I’ve got an ‘09 1500 and my LC9 is starting to go out. I want to swap to something bigger for more power. I’ve been thinking about the LS3, from what I can see it’s almost a direct swap besides an air filter change and some other drivetrain changes. Other than a tune and some possible wiring changes is there anything else I need to know?

 

For the most part yes, it's a direct swap. If you want to use your truck accessories you need to remember that and make sure the intake manifold works and clears everything.

A truck 6.2 would also be a direct swap as well and likely cheaper than a LS3 engine.

 

Yep, anything with a 58x reluctor will fit and work without issue however, will have to tune out the AFM and VVT. LY6 is the 6.0 and iron block, inexpensive. So I didn't have to mess with the intake as the motor I bought was a short block, I just slapped 862 heads on it with the factory intake on my '08. Worked well. Should just be able to tune out the AFM and VVT and run it with a mild 3 bolt cam. How much money are you trying to spend?

 

When my 5.3L gets too tired (or I get too tired of my 5.3L), I'll replace it with any 6.0L I can find.
If I were in your situation, a 6.0L with VVT, but withOUT Engine Half@$$ V4mode hardware would be my target.

If money is no object, ok, 6.2L - but you'd likely get more bang for your buck from a 6.0L, leaving more money for modding.

 

Why not just refresh what you have with better parts? A well built 5.3 can run with any of the other displacements.