Crazy High Mile 5.3?
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Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Somebody talk me out of a 280k 5.3 I found locally for $300. Comes 100% complete including harness. How crazy would I be to pick this up? I cant find any decent priced lsxs around so Im seriously condsidering this one.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Seriously though. With that mileage it will mostly need rebuilt soon. Your wallet would probably be better served in the long run on just holding out for the engine you really want.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
With a thirdgen I don't think Id be able to use much from it anyways-intake would need at least a 4 inch cowl to clear, truck accessories wouldn't work and the oil pan wouldn't work either right?
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
I think a shaved intake will clear, and some have made accessories work, oil pan is too low. Harness computer etc though?
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Maybe you and I have very different opinions of what your area is... I would say anything within 3 hours one way is your area. It looks like you have the entire Washington area, Richmond (under 2 hours one way?) and Baltimore (1 hour away). Have you checked craigslist for those cities? Or just plan some trips one weekend to the junkyards in those 3 cities. Be really surprising if Baltimore, Washington and Richmond had no junkyards with cheap LS engines in them.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Maybe you and I have very different opinions of what your area is... I would say anything within 3 hours one way is your area. It looks like you have the entire Washington area, Richmond (under 2 hours one way?) and Baltimore (1 hour away). Have you checked craigslist for those cities? Or just plan some trips one weekend to the junkyards in those 3 cities. Be really surprising if Baltimore, Washington and Richmond had no junkyards with cheap LS engines in them.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
If I remember right summit sell's the 5.3 bare block for 299 right now.
https://m.summitracing.com/parts/sum-4853l
https://m.summitracing.com/parts/sum-4853l
Last edited by tartagliaz28; 07-16-2016 at 06:02 AM.
#11
Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Buy the high mile pullout. Dont chew him down, buy it outright. Thats not crazy high miles for a LSx. Id bet money that if you pulled the heads, the cyls would still show crosshatching
For a 3rd gen you will only be using the long block, but the extra stuff is nice to have around. PCM should be reused. Harness can be modified or sold to fund a pre-made one. Accessories will net a few bucks. Intake and oil pan are basically scrap
$300 for a good longblock and PCM are worth it in my book
For a 3rd gen you will only be using the long block, but the extra stuff is nice to have around. PCM should be reused. Harness can be modified or sold to fund a pre-made one. Accessories will net a few bucks. Intake and oil pan are basically scrap
$300 for a good longblock and PCM are worth it in my book
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Buy the high mile pullout. Dont chew him down, buy it outright. Thats not crazy high miles for a LSx. Id bet money that if you pulled the heads, the cyls would still show crosshatching
For a 3rd gen you will only be using the long block, but the extra stuff is nice to have around. PCM should be reused. Harness can be modified or sold to fund a pre-made one. Accessories will net a few bucks. Intake and oil pan are basically scrap
$300 for a good longblock and PCM are worth it in my book
For a 3rd gen you will only be using the long block, but the extra stuff is nice to have around. PCM should be reused. Harness can be modified or sold to fund a pre-made one. Accessories will net a few bucks. Intake and oil pan are basically scrap
$300 for a good longblock and PCM are worth it in my book
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
It probably won't need pistons or rings. Might need bearings. Definitely will need an oil pump pickup O-ring; might as well put in a 10296 pump while you're at it. Check for the Castech head problem, that'll run you around $600 to fix.
As said, buy it even if the long block turns out to be no good. You may well find a healthy lower-mileage motor missing some of the externals (PCM & harness for example) that you could make one good thing out of 2 partials.
Yes you will definitely need a pan, accessory brackets and such, exhaust, and tuning. I would suspect that by the time you get to the end of this project, the difference in cost between a KNOWN GOOD motor and this likely to be totally wore out one, will disappear into the noise level.
I would ABSOLUTELY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES treat it as a core, and rebuild it. That is GUARANTEED to cost more than just getting a good motor in the first place. Those are just WAY too plentiful to shackle yourself to a used-up one.
As said, buy it even if the long block turns out to be no good. You may well find a healthy lower-mileage motor missing some of the externals (PCM & harness for example) that you could make one good thing out of 2 partials.
Yes you will definitely need a pan, accessory brackets and such, exhaust, and tuning. I would suspect that by the time you get to the end of this project, the difference in cost between a KNOWN GOOD motor and this likely to be totally wore out one, will disappear into the noise level.
I would ABSOLUTELY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES treat it as a core, and rebuild it. That is GUARANTEED to cost more than just getting a good motor in the first place. Those are just WAY too plentiful to shackle yourself to a used-up one.
#14
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
I'm going to vote as a buy it... As stated, you're guaranteed to need the harness and computer no matter what engine you go with, so you will at least have that out of it.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
my dads suburban 1500 had a 5.3 with 387,000 miles on it before he traded it in last week. Motor still ran strong and had a lot more life left in it.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
That's not crazy-high mileage. I have a still-running '94 Camaro 3.4 that's never been rebuilt and doesn't smoke, 311,196 miles on it so far, my mom's '90 BMW 735i just topped 345,062 miles on the original engine, still drives like new. I even had an '89 S-10 4.3 reach 292,000 on it's original engine.
GM durability tested the LS1s past 300,000 miles.
Buy it, run it for a year, while saving up for a 6.0L. If you can't afford it, then you can't afford the swap, either.
GM durability tested the LS1s past 300,000 miles.
Buy it, run it for a year, while saving up for a 6.0L. If you can't afford it, then you can't afford the swap, either.
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Car: '86 Camaro, '94 Camaro, 3 others
Engine: LG4 ->L29, L32->LR4, L36, LG4, L31
Transmission: 700R-4, T5WC, 4L80E, SM465, 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 3.42, 3.23, WTB/WTT 2.93
Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
It probably won't need pistons or rings. Might need bearings. Definitely will need an oil pump pickup O-ring; might as well put in a 10296 pump while you're at it. Check for the Castech head problem, that'll run you around $600 to fix.
I would ABSOLUTELY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES treat it as a core, and rebuild it. That is GUARANTEED to cost more than just getting a good motor in the first place. Those are just WAY too plentiful to shackle yourself to a used-up one.
I would ABSOLUTELY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES treat it as a core, and rebuild it. That is GUARANTEED to cost more than just getting a good motor in the first place. Those are just WAY too plentiful to shackle yourself to a used-up one.
The days of paying a machine shop to rebuild an engine are nearly history, only for the rarest and most valuable of older stuff, like restoring the first Countach, as one realistic example. But these days you just find a lower-mile long-block assembly and go again.
The one you found should go another 20K miles, probably more, but you can be sorting out all the other aspects of the swap, so it's worth it just for being a running engine rather than a plastic Payr mockup block, which is still twice this much money.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Probably won't need bearings, probably will need valvesprings and valveseals, probably won't need an oil pump. But replacing Castechs with non is a $200 proposition, plus gaskets for another $20, and bolts for another $40.
The days of paying a machine shop to rebuild an engine are nearly history, only for the rarest and most valuable of older stuff, like restoring the first Countach, as one realistic example. But these days you just find a lower-mile long-block assembly and go again.
The one you found should go another 20K miles, probably more, but you can be sorting out all the other aspects of the swap, so it's worth it just for being a running engine rather than a plastic Payr mockup block, which is still twice this much money.
The days of paying a machine shop to rebuild an engine are nearly history, only for the rarest and most valuable of older stuff, like restoring the first Countach, as one realistic example. But these days you just find a lower-mile long-block assembly and go again.
The one you found should go another 20K miles, probably more, but you can be sorting out all the other aspects of the swap, so it's worth it just for being a running engine rather than a plastic Payr mockup block, which is still twice this much money.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Like you said these engines should be everywhere and Ive already found a few 5.3s for the same price with a lot less miles so Ive decided to pass on this one unless the guy drops the price below $300. But yes it doesn't make sense to rebuild an engine anymore considering a replacement can be bought on the cheap.
Woo Hoo-now I just have to collect a few thousand other parts before I'm ready to swap.
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Car: '86 Camaro, '94 Camaro, 3 others
Engine: LG4 ->L29, L32->LR4, L36, LG4, L31
Transmission: 700R-4, T5WC, 4L80E, SM465, 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 3.42, 3.23, WTB/WTT 2.93
Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
Congrats!
#21
Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
For what ever its worth, I have a stock 5.3 with 150k on it and Im throwing 9psi at it with no issues. Oh and the stock truck intake will fit under the stock bulge hood just need a small case alternator.
For the swap you just need tq converter pilot adapter, LS setback engine mounts, Fbody oil pan/windage tray/pickup or modded truck pan and its in. LS in the stock location will reuse the tranny crossmember and the stock trans will use the stock driveshaft and its OE length. Then its just exhaust, fuel and engine harness.
For the swap you just need tq converter pilot adapter, LS setback engine mounts, Fbody oil pan/windage tray/pickup or modded truck pan and its in. LS in the stock location will reuse the tranny crossmember and the stock trans will use the stock driveshaft and its OE length. Then its just exhaust, fuel and engine harness.
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Re: Crazy High Mile 5.3?
For what ever its worth, I have a stock 5.3 with 150k on it and Im throwing 9psi at it with no issues. Oh and the stock truck intake will fit under the stock bulge hood just need a small case alternator.
For the swap you just need tq converter pilot adapter, LS setback engine mounts, Fbody oil pan/windage tray/pickup or modded truck pan and its in. LS in the stock location will reuse the tranny crossmember and the stock trans will use the stock driveshaft and its OE length. Then its just exhaust, fuel and engine harness.
For the swap you just need tq converter pilot adapter, LS setback engine mounts, Fbody oil pan/windage tray/pickup or modded truck pan and its in. LS in the stock location will reuse the tranny crossmember and the stock trans will use the stock driveshaft and its OE length. Then its just exhaust, fuel and engine harness.
Yea I've been tracking your other thread. Fwiw I won't be using ac or power steering.
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