TurboTruck

Here are a couple of pictures of the box I made to set the circuit breakers in. I've got a lid printing for it, as well as a wire grommet.

Valid point on the sensors and tune. I think the tune from a 5.3 the same era would probably be close enough to work fine for a N/A combo but to net the most power, you'd need to have it tuned by someone who knows what they're doing.

Yeah, I'm going from memory when I bought my 2017 Sierra Denali. Then the 6.2 was 420hp and 460tq and I'm almost certain the 5.3 was 385hp and 380tq, but once again, that's off memory. He didn't specify what year 6.0 he'd be getting so I was shooting from the hip. One thing to consider is that all the power number regardless of era are dependent on cylinder head and intake. So an older 6.0 could be purchased, then a set of new heads or a set off a camaro or corvette could be put on. No replacement for displacement so I'm not arguing that at all. Even era correct, you're talking about 40hp and 50tq at the engine difference. By the time you take into account drivetrain loss, it may or may not be worth it. I went 6.0 if that helps. The difference is that if I wasn't running a 78mm turbo and shooting for 1000hp, a 5.3 would just as easily hit 800hp. So my 6.0 is now a 6.7/408 because I need as many cubes as I can get to hit my number. Not required though.

I love the ingenuity of what you're trying to do, but there's a small issue that would still exist. You would essentially be creating a solid lifter to replace the hydraulic one. Making up for the overall travel by extending the pushrod. All that is fine. The issue is presented when you have seven hydraulic lifters and one solid lifter. Technically, the oil is meant to pass through the pushrod to lubricate the lifter seat, and the lifter bore as well as provide oil for the hydraulic function. When going to a solid lifter, oil still passes to the lifter through the pushrod so the lifter bore is lubed properly. Another issue with this, is that as lifters wear over time, their ability to hold the same hydraulic pressure fades, but even more so, the speed the pressure hits its maximum takes longer and longer. RPM causes the same event at times, and in a severe enough instance will cause valve float. All of the above is minimized due to all lifters being hydraulic. They each have a small about of give and take depending on several variables. If you have one that's solid, there's no longer an operating range, instead it becomes 100% static. That may not cause any major issues for quite some time. If nothing else, I can't imagine it not making a ton of noise. I'm not saying it can't be done, and I'm sure someone will jump on here saying I'm completely wrong, but I would not recommend doing it. Especially when all you have to do is turn AFM off ahead of time to prevent having the issue at all. Just my two cents.

Well, started reading through the instructions for the fuse panel today. It came with two circuit breakers, one for each power wire that runs directly to the battery. They look like typical circuit breakers and I’m not about having that showing in the engine bay since part of what I’m trying to accomplish is clean up the wiring a bit. So… I’ve designed and am currently printing a nice little box to put the circuit breakers in. Not only does this clean the look up overall, it protects the studs on the breakers so I don’t accidentally touch them with something metal while I’m messing around in the engine bay. In addition, I’ve designed and will be printing a plastic “grommet” so I can run the wires through the fenders without worrying about the wires rubbing on the metal edge. I’ll try to post pictures when I get the parts printed out.

Are you looking for a bench rebuild, or someplace to do the full job?

Another performance option would be a mild stall converter or a cam. After reading your issue with AFM, I hate to say, those trucks and SUVs are notorious for that and the best solution is to have it turned off in the tune. So you could just get exhaust and a tune, tell the tuner to turn of AFM, and kill two birds with one stone.

For the record... The 6.0 and 5.3 rated HP and TQ numbers are something like 385hp and 380tq for the 5.3 and 380hp and 385tq for the 6.0. There's more to it than that however. While the overall power is marginally different, the 6.0 makes better torque down low than the 5.3. Overall, it's not a massive difference and in most cases unless you're shooting for a 1,000hp+ build, the 6.0 isn't really worth it. Be careful with CAI... The only performance advantage had is from a smooth intake tube and those power gains are also marginal and hardly worth $200-$300 in my opinion. I would invest that money in a set of rear end gears or a professional tune. Exhaust will help some with power and done right will give a much better sound than stock.

Are you talking about down below where those cubby things are?

I get what you mean about the backup camera. lol While I am very capable of backing without a camera (in fact, I don't use a backup camera when trailering EVER) It's just a convenience I've gotten use to. I actually will turn the back camera on now if I race someone so I can see if I pull them hard. lol I call it my "GapCam." lol Yeah, I've got that cover as far as audio, I guess I meant running audio through the Windows tablet and getting rid of the double din head unit all together.

Yep, I agree. First I would just replace the battery and try to reprogram it. My last truck I just ordered a set of two from Amazon for $20, so it's hard to beat having extras. Programming takes 60 seconds and is super easy. FWIW, I prefer oil with a little higher zinc. I wouldn't get too caught up in the weight/viscosity of the oil though. Oil pressure and oil level are just as, if not more, important than the weight rating. With that said, higher mileage vehicles will like a little heavier oil than brand new cars but it's not required. ONE QUICK NOTE.... This is personal experience only... I worked at a machine shop 15-20 years ago. My job was to tear down engines and then reassemble after we were done with them. I did everything from honda car engines to inline diesels that ran pump jacks and other oil field equipment and even a top fuel car engine one time. I got into the habit of asking the customer what oil they used so we could recommend different products based on their application and how well their engine cleaned up. What I discovered (ONCE AGAIN, PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ONLY, I'm not bad mouthing here) was that if the customer used Penzoil, the engine was going to have four times as much gunk and nasty sludge build up than any other. I'm not saying it was Penzoil and I can't say is was 100% every single time, but I would say it was easily a 90% chance the engine was caked with sludge versus any other only being like that 5-10% of the time. All estimates and I don't have any scientific proof, nor am I bad mouthing anyone, that's just my observation.

I second what Sharpz said. Depending on year, it's most likely a TH350, 4l60E, or 4l65E. The label/ID tag is on the passenger side and if fairly large, so there's a good chance you can get under the vehicle with a flashlight and see what it is. The only differences on the 4l60E that you'll need to consider will be the torque converter and possibly the spline length and count on the tail shaft. If it's a TH350, you don't have to worry about electronics for the most part. If it's a 4L65E, those can be swapped with 4L60E's but do require wiring changes and the torque converter will most likely be different. There are other little differences I haven't mentioned but it depends on the reason you asked the question. If you're just trying to swap 4l60 for 4l60, that's one thing, but if you're trying to swap a 4l60 into something that doesn't have a 4l60 currently, that's a whole new discussion. Hope that helps a little.

I did consider this. One of my other hobbies is 3D printing so custom making a bracket or dash panel to make it fit wouldn't be too bad. The only problem I would have then would be audio and backup camera. I don't doubt being able to make it work, but haven't even considered before so I might have to do some additional research on this option.

Eventually I’ll do a full write up after I complete this but thought I’d share my next mod. Goal - Get all the aftermarket accessories off of the stock fuse panels, and clean up wiring connections and routing. I purchased a 7 circuit Painless Performance fuse panel kit. I’ll be installing it in the engine bay on the empty battery tray on the passenger side. I also want it to look clean and almost factory, so I’ve designed and 3D printed a fuse panel cover for it. The aftermarket accessories I know I’ll be running to it right now are as follows: - Power windows - Boost / air/fuel gauge - MSD 2-step - Boost controller Here are a couple pictures of the fuse panel kit and the cover I printed. Has anyone else done this before? Share if you have, I’d love ideas to incorporate!

My guess would be that the resistor would get as hot as the difference in watts between the LED and incandescent bulb but that's just a guess. In which case, if you've ever touched one of those incandescent bulbs while lit, they get decently hot. I'm tempted to talk to one of my electrical engineers to get their take on the whole deal.

Has anyone ever developed a custom application for one of the later model double din head units? Last time I looked at my Alpine, I was pretty sure it said it was all open-source, so I was considering playing around with it. I know some of them are actually android OS, which I can definitely handle. My thought was to build an app that would allow me to read data from an HP Tuner and display it like you would running with a laptop in the vehicle with you. There really isn't a lot that would make this an overly difficult task. The only hurdle would be having a head unit that is truly "open-source." If that's the case, I should be able to develop an app just like Pandora, or iHeartRadio, or any others that you can download. Just curious if this has been done or if anyone knows anyone that's tried it before.

Yeah, I completely agree. If it can be resolved with a relay, I'd much rather do that. I've been in a car that caught on fire and I don't ever want to risk that over some stupid load resistors. haha.

Okay, well that answers my question I guess. Our trucks aren't any different than any other vehicle with a fast flash caused by the "light load" (sorry dad pun...) of the LED. I hadn't experienced them running hot but don't know I actually ever checked them either so I guess that could be. I just wired them up and left them alone but I didn't think about where the load was going. Guess I just assumed the resistor was bypassing and sending it back to the relay but honestly I have no idea how all that would work. I know I'll be looking into the relay you mentioned to fix this in the future for sure! Thanks for the info.

Is there something different or special with our trucks when running LED turn/hazard bulbs? I don't think there is but I might just not be "in the know." If there isn't something special that I'm unaware of, all you have to do is run down to the local parts store and get some load resistors. The ones they have in the light bulb section are a little overpriced because they know you need them for running LED turn/hazard lights but you can get them on Amazon as well and save some change. The flasher/relay causes a fast flash like a bulb is out because the load of the LED is so small the flasher behaves as if the circuit is open. Here's a picture of one.

One corner I had some bed adhesion issues, so I’ll probably print another one or cover this with vinyl.

Anyone else into 3D printers and 3D print tech??? I've currently got two and I print all sorts of stuff from cookie cutters for my wife to woodworking jigs and everything in-between. Today, I printed a fuse panel cover for my painless fuse block I'll be running all my accessories to.

Thanks a lot! Yeah, I removed all the vinyl stickers and need to take some new pics but it is a 6.0 swap. The truck was originally a 5.3 but now has a 6.0 that's been forged/stroked to a 408, turbo cam, aftermarket heads, etc, etc, etc... lol It's got a 4L80 with a triple disc billet converter and the 4l80 was a "stage 3" build from a performance tranny shop in Texas. I'm all about the somewhat sleeper look. No one has any idea what's in it until I push the pedal. Love the reactions I get when all hell breaks loose and it starts making noise.