6.0 conversion questions & Socal machine shop recommendation

[mattt]

I'm at the beginning of a 6.0 swap in my 04 Tahoe Z71. The factory 5.3 and trans have over 300k and still get me to work every day, but they are tired and the engine leaks like an old VW.

I've procured a core 6.0 LQ4 and a set of "243" heads to run on it. I want to have the shortblock and cylinder heads rebuilt. Is there anyone in Socal that has a recommendation for a machine shop to do this work? I've talked to one, but wanted to see what other shops are out there and come with a referral?


I'm considering doing a TBSS intake swap on this at the same time. Is it true that the NNBS Silverado/Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon 5.3 intake manifold is the same exact manifold as a true Trailblazer SS 6.0 intake? If so, that will make finding one much easier than locating an intake from a limited run vehicle Trailblazer SS.

I have a few questions for those of you that have done the 6.0 swap.
-Did you swap your Y pipe and muffler to the 6.0 Escalade/Denali Y pipe and muffler. Our 5.3 Y pipes y down to one single connection before the muffler. The 6.0 Y pipe is 2 pipes all the way into the muffler. The muffler itself appears to be a different one as well, perhaps more performance oriented from the factory?
-Is the mass air flow sensor, throttle body, and fuel pump the same between a 6.0 Denali/Escalade and the 5.3 LM7/L59?

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure as this build moves along other things will come up and I'll post updates as it goes along.

 

[swathdiver]

Is it true that the NNBS Silverado/Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon 5.3 intake manifold is the same exact manifold as a true Trailblazer SS 6.0 intake? If so, that will make finding one much easier than locating an intake from a limited run vehicle Trailblazer SS.

While I do not know if they are the same part number, I have learned that there is no performance advantage of running one over the other. For all intents and purposes they are the same.

 

[Mechanic421]

Was looking at them on rock Auto like 133ish

 

[mattt]

Was looking at them on rock Auto like 133ish

???

 

[Mechanic421]

Trail blazer intake

 

[mattt]

Finally got around to posting an update here. Parts back from the machine shop and done. Block went to 020 and crank polished up.

Now to order pistons, parts and decide if it's going back together as an lq4 with dished pistons or an lq9 with flat tops. i have a pair of 317 heads and also a pair of 243 heads but will have to determine which heads to use once i decide on pistons so CR stays reasonable for a daily driver. Going to look at a TBSS for a song on Craigslist this weekend too. Slowly it's coming together.

 

[mattt]

Oh yeah, there are too many choices of camshaft. I'm tempted to just run the factory cam since I have it, but it sounds like a 6.0 benefits from a cam swap. Tahoe is my daily driver (run 87 mostly) and tow vehicle for the boat and dune buggy, so top end is not what I need. Any BTDT cam swaps with actual real world experiences? Thank you.

 

[mpope2]

Cam options are endless. I’ve been contemplating a BTR or TSP cam in my LQ9 swapped Sierra for years, but still running OE cam. If you go with Flat tops and 243s, the CR will definitely require tune and premium gas. I left the 317s on my LQ9 and is still running on the oe 5.3 parameters. I’ve held off on tune due to indecisiveness of going cam/converter route. As another member said, the part numbers between TBSS and NNBS intakes are different but should give you the same end result. The cam I’ve had my eye on is the BTR 30202111 torque cam. When I first did my swap I used the factory y pipe setup, but eventually switched to the Jegs off road catless y pipe. The only additional things I did during swap was to have the rear o2s tuned out for the off road y pipe, and egr parameter tuned out because I deleted it.

 

[iamdub]

If you can afford running 91-93 (both financially and just plain getting in the mindset), go with the high compression. More TQ across the board which will certainly help with towing. 11:1 CR is totally reasonable for a daily driver. Have the 243s checked and shaved cuz they're almost always a good bit over their advertised CC. More cruising TQ means more efficiency which means better MPG which lessens the actual cost of the high octane fuel. A thinner head gasket to get the quench to around .035" would raise the CR a hair but, more importantly, stave off detonation which opens up that tuning window. A small low lift cam is an option for more low-end if you wanna do that while it's apart.

 

[Rocket Man]

If you want to go boosted in the future you’ll want the LQ4 pistons and the lower CR but if you plan on staying NA then you probably want the LQ9’s. Cam can net you 30-40 hp over stock depending on what you go with. I’m running a VHP cam, Yella Terra roller rockers, Whipple, triple disc billet converter 2800 stall on my LQ4 and it’s strong.