454 vs 6.0

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jdla140

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LOL. To be fair, you mentioned on a forum full of car guys that you're knowingly and willingly risking running bad coolant, you can't be surprised when everyone gives you funny looks. That being said, it's your truck, do with it what you please. I do agree that LS engines are significantly better than their predecessors, there's a reason why they are the most common engine swap across ALL brands.

I expected a little flack, but I guess I didn't state how little I care about the truck.

I know the coolant probably isn't great, but thus far the truck has paid for itself and is kind of, well ******, in many other aspects lol. Quadrasteer no longer works, the bedsides are destroyed, the headliner sags, the front diff howls like a cat in heat, and I was recently rear ended and paid out way more than I paid for the truck so I don't feel the need to treat it that great. If it wants to keep going, so be it, if it wants to **** the bed tomorrow, it wouldn't hurt my feelings any. I actually originally bought the truck with the intention of turboing it, but it's just too far gone. I'd be in better shape putting the LQ4 in a better vehicle at this point lol.

I am very well aware that I neglect the truck, I was simply pointing out that despite my neglectful maintenance and the mileage, the LQ4 still performs beautifully and seems like it's constantly asking for more.

The thing I have a problem with is your criteria for determining the state of the coolant. You're full of **** plain and simple. Feel free to be as neglectful as you like, but don't try to lie your way out of said neglectfulness. At least own it so other newbs don't think that your method is acceptable.

Nothing I said was a lie. I will be as neglectful as I like. Don't see how I'm full of ****, but if that's what you want to believe, then keep on trucking there buddy.

Never once did I recommend that you leave your dexcool in for over the recommended interval. I simply stated what I know from experience, what my experience with the existing coolant has been so far, and exactly why I haven't bothered to change it. Read my above reply for more info. The truck doesn't owe me a damn thing, and it isn't worth a damn thing. In my other vehicles I run green coolant and change it out annually. When my ***** nice, I maintain it. Plus, like most of you, all my experiences with dexcool were poor before owning this truck.

To Recap: My vote is LQ4. My experience with LS motors is 90% high mileage vehicles that absolutely refuse to be stopped and are super low maintenance. It'll probably be a little more expensive/wiring intensive, but well worth it.

A 454 would be a much easier swap, not sure what trans you have but on the older TBI trucks you can just swap a TBI 454 in, re pin the TPS(or maybe IAC I don't remember) and swap the chip for the 454 into the ecu and be on the road. If you have a 700r4 you may have to get a custom chip to run the 454tbi and control TCC lockup.
 

Supercharged111

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Dude you totally justified that old ass coolant by 1: claiming it didn't freeze at -40 and 2: claiming it didn't boil over when you beat the truck and 3: it looks good through the cap. You keep on trucking with that logic buddy and congrats on totallly changing your tune.
 

jdla140

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Yeah, I agree. I justified MY old ass coolant. I didn't say everyone should do that, I said I don't have issues with it. If I had issues with it boiling over, freezing over, the truck overheating, or if the surge tank (pressurized overflow or whatever you want to call it) had a bunch of buildup, that would be the first thing I change out. I'm not claiming it didn't overheat or freeze, it didn't.

If you have a problem with MY criteria for judging the coolant on MY vehicles, so be it. The right to have an opinion is one of the many things that makes America great. I didn't say everyone has to do it. I apologize if I'm coming off as harsh, your comment came off as being incredibly demeaning as you claimed I was "full of ****" and "trying to lie my way out of neglectfulness"

I don't think there are very many "newbs" on this forum, most people who join the forum seem to have a decent grasp of what to do and what not to do, especially in comparison to the GMT400 facebook page.


Sorry again, for the thread derailment. I'm done now.
 

Sparkysikes

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I'd take the 6.0 if I could modify it later. Tune etc. But a 454 can run on 6 cylinders and still. Move a 35' class A motor home for 50,000 miles (saw it done by my old neighbor).

As far as the 6.5TD being a boat anchor, HEY! It has done a great job of stopping my battleship from floating away. The trick with those diesel is keep em cool and only crack the throttle. It'll get the job done at its own speed and do it reliably and with decent mpg. Push it and Uh yeah they'll break and be a boat anchor. I have the diamond block (optimizer) and they fixed all the bad casting issues, but those faulty castings never seemed to stop a truck. Just freak people out during a rebuild.
 

BBSteve

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I would swap in the 454 with out a doubt, a person cannot argue the fact that modern engines have awesome fuel mileage numbers and torque, but they also require complex systems to a achieve this. All said and done these systems are stepford wives waiting to ruin your life and your wallet. A solid Big Block Chevy with a carb or TBI is easy to maintain, trouble shoot and light on the wallet. My comfort lies in what I understand and am able to maintain. So what are you comfortable with?
 

94burbk1500

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I would swap in the 454 with out a doubt, a person cannot argue the fact that modern engines have awesome fuel mileage numbers and torque, but they also require complex systems to a achieve this. All said and done these systems are stepford wives waiting to ruin your life and your wallet. A solid Big Block Chevy with a carb or TBI is easy to maintain, trouble shoot and light on the wallet. My comfort lies in what I understand and am able to maintain. So what are you comfortable with?
I'd argue that OBD2 takes most of the guesswork out of troubleshooting. Sure it's more complex, but I can narrow down an issue to being a component or sensor without even opening the hood on my S10 and the ability for data logging with a scan tool is awesome. I realize that, to an extent, you can say do the same with TBI running on OBD1, but it's not as detailed. Let's see you do that with a carbed engine. Carburetors really only serve a purpose in toys and race cars, they are completely impractical in a DD.
 

BBSteve

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I'd argue that OBD2 takes most of the guesswork out of troubleshooting. Sure it's more complex, but I can narrow down an issue to being a component or sensor without even opening the hood on my S10 and the ability for data logging with a scan tool is awesome. I realize that, to an extent, you can say do the same with TBI running on OBD1, but it's not as detailed. Let's see you do that with a carbed engine. Carburetors really only serve a purpose in toys and race cars, they are completely impractical in a DD.
 

BBSteve

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We are apparently generations apart, I grew up with carbs and still use them as daily drivers. I saw the advantage of having a O2 sensor to monitor the engine about 25 or 30 years ago, so I installed one on my daily driver as well as my toys. You would be amazed as to how well a carb can be tuned and the miles per gallon that can be extracted from a well tuned carb engine. You have to lift the hood and get into the toolbox to achieve this, but I have the-Tinker With-Fix It Curse-. Don't get me wrong, I keep my wifey in new vehicles with warranty so that I can spend quality time warding off my curse.
 

94burbk1500

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We are apparently generations apart, I grew up with carbs and still use them as daily drivers. I saw the advantage of having a O2 sensor to monitor the engine about 25 or 30 years ago, so I installed one on my daily driver as well as my toys. You would be amazed as to how well a carb can be tuned and the miles per gallon that can be extracted from a well tuned carb engine. You have to lift the hood and get into the toolbox to achieve this, but I have the-Tinker With-Fix It Curse-. Don't get me wrong, I keep my wifey in new vehicles with warranty so that I can spend quality time warding off my curse.
Well, I'm 28, have a strong IT background, and work for an electrical engineering company, so that might explain my preference. :)
 
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