hagajames

Hey guys, hope this finds everyone well. I am finally taking the plunge and buying my 5.3 next week when I get paid and want to know what I should avoid or be on the look out for, so to speak.

After weighing my options I have chosen to buy my engine as a complete pullout 5.3/tranny combo with all accessories, CPU's, and wiring from a local high end salvage yard. They track everything by VIN so I know what I will be getting when the purchase is made, here are the details of my main question:

Any specific vehicle I should avoid? Such as "..dude, whatever you DONT get one from a 2001 Silverado those always catch fire", or "try to get one from a blue 1999 Suburban with leather because they have 10 extra HP"

I called the yard today and placed a general order so when they make their weekly buy they can call me and say they have something that works in stock, but i did not specify an exact year or model, only that I didnt want a newer one, and that most likely a 2WD pickup would be a good candidate. Any thoughts? Thanks for reading this bloated thread by the way

i r teh noobz

iTrader: (4)

I think they're pretty much the same. 2003 got DBW in most applications. I remember reading that a few bits got upgraded in 2001, but I can't say exactly what. Mine is an 02 and I haven't had the slightest bit of trouble with it.

If you find an aluminum 5.3, get it if the price is right. They make a bit more power and weigh less.

hagajames

Ok, thats drive by wire? Still learning my LSX acronyms, new to the scene. I was under the impression some of the newer engines had some variable valve timing or something, and another acronym I cant remember, that sounded less desirable from a simplistic standpoint, is that accurate?

My only other concerne really is driving the gauge cluster from a different GM product, specifically a '99+ trans am. Havent been able to find any info regarding a 5.3 swap using factory package, but T/A guages and switches.

Thanks for the reply!

BanditDave

iTrader: (11)

OK let's take a step back for a minute...what is the engine going in?

Your questions are very general in nature and while that is ok for the most part, that also means you should be able to find the info by doing a search on this site.

That being said, drive by wire is what pretty much all manufacturers use now to actuate the throttle by. Instead of the traditional cable from the accelerator to the throttle body it is done electronically with no mechanical connection to the Throttle body. Instead an electrical connector is plugged into the throttle body and the PCM coordinates the movement of the throttle pedal with a motor connected to the side ofhte throttle body.

As for better or worse 5.3s...the displacement on demand feature that is utilized on the newer engines is actually very easy to remove and replace with a standard camshaft and valvetrain.

What are your plans for the 5.3L? If you are getting everything from the same vehicle, PCM, TCM (transmission control module), accelerator pedal (if going with a drive by wire engine) and harness then you could even keep all the displacement on demand stuff relatively easily and still enjoy the benefits of increase fuel economy. There are vendors on here as well that can spec you excellent power generating cams that keep the DOD feature.

Devil is in the details...what is your end game for this swap.

Welcome to the site, btw...

Dave

hagajames

I apologize for the generalizations, it was a failed attempt to keep my post simple and not paragraph bomb the forum

The car is a 1975 Pontiac Firebird, bone stock with the exception of custom built weld in square tube sub-frame connectors with boxed joints.

Thank you for the DBW explanation, I am sure that the topic has been covered... extensively...in these forums and can be annoying when re-hashed for lazy non searching noobs like me ( I did some searching, promise).

My end game is to build a car with resto-mod looks, that can be driven everyday, any temp, any trip. I found many instances of people taking junk yard 5.3's and throwing some basic goodies at them, ie LS1 intake, cam, basic bolt on's, and making good power with good idle.

Thats what I want, a car I can put 100k miles on pump gas and have some extra juice under the go pedal. I live in NE so I will have no emissions hoops to jump through, only those of which I will have to address with the swap itself.

I planed on putting the 5.3 and assorted parts in the car and making it look nice and clean ( NO smoothed firewall, just cleaned up some), installing the dash,gauges and switches(especially the A/C) from a late model T/A, blend the door panels into the originals, modern seats up front, everything else stock inside. I'm sure this wish list has been duplicated many times here by lots of other builders.

I currently have a naughty BB chevy with a cam that is way to aggressive for daily driving, an intake thats way too damn big for the street (Wiend team G) and up until a few weeks ago an 8 point roll cage. Thats what I wanted when I was 20, now I want something I can actually drive.

I have been cataloging threads in a folder labled "LS1 Swap resources" on my desktop. Everytime I find a thread where somebody has done, or wants to do what I plan on doing, I read it, verify how it worked, and copy it to the folder for reference. I am trying to do the right thing, but my fear is I will not know the right questions to be asking. Just looking for build threads and reading. Nothing found so far about the gauge issue though, must not looking in the right place.

Thanks for not flaming my thread, I really appreciate the honest answers and input.

BOXCHEV

iTrader: (3)

What to avoid?

Avoid getting a 4.8 when you really wanted the 5.3 would be #1 on the list.

ChevyOwner

If the salvage yard will let you pull the pan BEFORE buying it and check the crankshaft and rod casting numbers.
I bought a "5.3L" and when I went to change the pan found out it is actually a 4.8L. take a look here for info on the 4.8L vs 5.3L differences.

hagajames

Lol, yea I read several instances where that happened, even hot rod magazine got one. The yard I get my parts from keeps computer inventory with all parts cataloged using the vin info, with a return warranty. I'll get to see the wreck before the pull everything.

hagajames

That was a great article, thanks for the resource, I will add it the collective. If I can verify VIN, that should be a solid indicator right? Assuming the block didnt get swapped of course.

i r teh noobz

iTrader: (4)

Block is the same 4.8/5.3. As long as the engine is original, VIN is a good indication. Otherwise, stick with 5.3 only vehicles (like the Avalanche).

tfi racing

iTrader: (2)

Well,here's the other side of the coin.A modern,LSX PCM controlled drivetrain is nice,but it has a high price of admission.If you already have a running,driving pro street BBC car,
I'm sure you can change the cam,intake and put on a good tuned carb suited for street cruising for about 1/4 of the cost a LS conversion will cost you in parts,not to mention the hundreds of hours of your "free" labour or the thousands of $$$ you will pay for someone's else's time.Give this some serious thought and do a thorough cost/time analysis,and what your true performance/driveability/benefit goals are before getting suckered into the LSX dream....

garys 68

iTrader: (1)

Get a 01+ motor, early motors had a long crank that wont work with manual trans.
LM7 or L59 (flex fuel) are the most common, cheapest, and wont have VVT or DOD.
Get the pedal and TAC with it if it's DBW.
Do a search on Castech heads, a common failure and definitely something to avoid.

1964SS

iTrader: (1)

I actually tried going this route at first. There are several things that don't allow you to just drop in a milder cam. The biggest one being the compression ratio. I would have had to go with an even more radical cam in order to drop the compression down enough to accept reg unleaded fuel. This allowed me to run the fuel, but then I would have such a huge duration and lift that I would hardly call it a daily driver.

Going with an LS motor is moving in the right direction for sure. I will never build another old school motor again. The new motors are just light years ahead in technology.

hagajames

Nicely put. There are several variables that keep that from being an option for me, mainly that I have already sold the engine and am waiting on the final payment. Secondly, like you stated, the engine would have to be completely re-done to tame it, new pistons, valve springs, different ratio rockers, intake, cam, lifters, etc.

Add to that, the car is NOT a pro-street car, its a stock 75 with subframes and a big block that should never have been put in it to begin with, without having the pro-street mods already. I was 20 years old, we make mistakes. I am 20 years the wiser now and the way I see it that option would be also be expensive and at the end I would STILL have a N.A. engine with no transmission, which was the next variable.

I want a modern engine, and have the money to do the conversion and the 5.3 is the most affordable variant. My yard is quoting me about $1,000-$1,500 for a complete turnkey pullout with trans, depending on mileage. Add in the cost of the pan, fuel delivery mods and other swap essentials, and it still falls well within my budget.

Just looking to narrow my donor vehicle search a bit is all.

hagajames

Oh crap, I had no idea, lol. Did a fast search and some site (http://likeacrackedegggeneralmotors.webs.com/) said about 20k vehicles came with the faulty heads, sound right? I will have to make sure I check them before I buy, thanks for the heads up.

silver04goat

i enjoyed this post. learned a couple of things. I am a ways away from doing my project lsx build but trying to learn everything i can about what it would take to complete. Seems like its going to be intensive. Im looking to put a 5.3 or possibly a 4.8 into a jeep wrangler. Also would love to turbo or supercharge it possibly.I havent gotten on any jeep forums so not sure if someone on one of them has done this swap. I have seen a couple v8 swapped jeeps but they are older 350 engines and typically carbureted so seems like a 4.8 or 5.3 will be a much different swap. I think what scares me is all the electronic and computer differences

i r teh noobz

iTrader: (4)

Jeeps have been done over and over again. Check pirate4x4 if you can't find one here.

Wiring is simple if you take it one step at a time. Just get everything from the same truck.

hagajames

I also have thought about doing a Jeep, My daily driver is a 2003 Grand Cherokee with the 4.0L. Works fine but would love to have LS power in it too!

The forum I go to the most is http://www.nagca.com/, North American Grand Cherokee Association. Focused on GC's but a great resource for any Jeeper. Also check out this build thread, guy in Australia doing the most detailed and amzing swap I have seen, Hemi powered GC running gear in an old school Willi's, and his work is breath takingly detailed and highly accurate.

http://www.nagca.com/forum/showthrea...230#post371230 I know its 37 pages long but it's packed with clear high quality pics and tons of good swap info that we can take to heart.

hagajames

Ok, here is a small update to my search, called the yard today and they just got a 2003 Avalanch with 140k miles in. Complete pullout with pedel, CM's, tranny (2WD), and accessories if I say I want it. He will call me back with a price but when I told him I was hoping to stay under $2,000 he thought that they would be way under that.

I asked about checking for Castech heads and he said they dont pull the valve covers on full pullouts, so IF it has them I may have to buy different heads and swap them myself, unless they let me check before I pay.

hagajames

OK, $1800.00 with a 6 month warranty on the engine and transmission.