Engine swap
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Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 96
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From: Pittsburgh
Engine swap Has anyone thought of swapping out a LS4 for a LS2 or the almighty LS7? How hard would it be? The reason I asked is I entered a local drawing and the grand prize is a LS7 crate motor. Which I would love to see in the engine bay of my Impala SS if I would win. I know it would require serious work to the tranny, but think of it an Impala 427 SS. Bring on the SRT8's.
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 214
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From: Brandon, MS
Originally Posted by crippler22
Has anyone thought of swapping out a LS4 for a LS2 or the almighty LS7? How hard would it be? The reason I asked is I entered a local drawing and the grand prize is a LS7 crate motor. Which I would love to see in the engine bay of my Impala SS if I would win. I know it would require serious work to the tranny, but think of it an Impala 427 SS. Bring on the SRT8's.
You would have to get work done on the crankshaft and other assorted parts... not too much though. If you went with an LS2 block you might even use the 5.3L crankshaft as it has the same stroke... not sure how that would effect balancing though.
It would be a bit difficult since the LS7 has a Dry-sump. As for the LS2, it may be totally doable. Very similar sizes externally. It's just the snout on the crank to think about. I'm not sure if the LS4 has a shorter snout due to the accessory drve being more shallow.
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 214
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From: Brandon, MS
Good point about the dry sump. If everything fit a dry sump might even be better for the sideways engine.
The crankshaft is shorter on both ends.
The crankshaft is shorter on both ends.
The 5.3L LS4, however, was designed to mount transversely (sideways), compared to the longitudinal installation of the 6.0L LS2 and every small block V8 before it. Its crankshaft is shortened 13 mm – 3 mm at the flywheel end and 10 mm at the accessory drive end – to reduce the length of the engine compared to the 6.0L.
