LS2 swap

Hello fellow Silverado owners. Being the speed loving young man that I am, I've decided that I would like to do a motor swap, and since I've always loved Corvettes, what better motor than an LS2? (Sure I'd rather have a '71 LS6 or a new LS7, but I already know that I can't afford that, lol). So, now to my actual question. I'm still relatively new to the actual workings of the motor, and don't really know similarities and differences among them, so how painful is it gonna be to swap a 4.8 for the LS2? I know slowprocess has swap a 4.8 for a 6.0, but I'm pretty sure he had a much better plan than flying by the seat of his pants. So what all is gonna have to change, and how should I go about it? Thank you all very much for any help.

Hello fellow Silverado owners. Being the speed loving young man that I am, I've decided that I would like to do a motor swap, and since I've always loved Corvettes, what better motor than an LS2? (Sure I'd rather have a '71 LS6 or a new LS7, but I already know that I can't afford that, lol). So, now to my actual question. I'm still relatively new to the actual workings of the motor, and don't really know similarities and differences among them, so how painful is it gonna be to swap a 4.8 for the LS2? I know slowprocess has swap a 4.8 for a 6.0, but I'm pretty sure he had a much better plan than flying by the seat of his pants. So what all is gonna have to change, and how should I go about it? Thank you all very much for any help.

The ls2 6.0L is a fairly uncharted territory for most of the truck guys so far, being that the truck 6.0L is such a more simple swap. With a cam/heads upgrade, you can easily outdo the performance of a stock ls2. Physically, the ls2 should swap right over into the truck with minimum accessory drive modifications, since it basically shares the same dimensions. The difficult part of the swapover will mainly be because of the different sensor and software usage in the ls2. The knock sensors are moved to the side of the engine, and the cam position sensor to be located up under the front cover. Both of these pose problems with your stock wiring and software.

Let's also kinda look at price. If you decide to go with the ls2, finding a good used one or brand new crate motor is going to cost a pretty penny. You'll most likely have to find one with the pcm and wiring harness. Let's say a good used one is found for.....$7700(about the lowest I found on ebay). Ok....$7700 for a nice used ls2 with the accessories and pcm. Should probably be good for low 14s/high 13s stock.

Now, I bought my 02 LQ4 6.0L with 5,000 miles for $950. I bought a brand new 224 cam for $349. I had my headwork done for $450. I also had to purchase the 918 springs for around $150.

Total cost of motor setup......$1899

Money left over stock ls2.....$5801

Now, with the addition to either engine, you are going to need tranny a tranny upgrade...A really good built 4l60e will run you somewhere around $1800. A nice 3000 stall converter...we'll say $450. tranny cooler $50

Total cost of tranny upgrade.....$2300

Money left over the stock ls2....$3501

Bolt ons.....Now its time to do the bolt ons...you can built a custom intake tube/air filter/shield for $80( I just redid mine for around that). A good set of pacesetter headers....$400....An eaton rear end....say $400...set of 3.73 gears(low mileage)$100... ls1 electric fans....$70....dual mufflers(I'll use magnaflows)...$120....stock 8.1L injectors-$100

Total cost of bolt ons/rear end....$1270

Total left over stock ls2....$2231

Power adder....for that extra KICK(if you want it, because you now have the injectors to support it)....Nitrous $350 for a good used kit

Money left from ls2....$1881

Custom tune to make everything click.....Nelson.....Depends on year model of pcm, but lets say $350 Add his electric fan controller for ease of installation $100

Money left....$1431

Now, you will need some of this money to buy various small parts(gaskets, fluids, etc., plus this should be enough money to pay someone to either help you out with the larger projects(tranny/motor pull and swap) and maybe the posi swap...


Now, that is basically my setup in a nutshell. Prices vary(of course) depending on where you get them and if you buy some things used.

The comparison is a stock ls2 engine/pcm to a nice cam/heads lq4 6.0L with boltons, built tranny, stall, posi, nitrous, and custom tuned.

The setup mentioned above is good for 11 second passes in a regular cab short bed(trust me), and is also good for driving your truck everyday, plus you will run into no unknown problems when swapping the 4.8L to the lq4 6.0L. You will have to buy no new accessories, and everything will simply unplug out of the 4.8L and plug back up to the 6.0L. Also, if you ever want to think bigger on the ls2, just remember that the ls2 is an aluminum block over the lq4 iron block. You won't be doing a ton of boring on the aluminum block and keep it for very long. The lq4 will give you at least 2 good rebuilds.


Don't get me wrong.....I'm not trying to pull you away from doing the swap!!!! I'm simply putting into perspective on why most people choose the lq4 6.0L swap over the newer ls2 swap. You could have a nice stock motor setup or a fast slightly built full drivetrain setup.

Note.....all prices vary....this is just my real world experience. Perhaps some of you guys find cheaper/more expensive, and on top of that, my memory on some prices can be slightly off. Just a simply comparison.

Hope this helps out somewhat.

well, first off, i wanna thank ya for takin the time to write out such a long response. to be honest i'd never considered usin the truck 6.0, i guess i was too drawn to the corvette name, lol. so now that you've given me a very good strategy as to how to go about this, i was wonderin if this is somethin where i could get all the parts, and then have it done in about a week? this is my only vehicle, and also my pride and joy, and cant really afford to be with out it for a long time, like say a month. again thank you for all the help.

P.M sent to ya. :)

just got the pm. again thank you for all the help

P.M sent to ya. :)

Aww, I wanted to see, too:disappoin

Aww, I wanted to see, too:disappoin

I just directed him over to www.performancetruck.net for detailed information on performance modding. I'm not sure if the mods here will frown on that, but I feel that its the site that can lead him more toward the "performance" aspect over the general everyday questions. There isn't a great deal of info here on cam swaps, motor swaps, nitrous details, etc., so maybe the mods won't have a problem with mentioning the performance site. This site is by far more useful for everyday fixes/glitches, but talking cam specs/durations and detailed tuning questions is usually alittle harder to come by here.

how hard wuld it b to do a 6.0 swap if i have a 5.7 in now??
the 5.7 i have just isnt putting out like i want it to and it has too many miles on it