Getting ideas for replacing engine

[rustedcutlery]

The 350 in my ‘98 is tired, low oil psi, and is starting to knock. On top of that, it throws a code for something with the injector circuit. (I haven’t driven it in 2 years, I forget what the code was)

So I’m trying to debate, am I better off buying a 350 or 383 crate engine, or just gen 3 swap it?

If I were to do a crate engine, I’d like to do new injectors, wiring harness, distributor, everything new.

What’s everyone’s thoughts?

 

[GarrettGmc]

What's the plan with the truck, given you havent driven it in 2 years. Are you wanting more power, fuel economy? Budget is another factor.

 

[L29Sub]

6.0. Plenty cheap and lots of donor parts. And a good engine. There will be some fab work
involved.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Erik the Awful]

I spent about $2000 rebuilding an engine to swap into my '99 Suburban. Knowing what I know now, I would go this route:
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/BluePrint-BP3503CT1-Base-Engine-GM-350-373-HP,293711.html

Why replace the wiring harness, distributor, and injector system? I'd go ahead and do the MPFI upgrade, but if you're getting a trouble code, you need to diagnose the code, not throw parts at it. You will have to have someone set the distributor timing after you pull and reinstall the distributor, though.

 

[rustedcutlery]

What's the plan with the truck, given you havent driven it in 2 years. Are you wanting more power, fuel economy? Budget is another factor.

Iv got a whole slough of vehicles. 04 gto, 2017 powerstroke, 2004 powerstroke service truck, ‘99 tahoe. I parked the pickup when it started knocking, but didn’t want get rid of it because it’s 100% rust free with leather and a center console.

The plan has always been to ls swap it, just finding the motivation and time to do it.

I essentially bought the pickup for hunting/fishing and just running around instead of starting one of my diesels.

I spent about $2000 rebuilding an engine to swap into my '99 Suburban. Knowing what I know now, I would go this route:
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/BluePrint-BP3503CT1-Base-Engine-GM-350-373-HP,293711.html

Why replace the wiring harness, distributor, and injector system? I'd go ahead and do the MPFI upgrade, but if you're getting a trouble code, you need to diagnose the code, not throw parts at it. You will have to have someone set the distributor timing after you pull and reinstall the distributor, though.

I don’t remember what the code was, but I’d rather do the swap to mpfi than stick money into the original setup. Or just put that money into a ls swap. Iv got a couple gen 3 motors sitting around I’d like to use. If this one goes well, I’ll probably swap my tahoe aswell.

 

[stutaeng]

If you have the Gen III with wiring harness, etc. it will take some work, but not too bad from what have gathered.

Advantage would be better performance upgrades down the road because LS are so popular.

Otherwise for a basic, reliable vehicle, just do a remanufactured longblock. Plug and play. Probably a one day spent swapping everything. You can also do upgrades if you want.

 

[Hutchinson]

I went the easy route,....HT383e - puts out 323 HP @ 4200rpm - 444 TQ @ 3000rpm,....a little pricey, but, I was going for the quick swap out. Did the 0411 ECM swap, slapped a set of Hedman long tube headers on it/ deleted cats/ stainless 2 1/2” exhaust, and upgraded the fuel spider (MPFI - got rid of the old poppets). Did all the work myself, so cost wasn’t that bad. Had er dyno/street tuned, and got HPTuners to do my own tuning. Don’t know what I’m putting down, but, runs out perty good. 0-60 is quick for a lifted 4WD truck,.... Now looking back, I should have went the 454 route and changed the truck to a manual NV4500. I will change the truck to NV4500 in the future,...make er bulletproof. I like slapping those gears,....Would rather go with the 4500, instead of 3500. Always have an eye out for a Whipple,.....hard to come by. If I find a Whipple, i’ll also put ram air intake with it (instead of marine intake), so I can increase injector size to match/further tune.
Like Garrett said above, depends on what you wanna use the truck for,....I wanted to go the bulletproof route, because I plan to keep the truck. LS swap is a good option though,.....

 

[Tim W]

I went through this too w my 94... I ended up having a mild 383 stroker built with New GM vortec heads and a Holley efi Sniper, HyperSpark ignition box, coil and distributor. Runs great

 

[GarrettGmc]

In my 94 I had thought abt rebuilding the stock tbi 350 but then chose to ls 5.3 swap it. That truck wont see alot of towing, wont ever sell it so if I decide I want more power it's easier to do so with the ls. But as mentioned a mild built 383 is a pretty straightforward swap

 

[Slipnslide1968]

I have a '96 ecsb Z-71 I am in the process of gathering up the final parts for my LS swap. 2000 LQ9/4l80e. 3600 custom built stall, 862 heads, TBSS intake, #80 dekas, custom turbo cam, ect... Eventually will twin turbo it but gonna get the swap done and up and running first. It's just gonna be a weekend toy. I've had it almost 20 years. It's been blown up for over 5 years hidden in the back corner of my garage.