engine swap

[bowtie65]

i have a k1500 4x4 5.7 tbi bad engine...cant find another engine near me..can i put a 5.0 in place of the 5.7 ? what type of problems can i expect

 

[Erik the Awful]

Yes, but you'll likely need to re-tune. Are you able to rebuild the 5.7? If you don't need rods or pistons, you should be able to do a rebuild for well under $500.

 

[bowtie65]

HWB thanks for reply....I am not a engine builder thried it once and BOOM.so never tried it again. I am more of a swap out mech than a rebuild..lol. What do u mean by re-tune...is that something i could do ?? Is that like matching the computer to the motor..sounds complicated..lol...i should continue my 5.7 search but these buggers r hard to find....thanks

 

[df2x4]

Have you checked car-part.com? They index salvage yard inventories and you can sort by distance from your location. I find it hard to believe that there aren't a million 5.7s sitting in yards around you.

 

[Erik the Awful]

What do u mean by re-tune...is that something i could do ?? Is that like matching the computer to the motor..sounds complicated..lol

Yup. Either get a shop to burn a chip that works with your 305 or get a PCM that can be reprogrammed and connect a computer to it. I haven't messed with tuning. The tools and PCM required were close enough in price to a Holley Sniper that I just went that route.

 

[Schurkey]

i have a k1500 4x4 5.7 tbi bad engine...cant find another engine near me..can i put a 5.0 in place of the 5.7 ? what type of problems can i expect

You're not asking the right questions.

Oh, yeah, engine swap, shove in a 5.0 'cause it'll fall right into place--then have to change injectors, change computer programming, dick with everything, take weeks extra...

The question you need to ask is: Can I live with a gutless truck?

YOU WILL HATE THE 5.0 ENGINE. YOU WILL HATE IT. IT HAS NO POWER. IT IS A TURD. YOU WILL REGRET PUTTING IN ALL THAT TIME, MONEY, EFFORT AND ENTHUSIASM TO GIVE UP POWER, which the 5.7L TBI has no excess of.

Look harder for a 5.7L direct replacement that needs no modification to the fuel or computer system to work properly. Almost every Treasure Yard in America is going to have potential candidates. Or fix whatever is wrong with the engine you have. You haven't described the problem(s) with the current engine. Maybe it's something simple, like a failed distributor, or leaking valves, wiped camshaft, plugged catalyst--fixable without a total overhaul. You could hope, anyway.

People pay good money to get rid of V-6 or 5.0L engines in favor of crammin' in a 5.7L; and that makes sense. Going the other way is crazy.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

You're not asking the right questions.

Oh, yeah, engine swap, shove in a 5.0 'cause it'll fall right into place--then have to change injectors, change computer programming, dick with everything, take weeks extra...

The question you need to ask is: Can I live with a gutless truck?

YOU WILL HATE THE 5.0 ENGINE. YOU WILL HATE IT. IT HAS NO POWER. IT IS A TURD. YOU WILL REGRET PUTTING IN ALL THAT TIME, MONEY, EFFORT AND ENTHUSIASM TO GIVE UP POWER, which the 5.7L TBI has no excess of.

Look harder for a 5.7L direct replacement that needs no modification to the fuel or computer system to work properly. Almost every Treasure Yard in America is going to have potential candidates. Or fix whatever is wrong with the engine you have. You haven't described the problem(s) with the current engine. Maybe it's something simple, like a failed distributor, or leaking valves, wiped camshaft, plugged catalyst--fixable without a total overhaul. You could hope, anyway.

People pay good money to get rid of V-6 or 5.0L engines in favor of crammin' in a 5.7L; and that makes sense. Going the other way is crazy.

I have had several and they have nearly the power of the same era 350. This one was an internally stock 83 LE9. Factory catless duals. 700r4 and 3.08 gears. Thorley tri-y headers and X-pipe into the factory 2.5" dual exhaust and mufflers. Edelbrock performer rpm q-jet intake and a tweaked Q-Jet. Recurved HEI. Video was recorded around 2004. Moved around 5,300 lbs of G20 van well enough for what it was. To say they are dogs isn't really fare because they make the same power as a 350 in some generations and only a little behind in others. A Vortec 305 makes more hp per cubic inch than a Vortec 350.

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[Schurkey]

Not fair to compare a heavily-modified 305 to an essentially-stock TBI 305.

Do the same things to the 350, get 50-ish horsepower, and 60+ ft/lbs of torque based on displacement alone.

 

[GoToGuy]

Do they make a vortec 305? Thats just egineering in reverse. A 305 makes more hp than a 350? You talk game about your souped up 5.0 yet tell us nothing about your dead horse? Why did it die? I did a warranty at Ford, R/R one cracked piston and rings. And Ford signed 1 year warranty. Not everything's terminal.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Not fair to compare a heavily-modified 305 to an essentially-stock TBI 305.

Do the same things to the 350, get 50-ish horsepower, and 60+ ft/lbs of torque based on displacement alone.

Intake manifold and headers is hardly highly modified. I don't disagree a 350 won't make more power than a 305 just as a 400 will make more than a 350 and a 454 will make more than a 400. That being said a good running 305 can practically be had for free and will move the truck down the road with a bed of building supplies or to the dump with a load of refuse just fine.