Bus933s

I have a stock 5.3 vortex with a 4l60e a 3.73 diff. I use this primarily for towing a travel trailer about 5500-6000 lbs fully loaded. Truck does fine on highway and minimal grades, but while I am within tow limits performance just isn't there. I want to be able to clear the Sierra Nevada ranGE or make it denver, but I don't want to incur the cost of upgrading to a 2500. My truck is in great shape, I've owned it 10+ years and have invested a lot in keeping the longevity and safety. So, would it handle a larger engine and trans and would that give me the horsepower I need? I won't be towing more, so I would think the marginal weight increase of the bigger engine/trans would not be much of a negative factor.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (87)

a bigger engine like a 6.0 is NOT a weight increase. A 4l80e swap would be about a 50lb penalty, so no biggie there. I think exhaust work (if you can get away with it) and/or a gear swap would help. I dont know what year your truck is but I can give you some mods that helped me add some much needed power to mine. I did a cold air intake, efans (05-up have these stock), tune by hptuners, circle d 3200 converter, long tube headers (big hp increase over 3k rpms), full exhaust with no cats, and 4.10 gears. Boy she pulls my Camaro a whole lot better now, where before you could tell she was working to get on the highway etc.

Here's some reading if you're interested:

https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...er-etc-544286/

Bus933s

Thanks for the link. How did you deal with o2 before and after sensors? I was told by an exhaust shop I'm stuck with stock (2002 burb)? And did the exhaust and intake changes require any programming?

is there enough gain in the 6.0 to justify pulling the 5.3? And then would it bolt to my 4l60e or am I committed to 4l80e change then?

ecm & whatever other control modules... engine and/ or tranny swap.... am I going to need the electronics off the source vehicle as well?

if I can ask, about what did you spend on parts, not counting the tranny/converter and where's a good source to purchase?

thank you for your input!

1FastBrick

iTrader: (17)

Define the cost of upgrading to a 2500??? No matter what you stick in there, your going to have to upgrade it to get the most out of it.

A 6.0 will bolt up to a 4L60E no issue. It was a factory set up in his Denali as well as cadillacs suv's and Silverado SS trucks . You can reuse all the same parts from your 5.3L

All you need to do to the electronics is get someone to tune it for your set up. Tuning software allows them to adjust the parameters of the engine and transmission. You can even change the engine size so it functions correctly.

Bus933s

15 or less year old 2500'S are not plentiful. And ultimately I would seek an 8.1L or its not really justified IMO. I am finding those, in limited supply, at 200k+ original mileage in clean condition is selling for 8-9k. That mileage to me means a rebuild needs to be factored. My truck is in awesome condition and owned free and clear with 150k. I know I can't make a 5.3 or 6.0 pull like an 8.1, but is a 5.3 upgrade to 6.0 with other mods, like headers, cold intake.. going to make enough difference to take hills better, accelerate freeway on ramps at better speeds, etc. Maybe I don't get all I want, but can a roughly 3k investment (rebuilt 6.0 + other mods considering I'm doing all the labor) be justifiable performance return vs an uncertain condition of a 9k investment? And without a loss of mpg (I get 8-9 pulling now). Eventually I want a diesel, but then I'm looking at 20k+ for one not near end of life, and those are even harder to find in a used burb. So really i am after a measurable gain that will extend where I can travel/pull but maybe not everywhere, and do that for 3-5 years until I can upgrade.

thanks for the feedback and any more thoughts!

1FastBrick

iTrader: (17)

Where are you located?

Bus933s

Springfield MO

1FastBrick

iTrader: (17)

IMO Your chasing your tail. You don't want to spend 9k but want to gain some measureable performance.

Sure you can grab a 6.0 for around 1000 and slap a cam and some other mods on it. realistically you probally have around 3K in the swap. Then your going to have to get the trans done... looks like another 3k...

See where I am going with this... in 3-5 Years will you be able to sell the same vehicle with mods for any more money than if you sold it now and got something else?

IMO I would search for that 8.1 SUV now. Maybe something like this? 2003 GMC Yukon YUKON XL2500 SLT 4X4 8.1L

1FastBrick

iTrader: (17)

Or maybe this conversion... FOR SALE: 2003 Duramax Suburban 2500 - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

Bus933s

thanks for the input. your reasoning is sound.