Maybe I should start by asking, what's stock? 2000 Sierra LQ4.

 

'99-'00 LQ4, PN 12560967,
Intake 191 0.457
Exhaust 190 0.466
114 lsa

 

an LQ 4 with set of LS 6 243 heads will be nice, no need for the LQ 9 flat tops.
also you will not lose any flow, the LS 6 243 heads come with the same size
ports and valves in the 6.0 heads.

their are some differences between years on the 6.0 99 - 02.
with a crank spacer kit, you can hook up a 4.8/5.3/5.7 to an early 4L80E,
but because the end on the early 6.0 crank stuck out about an inch,
it could not bolt up to a 4L60E, not without replacing the crank.

some got around this by using the 5.3/5.7 crank in a 6.0 block,
while most just went on to a 4 inch crank to replace the stock one
and up the cubes to 402 or 408.

as far as replacing the cam shaft, most run 6200 to 6800 for a top end.
and don't start until 2400 to 2800 rpm's.
comp makes 2 camshafts 212/218 starts 1200 stops 6200, and
the 216/220 starts 1300 and stops 6300 both are on an LSA of 114

 

The price of LSx anything is really out of my reach. I do with what I can on a college budget. Currently it has iron heads and the reason for the motor being in the junkyard is due to a hole in the number 4 piston. All I was going to do motor-wise is replace the pistons with GM flat tops found in the LQ9's to up the compression a bit since the pistons all have to be replaced anyway. While the rotating assembly is torn apart, the block will be bored .030 over to clean up any mess the piston may have made on the cylinder walls and the block will be decked as little as possible just to clean the surface up for a tight seal. I have found a few sets of 2003-2005 LQ4 and LQ9 heads for under $200 for the pair, I'll go that route since I don't have $600+ for LS2 heads. I'm happy with any pair of heads that are aluminum, because I'm not looking to make a powerhouse. At this point ANY V8 (4.8, 5.3, 6.0) from a truck will do because the 4.3L V6 I have now lacks considerably.

This will be my 3rd motor swap, of which only one other was a Gen III, so in the rebuild and engine transplant I'm keeping it simple. Stock aluminum heads on the cheap, stock pistons on the cheap coupled with minimal block work to ensure I'm not building a bomb. The motor has over 100k miles so the timing chain will be replaced also. Looks like I'll be going after a 5.3L crankshaft now also, ebay is showing favorable prices under $100 bucks, woohoo .

Here's the cam card CompCAMS suggested as a custom grind. Sorry, from the email to this post it got messy but I've high ligted the important things.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

Is there a different casting number on the 99-02 LQ4? Or is it the same as the 03-up? I am picking up a LQ4 next week and if need to get a shorter crank I would like to get it ordered so I can swap it in.

 

you can get a set of fully assembled 243 heads for $450 from Patriot performance and their smaller combustion chambers would up your compression, so you could just buy the cheaper stock LQ4 pistons.

that cam looks fine also, the +4 degres of advance should help bring the power band down some for you.

 

I'm curious about the rev limit issue. Even in trucks with a stock cam you rev them higher than 5500rpm. Why would you put a bigger cam in and still only rev it to 5500? It's not like you're dealing with some junk small block that can't a little rpm.

 

Because this is my truck. It doesn't go over 85mph, hardly ever sees high revs unless I'm spinning the tires trying to get unstuck, and most importantly I need the power below 5500rpms where I use it most. This V8 is for an off-road truck, not a sports car with an 8 foot box.

 

cool truck,
I think the point he wants to make is:
The LS motors will rev to 6000 easily, even when built for low end.
Especially a 6.0
Anyhow the 218-224 should work well.
but what kind of info did yout give them?
That cam will be happy til 6400 I'm sure.
the 212-218 might be a better choice.

Some have used my 206-212 cam in a 6.0 for towing and liked it.

 

the main thing I would be worried about reving the 6.0 is rod bolt's. the stock ls1 bolt's aren't very strong and 6.0's rods are heavier the bolt's really aren't. also the oil pump doesn't provide as much psi as the ls1 pump does but I understand that if you shim the spring it helps a lot. I'm redoing a 6.0 myself and I'm using katech's bolt's and ls1 rods as they are lighter and cheap and just as strong if not stronger. I'm not building a power house either but I want to safely rev over 6k with it.