i thought the 6.0 cranks were all the same. I thought i remember someone awhile back saying a LQ9 crank had to be used with LQ9 pistons cause the rods weighed more or somehing. is this true or can i just get any 6.0 crank to use with my LQ9 pistons and rods? i know the 99-00 cranks wont work cause of the longer snout, but im just talking about a 04+ crank. thanks fellas

 

While ideally you should either use a crank that was originally fitted with the floating rods and pistons or have the rotating assembly rebalanced, it is possible to run it anyway in a normal daily driver. Yes the floating rods are heavier by a good margin, and the flat-top pistons are too a degree vs the dished pistons, but as long as you’re not going to try and turn it up you should be fine. If you are planning a performance build, by all means please have the assembly balanced. Whatever the case, any ’01 and up LQ4 crank will work fine, with the ’05 and up being preferred, or at least it is generally accepted as the start of the floating rods across the 6.0 line. Any year LQ9 crank would be perfectly acceptable as well. Hell, a 5.3 or 5.7 crank is fine too as they share the same part number, but may require Mallory metal to bring the assembly back into balance. The only difference with the 5.7 cranks is that they have had the mains gun-drilled for better bay-to-bay breathing.

 

well this is going to be a full bolt on LQ9. i planned on getting the crank balanced and polished. so i should be looking for a 2005+ crank?

 

If you get the rod ends resized to fit the crank your good to go.. Just make sure it is a 01 and after crank..