Search results

  1. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    That's good to know. My guy is gonna check the rebuilder's estimate and of course boring out the block something like 30 over and new pistons, I might end up with a few extra ponies, which isn't bad, in and of itself. Or if I go with the pro rebuilt, throw on a better air intake, maybe do some...
  2. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    I'm not overly worried about more power. I don't EVER put my foot to the floor, and it's rare I put my foot IN it. Seriously, it's not a hotrod machine to me, it'll drink gas like an alcoholic and I've got a 370Z for my "I wanna have fun driving" days. Do I NEED to get a whole rebuild or...
  3. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    So you think this is a good idea? I'm just asking, sometimes it's hard to read sarcasm online and with some of the incredulity I've seen I am just checking. Again, this is all new to me, I've never done a motor or had a motor replaced in any vehicle, so I'm checking around.
  4. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    I see this one from XP for $1999.00. This Ebay rebuilder has one with 862 heads (warning!) for $2199. I see this Roadmaster for $2500. From Tristar, a reman LM7 is $2995. ATKs at JEGS are $2496. I'm learning as I go, again, open to advice. That's why I'm asking questions.
  5. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    I get that... I don't know that anyone local is going to give me a "better" rebuilt engine than a national company with a long track record? Yes, this is a big project, and if I'm committing to keeping the truck another 3-5 years or more, this is a good investment, I'd think? It's an evolving...
  6. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    So I met with a friend who is going to do the pull and replace. He talked to his rebuilder who actually said he's used 4 or 5 of the crate motors from AutoZone with excellent results. He recommends this over a rebuild, which will run probably $1500 parts and labor or more. Went and checked them...
  7. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    If I could get some good 706s that were not Castechs, that might be a good option.
  8. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    Yup, I just saw that video, too. Pretty good channel there. May save me a lot of money in the longrun, lol. Looks like not a lot of benefit to making a lot of the changes I was considering. Just going back with a basic rebuild for my basic driving sounds like a pretty good option. Thanks again.
  9. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    Wow, that was really eye-opening. For me and my driving habits, I think losing the lower-end torque would be a big problem, not that I'm towing or anything like that, but when you drive it softly - as anyone with a Tahoe even mildly concerned about fuel economy will be doing! - you're definitely...
  10. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    Excellent information! Thanks for the tips! If it doesn't make sense to upgrade to some of those parts, I don't want to bother. I'm not worried about power above 5k RPM, I don't know that I ever even GET to 5k RPM. Very very very seldom do I ever "get on it", as I don't need to waste the fuel...
  11. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    I'm seeing more options on Ebay now, too, since I've figured out more about the codes to look for. I know to avoid 706/862 heads if I can't verify they aren't Castech, but now I see the overlaps in some of the motors. I get more results searching for LS1 or Gen III GM cylinder heads (instead of...
  12. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    This sounds good, but I'm not sure where I would get these. We honestly don't have any salvage yards here, would have to drive to Tulsa (about 45 miles) and dig through junk yards. And I don't know that I have the time for that. Honestly there aren't many sets on Ebay (for an L59) that aren't...
  13. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    Good to know, and more things to research. Thanks, guys.
  14. tRidiot

    Best budget upgrades on a 5.3L rebuild?

    So I'm going to need new heads - I've got the Castech 706s. Blew a head gasket, was looking at a motor swap, but I've got someone who'll do a rebuild for me. He knows what he is doing, but I'd like to think about upgrading some things while we're torn down. I'm not worried about power...
  15. tRidiot

    Can I change my thermostat without draining my coolant?

    DON'T get your thermostat at O'Reilly's! I changed mine using one of theirs and three days later it stuck and I blew a head gasket. <sigh> Damned LAST DAY of 2020. Of course.
  16. tRidiot

    Worst years for Castech heads?

    My '04 706s cracked at 275k. They were leaking some before that, but I just kept it filled up. Then I swapped out a thermostat and next thing I know, *BANG* - blown head gasket per repair shop. Currently looking for a decent LQ9 motor to swap in and get away from Castech for good.
  17. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    Not the numbers, no.... but from what I've read, there are "706" heads that are NOT Castec. And even 842 heads that ARE Castec and have had the same problem with leaking. I've considered just moving up to a 6.0L LQ4 or LQ9 motor to get away from the possibility of the faulty head issue.
  18. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    The more I look into this, the more I just don't feel comfortable with putting in a used motor off Ebay or something. I am worried about getting the 706 Castec heads again, and none of the Ebay sellers seem to want to be able to reassure me I am not getting them. They've have to pull the valve...
  19. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    Actually, no it didn't even lose all the coolant when it overheated... I think the crappy new O'Reilly thermostat stuck closed. It popped open later when I was idling it in front of the shop, as I saw the temp dropping rapidly. Then the thermostat was changed anyways before the tech tested it...
  20. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    Thanks for all the helps, folks, I have a lot of research to do.
  21. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    I don't know what an "rpo list" is.
  22. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    Can I limp my Tahoe home to my house, do you think? I live 4.3 miles through light city traffic from the garage where it sits. It's not the best area of town and if I'm going to leave it for a few weeks while I try to find a motor, I'd rather it was at my house than at the garage. I mean, what...
  23. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    However, I think I want to look at the heads on mine and make sure the replacement I get doesn't have the same heads, right? So in 50k miles or so I don't end up with this exact same problem? I don't have the truck in my possession right now to look at the code on the heads... I remember my...
  24. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    Yeah, right, so here's the deal. I had the heads that have the problem with low-grade leakage, had to continually add coolant every few weeks or so. My mechanic was aware of it, he recommended a top-half rebuild, but we've put it off for several years, he said just keep doing what you're doing...
  25. tRidiot

    How to find a good used motor?

    I can't spend $5k on this truck, I have a blown head gasket, probably want to do a motor swap. Problem is, I don't know much about this stuff, I have friends/contacts who can do it, I have a mechanic who could if I wanted to pay more. Just I don't know how you 'find' a good motor - Ebay? I've...

Forum statistics

Threads
132,704
Posts
1,872,867
Members
97,519
Latest member
Noel74329

Latest posts

Top