The title kinda says it all. I'm going to start an engine build before too long for my pickup. I plan on building an Iron Block 408 with a forged lower and I also plan on putting a procharger ontop of it. This is all going in my 2001 2500 HD which currently has a 6.0 and a 4l80e. I want as much low end power as I can eek out of this engine reliably. This truck is hooked to a trailer 4 days a week, and at least once a week I have to move a D3 bulldozer around. Honestly, I would love to get at least 700 rwhp out of this truck. But I'm also not afraid to push higher than that if I can and still get OEM type reliability, I also am not afraid to aim lower to keep this kind of reliability.

When I drive this truck, it rarely if ever gets pushed over 4500 rpm. So, I'm not interested in trying to build power up high, I want power down low, and I want it through the middle.

My question is what internals should I be looking at? I've kept this engine and my mothers running (keeping hers running is a task, she drives it like a drag car and maintains it like a bulldozer), so my knowledge is mostly in keeping them alive. If you have any suggestions on videos or reading material that would help expand my knowledge, I would be grateful for it.

Since this is going to be a powerful engine pulling very hard against a heavy load, I'm going to assume that the factory transmission is not going to hold up. What do I need to look for in an improved transmission to stand up to what I'm putting it through?

Am I being reasonable? I'm not afraid to spend money on this project, I just don't want any reliability issues at all. I'm not going to be putting this truck on the track every weekend, however when empty, I am going to burn any diesel bub that makes the mistake of rolling up to a stoplight next to me.

 

Do I need to go to the FI forum for this question?

 

Why are you wanting to go boosted for a motor that rarely goes past 4500rpm's? If low end is what you want, maybe look into a positive displacement blower?

 

As I understand, the best ways to increase your low end power are larger displacement, and doing things to improve power throughout your entire power band. I'm aiming for a displacement that is well supported and much larger than my current displacement of 6.0. I understand that I can get more power out of a naturally aspirated engine through better fuel systems, better cams and better air flow, however if I want to get alot more power, then I need to go Forced Induction.

I'll be honest, I know hardly anything about the various Forced Induction. I would like to do everything myself short of the tune, and my welding looks like a 2 year old's finger painting, so for now I consider a turbo rig out of my capabilities, thus the supercharger.

I had heard that prochargers were the best on the market and so I have not done much research outside of prochargers. I will start looking into positive displacement superchargers as of now.

 

Prochargers make boost that increases with rpm. Positive displacement blowers are capable of full boost at any rpm (disregarding pumping inefficiencies), and are more suitable for your goals. However, if high rpm horsepower was your goal, the Procharger would likely be more efficient at that goal. It's a shame you seem to be turbo-shy, because that would be the cheapest way to your goals. It could also be achieved with your stock 6.0 with only valvesprings and "maybe" pushrods as the only internal mods. The supporting fuel and tuning upgrades would be the same with any option you choose.

 

Honestly, not trying to be an ***, but wouldn't you be better off getting a diesel since they're literally designed to do exactly what you want to do?

 

I couldn't agree more and I will add that building a 408 would not be the best choice, The stroke of a 408 pulls the pistons skirts out of the bore and is not going to give you the oem reliability you're looking for. As pozesd99 said you would be better off using a positive displacement supercharger like the Edelbrock E-force Whipple or even a LSA supercharger, Keep in mind that just building the long block is going to cost you over $3k and then you still have to buy the supercharger/turbo or whatever you end up choosing then you'll have to beef up the trans.
What kind of budget do you have?

 

Yep a big crank in a stock block leads to long term reliability issues (from what I understand). The 408 is totally unnecessary anyways for your low horsepower goal.
And if the main goal is towing- you're saying the stock combo isn't working well? Pick up an old lb7 duramax or something similar. You can probably find one for what it will cost you to build the short block alone. Ontop of that- it'll use about half as much fuel, and you won't even know you're towing anything.
Just my irrelevant .02

 

Stick a Whipple onto it.

Or any smallish pair of turbos, single turbo...whatever you want really. Options are only limited by your budget and available space.

 

It would seem that would be the best solution, and I have seriously considered it, however I have a couple reasons against it.

Starting with infrastructure, where I work I can grab a tank of gas 2 times a week. however we only have red dye diesel, so I'd have to get my own diesel.

Next reason is that a diesel swap would suck ***. I am completely unfamiliar with the LB7 and if I put a 7.3 (which I am kinda familiar with) in it then that would be a nightmare from hell. I can't imagine it going smooth. And then I get to go back through the repair learning curve.

Next reason is weight. A dressed lq4 weighs about 500 lbs as I understand, and an LB7 weighs north of 950, a 7.3 weighs north of 1100 and a 5.9 weighs north of 1200. It may not seem like much until you are trying to drag an Air Compressor up a shelf rock mountain. Then weight matters, and I deal with west Texas shelf rock every day now.

And also, Diesels cost more to maintain. Everything is more expensive, and I doubt that the fuel savings would make up that long term cost.

Also with a diesel swap I would be out the cost of the swap and be in a truck that I don't enjoy driving as much as I enjoy driving the ghost. I've never liked the way Diesels have that laggy sensation driving down the road.

Also, Diesels sound like **** compared to a LQ4... but that's just my very unpopular opinion.


As for budget, I've got about $7,000 already set aside and I'm setting more aside to the tune of $4-500 a week. Oh to be single and not mind living the low life for cool toys. I'm pretty sure that can get me started, but I want this to be 1 and done. Down time is expensive. I don't mind building a separate block, and swapping them out because I need an LQ4 for my next project.

 

I never said it wasn't working well.

It's just that a man can always stand a little more horse power.

And I'm tired of getting left behind by my Grandfather (who I work for) and his built 454. I would tell you more about it, but he won't let me look under the hood. I'm pretty sure it's turbo'ed, but he had all the work done.

I kinda instigated that by passing him every day when he had a 350 in that truck...

 

OEM reliability doesn’t happen when you triple the power output, ever. That’s asking the impossible. Be realistic with your goals.

Prochargers aren’t designed for low rpm or towing. They rely on RPM to make power. They do diddly at low RPM and if you pulley them to make decent boost down low for towing, it will over boost at high rpm. Then there’s belt slip to fart around with. If you are wanting to keep all the nice creature comforts like AC, power steering etc… I’d be looking at remote mounted turbo kit. Size the turbo for the RPM range you want the power.

IMO you are looking at spending a ton of money on an aftermarket engine/blower setup (roots or otherwise) and you will still be slower than a bone stock 6.0 with a mild turbo setup.

If you want to keep all your AC and accessories, remote mounting a VS racing new billet 78/75 turbo is the best bet IMO($550 turbo shipped). Under the bed, or behind the cab in the bed. If you don’t need all the accessories, mount it in the engine bay.

If you stick with a bone stock 6.0 (intake, cam, and all) it’s already setup/geared to make power in the low RPM ranges you want for towing. Set of 80lb injectors, mild valve springs (stock $60 ls6 springs would be fine), and a decent intercooler. Then buy HPtuners and have the factory ECU tuned. You’ll have your low end power and all your creature comforts for a fraction of the cost, and you never have to touch the long block. 2005 and up 6.0 would be best.

 

I never meant to swap in a duramax. I meant sell what you have and buy another truck with a diesel. You're going to get better fuel mileage, gobs of torque, significantly more reliability, and if you need more power, slap a $500 tuner on it for 100+ more hp.

By the time you build the engine you want with the supercharger that will do what you want, you're going to be $15k deep with **** reliability and **** fuel mileage.

For that kind of money, you can get a nice truck that will do everything you could want.

 

I thought the truck engine bays allowed front mounted turbos to retain all of the front drive accessories?

 

I'm sorry for taking so long for getting back to y'all. I installed a light bar on our dozer and all of a sudden my work time goes from 9 hours a day to 15 hours per day to get ahead on our dozer work. I've been doing nothing but work, eat and sleep for the past week or two... what day is it again?

Thank you for telling me that. I'm not afraid to declare this project dead if the primary design goals can't be met.

I've discovered as much (regarding prochargersl on the little bit of research I've been able to do. If I were to continue forward with this project, I'd look into positive displacement blowers or turbos.

I am curious as to how much fabbing would be required by me, because as Ive mentioned, my welding is on par with a chimpanzee's (or so I was informed tonight... still haven't had a weld break though.)

You're right, however beyond the fact that I'm slightly sentimental over this truck, I have yet to see a diesel outperform it on the fence line itself. On the highway? Sure, but I also spent the last 4 hours of my day today pulling out 2 guys who had diesels that would just nosedive into the mud. My truck floats like a butterfly. I'd like to keep it that way.

Also, after watching several people have world's of problems with tuners on diesels... I'm very leery of that game. I've seen 4 of my buddies have to put their trucks in the shop for major repairs after throwing 75-200 hp tuners on them. I manage to pull 14.8 mpg empty and 9 mpg loaded to the hilt. , my coworker pulls 15 and 11 respectively out of his powerstroke. Now to be fair I drive smart and he drives like an idiot... but I'm also paying significantly less for everything. Fuel, oil, parts... you name it (besides spark plugs) and I pay less.

Somehow diesels with bigger engines do it... I'm sure I could figure it out if I went this way.



To be honest I'm considering chasing a different project. After hearing from a few that I'm not going to get the reliability that I wanted, I'm very leery of doing anything to jeopardize that.

 

Pretty sure HuRon speed makes a nice turbo kit that would fit your truck with no welding required .

 

You don't need to fabricate much really. Use the 100% stock manifolds and existing exhaust tubing. Have an exhaust show weld on a T4 flange and WG flange. Its as simple as installing an exhaust system.

 

as of right now it's got long tube headers and gutted cats. I didn't do that work myself. Let me go digging for recipts to find which ones are on there

I'll take a look see at turbos.

 

This is how you solve the high torque problem... buy a diesel all the torque you could imagine!!! Duramax for the win!

 

Given that you did not ask if you should sell your truck and buy a diesel, I do not see why that keeps coming up. If you want to keep your truck and improve it to be better suited for what you use it for, I definitely think you should do exactly that.

The easiest way to this WITHOUT FABRICATION would probably be with adapters and an LSA blower, or with LS3/L92 heads and an LSA blower. Your 2001 6.0L should have cathedral port heads, and you can find adapters allowing the use of LSA blowers on said cathedral port heads. Or you can use the LS3/L92 heads on the 6.0L block, and the LSA blower mounts directly to them. This requires no fabrication, it uses all OEM parts (sans the adapters if you stick with cathedral port heads), and will put all the power exactly where you stated you are looking for more power. And can be 100% accomplished by you, without owning or operating a welder.