Vortec 5.3 or 5.7 for my 60?

[Kurtis]

The thing with a modified tbi is your not piecing and praying it works. a A tbi always works. You don't need a custom tune to run it and a tuneup doesn't cost 450$. A custom tune makes it run better. When you install a 5.3 you need a custom tune and a one off wiring harness. which is the same as installing a tbi only you don't need that custom tune for the motor to run. You can drop in any stock ecu and drive home. Although the likely hood of having either motors ecu fail is very very small. As far as the throttle body thats not exactly a part that goes bad but same deal you can drop a stock one on and go home. As far as cost it just depends what you get. I did mine for 2800$ total with a fresh built trans and a 99k motor. It only took about 5 days of work to do the swap, 5 weeks total time but 3 and a half were waiting on a part to arrive. That was finished and through emissions a/c, heat.

Both great motors and I think the 5.3 was a great choice for you it fits the 60 very well.

 

[phishincruisin]

With my 5.3L I get 15-16 MPG with stock gears, 33x12.50s going 75-80 MPH on the interstate. In town I get around 10, but I like to use the skinny pedal.

I paid $800 for my '06 motor, including transportation and it had 186 miles on it. No computer, and I converted to a cable TB so that added a little. I paid $75 for my computer tune, not a single issue so far. I plan to start tuning LSx motors myself once I have some money after school to buy what I need, I hope to be able to get more power and better cruising mileage out of it doing this. I'm sure with my exhaust and intake setup my current tune is 100% ideal, but neither is any vehicle if you start upgrading.

Lehiguy, is that 350 hp at the crank or at the wheels? With my Scangauge II calculation my 5.3L put out 380 hp, and in all the vehicles I've checked it with its been 4-5% above of the manufacturer specified hp. I don't think you'll kick the out of my truck.

 

[lehiguy]

With my 5.3L I get 15-16 MPG with stock gears, 33x12.50s going 75-80 MPH on the interstate. In town I get around 10, but I like to use the skinny pedal.

I paid $800 for my '06 motor, including transportation and it had 186 miles on it. No computer, and I converted to a cable TB so that added a little. I paid $75 for my computer tune, not a single issue so far. I plan to start tuning LSx motors myself once I have some money after school to buy what I need, I hope to be able to get more power and better cruising mileage out of it doing this. I'm sure with my exhaust and intake setup my current tune is 100% ideal, but neither is any vehicle if you start upgrading.

Lehiguy, is that 350 hp at the crank or at the wheels? With my Scangauge II calculation my 5.3L put out 380 hp, and in all the vehicles I've checked it with its been 4-5% above of the manufacturer specified hp. I don't think you'll kick the out of my truck.

I don't follow. You figure 380 horse based on what? A LS6 is 405 in the previous generation CTSV, how do you figure you got to 380? Unless you have gone inside that beast and done a cam swap and/or other things such as forced induction, I seriously doubt you're getting what you say. I spent a lot of years in the auto industry and I have been behind the wheel of many different rigs both domestic and plenty of high-dollar import stuff. The 5.3 is a good motor, but lacks the torque of a properly built 350.

 

[Kurtis]

Interesting. stock for stock a vortec 5.7 had 330lbs of torque at 2800 rpms. a 5.3 had 325 at 5200rpms.
Thats the main reason I will only buy 6.0 or diesel trucks for work vehicles. I actually like the 6.0 the best for a work truck since maintenance cost is so much less and around town the mileage is very similar without paying extra for diesel. The 5.3s work way to hard for medium sized loads if your constantly pulling a trailer and the 6.0 actually gets better mileage when pulling any kind of load. An 06 5.3 made 295 hp what kind of cam are you running to get 380 thats pretty impressive. A ls2 in a corvette only makes 400hp 400lbs of torque.

Obviously in a 4k lb suv the 5.3 is a great fit.

 

[lehiguy]

Interesting. stock for stock a vortec 5.7 had 330lbs of torque at 2800 rpms. a 5.3 had 325 at 5200rpms.
Thats the main reason I will only buy 6.0 or diesel trucks for work vehicles. I actually like the 6.0 the best for a work truck since maintenance cost is so much less and around town the mileage is very similar without paying extra for diesel. The 5.3s work way to hard for medium sized loads if your constantly pulling a trailer and the 6.0 actually gets better mileage when pulling any kind of load. An 06 5.3 made 295 hp what kind of cam are you running to get 380 thats pretty impressive. A ls2 in a corvette only makes 400hp 400lbs of torque.

Obviously in a 4k lb suv the 5.3 is a great fit.

I agree with your here. It's not the 5.3's HP that's lacking, its the torque. Frankly, I feel the stock TBI was pretty weak. Unless you can make 300 plus HP and 400 plus pounds of torque, why bother swapping engines at all?

 

[dbleon]

Interesting. stock for stock a vortec 5.7 had 330lbs of torque at 2800 rpms. a 5.3 had 325 at 5200rpms.
Thats the main reason I will only buy 6.0 or diesel trucks for work vehicles. I actually like the 6.0 the best for a work truck since maintenance cost is so much less and around town the mileage is very similar without paying extra for diesel. The 5.3s work way to hard for medium sized loads if your constantly pulling a trailer and the 6.0 actually gets better mileage when pulling any kind of load. An 06 5.3 made 295 hp what kind of cam are you running to get 380 thats pretty impressive. A ls2 in a corvette only makes 400hp 400lbs of torque.

Obviously in a 4k lb suv the 5.3 is a great fit.

From what I gather, the 60 is not really meant to pull heavy loads... If you wanna pull buy a diesel full size truck. For what I wanna do, the 5.3 will be more than enough.

And yes a 5.7 will almost always have more torque cause it has more cubes. "no replacement for displacement". And no doubt it makes it down low... thats not the argument here.;p

I think it comes down to personal preference just like anything else. If considering a swap, sit down and weigh your options: How will the truck be used, whats you mechanical ability, whats your budget, whats your goal, etc...

And above all else, don't forget to have fun and drink lots of .

Dan

 

[Landcruisin'60]

The way I look at it is if I'm going to spend thousands of dollars on an engine swap why would I swap in an engine thats one technological step beyond the 2f? If I ever swap my 60 with a v8 its going to be an LSx. To me I prefer being able to open up my laptop plug in a cable and see exactly what everything is doing. The 5.7 Vortec just seems like a dinosaur to me. Saying a tune up for a 5.3 costs $450 is silly. To tune up an LSx you change the plugs, wires and filter. For a 5.7 Vortec you change the plugs, the wires, the cap, the rotor and the filter. The LSx coil packs dont require regular maintenance like the 5.7 distributor, they go for hundreds of thousands of miles before needing attention.


But in the end SBC people are going to argue why its the best and LSx people will do the same.

 

[orangefj45]

a few things worth mentioning......and i'm going to leave the TBI stuff out of this since the poster asked about vortecs.

5.7 great engine with low end torque. however, most of these have a lot of miles on them by now. so chances are you're either going to end up with some major engine work within the next couple of years or you'll be replacing the long block with a reman unit. that won't be cheap. finding a low milage 5.7 is extremely difficult. lots of injector issues, dizzys go bad and the rest of the electronics can act up as well, especially with age. ask me how i know.......the 98 5.7 vortec in my 80 has 120k miles on it now. i just replaced the injectors, dizzy, egr controller, plugs, wires, .......and even at my cost that was hundreds of dollars. plus lots of work.

5.3 great engine as well but happier in the higher RPM ranges and that's where it makes it's power. i think these are an excellent match for a 60. these can be found with very low miles on them and complete for $800-1000 if you're patient. since i listed all the down-sides to the 5.7, i'll do the same for these.
the oem manifolds won't work most of the time because they don't clear the frame rails. smog legal edelbrock headers are $500 or so. i ram horn manifolds do not work on these engines due to the different exhaust port locations and i have not found an oem cast iron manifold that works well in a cruiser. MAF sensors and fly-by-wire throttle bodies give some trouble. the rest of the engine is excellent and they're definetly more efficient than any of the predecessors.

6.0 well, what can youy say?! badass! but i'd stay away from them in a 60 if you'll ever need to smog it. places like where i live won't allow you to run a 6 liter...........other than that, same as the 5.3 just bigger balls.

i'd run a 5.3 any day.

hth

georg @ valley hybrids

 

[dbleon]

the oem manifolds won't work most of the time because they don't clear the frame rails. smog legal edelbrock headers are $500 or so. i ram horn manifolds do not work on these engines due to the different exhaust port locations and i have not found an oem cast iron manifold that works well in a cruiser.

I dont see why headers would fail smog... theres no egr...

California sucks! (for smog)

I have heard that the stock manifold can be cut and re-done to fit...

 

[orangefj45]

I dont see why headers would fail smog... theres no egr...

California sucks! (for smog)

I have heard that the stock manifold can be cut and re-done to fit...

unless they have a "carb number cookie" on them, you'll flunk.

sure, you can try to work with the oem cast manifolds, but that can be a major pita and welding cast ain't the same as steel........

georg

 

[dbleon]

unless they have a "carb number cookie" on them, you'll flunk.

sure, you can try to work with the oem cast manifolds, but that can be a major pita and welding cast ain't the same as steel........

georg

That's specific to Cali. I'm assuming. Plenty of guys out here (AZ) run headers no problem.

 

[Clonestocker]

You won't be able to run headers in AZ, unless the motor came with them. I have a 1979 Volare that put 0's out the pipe and they made me put an air pump and stock manifolds and emission system on it. No Fun Daniel you ready to purchase yet? matt

 

[dbleon]

You won't be able to run headers in AZ, unless the motor came with them. I have a 1979 Volare that put 0's out the pipe and they made me put an air pump and stock manifolds and emission system on it. No Fun Daniel you ready to purchase yet? matt

I got through equipment inspection with a header on my 2f. It was painted bright blue too. I guess it depends on where you go.

I think I'm still a few weeks out on the adapter. I need to buy a welder first.

 

[phishincruisin]

Interesting. stock for stock a vortec 5.7 had 330lbs of torque at 2800 rpms. a 5.3 had 325 at 5200rpms.
Thats the main reason I will only buy 6.0 or diesel trucks for work vehicles. I actually like the 6.0 the best for a work truck since maintenance cost is so much less and around town the mileage is very similar without paying extra for diesel. The 5.3s work way to hard for medium sized loads if your constantly pulling a trailer and the 6.0 actually gets better mileage when pulling any kind of load. An 06 5.3 made 295 hp what kind of cam are you running to get 380 thats pretty impressive. A ls2 in a corvette only makes 400hp 400lbs of torque.

Obviously in a 4k lb suv the 5.3 is a great fit.

I never said that I was pushing 380, but closer to 350 at the crank. I have a generic stage II tune, headers, dual 2.5" to single 3.5" exhaust with a flowmaster, and a generic 4" intake. Run premium fuel in it too. The 5.3 loves to rev up, I hit 6k a few times a week just for fun.

 

[Kurtis]

a few things worth mentioning......and i'm going to leave the TBI stuff out of this since the poster asked about vortecs.

5.7 great engine with low end torque. however, most of these have a lot of miles on them by now. so chances are you're either going to end up with some major engine work within the next couple of years or you'll be replacing the long block with a reman unit. that won't be cheap. finding a low milage 5.7 is extremely difficult. lots of injector issues, dizzys go bad and the rest of the electronics can act up as well, especially with age. ask me how i know.......the 98 5.7 vortec in my 80 has 120k miles on it now. i just replaced the injectors, dizzy, egr controller, plugs, wires, .......and even at my cost that was hundreds of dollars. plus lots of work.

5.3 great engine as well but happier in the higher RPM ranges and that's where it makes it's power. i think these are an excellent match for a 60. these can be found with very low miles on them and complete for $800-1000 if you're patient. since i listed all the down-sides to the 5.7, i'll do the same for these.
the oem manifolds won't work most of the time because they don't clear the frame rails. smog legal edelbrock headers are $500 or so. i ram horn manifolds do not work on these engines due to the different exhaust port locations and i have not found an oem cast iron manifold that works well in a cruiser. MAF sensors and fly-by-wire throttle bodies give some trouble. the rest of the engine is excellent and they're definetly more efficient than any of the predecessors.

6.0 well, what can youy say?! badass! but i'd stay away from them in a 60 if you'll ever need to smog it. places like where i live won't allow you to run a 6 liter...........other than that, same as the 5.3 just bigger balls.

i'd run a 5.3 any day.

hth

georg @ valley hybrids

George,

Whats the 6l deal? I thought the e-rod was completely legal there Which is basically just an ls3 (6.2)? Is that just an exemption since GM jumped through their hoops? I'm thinking about putting a 6 or 6+ liter lsx motor in something like a nova or chevelle in the next while but whatever I do I like to keep California legal in case I have to live there for work.


Landcruisin60,

As far as a$450 100k tuneup being silly your silly not to do it right 4 wire o2 sensors service lives are 100k miles. If your an old school plug and wire wait tell the engine light comes on guy then yes your tuneup will not cost more than 150$. It is what it is the motors run much better with fully operational sensors.

And in each post I have mentioned a 5.3 is an excellent choice for a 60.

 

[orangefj45]

Whats the 6l deal? I thought the e-rod was completely legal there Which is basically just an ls3? Is that just an exemption since GM jumped through there hoops? I'm thinking about putting a 6 or 6+ liter lsx motor in something like a nova or chevelle in the next while but whatever I do I like to keep California legal in case I have to live there for work.

the erods are perfect for hot rods. anything 76 or newer has to get smogged in CA. well, in most counties anyways. some counties have no smog or more lienient ( sp?!) regulations.
so putting one in a classic won't present any issues.

the way the rules read in most counties is this: the engine being transplanted into a vehicle must be from a vehicle of the same vintage or newer and must conform to the emissions standard of the donor vehicle. also, the vehicles must be of similar nature/build.

what that means is that you can take an engine from a tahoe and put it in a 60. but you can't take an engine from a 3/4ton truck and put it in a 60. so no smog legal 6 liter conversions for us in CA.

when it really comes down to it, the law states that the engine and transmission have to be swapped in as a matching pair. but the refs seem to be very relaxed about that rule asl long as they see either the donor engine and trans or the donor engine and original trans in the vehicle.

hth

georg @ valley hybrids

 

[Cruzerman]

Wasn't the Cadilac Escalade offered with a 6 liter? Wouldn't that be similar to a FJ60?

 

[orangefj45]

yup, escalades and H2s as well. but those were rated at 3/4 ton iirc.

 

[Kurtis]

Thanks for the clarification

 

[Tinker]

Welltech -
"Hotwire" or "Hotline" is a crude communications system between junkyards: sounds like an intercom. A lot of them are getting more sophisticated & have websites with their parts inventory online plus parts request forms. An old buddy dealt with the one I used (Goldmine in Grand Junction, CO) for years in his capacity as an aftermarket rebuilt engine warranty administrator, & I went through the old owner that he knew. They've changed hands since.

So now y'all got me jonesin' for a 6.0 with the 6-speed auto. Might get better mileage towing my boat than the 5.7 (10mpg vs 15 without).