74silver911

Hi,

I just joined this forum to see if I could get some direction on an engine swap. My 07 suburban just had a lifter collapse for the second time at 130k miles. The 1st time they collapsed was at 65k. I'm really tired of this AFM motor. Thinking of swapping in a 6.0L engine. I see on other posts that I should use a 6.0 LY6 engine. I'm really only looking for reliability. The power of the 5.3 was adequate for my towing needs. I tow approx 4k lbs. As long as the 6.0 pulls the same or a little better I would be happy. So what's really involved in the doing the swap? The tuning and electrical side of the swap scare me. Also, does anyone know of a shop that can perform the swap in the Connecticut area? It's my wife's vehicle which I use to tow my track car. I'd like to get this burb going sooner rather than later. Track season is fast approaching.
Also, the transmission was feeling a little tired lately. It was slipping during gear changes when towing. I already contacted gearstar and have pretty much settled on replacing the transmission if I go ahead with the swap. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

mdwatts11

iTrader: (4)

The LY6 will be a direct swap minus the tune. Might as well get a custom or dyno tune while you're doing it. Most will recommend a 4L80e swap for the trans especially with the weight of your vehicle.

74silver911

Thanks for the info. I was planning on a 4L65E upgrade from the 4L60E

Truckshop

iTrader: (17)

If you're happy with the 5.3 then just do away with the dod. Regular lifters and even a baby cam and it's done. Some if the newer 6.0's also have dod. Some even have vvt. Need to pay attention to what you're getting. You could even find a 6.0 short block and reuse your heads. Plenty of options. None are cheap if you're not gonna do the work yourself.

74silver911

I actually took one of the heads off and found the cylinder had 3 strange markings on it. Definitely something I could feel with my fingernail. Also, the engine was using about 1 1/2- 2 quarts every 1000 miles. There is something going on with the engine other than the lifters. I'd rather start over with a known low mileage or new engine.

74silver911

Truckshop, I'm curious. I thought the 4L80E was the newer 6 speed trans? I was told that the 6 speed transmission was too much of a problem to retrofit into my suburban. I actually would like a 6 speed. When towing, the gearing on my 4l60e was always either geared too low or the rev's were too high. It felt like it needed an in between gear.

95greenZ

iTrader: (2)

No the 4l80e is a 4 speed it's pretty much a turbo 400 with overdrive. The 6l80e is the six speed. Also the afm/dod is known to cause oil consumption thats why I have mine turned off.

74silver911

I found a couple of LY6 engines. One used 2009 with 30k from a crashed/rollover for 2k. I also found a new crate engine for a 2009 silverago LY6 6.0 for approx $4k. I'm actually leaning towards the new engine. If I buy either one of these engines, from what I've read it should be plug and tune. In other words, all my original wiring from my 2007 suburban should plug right into the LY6. can anyone confirm this? The only thing that wouldn't plug in is the connector for the AFM located on the rear of the engine on the lifter cover. I assume I just zip tie this original connector from the harness out of the way. I also would have to run the 2 wires from the ECM to the VVT connector on the new engine. I then have the ECM tuned to work with this new engine (deleting the AFM in the process). Can anyone confirm this as well? I need to find more info on the 2 wire harness needed to run the VVT. Not much info except for a couple of posts.

So, some of the other things that pop up that I'm not sure about are:
1) Will I be able to run the same fuel pump with this new engine? Hopefully I can just plug in the fuel line to the fuel rail and be done with the fuel system.
2) I'm assuming the new engine is for a rear wheel drive truck. So not sure if the flywheel (flexplate) is usable with my suburban. Should I be worried that the crank is somehow different and wouldn't work with my 4x4 suburban?
3) Will the exhaust manifolds on the new engine bolt on to my exhaust system or will I need to reuse my old manifolds? And if I need to reuse my old manifolds will they just bolt on to the LY6 heads?
4) Not sure if they'll be a problem with the TCM working with a reflashed PCM. I do plan on ordering the 4L65E transmission to replace my tired 4L60E trans.

I would appreciate any info on the above topics or anything else you think I should consider with this swap. I know some people said to just delete the AFM on my 5.3. Reason I don't want to is because there is some damage to the cylinder wall on my 5.3. I'd rather just replace it than try to rebuild it. The 6.0 seems like a nice upgrade if I can get it to work.

Z71crawford

The 6.oh will do nicely in the burb. I wouldn't upgrade to a 4l80e though. I would upgrade the 60e and call it a day. I know of a good transbuilder if you need some help on that. Everyone is going to try and convince you to do a 4l80e build, but if you arent going to upgrade anything else, dont bother with the 4l80e.

Cmow

I'm also looking to replace my 5.3 in our suburban with a 6.0. My 5.3 had a small chunk out of the #6 exhaust valve. I have no info to offer, I sure would like to know any info that you receive.