How to get a 5.0 to tow better

[JJ Burgess]

hey all. I have an 88 C1500 with a 5.0. I tow a pretty small trailer with 2 ATVs and as long as there are no hills I can keep up but as soon as I hit a hill it just dogs out. Is there any way to make this thing pull a little better? Obviously upgrading the engine would do it but I don’t have the cash for that.

 

[Trigger_guard]

Obligatory , not the answer you're looking for.

305s are dogs even if you build them. Unless you make it a 335

Try lower gears




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[JJ Burgess]

Yeah. Eventually I’ll maybe do a 350 swap. I think brand new this thing only put out 175hp or something. My damn cobalt almost has that lol

 

[Trigger_guard]

Yeah. Eventually I’ll maybe do a 350 swap. I think brand new this thing only put out 175hp or something. My damn cobalt almost has that lol

Agreed, for the same money you'd make more power buying a 5.7 than building a 5.0.

So the cheap and fast solution would be to drop a gear or two in the rear end

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[JJ Burgess]

Agreed, for the same money you'd make more power buying a 5.7 than building a 5.0.

So the cheap and fast solution would be to drop a gear or two in the rear end

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Do you have any good and accurate threads on doing a 305-350 swap?

 

[Trigger_guard]

Do you have any good and accurate threads on doing a 305-350 swap?

No. But I'm sure there's one floating around here.

Afaik the only difference is the
injectors
Knock sensor and esc (if you're switching from flat tappit to roller)
And sometimes the ECU.




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[L31MaxExpress]

hey all. I have an 88 C1500 with a 5.0. I tow a pretty small trailer with 2 ATVs and as long as there are no hills I can keep up but as soon as I hit a hill it just dogs out. Is there any way to make this thing pull a little better? Obviously upgrading the engine would do it but I don’t have the cash for that.

hey all. I have an 88 C1500 with a 5.0. I tow a pretty small trailer with 2 ATVs and as long as there are no hills I can keep up but as soon as I hit a hill it just dogs out. Is there any way to make this thing pull a little better? Obviously upgrading the engine would do it but I don’t have the cash for that.

Mellings MTC-1 cam kit, let Dave at Old School EFI make a chip for it, open up the exhaust. If its a 700r4 replace the TV spring with a new one from Bowtie Overdrives and properly adjust the TV cable so that it downshifts as it should.

 

[90halfton]

Gears......also......gears. no amount of power will work right without the proper application of mechanical advantage.

 

[Supercharged111]

How about we find out what the OP is working with for gears in the first place?

 

[1989GMCSIERRA]

The first thing I would do is make sure the rear brakes are adjusted properly and not dragging. Make sure the front brakes don’t have a dragging caliper.


Do you have oversized tires? Did you regear the truck for the bigger tires? The best way to get more towing ooomph is to regear. It’s not cheap but most trucks back then we’re geared for highway gearing. My 89 came with 3.08 rear gears and it was a dog as soon as I went to bigger off road tires.
Even though your 5.0 isnt a power house it should tow a small trailer with bikes without a problem.


I would do the gears and the basics
Make sure it’s tuned
TV cable adjusted properly
New fuel filter
New air filter
Remove the restrictor in the air plenum box
Go to electric fans (optional)
Get fuel for the toys when you get to the destination
Get rid of any unnecessary stuff in the truck.