first time engine swap

so as it stands i have a 6.0l to dump in my 2000 silverado 1500. so out comes the 4.3l and in goes the 6 right? ok, so i know there is more to it then that but i was wondering if there were a few "tricks of the trade" that i might have missed. i know i'll ahve to get a new fan shrowd, do something about where my fuel lines go (i'm thinking that the tubing is 3/8th and i'll just "tie in" my own ss tbg and re-route my fuel lines), and my intake will have to change. the trany should be all right(i think) , it's a 4l60e(i think) and the engine mounts should be the same(if not i can fabricate them). the new motor comes with the pcm and the wiring harness. i've done my research on basic engine swaps and whatnot and have a shop that will let me tear into it (help will be right there). the only thing is none of us have really done a v-6 to a v-8 swap before and i was just wondering if there were any crutial steps to pay close mind to. i hope i've done enough research and everything goes well. if so i'll have a 6.0l LQ9 in a short box reg. cab. should be fun.

thanx
lee

if your going to do that you will need better brakes to stop that thing since the originals where made for less waight and horsepower if you have a 4l60e
you might want to change your torqe coverter and put a shift kit so it could
handel the torq of the engine. for torqe coverter get a hevy duty high stall
2000 - 2400 so you wont feel that kick of the transmission
you will nead new coil spring on the front and new shock since your going
to put more waight on them. i think all 4l60 came with a covette servo
if yours dont have it get it it gose for about 30 to 35 $$ on ebay it firm up
youre gears i put one of those on mine and it's better then before

if your going to do that you will need better brakes to stop that thing since the originals where made for less waight and horsepower if you have a 4l60e
you might want to change your torqe coverter and put a shift kit so it could
handel the torq of the engine. for torqe coverter get a hevy duty high stall
2000 - 2400 so you wont feel that kick of the transmission
you will nead new coil spring on the front and new shock since your going
to put more waight on them. i think all 4l60 came with a covette servo
if yours dont have it get it it gose for about 30 to 35 $$ on ebay it firm up
youre gears i put one of those on mine and it's better then before
Same brakes that come on the 4.3 are on the 4.8 and 5.3. The 6.0 wouldn't add that much more weight.

so as it stands i have a 6.0l to dump in my 2000 silverado 1500. so out comes the 4.3l and in goes the 6 right? ok, so i know there is more to it then that but i was wondering if there were a few "tricks of the trade" that i might have missed. i know i'll ahve to get a new fan shrowd, do something about where my fuel lines go (i'm thinking that the tubing is 3/8th and i'll just "tie in" my own ss tbg and re-route my fuel lines), and my intake will have to change. the trany should be all right(i think) , it's a 4l60e(i think) and the engine mounts should be the same(if not i can fabricate them). the new motor comes with the pcm and the wiring harness. i've done my research on basic engine swaps and whatnot and have a shop that will let me tear into it (help will be right there). the only thing is none of us have really done a v-6 to a v-8 swap before and i was just wondering if there were any crutial steps to pay close mind to. i hope i've done enough research and everything goes well. if so i'll have a 6.0l LQ9 in a short box reg. cab. should be fun.

thanx
lee



hope it works for you man I wish i could swap:frown:

I think definitely you will have a sagging front end from the extra weight. Poor guy! How much did the6.0 cost? Is it a GM crate? Post lots of pics!!

i am pretty sure shocks will be a problem need to beef them up but brakes should most likely be fine.

well the 6.0l cost me 1100 bucks... and as for the shocks i have put rancho rsx 9000 the whole way around... which really sucks cause i only put them in a couple of months ago. good thiing they come in a coil-over now i guess :) so yeah... after the motor goes in i'll post some pics of the project. i'm also going to attempt putting a 4.8l in my g/f's toyota tacoma... but that's a big job... it'll be a while til i get to that chore:)

thanx and wish me luck! HA!
lee

yea man i got a 4.3 and i have been really thinking about dropping in a 6.0 instead of really beefing up my 4.3, so do me a favor and post ALOT of pics of everything and alot of tips if u have any. ill be keeping an eye on this thread good luck with the swap.

yea man i got a 4.3 and i have been really thinking about dropping in a 6.0 instead of really beefing up my 4.3, so do me a favor and post ALOT of pics of everything and alot of tips if u have any. ill be keeping an eye on this thread good luck with the swap.


yes yes lot and lots of pictures!!!!:evillol:

Are you going to do any kind of work to the 6.0L while you have it out? That is the best time as any to do a cam swap,etc. You'll want more trust me, and the 6.0L is a bad engine when you get into it.

when u say bad engine do you mean like awesome or shitty? i was really thinkin of puttin like a ls2 with a 6spd because i have one of those shit new venture 1500 5 spds n its shit i mean plain good ol shit. but either way how good is the lq9? when i do do it i do plan on really building wutever it is up.

when u say bad engine do you mean like awesome or shitty? i was really thinkin of puttin like a ls2 with a 6spd because i have one of those shit new venture 1500 5 spds n its shit i mean plain good ol shit. but either way how good is the lq9? when i do do it i do plan on really building wutever it is up.

Bad as in awesome!!! Sorry for the confusion :p Both the lq4 and lq9 are pretty much bullet proof, and really take well to larger cams/nitrous/etc. The ls2 is a great engine, and I would have went with it, if I didn't have plans for a much larger bore and forced induction in the near future. :evillol:

LQ4- stock great for forced induction due to lower compression
LQ9- great for a N/A buildup slightly higher compression than the LQ4
LS2- great right out of the box/cam/heads buildup and for smaller sized truck applications due to lower weight. I like the iron blocks for bigger bore builds, though.

so how bout an update? you started yet, any pics?

ok... sorry it took so long but here's an update. I just got my 6.0L in the "mail" and now the fun starts, well actually the fun started when my second chance offer from ebay turned out to be a fraudlient email and i sent some $%*er in detroit 1100 bucks out of the goodness of my heart. lesson there is to read carefully and not be all "gotta have it" when you shop on-line. so my motor arrived today and the fun will begin in about 9 days as i have to go back to work today (had to wait till i went back to work!). so don't think i've forgotten about you guys looking for lots of info... i sure havent. i'll promise lots of pictures and a full write up as things go. i just got to pull off the plastic and have a look at the engine and go "well that won't work and this won't work". from the first look i'm thinking new coolant lines and i think the air conditioning compressor goes on the bottom of the motor? there's just a blank spot where something that has it's own belt goes. one nice thing is my buddy just bought a 2500HD with a 6L in it so i have some parts! :) so hopefully i can have another update for you guys in about 9 days (working).

cheers
lee

Yes the AC compressor goes on the bottom passenger side.

What happened with the second chance offer? DId you get a refund from your credit card company or did you do a paypal investigation? What happened?

Awesome that you got it though. I havent chnaged a mototr since I put a
6.6L 400CID in my 1977 Ford. It is very fun. I would take the radiator out to give you more room. You can then stand right in the engine bay and guide the motor into its final resting place. I think that is the hardest part. All the bolt on stuff just takes time. :)

I agree - it is fun. At least the dozen or so VW Bugs and the '78 Bronco I did with buddies in high school were. The Bronco was the best. Spent a lot of time at the junkyard taking apart 5 or 6 engines to make one good one. Well, at least one that would start...:wink:

The Second Chance Offer Update: there is nothing i can do as stupid me sent a Western Money Order... like i said, it smarts... but at least it wasn't for 11 grand or anything silly like that... but it still smarts. :banghead:

live and learn.
lee

Bigger brakes help slow down faster trucks......... In '05 the 2wd LQ9 trucks all came with the larger 17" brakes.

There are other forums that are dedicated to nothing but GM Gen III trucks... LS1TRUCK. There are a lot of people over there that have done engine swaps, mods and full out insane things to their trucks.

ok so i think i have run into a few problems... motor mounts and transmission being the main ones. from what i've heard is the 4l60e trany won't mate up with the 6L as it is suppose to be mated up with a 4l80e trany... so now i'm trying to find the difference between the two. if it's just internals then i think i'll be fine for a bit, if it's the body then i'm screwed... we'll see on that one. as for the motor mounts i think they are a bit ahead on the 6L... is it as easy as just torching off the old ones off the frame and bolting them to the engine and seeing where they sit, then just mig em in place? these are just a few questions i've come up with. here's another update :)

cheers
lee

the 6.0 did come with the 4l80 but adding 2+2 would say that because its the same block as the smaller engine, and because the smaller engine got a 4l60, the 6.0 should bolt up.thats not saying its a smart thing to do tho.if u have rancho 9000s they should be fine, but the springs r most likely not.if i were doing it i would say a trip to the junkyard is in order to look for things like wires and brackets and maybe even a tranny.its all those little parts that get u when ur doin swaps.im interested in seein this done too cuz its rare to see late model engine swaps that r so major.(as in v6 to v8)i agree too: post pics please

so i talked to my trany guy (31 years building and repairing) and he said that it's way cheaper to beef up the 4l60e trany instead of buying a 4l80e. the 4l80e is longer so i would have to shorten my rear drive shaft and lengthen my front drive shaft as well as move my transfer case... i think i'll stick with the 4l60e! i'm going to put a red eagle clutch pack, a bigger transmission cooler, and a 2200 stall torque converter (for the later cam upgrade to the motor, the factory one should be fine, it'll just hit harder when it shifts) in to the trany. you don't need a hardened output shaft or anything like that unless your racing. i'll prolly end up putting about $1500-$2000 CAD into my trany, but it'll be a beefy 4l60e.

cost break-down for transmission:
$200ish for the Alto Master Rebuild kit
$380ish for B&M trany cooler w/ fan
$800ish for trany work

there... another update... any questions yet? :)

lee

Depending on what year the 6.0L is will tell you what flexplate/flywheel you will need. BE CAREFUL!!! Early 6.0 do not adapt to the trans the same as the later 6.0L

They have installed 4L60 & 4L65's with 6.0L, look at mine and you will see they did.

any pics yet?

waiting for trany upgrade bits to come in... should be getting ready in a couple of days. i can't wait.

Can i have your 4.3 for free ? :) I'll come pick it up. You really don't need a paper weight that big.

damn haha i never thought bout that iv been thinkin bout a 4.3 build up n keep that for a couple years then do the 6.0 litre swap, yea if he dont want it ill take it!!

so today is the first day of the swap... i'm thinking of starting with the front clip and rad... pull all that out to give a nice big area to work in. there will be some pics tonight with an update... it'll prolly be late tonight... 10ish PST. check back then.
cheers,
lee

so i did get some pics but not really sure how to upload em or what size works best for this forum... but i did get a bit of work done. i'm just about ready to take the motor out and the trany will be tomoro for sure... nothing really strange or hard so far, except i found it easier to take the left manifold off to get at the starter... and all the bolts just came out and off of all the exaust so far as well.it does get a little scary when you start tearing into your electronics. on that note, i have run into one small problem. it appears that i have one connection that wound match anything yet... seems to be the front solenoid for the 4X4... gonna have to look at wiring diagrams for both i think... but as it stands things look promising. if all goes according to plan i will have the motor and trany out tomoro. talk to ya then.
lee

so the motor is out and we only dropped once... but it was out of the truck, still hanging in the gantry, but out of the truck. with the minor damage to the motor (smashed bottom pulley, bent valve cover, minor damage,so far) i proceeded to strip out 2 of the 3 "flex plate to torque converter" bolts. it was a good day of wreckin stuff... that was it tho. so as it sits now my truck is drive train empty. day before yesterday i just pulled out wiring, rads, rad support, fan shroud, inner front fenders, exhaust, drive shafts and little things like that. yesterday was the fun day. i started by going over the wiring harness and making sure it was away from the fire wall. after that i moved under the truck for the day(ish). i dropped my transfer case, which was pretty straight forward. there was one bolt on the very top of the T-case that you'll freak over but i found it easy enough to put a 1/4" rachet with a 1/4 to 3/8 adapter with a 15mm socket and got my hammer handle up in there and pushed on the rachet handle... like i said, no problem. the case it's self was kinda heavy so i used a floor jack to help with the lowering (G/F ran the jack). with that out of the way i disconnected all the trany electrical, shift cable (just used a flat head screwdriver and pried it off), and for those of you doing a 4.3l don't forget about the fuel lines off the back of the motor... if you follow where the fuel lines go into the motor you'll reach around the back of it and feel 2 tubing fittings, there's a little nut screwed into the bigger nut. then i removed the engine mount bolts, supported the trany oil pan with a big block of wood and a floor jack, and removed the crossmember the rear of the trany was attached to.you can hook your other hoist point to the back far left side of the passenger side head, you can get at it easy with the inner fender out. then as your pulling out the motor and trany you'll see that the exhasut might get in the way, i just used a bull bar to "persuade" it out of the way... keep an eye on the trany under the truck as there are a few lines that are attached to the trany that you can't get to until it's dropped down a bit... and out she comes. so i'm looking at my buddy's 6.0L and i realize that i need a new throttle position sensor and pedel assembly... my 00 is cable and the 05 is electronic... other than that it's looking good. i'm still not sure about the motor mounts but i'm working in a mechanics shop so i can fab my own motor mounts, gotta love doin an engine swap in a fab shop, with a machine shop next door, and i can see NAPA from the shop as well :) so yeah.. so far things have been real straight forward. good luck and i'll write up a bit in a few days as i have to wait for my trany to have the work done to it. i'll let you know what i have done to it when it's done.

Lee

so i've run into a few things that i need to get figured out. 1) the 2005 6L's throttle body is run by a system that uses potentiometers in the acclerator pedal to figure how far to open the throttle plate. on the 2000 it's still cable actuated, so i;m thinkin i need to buy a new/used TPS and pedal assy. 2) where is the vacume line to run into my master cylinder? looking at the 2005 truck it has a different master cylinder, no vacume assist... can any one help me with this? other than that all is going well, i'm making my own custom wiring harness (i'll tell ya all about it when it's done) and things are progressing quite well. if my girlfriend lets me spend another day in the shop i might try a dry fit of the motor today, we'll see :)

lee

so i've run into a few things that i need to get figured out. 1) the 2005 6L's throttle body is run by a system that uses potentiometers in the acclerator pedal to figure how far to open the throttle plate. on the 2000 it's still cable actuated, so i;m thinkin i need to buy a new/used TPS and pedal assy. 2) where is the vacume line to run into my master cylinder? looking at the 2005 truck it has a different master cylinder, no vacume assist... can any one help me with this? other than that all is going well, i'm making my own custom wiring harness (i'll tell ya all about it when it's done) and things are progressing quite well. if my girlfriend lets me spend another day in the shop i might try a dry fit of the motor today, we'll see :)

lee

I guess you should plan on making an intake source of vacuam. Drill and tap the manifold someware if you cannot already find somthing put there from the factory...jj

hi im a senior in high school and i have a shitty 4.3l v6 in my regular cab short bed 05 silverado. i was thinking about upgrading to a v8 but i just cant find any engines. does anyone no were i can buy a 4.8 to 5.7L v8? i was thinking of asking the dealership i got my truck from but if i boght it from them would they be able to install and everything?


thanks for the help.


preston

its only an 05.i would go trade it in for a truck with an 8 in it already.but if u insist, i would try the new camaro classifieds forum cuz they could help with that too

so the motor is in, i just bought the proper brackets for a 6L and they bolted in place of the old brackets for the 4.3l (that's on the frame). i had to pull the oil pan off the motor to fit in, it was either the intake manifold or the oil pan. i "force modified" the oil sump pickup to fit past the front diff (it's all good, just had to smoosh the actual little filter cap on the bottom of the pickup). then i had to drop the front cross member in order to put the oil pan back on, again no biggie. so with all that done i just had to start putting stuff back on, transfer case, drive shafts, ect. as i am buying a trany cooler to keep the 4l60e cool, i just cut my old 3/8" cooler lines and ran them far enough to the bottom of the trany pan so i could hook up some swedgelock fittings and run stainless along the frame to wherever i decide is the best place, same with the fuel lines, i'm just going to run them myself. i realize most ppl may not have tubing just kicking around so i would take time to make sure your tubing lines are kept bent the way they are, and they bend really easy (i screw up almost every line taking out and putting the motor in). as for the electrical side of things i think that's going to be the on-going problem. as i had bought a 2005 6L and my trany was a 2000, i had to buy a 2005 PRNDL switch ($88 CAD), no biggy. i have one connector that doesn't match, under the fuse box under the hood. there are two connectors on the motor wiring harness, a white one and a black one, the white one doesn't match up with the truck harness... i can't see it being a huge problem as i think it's all fuel pump power and stuff like that(the reason i think this is the truck harness runs to the back of the truck and there are only so many things it could be that needs to hook into the PCM). so yeah, it's going, parts where the waiting time. make sure you get 1500 motor mounts if you have a 1500, GM gave me 2500 motor mounts, then closed for the long weekend!
hope this helps somebody out there. i'll try to answer any questions you have as well.

cheers
lee

How much money have you spent on all the parts you needed so far? And did you get the motor from e-bay? I'd really appreciate any and all info you could give cause i really want to swap the V-6 in my truck for a 6.0. I just dont want to spend tons of money.

well as it stands so far i think i'm going to be in the $6000 mark for everything, not bad considering that a new 6L is $6500. so lets see here, i had to buy a new PRNDL switch as my trany was a 2000 and the motor was a 2005 ($85 CAD), a fuel pressure regulator, because my 4.3 is a return style fuel rail and the 6 is a dead-head style fuel rail (AEM Universal Regulator - not in yet but around $400 CAD), i'm sure you can get a cheaper one but i went for the bling bling!, a transmission cooler (B&M Racing Hi-Tek transmission cooler - $320 CAD), a new Red Eagle clutch kit and band and corvette servo for the 4l60e trany with work done to it was about $1200 CAD (awsome trany now), the 6L was from Montreal, it was in a roll over and i got it for $3200 CAD shipped with wiring harness and mounts, a new starter - $320 CAD, new rad hoses - $45 CAD, fan belt - $35 CAD, and new motor brackets - $280 CAD, and i think that's it, with a few minor costs for little things i'm sure. but as it stands like i say about $6000 for the whole swap, free shop time as well. let me know if you have any more questions.

lee

well as it stands so far i think i'm going to be in the $6000 mark for everything, not bad considering that a new 6L is $6500. so lets see here, i had to buy a new PRNDL switch as my trany was a 2000 and the motor was a 2005 ($85 CAD), a fuel pressure regulator, because my 4.3 is a return style fuel rail and the 6 is a dead-head style fuel rail (AEM Universal Regulator - not in yet but around $400 CAD), i'm sure you can get a cheaper one but i went for the bling bling!, a transmission cooler (B&M Racing Hi-Tek transmission cooler - $320 CAD), a new Red Eagle clutch kit and band and corvette servo for the 4l60e trany with work done to it was about $1200 CAD (awsome trany now), the 6L was from Montreal, it was in a roll over and i got it for $3200 CAD shipped with wiring harness and mounts, a new starter - $320 CAD, new rad hoses - $45 CAD, fan belt - $35 CAD, and new motor brackets - $280 CAD, and i think that's it, with a few minor costs for little things i'm sure. but as it stands like i say about $6000 for the whole swap, free shop time as well. let me know if you have any more questions.

lee

your volant intake is it for the 4.3 or your 6.0 if its the 4.3 ill buy it off you by the way do you have stuff for sale for the 4.3??

the volante intake was for the 6.0L, sorry :) yeah i'll sell whatever off the 4.3, the starter, AC pump, stuff like that, it's all good. i'll even part out the motor if ppl are looking for bits and pieces.

p.s. lilrebotie the volante intake was another thing i had to buy! :)

so the fluids are all topped up and everything is tight, and i hooked up the battery. i did one last lookover and decieded that i would try to give the old girl a crank. and well nothing special happened, actually to tell ya the truth, nothing at all happened... nothing. well okay i might be over reactiing a little bit, fuel pump came on and no leaks, and that's about it. the starter didn't engage, no even trying. so the fun begins, i have to figure out the wiring issues i knew i would have. if there are any guys out there that work at gm or think they have a good grasp on the wiring and fuse clusters, lemme know, i'm gonna have some crazy questions. but on the same token i will continue to work on it and try to answer some questions.

frickin wiring
lee

this may seem like a dumb question to some of you more experienced guys but im only 17. and i was wondering if anyone could suggest anengine for me. imm looking at getting a fuel injected v8. but im not sure if i sould buy an aftermarket crate or gm 5.3l v8? when im looking at like summit it seems only carbuerated engines are avaible. im pretty confused so help would be greatly appreciated



thanks,
preston

If you're swapping from a V6, I'd recommend going big with a 6.0L. I went from a 4.3 to a 4.8...and while this was a BIG improvement in, well, everything...I now have plans to drop a 6.0 in. At least this time the swap will be easier :grinyes:

If you're swapping from a V6, I'd recommend going big with a 6.0L. I went from a 4.3 to a 4.8...and while this was a BIG improvement in, well, everything...I now have plans to drop a 6.0 in. At least this time the swap will be easier :grinyes:

6.0!!!!! man sc thats sweet are you going to use the stock trans????

yeah thats what i want to do eventually but i just want to get into the v8 range. could anyone give me an idea on about how much a 5.7l would cost. including all other upgrades that would be neccesary to the tranny,gears, wiring...etc? mines an automatic transmission by the way.

6.0!!!!! man sc thats sweet are you going to use the stock trans????

Don't think the stock trans is gonna hold up with a 6.0. Probably upgrade to a 4L80e and mod it :grinyes:

Don't think the stock trans is gonna hold up with a 6.0. Probably upgrade to a 4L80e and mod it :grinyes:


Do you do the work yourself or do you send it out somewhere???? I think after Im done with school or paying off my truck ill just might do it too how hard is it to do anyway????

i kept the 4l60e and built it up. red eagle clutches, kevlar band, stuff like that. a trany cooler is a must... i bought a b&m with a 12V fan attached to it.

Do you do the work yourself or do you send it out somewhere???? I think after Im done with school or paying off my truck ill just might do it too how hard is it to do anyway????


It's tough but it can be done at home. I don't really recommend it seeing as it took me about a month to finish it completely, but I did run into a few problems here and there (fuel lines not matching, motor mounts are different, etc.)

I'd tell anyone who is planning to do the V6 to V8 thing to just go buy a new truck because it is difficult, but worth it :) Now the V8 to a larger V8 swap can be done much easier.

Exactly, i couldn't have put it better myself. HA! it's been two months for me now (3 weeks off for a vacation) and i'm now up to $7500 for the swap due to the custom stand alone wiring harness to match my 00 truck to a 05 engine, i guess a lot has changed in 5 years in the automotive industry. but like it was stated, makes it easier for a bigger v8... only problem is the next size up for me is an 8.1l... riiight!

Well I am seriously thinking about putting one in my truck still. I might be getting a good raise from my job pretty soon and if i do I think I am going to buy the stuff to do it. I havent decided if i want to do the 6.0 L or Put a 5.3L thats supercharged I havent decided which one yet but i want to find a six speed manual in it. I hope i get the raise so i can do it. But i cant wait to hear how the first drive is and how much of a difference it makes

well after 4 months, around $7500 (CAD), so something in the area of 5G USD, she sprung to life last night. after the OEM harness was found to be usless (i tried to get it to work out) i went to HOTROD LANE (hotrodlane.cc) and had them build a stand alone drive by wire LS1 harness. what a nice harness! so that got bolted in and then it came to trying to figure out the starter. the lights would flash 3 times then 2 times wqith the ignition off, key out, everything... no good. my truck was sitting outside for a couple of days because the guys needed the shop space and some punks smashed out my passenger window and stole my GPS, stereo, subs and amp!!! the left my ODB II reader, cell phone booster... silly bastards. i guess the good news is she fired up last night. i was begining to think the security feature was holding me out, but there is none on the new computer! let me tell you a 6.0l sounds real mean with the exhaust cut off before the cats! it sounds bette than my buddy's stock car! so now that there is a foot of snow down i'm gonna take her out for her first drive in 4 months, and with a gain of 102 cubic inches it should be fun!! so thank you guys very much for all the input (i owe ya a beer, and a canadian beer at that!! ) and if you're ever goin up to alaska just remember when you go through fort st john there's a 6.0l LQ9 in a short box regular cab tearin $#!+ up!!

ciao and feel free to ask any questions, even if they were already asked, i'll do my best to help out.

thanx again guys
lee