Pretty hard to answer that. Sounds like a personal choice.
Registry 8x Series V8 Swaps (7 Viewers)
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Not really enough info to judge that though. Don't know the weight and windage of what's being towed, etc.
NCFJ
Supporting Vendor
In regard to towing with a 5.3L. I would look to the amount of GM trucks still on the road with this platform. These vehicles are often found working for a living pulling all types of trailers, still. A big reason why they are so very popular in swaps is the staggering amount of them that were produced. Another is that rare is the GM vehicle in the junk yard there because of engine failure. Fleet vehicles with this engine top 300K miles on a regular basis with only simple oil changes and a new set of plugs once in a while.
If you are in doubt, by all means, opt for a 6.0 or 6.2. It might just allow you to sleep better at night.
If you are in doubt, by all means, opt for a 6.0 or 6.2. It might just allow you to sleep better at night.
What is your budget? How important is gas mileage when not towing?
I would like to keep it under 17k, fuel mileage doesn't matter much
Are you doing the work yourself or having it done?
I am having it done
GeoPro 15tb trailer
17k will go fast then. You could do a gen3 6.0 with a 4l80e. Not sure if you can do a gen4 on that budget or not.
Have you looked at the price of used engines these days? I'm not sure he can on that budget
That's going to be your limiting factor. Most conversions are going to run a fair bit more than that if you're not doing the wrenching yourself or have a friends and family rate at the shop.
I completed an L83 swap with 6l80 into my 105 (80 series chassis).
It was 100% bolt in including the wiring it was plug and play.
Really happy with how it turned out!
I reused the factory exhaust. It kills power a little but thats ok. It's a sleeper. No noise, nothing. You can tell something is up when I'm starting it. Otherwise, it's lighter, faster and has better range than stock.
It was 100% bolt in including the wiring it was plug and play.
Really happy with how it turned out!
I reused the factory exhaust. It kills power a little but thats ok. It's a sleeper. No noise, nothing. You can tell something is up when I'm starting it. Otherwise, it's lighter, faster and has better range than stock.
Heeeeeyyyyyyy excuse my ignorance but right hand drive or left hand drive chassis? And if rhd who's mounts did you use?
LHD
I made adapters to fit the engine on the original chassis brackets. Incase I want to go back to diesel.
The transmission mount was the same.
The rear driveshaft I used the LC200 rear driveshaft. Exact fit if you use the Marks 4WD adapter with 6l80 and original Tcase. The front I had to shorten about 1.5"
Since my truck started life as a diesel, I had to get fuel pumps mounted on the 1FZ sending unit.
The fuel lines I ended up reusing the original as well. You can use quick release fuel fittings on the steel line coming out from under the LHS firewall. for return, I used the original return line.
My Cruiser has factory dual tank. So I left all the plumbing for the dual tanks alone. Really, you don't need to touch it when going from diesel to gas.
The cooling system. I tried to keep it as stock as possible. So I retained the factory radiator and made an aluminum fan shroud that houses 2 SPAL brushless fans. Those are triggered automatically from a sensor that's on the engine. I also wired a manual override switch in case I want to manually have the fans at full blast. Totally unnecessary but I did it anyway.
The steering pump was a little tricky. I had to compromise here and go with a corvette style pump (small). this was due to the pump being close to the frame. It works okay but makes some noise when it gets hot. I also don't like that at idle, it's a little slow to move.
The wiring is really a walk in the park. The 80/105 are super simple to wire. I used a Dakota digital to integrate the Tach. Everything else is original toyota sensors.
The harness I used is from PSI. Nice and simple. I reused the factory intake
I think the fun in LS/LT swaps is not to do the swap. anyone can swap an LS/LT. But trying to make it work as O.E as possible and as bolt in as possible. I think this is the most fun part of it.
The part that took the most in this swap is the linkage for trans and transfer case. I swapped in a part-time case. They were both a headache to make work.
When all was said and done, the truck lost weight in the front. So I need to find a softer spring than factory.
I made adapters to fit the engine on the original chassis brackets. Incase I want to go back to diesel.
The transmission mount was the same.
The rear driveshaft I used the LC200 rear driveshaft. Exact fit if you use the Marks 4WD adapter with 6l80 and original Tcase. The front I had to shorten about 1.5"
Since my truck started life as a diesel, I had to get fuel pumps mounted on the 1FZ sending unit.
The fuel lines I ended up reusing the original as well. You can use quick release fuel fittings on the steel line coming out from under the LHS firewall. for return, I used the original return line.
My Cruiser has factory dual tank. So I left all the plumbing for the dual tanks alone. Really, you don't need to touch it when going from diesel to gas.
The cooling system. I tried to keep it as stock as possible. So I retained the factory radiator and made an aluminum fan shroud that houses 2 SPAL brushless fans. Those are triggered automatically from a sensor that's on the engine. I also wired a manual override switch in case I want to manually have the fans at full blast. Totally unnecessary but I did it anyway.
The steering pump was a little tricky. I had to compromise here and go with a corvette style pump (small). this was due to the pump being close to the frame. It works okay but makes some noise when it gets hot. I also don't like that at idle, it's a little slow to move.
The wiring is really a walk in the park. The 80/105 are super simple to wire. I used a Dakota digital to integrate the Tach. Everything else is original toyota sensors.
The harness I used is from PSI. Nice and simple. I reused the factory intake
I think the fun in LS/LT swaps is not to do the swap. anyone can swap an LS/LT. But trying to make it work as O.E as possible and as bolt in as possible. I think this is the most fun part of it.
The part that took the most in this swap is the linkage for trans and transfer case. I swapped in a part-time case. They were both a headache to make work.
When all was said and done, the truck lost weight in the front. So I need to find a softer spring than factory.
Can you share your insight regarding making the shifter work with the 6L80? I’m at that point in my L83 swap. Cheers.
Honestly, it was trail and error all the way. The issue you will face is getting the shifter points to match the transmission detents.
I remember the solution for this was to change the length of the shifter on the transmission to match the motion on the shifter inside the cab.
The shifter I used is straight up and down. The 100 came with two type of shifters. I used the basic one like the 80.
Don't waist your time trying to play with the length of rod to use for the shifter. Just get the correct length for the complete motion (range) of movement. Then work on fine tuning the shifter on the transmission it's self by adjusting the length of the trans shifter. I hope it makes sense lol.
I have an aluminum block 5.3 and the stock toyota radiator. For budgetary reason decided to keep the current radiator till it was apparent it was not up for the job.
It has been up to the task so far, maybe max temp of 220* under some short extreme conditions (long hill climbs in 4L), but quickly cools after, and generally runs 195*-200*. (I have electric dual Lincoln Mark 8 fans)
Update edit (Rockrod’s post #3):
“……almost perfect fit…..”,
there is a 2” gap down the PS. I rigged a break bender out of some 1x3 pine boards and door hinges, to cap it with a piece of aluminum
6000 CFM Electric Fan
Sorry to bring this up again but this sounds tempting http://www.summitracing.com/search/brand/Flex-a-lite/Part-Type/Fans-Electric/Maximum-Fan-CFM/6-000-cfm/ Saw some scattered threads on the topic. So if you could retrofit this, would there be any benefit? I forget what cfm the mechanical...
forum.ih8mud.com
Last edited:
I just talked to the referee in Broomfield and he basically told me it's not possible. With an OBD2 vehicle you'd have to swap over gas tanks, evap, etc. etc. and he just doesn't think it can be feasibly done. I even mentioned I know people with the same truck who have been through your shop for inspection and he was like, "no, I would remember that." I asked him if there were any recent changes to the rules that made it so difficult and he said no, this is the way it's always been. If his goal was to discourage me, he definitely succeeded.
Any front range folks have thoughts on this development? @ajordan1975 @White Stripe @rockrod
Helping a buddy of mine acquire a property in Grand County, so I may have a work-around for emissions here shortly
Marks adapter arrived this week but I just realized I didn’t get the instructions emailed to me. Anybody know the measurement to cut the 4l60e tail shaft by? I measured the current length with it all bolted up vs the length of a spare Toyota transmission and ended up with 31/32” difference. I’m thinking a 1” cut should work but I wanted to double check.
