planning a 5.3 swap, questions

[C10man]

so I need some help with my first 5.3 swap. its replacing the stock 305 in my 86 c10 Silverado. I have several questions and any help is greatly appreciated!

1. I have seen a kit on lmc truck that will allow me to keep the 700r4. Is this a better way to go than putting a 4l60 series trans in so I wont have to mess with any trans linkages?

2. I have dual tanks from the factory but Ive heard the switching valve for the tanks cant handle the higher fuel pressure of the vortec engine. what is the best way to over come this problem?

3. Is any one year donor engine better for the swap or does it matter what year the engine is?

4. wiring. what all do I need to pull from the donor vehicle (harness and etc)

5. should I keep the factory A/C setup from the factory or pull it from the donor vehicle as well?

6. I want to put a bigger camshaft into the vortec so I still have a nice cam thump. Any recommendations? If so will I have to change anything else out with it (rocker arms, rods, etc)

7. what is the best chip/tuner for this swap?

anything else I should know before I start?

 

[Camar068]

I would read, read, read and you guessed it....read. I've got one in the garage and I'm hoping to have everything prepped and on hand so that when I do it, it can happen in a weeks time (hopefully less). Mine is a daily driver.

Since yours is 2wd, I would read up on a 2007+ 5.3/6l80. Having 6 gears will be much nicer, and possibly help a tad on mileage. It's going to be easier for you to do it than me because mine is 4x4. if you do decide to go 6l80, get the engine/trans/harness from the same vehicle Read as much as you did on the LS swap for the 6L80. I would expect to pay $1,000-1,500 more going the 6L80 route than the 4L60 route, unless you come across a steal. My 2006 5.3/4L60 combo with just over 100,000 miles ran me $1,250.

If you get a newer 5.3 that's drive by wire you'll need to get the pedal, controller and cable as well.

Options are out there to make your AC work, but the brackets are expensive in my opinion, read up and you decide.

Read up on heads and cam upgrades. There are tons of articles on the web for the swap as well.

You'll need to have someone local tune your ECM, you can mail it out also.

Hope this answers some of your questions. Biggest thing, read, read and read some more. Yours being 2wd makes it a bit easier. Oh yeh, the truck intake is the best but not the prettiest of all of them. Below are a few links to get you started.

http://www.gmsquarebody.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14428

http://www.gmsquarebody.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=51

 

[dougbert]

look at various builds (mine is in my signature as an example - others are on this web site).

also read/watch AGearHead4Life on youtube and facebook - lots of good stuff

its where I learned. Many others as well on youtube and web sites, like this one

dougbert

 

[dougbert]

so I need some help with my first 5.3 swap. its replacing the stock 305 in my 86 c10 Silverado. I have several questions and any help is greatly appreciated!

1. I have seen a kit on lmc truck that will allow me to keep the 700r4. Is this a better way to go than putting a 4l60 series trans in so I wont have to mess with any trans linkages?

The trans linkage is a problem area I have heard but doable

2. I have dual tanks from the factory but Ive heard the switching valve for the tanks cant handle the higher fuel pressure of the vortec engine. what is the best way to over come this problem?

I had dual tanks, but for starting out I just went to one 20 gallon tank on PS. I have read that a mechanism is possible to reinstall the 2nd tank, or even go to the K5 blazer tank under the bed where the spare tire is - don'
t know where the tire goes to though

3. Is any one year donor engine better for the swap or does it matter what year the engine is?

I like the 2002 Silverado 5.3 - its a Gen III and they worked out the kinks from 1999 and up. Also no EGA nor air injection. Throttle with a cable. Later years have the drive by wire throttle. I bought HPTuners software and licensed all engine for Silverado 2002 for $300. Now one can get ECUs via www.spareecu.com for $90 with latest OEM firmware (OS) and I had them find me a 2002 silverado VIN.

4. wiring. what all do I need to pull from the donor vehicle (harness and etc)

Not much - I covered alot of that in my thread

5. should I keep the factory A/C setup from the factory or pull it from the donor vehicle as well?

It is possible to keep the AC OEM, but might have to cut a bit of the frame and depends on the motor mounts you use. AGearHead4Life has a video on how he installed the OEM AC in in 1987 R10

6. I want to put a bigger camshaft into the vortec so I still have a nice cam thump. Any recommendations? If so will I have to change anything else out with it (rocker arms, rods, etc)

look at http://www.texas-speed.com/p-1158-tsp-low-lift-cam-package-with-ls6-valve-springs.aspx

which has a good lift and uses LS6 springs - which are cheaper than other springs.

7. what is the best chip/tuner for this swap?

I bought HPTuners to learn on, along with a home study class and a shop package that come with wide band O2 sensor

anything else I should know before I start?[/QUOTE]

 

[throttle out]

X2 on Sir Dougbert's thread, he is phenomenal with documentation and retaining details that matter. His thread helped me through my ls swap.

I am planning to pull my 700R4 Thanksgiving weekend to swap in a built 4L65E and will no longer need all of the parts needed to mate my LS to The 700R4.
I have-
- Flywheel adapter
- Longer flywheel bolts
- Bowtieoverdrives stainless braided fully adjustable TV cable kit
I also have all the goods to wire up your torque converter lockup. It utilizes the 4th gear pressure port with a pressure switch, once the trans shifts to 4th it engages the TCC. There is a switch on the dash you may use to override the circuit if you choose.
If interested we can try to work somthing out for this stuff as a package, this is everything you need to mate the 700 to your LS motor, parts have roughly 2,000 miles on them.

Being 2wd, you will need;
- Engine as absolutely complete as you can get it, Harness, ECU from donor vehicle
- Send your ECU to Brendan @ LT1SWAP.COM he will remove all the emisions and VATS from you ECU to alow you to use it stand alone. I beleive it cost me $75. His website is also the go to for most folks on how to do all the necessary wiring configuration needed.
- Motor mounts (dirtydingo.com)
- Fuel system-- I used my 87 r/v10 sending unit and replaced the pump with an ACdelco EP381. You can simply buy an R/V sending unit and this pump and simply drop it directly into your tank given its worthy of the parts and not rusted out.
Then you will need to convert the system to AN fuel lines and fittings.
- Manifolds or headers for the new LS
- My steering lines all bolted up to the LS power steering pump
- I do not have A/C currently so I cannot speak to that.
This swap was pretty much drop in for me and really brought my truck into a different realm of power and RELIABILITY. If done rite, it is also cheap.
We're all here to help if you get into a bind.

Good Luck!!
Sammy

 

[dougbert]

One of the early youtube videos I found was a series from Chuck's Garage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wa8Ga3NB0M

I learned alot from that one, didn't use all their choices, but helped me understand things

dougbert

 

[gmachinz]

I have a complete LSx dual tank relay control harness which is triggered from your ecm fuel pump trigger-I believe yours is green w/wht stripe.

 

[Shack]

I'm in the process of doing this right now. Couple things you'll need to know:

The 5.3 A/C system will not work without modification to your frame. You will need to get the bracket/spacer from Summit (or whoever) and use the same compressor you have now. The brackets are specific to the compressor. Also, an 88-98 condenser is your best bet because the new a/c location will be on the passenger side, and the lines for 88-98.

Not a good photo but the lower left corner is where the 5.3 A/C compressor would be...you can see there's no room.

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Headers: I just went through this debacle this week. The only headers I found to clear and fit perfectly are Schoenfeld Headers (P/N: 1302LS1). You will have to relocate the driver side O2 Bung but it's easy, the headers are plain steel with paint for shipping. You'll need to get a coating as well or wrap, whatever you prefer. I'm having my entire exhaust system ceramic coated.

If you use the 700R4, you'll need a spacer plate or adapter for the flywheel.

For fuel, I put a 32 gallon blazer tank behind the axle under the bed with one, Aeromotive fuel pump (AEI-11169) which is a 90 PSI/340 GPH pump. Summit lists it as unavailable and lists AEI-11569 as its replacement and way cheaper than what I paid. You'll need a system capable of at least 53 PSI. Most folks go with the walboro pumps. I splurged.

Here are a few photos of my progress:

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These headers did NOT work. These are NOT the Schoenfeld headers.

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These are the shoenfeld headers installed:

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Also, if you have "power" anything in the truck, make sure to go with the 140 or 145 amp alternator.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be glad to help out where I can.

 

[dougbert]

Shack

that is awesome, you need a build thread on that one. She is beautiful - those are the headers I did, but haven't coated them yet

dougbert

 

[Shack]

Shack

that is awesome, you need a build thread on that one. She is beautiful - those are the headers I did, but haven't coated them yet

dougbert

Thanks man. I've been taking a few photos and do plan on doing a build thread.I'm just finally starting to get into the dirty of reassembling stuff and I just had a huge shipment from AMD show up this week. Still have a few ORD parts to order and then I can get moving on the body work. Actually going tomorrow to pick up a bed floor I found 4-hours away in relatively good shape, compared to mine. lol

 

[greendiesel55]

Shack

What a great build you have going, can ask what size tires you are using? I have a six inch lift on my K20 rolling chassis right now and need to make a tire & wheel change.

 

[Shack]

Shack

What a great build you have going, can ask what size tires you are using? I have a six inch lift on my K20 rolling chassis right now and need to make a tire & wheel change.

they're 37x14.50r15 Toyo MT's with a 15x14, 3.5 BS Bart Super Trucker Wheel

 

[Nasty-LSX]

cool build. do you have a part #for those headers? thanks

 

[Shack]

cool build. do you have a part #for those headers? thanks

Schoenfeld Headers 1302LS1 - Schoenfeld Headers

I got mine from Summit Racing.

 

[NarwhaleAu]

My engine didn't come with the O2 sensors. Are all LS O2 sensors the same thread pattern?