I had a perfectly running 1997 GMC Sierra with a 305 Vortec, so naturally I had to change something. Watch as I remove the old drivetrain and install a 6.0L LQ4 + 4L80E from start to finish in just 1 week!
Nice brother!!! I am doing a Ls3/6L90E swap in a 03'Crown Vic Police Interceptor. It's a project with my grandkids. Been at it close to a year now I believe. I've had to piece it from the block up. I couldn't buy a drop out or donor. And a L94 6.2L block fell in my lap for $500. So I said to myself. Ls3 it is lol. I won't do it this way again. Way too much money. When you can't come up with a chunk of mo ey at once, it always cost way more in the end. Lol.
@NotSoFast402 Definitely!!!! I can pick up donors around me for about a grand. But I have nowhere to store or pull what I need. Having a donor is 100% the way to go.
New here. Love my first view. Our Host reminds Me of Dan from DD Speed Shop and David Koresh. So if I were there, he might possibly offer Me a Tim Horton’s coffee and doughnut but with the Koresh element, I won’t be leaving this channel if I know what’s good for Me. 😂
Dude you did awesome. I gotta say after watching you do all that work it hurt me seeing you put your driveline through all that stress for no reason. Trust me you did more than most of us wish we could attempt to do no “burnout validation” was needed.
I also have a GMT400 that I am about to LS swap. Mine is the last of the 350TBI engines mine is a 3/4 ton 4WD and with 3:73 gears it loves the gas. Since about 5K pounds is the most that I ever tow I’m going to put the 5.3 in mine. There’s not much content on GMT 400 swaps but a ton of square body swaps
@@inverted311 I knew the 305 existed in general and in the '88 - '94 years of the OBS in the TBI years, just not in the Vortec years. I'd imagine in the Vortec years they probably made close to the 350 Vortec anyway.
@NotSoFast402 They weren't bad engines per say, they're just meant for daily driving that's about it. The hate the 305 gets is mostly from their first few years in production since being introduced by GM in the late 70s. That issue in its first few years of production was having a camshaft made of soft material causing the cam to wear prematurely, but last I read the 305, 350, and 454 around that same time used soft camshafts as well until that issue was later resolved. It was really just a quality control issue. Other than that, the 305 wasn't good for anything else to my understanding. Lol
Caution, the LS series of motors uses a steam vent system to vent all trapped air above the mid location of the thermostat. It is very common for trapped air to accumulate and NOT come out so when filling the cooling system you must fill the system from the top hose and be sure all air is out, or you could burn the heads up. Good luck.
I liked the video and your narration, not the burnout! I'm just not into that stuff, never was. That truck is sure in nice shape for a '97 with 159,000 on the clock!
I cant believe you put the stock cam back in. Even if you want it to be mild an Sloppy Stage 1/1.5 or TFS 216/220 or 220/224 is not very expensive and would be a total gamechanger on power, even reusing the 317 heads is crazy, the reason a flat top 5.3 with 862/706s is so close to an LQ4 is because the heads make tons of tq, 10-20ft/lbs across a massive range down low(1500-2500rpms) and only lose single digit peak hp for 500-800rpms upstairs. A NBS/TBSS intake with a 92mm tb is a nice size gain everywhere too. You lost tq everywhere and as much as 100hp keeping that cam and heads. I guess you wanted to leave the door open for upgrades later and keep it basic. I'm astonished someone sold you that van for $300. That engine and trans combo pulled and on a pallet ready to ship out could get you at least $2000 in Texas, Tennessee or Florida all day. With that swap, lowered on some nice wheels ypu could get $15-20k for that with that swap in it from clowns with more money than brains who dont want to do or cant donthe work themselves. That truck as it sits swapped is better than anything you could buy new. That thing is ready for another 27 years long after all the modern touch screen trash has failed and been crushed.
@hendo337 Thanks for watching. This was a true budget build, and since the cam looked brand new, that made the decision easy to reuse it. I will have a breakdown of total cost in a future video. Oh, and the people I bought the van from were very interesting!
You need to add the expansion tank back into the heater core loop just like the original ls trucks were set up other than that you won't get proper fillage of the cooling system Also don't forget to tie in your steam port as doing LS swap om my 1988 C2500 with a 5.3L
I ended up removing the upper rad hose and dumping coolant in there. It's been running cool ever since! Got the steam port tied in as well. More info in the next video
Do yourself and your channel a favor and video with your phone vertical and not horizontal threw the whole video! To bad the truck wasn't a Silverado and not a 4X2. You know a transfer case and solid front axel can swap right in easily to get 4X4! Nice swap! One thing that is a pet peeve for me is people that do not get the gauges working when they swap to another motor because they are to lazy to do the wiring!
Nice. I have an Emerald Green 1995 GMC Yukon with a full Stainless Steel Straight pipe it’s a 350 but it’s bored over from 5.7l to 6.0l if you have a instagram let me know what it is I’ll send you a video of it idling or I’ll post it as unlisted and reply to my comment with the link
That 15 Amp to 30 Amp fuse swap has me suspicious. Especially if it's fuel related. I'd might wanna double-check the why's of that situation. I mean, double the Amps means trouble on 1 wire that used to run 15 Amp. I'd check the sending unit itself and take note of the wire grommet and the wire passing through it, it's a high corrosion point.
IF THE ONLY DRIVE WAY I HAVE AND CAN FREELY WORK ON MY TRUCK AT HAD SMOOTH CONCRETEAND NOT ROCKS AND LOOSE GRAVEL, THEN THAT WOULD CHANGE MY GAME FOREVER I NEED TO KEEP ON GRINDING LOL😂
@@NotSoFast402 I have a 2000 k2500 that I want to LS swap but I’m not sure about the wiring that’s why if you make one ready to install I would purchase it
I know it is your engine . But what ever happen to painting a engine any other color than black?. I have ever paint one engine black in all my years, I guess that is just me though.
My 98 z71 has 5.7 vortec gutless pig that it is and im collecting the parts to swap in a 6.0 from a 2003 2500 extra 50 or 60hp right outa the box over the 5.7
why would you swap from vacuum to hydro boost? I've seen many hydro boost systems fail and losing power steering and brakes at the same time is a nightmare😊