Looking for help with an ls engine swap

[NitRally]

Anyone here know anything or someone who is experienced in ls engine swaps? I have a 1997 Chevy k1500 that needs a motor and I'm really thinking about just putting an ls engine in it.

[jackelope]

Best bet is probably to buy a wrecked truck with a good engine. You'll need all the electronics, wiring, fuel delivery etc. Yank it all out of the wrecked donor truck and move it all over the your 97 truck. I've never done it but I've watched the process a couple times. It's not easy. Very time consuming, lots of fabricating, mickey mouse'ing, macgyver stuff.

[NitRally]

Yeah, I'm on the hunt for a reasonably priced 5.3 been checking pick n pull and I think I can buy the motor mounts and flywheel adapter and stand alone wiring harness. My transmission is recently rebuilt maybe 10k miles on it.

[hunter399]

Closer the year on the new engine the better.
Look for an engine out of a 96-98.
For the price of crate engine you could drop it at a shop and have it rebuilt.
Unless you come across a good junkyard motor.

[Blacktail Sniper]

This guy & his wife have several videos showing their process on adding an LS to truck, there are also sevral others that have different degrees of helpfulness, but it seems they do a pretty decent guide, at least it gives you an idea of what is involved.


https://www.youtube.com/c/uglytruckexperience

[BD1]

I would reach out to member Buckmark 

[JBG]

I am in the middle of an engine swap on a different kind of vehicle.  If given the choice I would just spend the money on something different.  I've learned that once you take it apart it never goes back together the same.  If its a secondary vehicle that is OK forever being in some state of needing repair that might be different. 

[NitRally]

I was looking at just getting a new motor for it it's the last year 5.7 sbc before they went to the ls style. New GM is $4500 and a remanufactured aftermarket is about $3000 with core and shipping.

[jackelope]

Closer the year on the new engine the better.
Look for an engine out of a 96-98.
For the price of crate engine you could drop it at a shop and have it rebuilt.
Unless you come across a good junkyard motor.

Those aren't LS engines.

[NitRally]

Yeah the ls style started in 1999

[Norman89]

are you planning to do the swap yourself or have someone do it for you? its not hard to get the motor in no different then any other motor swap, just changing motor mounts, rad mounts, exhaust is really about it. then a stand alone harness or make one yourself which there are countless videos on youtube on how to do that. but take into account what trans you have and if it will need to talk to the ecm that changes the wiring a lot and one reason many guys will use a factory 4l60, 4l65, 4l80, or 4l85 trans that is designed to run behind the ls which also gets rid of the flywheel offset problem which some transmissions either need a stepped flywheel or a spacer to bring it in alignment with the nose of the started and the set back of the torque converter. one reason i stick with manual transmissions is just to avoid that electrical problem by thats just me, i live and die by a bolt action trans. my last straw was my 2000 silverado with a factory 5.3 that in 47000 miles went through 3 rebuilt 4l60e they do not like to tow and haul even with a shift kit and billet converter and shift tuning in my experience. land scape company owned the truck before me and i bought it at 215,000 miles on transmission number 3 dead in the truck, sold it with dead number 6 in the truck. great truck, great engine good power but screw that half ton transmission. if i could have got my hands on a nv4500 i would still have it. instead i bought a dodge v10 with that transmission

[ballpark]

This is what I did on my 98 Silverado.   Swapped the 5.3L for 5.7L, worked great, plug and play. 
https://www.jegs.com/p/JEGS/JEGS-Performance-Products-1996-2000-Chevy-Truck-Vortec-350ci-57L-Crate-Engine/5240244/10002/-1

They come with heads.  Your old Vortec heads off your 5.3L are desirable for rebuilds.  I sold the old engine with heads quick.  Look up the price for refurbed Vortec heads 

[NitRally]

My truck has a 4l60e but doesn't have the removable bell housing, it's on its 3rd trans as well. The 4l60s are pretty weak but my truck I never tow anything with it and only do dump runs/move stuff with it. Yeah I was looking at the jegs engines too the core charge and shipping kind of suck that's why I was kicking around the idea of a new GM l31 it's the same engine just new with free shipping and no core charge and it's a 4bolt main instead of 2 bolt.
https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/19432780.html

[ballpark]

My truck has a 4l60e but doesn't have the removable bell housing, it's on its 3rd trans as well. The 4l60s are pretty weak but my truck I never tow anything with it and only do dump runs/move stuff with it. Yeah I was looking at the jegs engines too the core charge and shipping kind of suck that's why I was kicking around the idea of a new GM l31 it's the same engine just new with free shipping and no core charge and it's a 4bolt main instead of 2 bolt.
https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/19432780.html

That will work also. 

[jeffitz]

5.3 LS in the 91 wrangler - with help from a friend who does LS swaps as a pro, it wasnt too tough really and excellent results.  4L60E trans behind it.

[toxxic]

5.3 LS in the 91 wrangler - with help from a friend who does LS swaps as a pro, it wasnt too tough really and excellent results.  4L60E trans behind it.

Beautiful install. I have a 5.3 LS in a 1997 Wrangler with a 4L80E, certainly barks the tires shifting from 1st to 2nd!

[Iveexcaped3]

The nice thing is the LS 5.3 has become so popular there’s tons of aftermarket availability. The down side to the 5.3’s becoming so popular is it’s not a $500 motor at the junkyard any more. The yards are pulling them and selling them for a premium price. $1500 for a 200k engine is steep. I picked up my spare 10 years ago and was $500 for a complete engine.

Wouldn’t hurt to put a cam in it if you’re going to rebuild a junkyard motor anyway. Comp cams sells a few that you can drop in without changing anything else. My objective is to put my 5.3 in my 93 bmw 325i.

[NitRally]

The part that scares me is the electrical wiring, funny enough I'm an electrician but when it comes to vehicle electrical Its a whole other monster that I don't want to deal with lol.

[2MANY]

Just accept God's message and buy a Ford.

[Iveexcaped3]

The part that scares me is the electrical wiring, funny enough I'm an electrician but when it comes to vehicle electrical Its a whole other monster that I don't want to deal with lol.

Look into these guys https://www.wiringspecialties.com/classic-chev-ls1-wiring-harness

They’re about as plug and play as you can get. If your swapping an ls they have a wiring solution for you.

Plus older auto electrical is much easier than todays wiring codes. Cash grab SOB’s

[jeffitz]

Definitely change the cam while its out because the stock ones are pretty lame- i just bought a small tow cam from summit and it fries the 37” Toyos off no prob.  Same here on the wiring stuff man i am not good at that but am fortunate having a guru buddy- i may have never done that swap if not for him- funny though that when you watch those guys do electrical and pay attention it actually seems not too difficult so i think its a big confidence thing. I just have no confidence or prob too lazy to burn brain power on electrical. 
    - i paid to have the GM (Tahoe) harness modified and simplified(they get rid of stuff not used like EGR,etc.) but you can also buy plug n play harness - yes its a big project but fun/rewarding when finished,Wow mine still isnt finished until i get the wire off the upper rad hose which keeps it from rubbing on alt pulley HaHa……

[Lumpy Taters]

As some have already said it is pretty well documented on what you need to swap in a ls motor. There is a few smaller items you have to address but not crazy difficult.  Currently swapping a 5.3 into my wifes 93 full size blazer.   Things like the fuel pump and if your transmission is not electronic can be an issue.  It's the little annoying things that you should plan to encounter and that's where a lot of people give up. 

[GASoline71]

Go big or go home...

Find a 6.0L with a 4L80E attached to it with a transfer case and grab all the wiring that goes with it.  I had an '06 Silverado K2500 with that in it stock and it is a great combo.

Gary

[jeffitz]

Go big or go home...

Find a 6.0L with a 4L80E attached to it with a transfer case and grab all the wiring that goes with it.  I had an '06 Silverado K2500 with that in it stock and it is a great combo.

Gary

Absolutely.

[Norman89]

The nice thing is the LS 5.3 has become so popular there’s tons of aftermarket availability. The down side to the 5.3’s becoming so popular is it’s not a $500 motor at the junkyard any more. The yards are pulling them and selling them for a premium price. $1500 for a 200k engine is steep. I picked up my spare 10 years ago and was $500 for a complete engine.

Wouldn’t hurt to put a cam in it if you’re going to rebuild a junkyard motor anyway. Comp cams sells a few that you can drop in without changing anything else. My objective is to put my 5.3 in my 93 bmw 325i.

Gotta shop around more, if you know people they can still be had for 280$ complete with harness and pcm. But you gotta put in the foot work and be fast. Got a buddy over east that does ls swaps for a living and comes over to the wet side and buys them 10-15 at a time and gets a bulk buy discount 200$ each. Trick of the trade all the ls platform trucks and suvs, the stepper motors have memory in the gauge cluster. Want a good motor? Dont buy one that has the gauge cluster removed, make sure the cluster is still in it and the needle is sitting at 40-50 pounds. Dont even need the battery hooked up. That gauge will show what oil pressure was when the engine was last shut off, gives you much better odds for good bearings and less cam lifter problems