5.7 vortec vs 5.3l or 6.0 swap

90west said:

Horsepower/torque,lift/duration,tuning That’s all care about not opinions

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Then maybe you shouldn't ask for them...smh

90west said:

The issue comes down to time and cost because I really don’t want to swap the engine just because I know I’ll pull it and it will end up sitting due to the shear amount of customer work I currently have any ideas would be greatly appreciated

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90west said:

No issue re gearing the truck is going to get a sas soon with a Dana 44 front problem is it’s gonna end up with up with 35’s minimum because where I go ends up being very remote on some of these ranches here in south texas

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If you don't think you'll get an engine swap done in a timely matter...how is that SAS swap going to happen?

You've gotten a ton of advice/opinion here, even after poking the bear a bit. Sounds like the simple most cost effective answer is to re-gear.

A 33" tire will take you anywhere pulling a trailer that a 35" tire will (just won't look as brodozer). Your trailer becomes the limitation at that point.

OutlawDrifter said:

If you don't think you'll get an engine swap done in a timely matter...how is that SAS swap going to happen?

You've gotten a ton of advice/opinion here, even after poking the bear a bit. Sounds like the simple most cost effective answer is to re-gear.

A 33" tire will take you anywhere pulling a trailer that a 35" tire will (just won't look as brodozer). Your trailer becomes the limitation at that point.

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First off if you would have read the entire post you would have noticed that the goal for this truck is to be a mobile mechanics truck I am a Independent mechanic that specializes on powersports equipment here in south texas. I drive on everything from rutted up ranch roads to deep sand and even have to rock crawl on occasion just to get to the machine so that I can either repair it or recover it so that I can tow it back to the shop that’s it, the truck needs to be tough and reliable all I’m asking is what’s the best way to hop up the engine I don’t give a damn about gearing it’s going to change eventually when I either do the sas myself or pay someone to do it.
So before you start spewing your opinions just remember to read the post first

L31MaxExpress said:

When I still had the old 350, 906 heads with Pac 1218s and Comp 787 retainers, marine intake, 395 marine cam, 1.7 roller rockers, march underdrive pulleys and thorley tri-ys into the factory 3" dual exhaust to the muffler. 4L85E and 3.73 geared 9.5 14-bolt. On 91 octane it made 257 rwhp at 4,900 and 310 rwtq at 3,200. On E85 it made 272 rwhp at 4,700 and 330 rwtq at 2,900. On 91 octane it only ran with 29° of timing at about 3,600. On E85 it liked 34° as early as 2,600 rpm. Down at 2,500 with the timing cranked up it made nearly 40 ft/lbs more on E85. It was nearly 100°F in the shop that day, can hear the duramax fan roaring to keep the old 350 cool. Even at 5,800 rpm it was only about 10-15 hp down from peak at 4,900. I later put more cam in it and made 290 rwhp and 330 rwtq. With a 215/223 on a 108 lsa GM SPO 357 hp cam it made peak torque at 3,500 and peak hp at 5,500. Down at 2,900 it was still making nearly 330 tq, from ~2,800-3,800ish. With the SPO cam torque was table top flat for nearly 1,000 rpm at 330. The old 350 really liked the 108 LSA cam.

This was on 91 octane. Wish I had video of the E85 runs, sounded like a different engine.

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Makes me want to find a van now lol that thing is freaking sweet I can only imagine the looks you get when you out run em at a red light

90west said:

Makes me want to find a van now lol that thing is freaking sweet I can only imagine the looks you get when you out run em at a red light

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03+ body styles have the 6.0L gas or 6.6 diesel option from the factory and 4 wheel disc brakes if you ever look for one.

My 97 might be old, but it is still in pretty good shape.

The dealer plate carrying aluminum ecoboost F150s owner had the angriest look on his face.

In my old G20 van with a ~420 hp Vortec 350 it was a 2008ish ML500 owner with dealer plates still on it.

My favorite back in the day was the 8.1L/4.10 geared Express 3500 standard wheelbase van we had as a parts delivery van. Outran a then new 05ish Escalade that tried to cut me off in a 2-1 merge and the fugger called in on me raising hell.

90west said:

So before you start spewing your opinions just remember to read the post first

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And you could read the vibe of the forum and realise it doesn't do or appreciate hostility.

MrPink said:

With going SAS and 35's, at minimum i'd recommend 4.88 gears. The chart is a good guide, however it is based on 65mph not 70-75.

You must be registered for see images attach

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It's also bases on a non-OD trans. It's not really relevant to our trucks unless you plan on driving everywhere in 3rd.

I have 4.88 and 37s and I turn about 2500 rpms on the highway. I don't think I'd go 4.88 and 35s for something that would see much highway.

90west said:

First off if you would have read the entire post you would have noticed that the goal for this truck is to be a mobile mechanics truck I am a Independent mechanic that specializes on powersports equipment here in south texas. I drive on everything from rutted up ranch roads to deep sand and even have to rock crawl on occasion just to get to the machine so that I can either repair it or recover it so that I can tow it back to the shop that’s it, the truck needs to be tough and reliable all I’m asking is what’s the best way to hop up the engine I don’t give a damn about gearing it’s going to change eventually when I either do the sas myself or pay someone to do it.
So before you start spewing your opinions just remember to read the post first

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I did read the entire post...I actually read through all of the pages before I decided to comment. If you're rock crawling, you'll be in low range...so at that point, extra power isn't making as big of a change. You should give a damn about gearing, that's how you fit the power band to the tire size.

Take 10 deep breaths and cool your ego down a bit, it's not necessary here, nor will it get you the kind of help you're looking for.

In your very FIRST post you stated time and cost were issues...tearing into the engine and doing a full rebuild with heads/cam/intake is not CHEAP. You could do gears for about 1/3. Hence the reason I made my statement.

90west said:

The issue comes down to time and cost because I really don’t want to swap the engine just because I know I’ll pull it and it will end up sitting due to the shear amount of customer work I currently have any ideas would be greatly appreciated

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Having run multiple service rigs in my past farm/ranch life growing up and at in past life in the John Deere dealership world. I can tell you a properly geared rig with an 8' service box will go a lot of places and do so reliably, even with a 350. Your ECSB wheelbase is very similar, and depending on tools carried, that 1/2t is still probably lighter than any of my K20/30 K2500/K3500 rigs I ran.

You want reliable. Put the biggest trans cooler you can fit on it...otherwise that 4L60e is toast, with what you plan on doing.

35's and serious offroad is going to destroy your IRS front diff, so that SAS swap is a definite need sooner rather than later.

The sky is the limit here, but cost was one of your determining factors. So I stayed in that realm of cost & TIME.

Can you build a service rig like you want out of what you have...probably. Would it be better to find a GMT400 K2500/K3500 rig and already have a better platform...probably. Hell just buy a Unimog and get it over with!

I agree with the unimog just need a second mortgage to afford one secondly the truck is paid off it has a fairly fresh engine and trans just looking for more power and I’ve found it here due to the guys who have actually built their trucks sooo in time I’m going to just add a cam maybe buy a set of junkyard heads and have them worked over when everything comes in I’ll contact a mail order tuner give them my specs and either have them create a tune for the stock ecu or swap in a 411 ecu it’s a fairly simple concept for someone who understands electronics I just want a truck that can keep up with the newer ones if I can achieve that with the stock block the better I understand the importance of gears but at this time I’m not going to waste money on Gears for the stock axles if they are going to be replaced with larger units in the future

90west said:

I’m sure this has been discussed but my question is I have a 97 k1500 ccsb with a 5.7 vortec and a 4l60e the truck is currently sitting on 33’s.
The truck runs great I’ve had the truck for 18 years now but I’m starting a mobile mechanics Business primarily working on powersports equipment and with the price of used trucks it’s not in the budget to buy a work truck so I want to build this truck for towing sxs’s back to the shop problem is it’s a bit of a dog, sry for the long intro but I feel information is key in this scenario.

1- is it worth hopping up the 5.7
2- is it worth swapping in a Ls based engine

The issue comes down to time and cost because I really don’t want to swap the engine just because I know I’ll pull it and it will end up sitting due to the shear amount of customer work I currently have any ideas would be greatly appreciated

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the FIRST upgrade you should do if you're going to add power is getting rid of that 4l60e!!! especially considering you run 33's