Thinking LSx....
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 336
Likes: 3
From: State of Confusion
Thinking LSx....
Hello All,
I've got a basically stock 1990 L-98 car with a 6-speed ZF, I'm bored to death of the car and have been thinking about getting rid of it, and the I started thinking about swapping in a 6.0 Vortec. Obviously these engines have been around since '99, they starting out at 300 HP and topped at 360 HP before they increased the displacement. I've got a line on 2002 pickup with a 6.0, and that's 300 HP, but is the best way to go. Is there a preferred engine that I should be looking for? I am planning to change out the cam, and the heads if it makes sense. Just looking for some suggestions on what's the best way to go with this.
Thank you,
Adam.
I've got a basically stock 1990 L-98 car with a 6-speed ZF, I'm bored to death of the car and have been thinking about getting rid of it, and the I started thinking about swapping in a 6.0 Vortec. Obviously these engines have been around since '99, they starting out at 300 HP and topped at 360 HP before they increased the displacement. I've got a line on 2002 pickup with a 6.0, and that's 300 HP, but is the best way to go. Is there a preferred engine that I should be looking for? I am planning to change out the cam, and the heads if it makes sense. Just looking for some suggestions on what's the best way to go with this.
Thank you,
Adam.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 482
Likes: 109
From: Fairfax, Virginia
All depends on budget, a LQ4 is more common, but the LQ9 is probably the best 6.0 stock option, comes factory with the 33lb flex injectors and flat top pistons, giving it a higher CR. They also make great low end torque, and if you're planning on staying NA, tossing some reworked 862 heads or stock 243 heads on there gets you close to the 11:1 compression range, that and a cam would make for an awesome budget build. That said, the 3rd gens(99-07) suffered from con rod bolt issues making them notoriously sensitive in the higher revs. The 4th gens had a revised bottom end, so you can really benefit from being able to rev them higher, but they also use the 58X reluctor. There are reports of some of the 6.0s getting 4th gen rods pre-07 without AFM and with a 24X reluctor, those engines are treasure troves since you can use the P59 ECM which has a great open source community(PCMHammer, LSDroid) with the buy in at the cost of an OBDLink($50).
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 15,449
Likes: 1,716
From: Everywhere and Nowhere at all
All depends on budget, a LQ4 is more common, but the LQ9 is probably the best 6.0 stock option, comes factory with the 33lb flex injectors and flat top pistons, giving it a higher CR. They also make great low end torque, and if you're planning on staying NA, tossing some reworked 862 heads or stock 243 heads on there gets you close to the 11:1 compression range, that and a cam would make for an awesome budget build. That said, the 3rd gens(99-07) suffered from con rod bolt issues making them notoriously sensitive in the higher revs. The 4th gens had a revised bottom end, so you can really benefit from being able to rev them higher, but they also use the 58X reluctor. There are reports of some of the 6.0s getting 4th gen rods pre-07 without AFM and with a 24X reluctor, those engines are treasure troves since you can use the P59 ECM which has a great open source community(PCMHammer, LSDroid) with the buy in at the cost of an OBDLink($50).
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 336
Likes: 3
From: State of Confusion
All depends on budget, a LQ4 is more common, but the LQ9 is probably the best 6.0 stock option, comes factory with the 33lb flex injectors and flat top pistons, giving it a higher CR. They also make great low end torque, and if you're planning on staying NA, tossing some reworked 862 heads or stock 243 heads on there gets you close to the 11:1 compression range, that and a cam would make for an awesome budget build. That said, the 3rd gens(99-07) suffered from con rod bolt issues making them notoriously sensitive in the higher revs. The 4th gens had a revised bottom end, so you can really benefit from being able to rev them higher, but they also use the 58X reluctor. There are reports of some of the 6.0s getting 4th gen rods pre-07 without AFM and with a 24X reluctor, those engines are treasure troves since you can use the P59 ECM which has a great open source community(PCMHammer, LSDroid) with the buy in at the cost of an OBDLink($50).
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 336
Likes: 3
From: State of Confusion
Racer
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 482
Likes: 109
From: Fairfax, Virginia
GM started phasing them into production in 03, and by 05 almost everything had them, LQ9s were the first to get the gen 4 treatment, so those are all but guaranteed. Anything 03 and up has a chance of having the gen 4 rods, but there are no external indicators of the gen 3 vs gen 4 rods. You have to pull the pan or snake a camera in from the drain plug to ID the rods to be sure though. The gen 3s are good to 600-700 wheel stock and can be revved to 7000RPM with rod bolts. It's really under boost that the rod difference is apparent, should have made that more clear. For a cam and heads engine making 500ish the only benefits is the 500-800 extra RPMs.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 1,360
Likes: 400
From: DFW TX
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every Model vs Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
5 MOST and 5 LEAST Popular Corvette Model Years in History!
Joe Kucinski
2027 Corvette Buyer's Guide: Everything You Need to Know!
Joe Kucinski
10 Things C8 Corvette Owners Hate (But Won't Tell You)
Joe Kucinski
10 Best Corvettes Coming to Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach 2026!
Brett Foote
Every Corvette Grand Sport Explained! (C2, C4, C6, C7, & C8)
Joe Kucinski
Grand Sport & Grand Sport X Launch Alongside All-New 535hp LS6 V8!
Michael S. Palmer
5 Reasons Bad Drivers Crash & 5 Ways to Avoid a Costly Mistake!
Joe Kucinski
Racer
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 403
Likes: 87
From: Cincinnati OH
I'm running an 05 LQ4 which has the 24x reluctor and gen4 lower half with 5.3l 706 heads, dorman LS2 intake, 92mm throttle body and summit .600 lift cam. So far about 10 miles on it and the power difference from the L98 is ridiculous
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 336
Likes: 3
From: State of Confusion
Thanks,
Adam
Racer
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 399
Likes: 37
From: Kansas City Metro Area, Missouri
Thanks, have some questions. When you (and the rest who have done this swap) were completely finished and driving down the road, can you give me an estimate on what it cost to do? Also, did you just go out and find a junk yard engine, or did you find a wrecked donor vehichle to part out? Thinking of ways to defer some of the cost. I've read some of the other threads on doing this and it surely doesn't sound like and easy project, how did you all think it went for you? To do difficult and never do again, or was the extra power so worth it that you were glad?
Thanks,
Adam
Thanks,
Adam
One thing to keep in mind is I am 90% sure you will need accessories out of a c5+ because the truck ones won't fit.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 403
Likes: 87
From: Cincinnati OH
Thanks, have some questions. When you (and the rest who have done this swap) were completely finished and driving down the road, can you give me an estimate on what it cost to do? Also, did you just go out and find a junk yard engine, or did you find a wrecked donor vehichle to part out? Thinking of ways to defer some of the cost. I've read some of the other threads on doing this and it surely doesn't sound like and easy project, how did you all think it went for you? To do difficult and never do again, or was the extra power so worth it that you were glad?
Thanks,
Adam
Thanks,
Adam
Racer
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 403
Likes: 87
From: Cincinnati OH
As far as I know the truck stuff doesn't work. I think the mid mount F body accessories may work, depends on where you locate the engine. I used the C5 accessories and theres lots of room between the balancer and the steering rack. If I ever need to get the balancer off I won't have a problem but you may if you use F body accessories.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 319
From: Ohio
That said, the 3rd gens(99-07) suffered from con rod bolt issues making them notoriously sensitive in the higher revs. The 4th gens had a revised bottom end, so you can really benefit from being able to rev them higher, but they also use the 58X reluctor. There are reports of some of the 6.0s getting 4th gen rods pre-07 without AFM and with a 24X reluctor, those engines are treasure troves since you can use the P59 ECM which has a great open source community(PCMHammer, LSDroid) with the buy in at the cost of an OBDLink($50).
-Rod bolts were never an issue. If they were, it would've had to have been in 97. I've repeatedly hit 7600 RPM with gen 3 rods in multiple engines, and seeing rod bolt failures are incredibly rare.
You'd have a hard time finding multiple examples of rod bolt failure due to RPM.
-ALL engines got the gen 4 rods midway through 04, regardless of what vehicle they were in, or what displacement they were. 4.8 and up. Iron or Aluminum, even gen 3, it didn't matter.
-Gen 4 engines didn't start getting put into trucks until 07 (08 model year). All trucks (NOT SUVS) kept using gen 3 engines with gen 3 electronics/hardware up through 07 model year.
This means they all still had no DoD/AFM, no VVT, 24x, cam sensor in the back, knock sensors in the valley, etc.
None of this bares any special allowances or requirements for the P59 ECU.
-SUVs started getting some gen3/4 mixed engines in 05/06 that were 24x with some gen 4 specific features.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 319
From: Ohio
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 319
From: Ohio
The L92 was the truck/SUV version and could be easily converted to an LS3. Any 6.2 could actually.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 319
From: Ohio
The truck power steering pump fits fine with the use of a smaller dorman pulley.
I'm not positive on the low truck A/C compressor.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 482
Likes: 109
From: Fairfax, Virginia
That's some fairly bad/misleading info.
-Rod bolts were never an issue. If they were, it would've had to have been in 97. I've repeatedly hit 7600 RPM with gen 3 rods in multiple engines, and seeing rod bolt failures are incredibly rare.
You'd have a hard time finding multiple examples of rod bolt failure due to RPM.
-ALL engines got the gen 4 rods midway through 04, regardless of what vehicle they were in, or what displacement they were. 4.8 and up. Iron or Aluminum, even gen 3, it didn't matter.
-Gen 4 engines didn't start getting put into trucks until 07 (08 model year). All trucks (NOT SUVS) kept using gen 3 engines with gen 3 electronics/hardware up through 07 model year.
This means they all still had no DoD/AFM, no VVT, 24x, cam sensor in the back, knock sensors in the valley, etc.
None of this bares any special allowances or requirements for the P59 ECU.
-SUVs started getting some gen3/4 mixed engines in 05/06 that were 24x with some gen 4 specific features.
-Rod bolts were never an issue. If they were, it would've had to have been in 97. I've repeatedly hit 7600 RPM with gen 3 rods in multiple engines, and seeing rod bolt failures are incredibly rare.
You'd have a hard time finding multiple examples of rod bolt failure due to RPM.
-ALL engines got the gen 4 rods midway through 04, regardless of what vehicle they were in, or what displacement they were. 4.8 and up. Iron or Aluminum, even gen 3, it didn't matter.
-Gen 4 engines didn't start getting put into trucks until 07 (08 model year). All trucks (NOT SUVS) kept using gen 3 engines with gen 3 electronics/hardware up through 07 model year.
This means they all still had no DoD/AFM, no VVT, 24x, cam sensor in the back, knock sensors in the valley, etc.
None of this bares any special allowances or requirements for the P59 ECU.
-SUVs started getting some gen3/4 mixed engines in 05/06 that were 24x with some gen 4 specific features.
My 04 Sierra Vin Z(flex) had 3rd gen rods, otherwise good contribution, thanks for the corrections. I'm a bit rusty when it comes to LS hunting, its been a few years and I've forgotten all the tidbits, my apologies if i mislead anyone.
Pro
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 635
Likes: 6
From: New Jersey
Before you start on a swap think about if that's what you really want to do. The reason I said that is because you stated you were bored with the car and when you start a swap it can get annoying. You can find a C5 or C6 for a reasonable price. I did a LQ4 swap back in 2013 to my C4.. It took two days to get it running and driving but I research how to do it for a year. Since then I've put Heads cam exhaust, Fast intake CAI converter to the swap. I like the C4. I recently brought a 06 C6 but like the C4 better. When I first put the stock LQ4 in the C4, in ran 13.0s in the 1/4 that's what my C6 runs. Now my C4 runs 11.3s -11.5s
Randy
Randy
Racer
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 403
Likes: 87
From: Cincinnati OH
Before you start on a swap think about if that's what you really want to do. The reason I said that is because you stated you were bored with the car and when you start a swap it can get annoying. You can find a C5 or C6 for a reasonable price. I did a LQ4 swap back in 2013 to my C4.. It took two days to get it running and driving but I research how to do it for a year. Since then I've put Heads cam exhaust, Fast intake CAI converter to the swap. I like the C4. I recently brought a 06 C6 but like the C4 better. When I first put the stock LQ4 in the C4, in ran 13.0s in the 1/4 that's what my C6 runs. Now my C4 runs 11.3s -11.5s
Randy
Randy
Its a big job and definitely has frustration written on it. I too did many months of research and bought 2 books to understand the engine as i had only worked on old school GM engines. It helps to have a lot of different tools, welder, shop press and lots of patience!