JAC

I bought 3 ea 5.3 Ho Aluminum Block engines complete less> No harness and no ecm

I wanted to get them running correctly for street rods.

I am keeping one and selling the other two.

What is the cheapest ....yet Best route for the harness and pcm?
In other words best bang for the buck..

Most things will be deleted of course. Be easy on me as I am old and understand only 10k rpm drag racing engines

I know nothing about this LS stuff.

Thanks
JAck

FastKat

iTrader: (10)

If you have no engine wiring harness and ECM to start with, your best bet would be to buy an aftermarket harness, sold by various vendors. Get a "stand alone" harness - which means that all you need to do is hook up the harness to your engine, and then wire it to the chassis using only the basic engine functions, for example, hot w/key in run, hot w/key in start, hot all the time, fuel pump power feed, etc.

There are quite a few vendors that sell these harnesses, and most of them will sell you the PCMs, too. Check out the Sponsors section on this forum for some reputable vendors.

One other noteworthy thing: On the LS-based engines, the PCM controls the engine AND the automatic transmission. If you are using an older style transmission, you can make the PCM operate only the engine, as it does in a manual transmission car. However, if you are going to be hooking up the engine to a modern-day transmission, like a 4L60E or a 4L80E, then the PCM can control both the engine AND the transmission.

JAC

I kind of knew some of this..........it will be a stick shift car........but I can find a pcm for about 150 bucks or so with some kind of tune on it and harness start about 575.00

But I have talked to some people and I would end up spending 1500 to 1800 dollars.......lots of variables I dont understand?

chuckd71

iTrader: (23)

If you are going to be selling them nobody is going to give you as much as you paid for most of your parts or time. Why pay you for what would be a second-hand harness and pcm they will probably need retuned anyway? That being said chevythunder.com has tons of info about all things pcm. I got a custom harness and retuned pcm for just over $400.

FastKat

iTrader: (10)

$150 for a PCM is a lot of money. I got mine from Wait4Me performance, tuned specifically to my specialty application, for $85.

$575 for a harness sounds about right. Maybe just buy one to test all the engines with, and then sell them without the harness?

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

What year are the engines? It is important because some have the 24 tooth reluctor wheel and some have the 58 tooth. This will matter as to what computer you can use.

Andrew

JAC

They have the right block and heads for the HO version 2005 is what they appear to be and thats what I was told...what reluctor? I have not a clue.

Maybe some of you could tell me? Thanks

The heads are 799 part numbers

Thanks for your help guys. I think if I was buying these I would have paid for the harness if it was correct.

STEEPSS

iTrader: (30)

The reluctor wheel is pressed onto the tail end of the crank shaft. This indicates the position of the crank, via a sensor. As stated, there were two types used, depending on year. An easy way to tell would be to pull the oil pan. OR, I'm sure someone on here could help you figure it out.

LS1NOVA

iTrader: (12)

Black crank sensor = 24x
White = 58x
Its prob a 24.

JAC

so its neither good nor bad.just need to match I am thinking

JAC

How can you see the color?

FastKat

iTrader: (10)

I believe you're looking for the color of the plug/sensor body, not the color of the wheel itself. The plug/sensor will be on the passenger side of the block towards the very back of the motor, close to the flywheel. It's actually on the side of the block.

LS1-450

iTrader: (33)

Hmmmm...that sounds pretty cheap. $150 is the going rate for re-built or even used PCM's. You got a great deal. Is Jessie, (Waitforme) even on here anymore? I saw that a few guys were unhappy w/ his tuning & then he disappeared.


To the OP, Jack. You can find used GM PCM harnesses on here, in the for sale section, sometimes & on ebay, craigslist...places like that. Just make sure that you buy one that is for the year PCM that you end up with. There's probably a list of which years are inclusive in the tuning section or can be found w/ Google. My guess would be 04-07, but, not for sure. Used harness might be had for $100-$350 depending. Again, the PCM needs to match the sensors used in the L33, as does the harness.

FastKat

iTrader: (10)

Not sure - I know he was definitely a sponsor at one time. The PCM he sent me works great - I believe it was used or a reman. I think most of the friction was related to 1) he was a little tough to get a hold of sometimes, and 2) some people didn't like his attitude.

With that being said, I'd still recommend him and buy another PCM from him. His PCMs are warrantied too, in that if you plug it in and it doesn't work like you want it to (oops, I need those rear o2 sensors back to pass the smog inspection!, etc) he'll do it for you for only shipping charges ($10).

JAC

How can I identify the engines besides part number on block and part number on heads?

Are all 5.3 aluminum block engines HO versions?

Engines I have all have the 799 part number.

Thanks

rojs234

iTrader: (5)

The crank sensor will be on the passenger side of the block, just above where the starter mounts and you can normally see the color easily or you can also take it out to look at it with no problems. Also look at the front of the engine, on the cover for the timing chain. About even with where the center of the cam gear would be, there will probably be a plug for the cam sensor. Sometimes it will have an extender down to about oil pan level. If it has the front mounted sensor, it is a GEN lV engine. If it doesn't...look at the back of the valley cover for the cam sensor. If at the back it is a GEN lll. If it is an '05 I suspect it will be a GEN lV and probably has DOD. You can determine if it has DOD by looking at the valley cover. If it has raised ribs on it or channels, it has DOD...if it's smooth, it doesn't. Your engines appears to be the same as a friend purchased out of an '05 GMC Tahoe. Hope this helps, Ron

COSTIGAN86

iTrader: (8)

The 5.3HO is a gen3. Gen4 wasn't used in Tahoe/Suburban til 06 and trucks til 07 I believe.

COSTIGAN86

iTrader: (8)

I have a 2005 5.3HO, vin B L33. The difference between the HO and the regular 5.3 is the aluminum block, flat top pistons, 799 heads, and different cam. HO rated 310hp, 5.3 295hp I think. And its around 75lbs lighter.

rojs234

iTrader: (5)

I am sorry, but you are wrong, partially. You are correct that the L33 is a high performance 5.3 and is an aluminum block variant of the GEN lll LM7 5.3. Thus, it will have the cam sensor on the back just behind the valley cover. BUT! GM did build 5.3 GEN lV's in 2005 as evidenced by my friend's which in fact came out of an '05 Tahoe (he got it with the vin #'s. Here is a quote from the Dec.2009 issue of Chevy High Performance "GM began phasing in GEN lV 5.3L's in '05 with the launch of the all-aluminum LH6, which replaced the LM4 in MIDSIZED SUV's." My friend's engine is all-aluminum, flat top piston (we had the heads off) #799 heads, GEN lV. Sorry, I didn't check the cam timing, but it was/is rated 310 hp. To the best of my knowledge, they were equipped with the DOD hardware, although I understand that in most if not all cases, it was not set up (wired) to operate. It also a 24 tooth reluctor engine.

JAC

If I postsome pictures maybe some of you guys can identify it?
Thanks for all the great help!