2008 Yukon Engine Upgrades

[BPopilek]

Hello all. I am looking for a little advice. I have a 2008 Yukon with a 5.3 flex fuel engine. Recently I noticed that there was an exhaust leak. Further examination revealed that the exhaust manifold bolt on the driver side and closest to the firewall had broken off flush with the head. Because of where it is located, I can't get anything in there to try and remove it. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am going to probably have to remove the heads to get it done. So, I figured that since the motor has around 190,000 miles, it probably isn't a bad idea to change the gaskets out anyways. It doesn't leak a drop yet, but with my luck...

So the question that I have is while I am in there, what performance upgrades could I do? I am hoping to find a way to get a little more power out of it, without getting worse gas mileage. Should I look at swapping the cam, putting a tune on it, swap the heads? Any and all ideas are welcome. The only thing is I am not looking to spends thousands of dollars on this. I don't need a turbo either. Thanks!

 

[BPopilek]

It has been a week since this initial post with over 100 views but no replies. Does anyone have any suggestions? I get the money I'm going to be using to do these mods tomorrow, and I wanted to have a rough idea of what I should start ordering tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[08grey]

They sell a bracket that will seal up the broken bolt. I think it's made by arp. I have one and they work. With 190 on the clock I would stay away from performance mods and do some much maintenance as possible first. Plugs wires ect.

 

[BPopilek]

Thanks for the info on the bracket. As far as maintenance, I just swapped out the plugs for new ones. I do need to replace the thermostat yet though. Also, I just replaced the oil pan gasket, a seal on the front differential, all new shocks and struts, both front half shafts, and brakes and rotors. Would I be bettered served just doing a tune and the exhaust bracket? Like I said before, with 190k miles, I'm not opposed to replacing all of the top end gaskets to make sure I don't run into any problems. However, there is that old saying of it it ain't broke, don't try to fix it...

 

[AZSCTACO]

IMO....I wouldn't touch it if it's not broke.

 

[08grey]

Word^^^ get a muffler and intake and be happy. i wouldn't change much at that mileage.