found a bargain 2004 lq9 to drop in my 01 short bed. Problem: pretty sure the lq9 is drive by wire and my 01 is cable. what's my best move? i'm thinking an intake swap and all should be good but not sure if that's the smart thing. issues? performance or otherwise? Been lurking here a while but haven't seen this one addressed.

 

Put a drive by cable throttle body on it..

 

Just use the wiring harness , PCM and throttle body from your 4.8. Get a tune on your existing PCM.
Everything interchanges. A 4.8, 5.3, LQ4 and LQ9 all have the same intake, throttle body size etc.

 

swap the manifold over, its easier
the 04 has returnless fuel system the 01 has a return
there is also different vaccuum conections and the pcv is different
04 do not have the air/egr the 01's have

i did it on my 01' 5.3-6.0

 

the original pcm for the lq9 is coming with it. my understanding is that it has the capability to automatically adjust to octane changes to a higher degree than my stocker. Anyone got experience with that? seems that would be advantageous, but how much of a hassle is that? worth it? thanks Rob

 

you cannot use the 04 PCM in the 01 truck without changing the harness, its drive by wire

just sell that pcm and get a tune for the 9