Owner of a 2000 Silverado 1500 with the ever so powerful 4.3L. Vehicle has 277,000 miles on original engine/transmission. It was the first vehicle each of my three children drove when they turned 16, and is now my daily driver.

Truck is ready for an engine swap and I want some more power. I won't be drag racing, but I'm not opposed to driving a fairly powerful vehicle as a daily (my weekend car is a '12 Grand Sport).

All that said...what would you guys recommend swapping to. I'm not mechanicially inclined, so I will be farming the work out to someone here in the Memphis area. As far as budget....I don't want to put a ridiculous amount of money in the truck..Somewhere in the 3-5K range probably. I've already got more money than it is worth in it.

Any advice or links to similar swaps on the forum would be appreciated.

 

Nice looking truck! You could put a 310 horse 5.3 L33 in it or maybe something with more power, like a 6.0 LQ4/9. You'll need to overhaul/beef up the transmission if not done so already and that will absorb much of your present budget. What gear is in it?

 

The stock tranny will need help no matter what I do. As for the gearing..the previous owner put a different gear in it, but I do not remember which. He was using this truck to haul his boat originally. I believe it is geared higher than stock, but I could be wrong. Nonetheless, if I go engine...tranny...then the rear end will have to be looked at too.

 

Just slap a 5.3L and be done with it. Look at the V6-V8 conversion thread.

https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...-guide-378643/

Could also supercharge what you have. https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...4-3-v6-551424/

 

Thank you for the reply. Supercharging the V6 is certainly thinking "outside" the box.

What would the pros/cons of going with a 5.3 vs 6.0 be?

 

The 5.3L Is a dime a dozen. The 4.8 and 5.3L were produced 2:1 over any other LS engine. They don't fetch a premium like the 6.0L

If you paying a shop, the labor is going to eat up a large portion of the swap.

You also need to secure a few Item's along with the motor. So that can add up especially if a shop is locating the parts for you.

The 6.0 will definitely kill the old trans.

You stated a budget of 3-5K with a shop doing the labor. The 6.0 will be on the high end of your budget because of the premium price.

With that kind of mileage on the truck, your going to want to replace things like the radiator. You will want to put new hoses, T-state, and replace seals while its out so you don't have leakes later down the road. Other things like plugs and wires, coolant, Oil filter, and the other parts add up quick.

If you drop 5K on this and kill the trans, Your going to be right back inside it...

You already stated You didn't need a race car.

The 5.3L will cost less initially on the purchase.
It will yield better fuel mileage than the 6.0
You can always cam it if you want a little more out of it.

The only real con is they don't make the power a 6.0L does. Put the power comes at a price. The initial cost up front and the cost of the rest of the broken things following it...

 

It may not make the power of a 6.0, but it is much much closer to a 6.0 than 4.8 despite the difference in displacement. The 5.3 is a great DD motor.

 

Appreciate all the advice. 5.3 probably the smart/sane way to go. Perhaps a mild cam, headers, exhaust added to it would be more than sufficient.

 

If you have a local pick-n-pull close by may be worth a visit. My buddy scored a Gen III 6.0 long block for under 200 and a LS1 complete long block with harness for 170 out the door.
Granted, you have to do all the work to pull it and have the means to move it but, in the end you'll save.
4l80s are close to 170 to.

5.3s are great but a 6.0 is better especially if your planning on headers, cam etc,,,

In my honest opinion, I think you'll have a hard time finding a shop to do the swap for your budget. Parts and labor will eat it up. Plus time lines never stick to schedule. All the little things add up and end up consuming budgets.

 

since you're swapping engines, don't waste time on a 4.8. i had to pull my 4.3 a while back, so i just replaced it with a 5.3 & have been plenty happy. in-town mileage actually went up with a slight loss on the highway. mild cam & headers will do it some good & be perfect for a DD.