Hey guys, 148K on the ole 5.3, still running good. i would like to swap in a 6.0 at some point, but this is a DD that has to be reliable. thinking there is still lots of life in the 5.3, would it be worth it to put in a small cam (maybe LS1 cam), and possibly even some 706 heads i can get pretty cheap, to wake this 5.3 up a bit? i am going to get a tune soon, do some towing. just don't have the funds to do the full 6.0 swap right now. with that amount of miles, i just don't know if i am going to hurt reliability/service life of this engine if i do internal mods. replaced the trans with a new GM 60e about 30K ago, don't wanna tax it too much!

 

well you still have atleast 100,000 miles left on the motor, we put a 6.0 in my buddies 2000 sierra about a year ago and he had a 4.8 with 235,000 miles that had nothing wrong with it when we took it out so i don't see why the 5.3 shouldn't go another 100,000 miles as long as you have took care of it,as far as cams i would go with the ls6 cam along with ls6 springs, and the 706 heads wont do anything for you really they are just a little bit better than the 862's but 706's and 862's come stock on 5.3's, imo i would get a set of 243's have them milled so you wont loose your compression because of the bigger chamber with the 2.00 intake valves. and i think you would pick up good hp gains with the ls6 cam and heads

 

i think it should last awhile, i absolutely want more torque on the low end, not interested in racing or WOT conditions. better low end power, to help when i tow a 4500# camper. what about 241 heads? i'm just confused on this whole issue of which heads will do what- don't wanna sink $1000 into heads right now!

 

You can get a brand new set of 243s from Patriot performance for like $450 springs and all.

 

sorry my friend, but i think you are mistaken. i had looked at their site, just checked again- i believe you are looking at heads for an old style SBC.

 

like i said a set of 243's are the way to go, get some bone stock ones off ebay or ive seen guys sell them on here before, have them milled which isn't much at all around here its like $150 for both heads and you got a good set of flowing heads for under $600. and believe me if your looking for horses they are gona cost you

 

call them. it is true. this has been hashed out many time. they are not listed on there site.

 

wonder why they aren't on the site?? 450 isn't bad at all, is that milled as well? i'm not looking for high HP top end, more usable everyday power in the lower rpm ranges- maybe Richard could hook me up with a good head/cam combo.

 

The original motor should have plenty of miles left in it. I am not sure how much heads will help you on the bottom end. The fact is the 4.8 needs more stroke. A LQ4 swap shouldn't be too expensive or possibly even a 5.3 swap.