worth the bigger motor? What all is needed? Will my current transmission work with the 6.0?

I just wanted to add--there was nothing wrong with my 4.8. It was running great. It was approaching almost 280,000 miles, but I wanted a 6.0. You still have a lot of life left in your current setup. As you know, with proper maintenance, these motors run a very long time. Hell, even when they're neglected they run ALMOST forever.

 

[iamdub]

Nothing wrong with a 5.3 for your purposes. But, if you want more power just in case for work or fun and don't mind sacrificing an MPG or two, a GenIII 6.0 would be a direct swap. It would even run with the 5.3 tune well enough to drive to a tuner if needed.

 

[David Smith]

Nothing wrong with a 5.3 for your purposes. But, if you want more power just in case for work or fun and don't mind sacrificing an MPG or two, a GenIII 6.0 would be a direct swap. It would even run with the 5.3 tune well enough to drive to a tuner if needed.

How would it do with the stock tranny that I have for daily driving? Only time I tow would be a small trailer or a boat. Not too often. I already only get 11MPG anyways.

 

[#1taho]

It will hold up fine. Burning the tires and shit like that will kill it. As a daily you will be fine. I gained 2.5 mpg when I went to the 6.0.LQ9
And the swap is an in and out deal. Nothing extra needed. I did mine a a daily family mover. It was shit on the interstate and sucked the gas back. Did the swap and all my problems went away. I think I am almost a year since I did the swap. Greatest improvement to date

 

[#1taho]

My 5.3 had only 150,000 miles. Well maintained and always had synthetic oil. Still was a dog !

 

[David Smith]

It will hold up fine. Burning the tires and shit like that will kill it. As a daily you will be fine. I gained 2.5 mpg when I went to the 6.0.LQ9
And the swap is an in and out deal. Nothing extra needed. I did mine a a daily family mover. It was shit on the interstate and sucked the gas back. Did the swap and all my problems went away. I think I am almost a year since I did the swap. Greatest improvement to date

That is good to hear. I figured since I never really tow anything that my current tranny would be fine. I guess I will go ahead and try to ****** up a 6.0 and start replacing seals and stuff.

Thanks for y'alls help!

 

[#1taho]

Lq4 had a bit less compression than the LQ9. Lq4 is more available the the LQ9. Probability cheeper too.

 

[95escahoe]

Lq4 had a bit less compression than the LQ9. Lq4 is more available the the LQ9. Probability cheeper too.

X2 on that and the LQ9 needs 91+ due to that


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[Tonyrodz]

Lq4 had a bit less compression than the LQ9. Lq4 is more available the the LQ9. Probability cheeper too.

I paid $850 for my LQ4. It had a few issues, but nothing major. Mostly complete with harness. Came from an 05 Silverado and only had 105,000 on it.

It was squeaky clean and totally worth it.

 

[iamdub]

How would it do with the stock tranny that I have for daily driving? Only time I tow would be a small trailer or a boat. Not too often. I already only get 11MPG anyways.

That all depends on your control of your right foot. The trans won't know what's in front of it- 5.3, 6.0, 7.0... It only feels how much power/torque is put on it. You could put a 1,000 HP big block to it and it'll live just as long as it would with a 4.8 hitting on 6 cylinders as long as you don't apply any more than about 1/4 to 1/3 of that 1,000 HP.

That being said, there's no point in swapping in a more powerful motor if you're not gonna use it. The trucks that got the 6.0 got heavier-duty transmissions so that they'd have the same general life expectancy of the weaker motors with the weaker transmissions.

Decide what you ultimately want and will have for a motor and buy a trans or build up your trans accordingly.

If the current trans is fine and you end up with a stronger motor, just know what you have and drive it accordingly. It may live plenty long enough for you or it my go all Tonyrodz and crumble under pressure.

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't let the trans hold me back from a 6.0 swap. Like what has been said, drive it accordingly (minimal asshattery on the street, no full-throttling when pulling heavy loads, etc.) You're gonna burn the tires at least once. This doesn't put nearly as much strain on the trans as hard towing does because the power is transmitted through (and out) of the tires.

 

[Tonyrodz]

That all depends on your control of your right foot. The trans won't know what's in front of it- 5.3, 6.0, 7.0... It only feels how much power/torque is put on it. You could put a 1,000 HP big block to it and it'll live just as long as it would with a 4.8 hitting on 6 cylinders as long as you don't apply any more than about 1/4 to 1/3 of that 1,000 HP.

That being said, there's no point in swapping in a more powerful motor if you're not gonna use it. The trucks that got the 6.0 got heavier-duty transmissions so that they'd have the same general life expectancy of the weaker motors with the weaker transmissions.

Decide what you ultimately want and will have for a motor and buy a trans or build up your trans accordingly.

If the current trans is fine and you end up with a stronger motor, just know what you have and drive it accordingly. It may live plenty long enough for you or it my go all Tonyrodz and crumble under pressure.

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't let the trans hold me back from a 6.0 swap. Like what has been said, drive it accordingly (minimal asshattery on the street, no full-throttling when pulling heavy loads, etc.) You're gonna burn the tires at least once. This doesn't put nearly as much strain on the trans as hard towing does because the power is transmitted through (and out) of the tires.

That's right! Learn from my heavy foot. But know this.... It was sooooo much fun!!

 

[davidl13]

Magnus on supercharge either one or the 6.2.. you will love it