im doing an L33 build
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im doing an L33 build Hey guys i am building an L33 engine i believe came out of an 07 Sierra 4x4, its going in a 05 Yukon 2 wheel drive..I have had it bored .20 over (3.80) and new pistons without new rods, and stock rockers with a 228/232 with .600 lift cam. any advice? also looking for spec sheet for 07 L33 5.3, any help is greatly appreciated.
Advice:
DO NOT OVER CAM THIS THING. You are putting this motor into a Yukon. Consider this for a moment. You are installing a smallish cube motor into a 5500+ lbs full bodied SUV. Torque is your friend, and the overlap created with a larger cam pretty much kills all your low end power. Say it with me. TORQUE IS YOUR FRIEND. You make no mention of torque converter or changing your rear axle ratios so I am under the impression it’s all staying as is, which would kill the drivability of the setup even more. I would install something like the TSP 208/214 cam or maybe smaller. I’ve seen folks over cam smaller short bed 1500 2wd trucks and they absolutely kill their mileage and drivability. Some of it can be tuned out to have some manners, but you're completely at the mercy of the competency of your tuner. If you’re gonna daily it be smart.
If you chose to ignore my above post. Don't just stab that cam in blindly. Your getting up there in duration and lift, I would degree and also play-dough that sucker to make sure you have PTV clearance. You also need to really consider a torque converter and higher ratio gears along with long tube headers.
Have you looked into porting the heads while you have it apart? Ported stock castings are easily worth 30+ rwhp on small cams, and that number goes up with bigger cams. Ported heads generally will not hurt drivability and vacuum in a motor. If you have existing 799 or 243 castings I would probably have a stage 1 port job and rebuild done by a reputable vender on this site. Should be around $1000 or so.
Concerns:
You mention the truck is an 05 and the motor is an 07. You might have a problem most specifically with your crank reluctor and possibly your cam reluctor. In short 05-07 is kinda a weird timeline with GM products where some motors had cranks with 24x reluctors and some had the 58x reluctors. Some cam reluctors were 1x some were 4x. Some say you can go by the color of the crank sensor and I've found this isn't true. You gotta get an honest look at the reluctor either through the crank sensor hole or pulling the pan. As for the cam reluctor if it has the cam sensor in the back it's a 1x sensor. If the sensor is in the timing cover you gotta pull the cover and get a look at the sprocket. If your existing motor is 24x crank reluctor and 1x cam reluctor you want to stay with that setup. The crank can have the reluctor changed but that's a job for a skilled machinist. The cam sensor if it's a sprocket sensor is pretty simple to change. Various vendors make conversion boxes to convert cam/crank signals, but why complicate your project more than you need to with a third party module that can leave you stranded if it fails. Being your truck is an 05 you're trunk is likely setup as an older Gen III motor with the camshaft sensor in the back of the motor. Here is a decent reference chart from Lingenfelter https://www.lingenfelter.com/PDFdown...nformation.pdf
Depending on your compression ratio and cam overlap you may need to run premium gas in this thing. You need to know all your variables.
Specs:
I recommend you pickup this book. This is an older book now, but it's very good particularly for the first time hot rod person. Read it cover to cover and ask questions as you have them on the forum. It will give you all the torque specs and clearances needed to assemble this thing properly the first time.
DO NOT OVER CAM THIS THING. You are putting this motor into a Yukon. Consider this for a moment. You are installing a smallish cube motor into a 5500+ lbs full bodied SUV. Torque is your friend, and the overlap created with a larger cam pretty much kills all your low end power. Say it with me. TORQUE IS YOUR FRIEND. You make no mention of torque converter or changing your rear axle ratios so I am under the impression it’s all staying as is, which would kill the drivability of the setup even more. I would install something like the TSP 208/214 cam or maybe smaller. I’ve seen folks over cam smaller short bed 1500 2wd trucks and they absolutely kill their mileage and drivability. Some of it can be tuned out to have some manners, but you're completely at the mercy of the competency of your tuner. If you’re gonna daily it be smart.
If you chose to ignore my above post. Don't just stab that cam in blindly. Your getting up there in duration and lift, I would degree and also play-dough that sucker to make sure you have PTV clearance. You also need to really consider a torque converter and higher ratio gears along with long tube headers.
Have you looked into porting the heads while you have it apart? Ported stock castings are easily worth 30+ rwhp on small cams, and that number goes up with bigger cams. Ported heads generally will not hurt drivability and vacuum in a motor. If you have existing 799 or 243 castings I would probably have a stage 1 port job and rebuild done by a reputable vender on this site. Should be around $1000 or so.
Concerns:
You mention the truck is an 05 and the motor is an 07. You might have a problem most specifically with your crank reluctor and possibly your cam reluctor. In short 05-07 is kinda a weird timeline with GM products where some motors had cranks with 24x reluctors and some had the 58x reluctors. Some cam reluctors were 1x some were 4x. Some say you can go by the color of the crank sensor and I've found this isn't true. You gotta get an honest look at the reluctor either through the crank sensor hole or pulling the pan. As for the cam reluctor if it has the cam sensor in the back it's a 1x sensor. If the sensor is in the timing cover you gotta pull the cover and get a look at the sprocket. If your existing motor is 24x crank reluctor and 1x cam reluctor you want to stay with that setup. The crank can have the reluctor changed but that's a job for a skilled machinist. The cam sensor if it's a sprocket sensor is pretty simple to change. Various vendors make conversion boxes to convert cam/crank signals, but why complicate your project more than you need to with a third party module that can leave you stranded if it fails. Being your truck is an 05 you're trunk is likely setup as an older Gen III motor with the camshaft sensor in the back of the motor. Here is a decent reference chart from Lingenfelter https://www.lingenfelter.com/PDFdown...nformation.pdf
Depending on your compression ratio and cam overlap you may need to run premium gas in this thing. You need to know all your variables.
Specs:
I recommend you pickup this book. This is an older book now, but it's very good particularly for the first time hot rod person. Read it cover to cover and ask questions as you have them on the forum. It will give you all the torque specs and clearances needed to assemble this thing properly the first time.
Last edited by kossuth; Apr 8, 2018 at 01:29 PM.
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I am planning on a torque converter before i install the engine as well as rebuilding my 4l60 if not buying a 4l80. i was not planning on changing axles, gears or rear end at least not right off. the heads had work done at same time as bore by Richard Grey in Brighton, Tn who is known quite well around the area for his work. did not plan on headers but will consider them now. Now i have never seen the inside of an engine until this buid so when you say degree and play- dough that sucker, what do you mean? hahaha im learning. i am not a mechanic but i have a mechanic helping me with the build. thanks for all the information.
I am planning on a torque converter before i install the engine as well as rebuilding my 4l60 if not buying a 4l80. i was not planning on changing axles, gears or rear end at least not right off. the heads had work done at same time as bore by Richard Grey in Brighton, Tn who is known quite well around the area for his work. did not plan on headers but will consider them now. Now i have never seen the inside of an engine until this buid so when you say degree and play- dough that sucker, what do you mean? hahaha im learning. i am not a mechanic but i have a mechanic helping me with the build. thanks for all the information.
If you're after lope you can get it even with a 216/220 by having a tuner mess with the idle.
This is a trickflow 216/220 but it's gonna be close to what you could get with the cam I posted
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I am planning on a torque converter before i install the engine as well as rebuilding my 4l60 if not buying a 4l80. i was not planning on changing axles, gears or rear end at least not right off. the heads had work done at same time as bore by Richard Grey in Brighton, Tn who is known quite well around the area for his work. did not plan on headers but will consider them now. Now i have never seen the inside of an engine until this buid so when you say degree and play- dough that sucker, what do you mean? hahaha im learning. i am not a mechanic but i have a mechanic helping me with the build. thanks for all the information.
While there are a few ways this can be done this gives you a general idea of how it's done and why it's done.
NOTE: If you go with a smaller cam and your out of hole on the piston isn't more than .010" then I wouldn't worry about it. But if you are going to run that larger cam then you need to check clearances.
