did you guys do the engine swap yourself?

 

Mostly. I had a friend that had a shop help me with the heavy stuff, and let me use his equipment. Took a little more than a day.

Ross

 

would it be a doable job , just some book reading , for someone whos never done stuff like this?

 

I just read the book and went for it. It would be a do-able job, but I wouldn't recommend it. I was glad to have an experienced mechanic there several times, when I ran into snags.

It would have taken me 3 times as long in my garage.

 

yeah Im going to have to just spend the extra for someone else to do it for me I guess

 

what else will have to be done to the truck after putting in the more powerful engine? people have said that you really wouldnt have to do the rear end stuff but Im not clear on what all you have to do. I guess new transmission for sure ?

 

I think it depends on how hard you beat on it. I didn't do anything else. If and when the tranny goes, I'll get a built one. From what I've heard I think you can plan on a tranny before too long.

 

whats it mean when its a built tranny? thnx

 

It means a tranny that has been rebuilt with lot's of upgraded and stronger parts. Those usually run in the $2000+ range for a good build. Add a higher stall torque converter while your at it. You could upgrade to a stock 4l80 tranny with thwe adapter kit, but that will still run you close to 2k.

 

The 4L60 and 4L65 trannys are a bit on the fragile side even behind a modestly built 5.3l engine. Disabling torque management in the PCM program is a sure way to kill the trans. After several redo's we finally killed the ring and pinion
On our swap we used all the sensors and brackets from the 5.3l. We only swapped the block and heads. According to the GM parts book, even the fuel injectors are the same from 4.8l to 6.0l engines. The guys that wapped my block had it done the same day. I dropped the truck off at 8:30 in the morning and it was done and running by 6:00 that evening.

Good luck,

Richard