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I'm looking at combining a gen 3 and gen 4 5.3 engines to delete DOD.
So here's my plan:
Gen 3 block
Gen 3 cam and lifters
Gen 4 rotating assembly
Gen front cover with cam sensor
Gen 4 crank sensor
Now I'm unsure about knock sensors, probably just tune them out, but I'm thinking about keeping them for this build.
Any thoughts on knock sensors? I could just mount them to the side of the gen 3 block I think? Lol
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks for reading
Last edited by Jake Zinkiew; Jan 1, 2017 at 11:19 PM.
What PCM and harness will you be using? May I assume from the "4th gen rotating assembly" you will have 58x reluctor? In that case, you likely are headed for Gen IV knock sensors and I don't believe those will fit in the valley cover anyway. So side of the block. You will likely need to adjust the sensitivity in the tune of they aren't in the exact same place. I would run them if you can.
Yes you assume correct. I will keep the 58x reluctor. PCM will be a e38 I beleive. Was planning to mount the knock sensors somewhere by motor mounts, they just mount with a single bolt, correct?
Gen IV, yes. Single bolt. 8mm I believe. Gen III the thread(10mm I think?) is attached to the body of the sensor and they thread right in without a separate bolt.
Do you already have the Gen 3 Block? Why not use the Gen 4 Block? Maybe I do not understand the question but if you already have a Gen 3 engine you do not have DOD.
If you have a Gen IV block you are better off, especially trying to use the Knock Sensors and so on.
The Gen IV Knock Snesors need to be located somewhere on the sides of the block and will not fit in the Gen 3 Valley Cover.
I have two motors. A good gen IV short block, and a gen III with a spun rod bearing.
I need to keep it 58x and I don't need the DOD
So since I'm gonna freshen up the short block, might aswell throw the assembly into the gen III block.
If all I gotta worry about is knock sensor location. I'll deal with that.
Another question Would be, can I keep my gen III cam and just swap the gear on the front.
Sorry for all the questions. I just haven't had time to tear into the two motors yet
If the Gen IV engine was 3-bolt cam, use the same cam sprocket. Otherwise, you will need a 3-bolt sprocket with 4x cam sensor triggers. You can see it and the part number in this pic below. It's cheap so might be worth getting a new one and a decent chain as well.
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Building non DOD gen IV 
