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5.7 to a 5.3 swap

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Old 08-06-2009, 11:18 PM
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Default 5.7 to a 5.3 swap

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but I figured guys here would know more about this than anywhere else. 2001 WS6. I am gonna be swapping a 5.3 into this car. My plan is to do a turbo setup, with 317's with this motor. When I pull my ls, what exactly do I need to keep off it to do the swap? I am already keeping the ls6 intake, fuel rails, and the oil pan. Is there anything I am over looking? Sensors? I thought I read something about the valley cover somewhere briefly. Any input and advise is appreciated. I did a search, but didnt come up with much. I want to keep everything possible, and sell the longblock when I am done. Thanks
Old 08-06-2009, 11:27 PM
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Keep all of the front accessories including the crank pulley and the water pump. The truck versions are ~3/4" longer than what you have (i.e. stick out further from the block). I believe the Corvette versions sit the closest to the block which might gain you 1/8", but then you also might run into a clearance problem somewhere else. You don't want to try mixing and matching pulleys & brackets or you'll have a heck of a time trying to get the belt to track properly.
Old 08-07-2009, 06:57 AM
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As said above keep all your accessories. Also keep your intake and fuel rail and injectors as one so that your ls1 harness will plug right into it. The trucks injectors have a totally different plug.

All in all both of the motors are pretty much the same.
Old 08-07-2009, 08:57 AM
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Thanks for the replies guys. What about the valley cover? Or did I read wrong somewhere?
Old 08-07-2009, 10:03 AM
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The Valley Cover is the same..nothing is needed to be changed.

One thing you are going to have to do is drill & tap the Ear on the drivers side of the Ironblock to bolt the Alternator too.

Look at the LS1 block and you will see what I mean.

Why not a 6.0l?

Originally Posted by bjamick
As said above keep all your accessories. Also keep your intake and fuel rail and injectors as one so that your ls1 harness will plug right into it. The trucks injectors have a totally different plug.

All in all both of the motors are pretty much the same.
I'm willing to bet he will be needing bigger Injectors for his build in the future.
Old 08-07-2009, 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by the_merv
The Valley Cover is the same..nothing is needed to be changed.

One thing you are going to have to do is drill & tap the Ear on the drivers side of the Ironblock to bolt the Alternator too.

Look at the LS1 block and you will see what I mean.

Why not a 6.0l?



I'm willing to bet he will be needing bigger Injectors for his build in the future.
Touche, didn't even think about that.
Old 08-07-2009, 10:40 AM
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y not just install the 317 heads on the ls1 and run with that, youre adding more weight, less ci. and unless the 5.3 is forged, then theres no real reason to swap in a 5.3 imo
unless your ls1 is alredy broke
Old 08-07-2009, 11:41 AM
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The truck motor coil packs will interfere with the Fbody injector rail. You might want to keep the coil packs off the old motor to put on the 5.3L

You need to drill the iron block with a 11/32" drill bit then tap it with a 1.5mm-10 tap to get eneough bolts going through the alternator bracket. Keep your drill normal to to the block

If the 5.3 was a drive-by-wire you probably want to keep the old harness and PCM too
Old 08-07-2009, 12:55 PM
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Which Coils interfere with it?

I'm running the circle Truck Coils.. then again I have LS2/LS3 Rails so I guess that may be why it's good..
Old 08-07-2009, 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by the_merv
The Valley Cover is the same..nothing is needed to be changed.

One thing you are going to have to do is drill & tap the Ear on the drivers side of the Ironblock to bolt the Alternator too.

Look at the LS1 block and you will see what I mean.

Why not a 6.0l?



I'm willing to bet he will be needing bigger Injectors for his build in the future.
I am gonna go with a 5.3 because they are cheap, plentiful, slightly smaller bore so the pistons are structurally stronger, they have more meat on the piston, and they are already dished. I have a high mileage ls1 right now, and if I boost it, I am just begging to grenade it. Better for me to get out of it while it still runs great, and get a low mileage 5.3 with some 317's and I would feel safer about the entire setup for the time being. I already have some injectors also.
Old 08-07-2009, 05:02 PM
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317s have a 4" chamber not sure if that will cause an issue or not....I swapped to a 5.3 for the same reasons you listed...well my ls1 kinda died....to add to the coil pack topic...all you have to do is bend the fuel line up a tiny bit to clear the driverside coil packs...ive done it on 2 different setups....

i have 250 bucks in my shortblock and it only had 30.000 miles also it was an 03 model so it has all the upgraded internals....its only 21cubes smaller....never even notice it once a power adder is added...
Old 08-07-2009, 05:17 PM
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For what I want to do and what my goals are, its really the best choice if you're on a budget. its a stronger block all around, with better pistons for what I want to do. I get a lot "why the hell go smaller?" I guess a lot of those people don't now what you can really do with these motors. There is a guy around here with with a junkyard 5.3, 317's running high 9's with a mp70 turbo. Thanks for all the replies, I think I got it covered now.
Old 08-07-2009, 05:23 PM
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Originally Posted by taws6m6
For what I want to do and what my goals are, its really the best choice if you're on a budget. its a stronger block all around, with better pistons for what I want to do. I get a lot "why the hell go smaller?" I guess a lot of those people don't now what you can really do with these motors. There is a guy around here with with a junkyard 5.3, 317's running high 9's with a mp70 turbo. Thanks for all the replies, I think I got it covered now.
i can agree that the 5.3 is stronger, but on a 80k miles, abused but maintained miles
i put together a single mpt70 for friend and it now has around 5k miles at over 500rw with good tune, external pump, and 60lb'ers
Old 08-07-2009, 08:25 PM
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Cool stuff, let us know how it turns out for you.
Old 08-07-2009, 09:55 PM
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lol dont wait on me. Its gonna be a while till I get my car up and running again. Seems like every time I turn around someone is offering me a pretty good deal on all kinds of stuff. What started out as a single rear mount setup is turning into a complete motor, intake and hood swap now. I think I bit off more than I can chew for the time being
Old 08-07-2009, 11:39 PM
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Sounds like what im doing....... seems that the 5.3 is alot more boost friendly shortblock..... from my reseach this seems to be the best way to go with a turbo 5.3l to make 500-600hp::::

1) Junkyard pullout 5.3
2) 317 heads
3) upgrade valve springs
4) ls6 cam
5) ls6 intake
6) FMIC and/or METH (i will run both)
7) accessories off ls1

you will be around 8.6:1 compression with 317's, so you can run 12psi without meth (but ill run it just incase)... I plan on running 12-15psi and 13-15* timming with my Garret GT70 turbo.... Its currently an sts setup but im gonna convert it to a Front mount truck maniflod setup.... hoping to make 600HP!!!!

Good luck with your build!!!! I will slowly be ordering parts as i have money, but work is slow right now and the cash flow is very little. So it might be a while!!!!

PS jfg455, Parish8, pwrtrip75 and im sure alot of other have all made 600hp+ on the 5.3L and the funny thing is the motors have all been running for years!!!!!!!
Old 08-08-2009, 12:19 AM
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Yeah, I have seen the above guys 5.3l's, pretty stout cars. Now that I know everything I need to keep. Who knows what the most "desirable" year model would be? Since I can take my time and have my choice what should be looking for? I thought I read somewhere the 03 and up models had better internals than previous year models? Or should I just shoot for the newest possible low mileage 5.3 I can get my hands ? Thanks for the replies, I get a lot of great info from this site!
Old 02-28-2010, 06:53 PM
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you don't need 317 heads with a 5.3 it's already a 9.5:1 compression ratio. the 3:17's on an ls1 would be fine... why bother replacing the ls1 unless it's busted it does fine with turbo.
Old 02-28-2010, 07:15 PM
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8-8-09 kinda a dead post however I am also interested in a turbo 5.3 setup
Old 03-04-2010, 06:52 PM
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Oops sorry, I hate it when people Resurect things. So wonder how the turbo setup went lol. I did a search it appeared with a bunch of newer posts.


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