Time To Rebuild

[DN08Tahoe]

So, Ive got 348,000 miles on my 08 Tahoe LT. I am going to start the engine rebuild in about 2 weeks. Any suggestions on where to get the best deal on the rebuild kit? Thank you for the suggestions.

 

[avalonandl]

I would find a 6.0 from 08 with low miles.

 

[swathdiver]

So, Ive got 348,000 miles on my 08 Tahoe LT. I am going to start the engine rebuild in about 2 weeks. Any suggestions on where to get the best deal on the rebuild kit? Thank you for the suggestions.

How long have you had it Danny? If a long time, did you keep a record of when certain repairs were done? 384K is quite impressive!

 

[thompsoj22]

At 348k that is an amazing service life! In regard to a "rebuild kit". IMO, your best bet is summit as it is a one stop shop for all of the internals. one of the highest priorities is who wll do the machining? Boring, honing, line boring,crankshaft work,cam bearing install,all the head work, actually "renewing" the block/heads. assembly is the fun part, the machinist determines the outcome. As stated above the 6.0 would be a fantastic upgrade and simply the cost of a longblock from a salvage yard and rebuild the 6.0 while still driving your vehicle.

 

[JT 07LTZ]

At 348k that is an amazing service life! In regard to a "rebuild kit". IMO, your best bet is summit as it is a one stop shop for all of the internals. one of the highest priorities is who wll do the machining? Boring, honing, line boring,crankshaft work,cam bearing install,all the head work, actually "renewing" the block/heads. assembly is the fun part, the machinist determines the outcome. As stated above the 6.0 would be a fantastic upgrade and simply the cost of a longblock from a salvage yard and rebuild the 6.0 while still driving your vehicle.

What would it take to swap a 6.0 in? Just tuning? Do all the accessories bolt up? I know it needs to be the same year(s) for the ecu to work.

 

[DN08Tahoe]

How long have you had it Danny? If a long time, did you keep a record of when certain repairs were done? 384K is quite impressive!

I have owned this Tahoe for 6 years, was originally a fleet vehicle from the south east US. It has been maintained quite well, had every tune up and replacement as its listed in the owners manual. It has been very good to me, and is still in excellent shape.

 

[DN08Tahoe]

At 348k that is an amazing service life! In regard to a "rebuild kit". IMO, your best bet is summit as it is a one stop shop for all of the internals. one of the highest priorities is who wll do the machining? Boring, honing, line boring,crankshaft work,cam bearing install,all the head work, actually "renewing" the block/heads. assembly is the fun part, the machinist determines the outcome. As stated above the 6.0 would be a fantastic upgrade and simply the cost of a longblock from a salvage yard and rebuild the 6.0 while still driving your vehicle.

There is an auto machine shop here in Kansas City that will do all of the machining work to the block. They are highly recommended and have outstanding reviews. Have not seen or heard of 1 complaint on them.
I would rather not keep driving with all of the "milkshake" like substance in the engine. Even though it is still running good, I'd rather not chance it breaking down on me. I have an extra car to drive back and forth to work while I'm rebuilding the current engine. As far as the 6.0 upgrade, I think Ill stick with the 5.3, that thing is a tank!!!! LOL.

 

[DN08Tahoe]

What would it take to swap a 6.0 in? Just tuning? Do all the accessories bolt up? I know it needs to be the same year(s) for the ecu to work.

That is a VERY good question. Does anyone have the answer to this?

 

[OR VietVet]

This might help with some questions you have.

 

[Foggy]

There is an auto machine shop here in Kansas City that will do all of the machining work to the block. They are highly recommended and have outstanding reviews. Have not seen or heard of 1 complaint on them.
I would rather not keep driving with all of the "milkshake" like substance in the engine. Even though it is still running good, I'd rather not chance it breaking down on me. I have an extra car to drive back and forth to work while I'm rebuilding the current engine. As far as the 6.0 upgrade, I think Ill stick with the 5.3, that thing is a tank!!!! LOL.

If you dont mind sharing.. Which machine shop in KC area are
you going to use.. I can always use a good one. And they are hard
to find

 

[OR VietVet]

I would like to know too. I still have repair and machine shop contacts in KC. I lived there for almost 40 years. Might be some place I am aware of.

 

[JeffL]

How long have you had it Danny? If a long time, did you keep a record of when certain repairs were done? 384K is quite impressive!

So, Ive got 348,000 miles on my 08 Tahoe LT. I am going to start the engine rebuild in about 2 weeks. Any suggestions on where to get the best deal on the rebuild kit? Thank you for the suggestions.

Ive got 352,000 on my 02, curious if yours is burning oil or failing smog? Mine still passes smog here in Calif. And im not burning oil. But compared to my girlfriends 6.0 yukon it feels like a prius. So I might go ahead and do it. Any thoughts out there.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Yes the 6.0 from a similar year truck should bolt up directly to the accessories and just require tuning. If you end up doing a 6.0 or just rebuilding the 5.3 I would put a small low lift cam and maybe mill the heads or add flat top pistons to bump compression up a tad. The bump in compression will possibly net a little better mpg and a snappier throttle response.

 

[OR VietVet]

The 2 6.0 options, LQ4 and LQ9 are all the rage when doing this swap. LQ9 having the 345 HP and aluminum heads as opposed to the iron heads and less horsepower for the LQ4. The more I read this thread the more I dig in to the info about it. Very interesting indeed.

 

[Dantheman1540]

The 2 6.0 options, LQ4 and LQ9 are all the rage when doing this swap. LQ9 having the 345 HP and aluminum heads as opposed to the iron heads and less horsepower for the LQ4. The more I read this thread the more I dig in to the info about it. Very interesting indeed.

Both the LQ9 and LQ4 have aluminum heads. The difference in power is that the LQ9 has flat top pistons which raises the compression ratio and pumps the power up that little bit. Both are great options over a 5.3 if you want more power and torque.

348,000 miles is awesome! Is it a 4l60 still?

 

[OR VietVet]

I thought I saw that the older version of the LQ4 had iron heads?

Never mind. I went back to where I thought I got the correct info and found that my old eyes blended info from other specs while I was reading. I sit corrected. Thanks, Dan.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Well technically we are both right 1999-2000 LQ4 has iron heads along with some other differences like crank length in the rear.

But since the OP is looking for a 2008 engine hes better off with a LY6 6.0 which is part of the Gen IV family so everything is complete plug and play.

 

[OR VietVet]

I just went and looked again and saw that I had read that the 99-00 was iron heads and then 2001 went to aluminum. I get that the OP is looking for the newer version since his rig is the 2008 but I was really confused for a while there and just thought it was an age thing. I am 67. I do love doing the research though. Next time I will specify the years I am talking about.

I am still interested in this thread though and hope he does the swap so I can hear all about it.

 

[Dantheman1540]

I just went and looked again and saw that I had read that the 99-00 was iron heads and then 2001 went to aluminum. I get that the OP is looking for the newer version since his rig is the 2008 but I was really confused for a while there and just thought it was an age thing. I am 67. I do love doing the research though. Next time I will specify the years I am talking about.

I am still interested in this thread though and hope he does the swap so I can hear all about it.

We all get mixed up from time to time. I'd love to see the 5.3 torn down to see what was worn the most.

 

[OR VietVet]

We all get mixed up from time to time. I'd love to see the 5.3 torn down to see what was worn the most.

Sounds like me. If I knew I was swapping an engine and I was not selling my old one, I would tear it down to inspect because I am just nosey as hell. Plus it helps in the future for info when I may run across other problems on mine or other people's rigs. I ran shops for years and when a tech came up after diagnosing a customer's rig and said "here is the problem", my next thought and question was always, "what caused the problem or why is it bad". I hear stories here at this forum, mostly about a trans problem, where the rig is taken in for diagnosis and the tech says, "needs a new trans" and the member here doesn't ask, "WHY"?