areaume

hello all. new to this forum. i have an 05 silverado with the 5.3l engine in it. it has the dreaded cracked castech heads in it according to the dealer. I have had it pressure tested three different times at three different places. everyone said the truck was fine yet i have been dumping a gallon of coolant in it about every month. this has to be going somewhere. oil looks fine and it doesn't blow white smoke. is it possible for the water to be getting in the engine and not mixing with the oil? I don't understand so i am just gonna go with cracked head. gm wants 3K to fix it which i don't have. i have decided to take on this project myself but have never attempted anything of this magnitude. i am pretty smart and mechanically savvy and got a good book to follow. i have time and will pay close attention to every detail. any last minute advice? also i figured while i was in there i would see about replacing the camshaft for a few more horses. I can't afford performance heads (wish i could) or a 400 dollar cam. I found one on ebay for 100 bucks. it is the GM GEN IV 6.2 L92 ESCALADE OEM CAMSHAFT part number12612273. does anyone know if this will work and just bolt on without any other mods or expensive tuning? I know that part 12561721 will work (the lq9 ? cam) but i can't find one except from gm at 3-4 hundred bucks.

zamora7

iTrader: (4)

Don't think the cam from the L92 will worksince it most likely an vvt cam. If you want a little more from your motor try getting an LS6 cam and some 317 heads(cheap), they flow as good as the ls6 with lower compression and that should give it some get up and go. Either way you go you will need some type of tuning because of different cam and heads unless you go back all stock. Good luck.