wilsonz71's LQ9 build! PICS!

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

Well here it goes. Ive decided to start a build thread after recently building a new engine for my truck. I'm not too great with the whole computer thing, but I took a ton of pics during the process. Im a licensed tech in Ottawa, Ontario, all work was done by me with help from a few buddies other than the machining work. (sent block & heads to local trusted machine shop)

some specs on the truck to give an idea:

2006 black gmc sierra z71 crew cab

5.3 4l60e 4:10 gears g80

6.5" bds lift

1.5" zone body lift

35" toyo open country mt on xd hoss wheels

way too much little stuff remember right now

It all started last summer when I decided I needed more power. Found a good deal on kijiji for an 06 LQ9 engine from a rear accidented escalade with 100 00km on it. Drove 6 hours to Toronto to pick it up.

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

My plans were to build this thing right away.. that went south when I destroyed my transmission last september. I was pulling my boat when a clamp let go on a cooler line. All the fluid leaked out in no time. I fixed the line and filled it up but it didn't last long.

pic of the truck and boat just cause:

Knowing i was upgrading the engine, i did a pile of transmission research and settled on a Performabuilt Heavy Hauler 4L70E with an FTI street brawler 2000rpm torque converter. got that sucker in and my engine stayed in the shop for a while while i saved more money.

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

Over the winter my buddy cammed his 03 zo6. so that got me itching to build my 6.0. he ended up selling me his ls6 cam, pushrods, and a set of comp heavy valve springs for $300.

here you can see the comp springs next to the factory lq9 ones

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

so the tear down begun. I marked every single part in individual bags and took lots of pics. something I never do, but made re-assembly very easy.

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

with the engine torn down, it was time to send it out to the machine shop

Chris · May 26, 2015

A couple things, are you bumping compression and why a 70e? Those need an input shaft speed sensor as well as output shaft. Personally i would have gone with a 65e.

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

A couple things, are you bumping compression and why a 70e? Those need an input shaft speed sensor as well as output shaft. Personally i would have gone with a 65e.

Compression has been bumped, but not much. The heads got a small hair cut just to clean them up. They shaved a few thou. Probably not enough to notice/ worry about. (getting to that in my next post)

As for the trans, I thought I remembered Alan from performabuilt telling me I was getting a 70e. I asked him for the strongest trans he had without doing an 80e swap. Must just be a 65e cause it was bolt in and go. It is rock solid so far, besides a small leak that showed up. (ill get to that too)

Chris · May 26, 2015

There will be an extra plug on the trans if it is a 70. Also .004 on the heads will not bump. You are pretty good up until .010 then it starts raising. I would compensate with a slightly thicker gasket to make tuning easier

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

Well its already in and running. Just waiting on headers and 8.1l injectors then ill be ready for my tune.

wilsonz71 · May 26, 2015

So the machine shop took care of the bottom end as well as some head work. their work included:

hot tank the block

check block over

new cam bearings

new main bearings

new rod bearings

new piston rings

polish the crank

clean the pistons & rods

every bolt/stud changed to ARP

installed cam with new cam gear

melling timing chain

melling high pressure oil pump

hot tank the heads

deck the heads

grind all valve seats

installed comp springs with new valve seals

this is how it looked when i got it back:

wilsonz71 · May 27, 2015

Next up was engine assembly. I ordered a whole bunch of gaskets and seals, painted the pan, valve covers, and alternator bracket and was set.

made sure to pack the new Melling oil pump with white grease

had a beer break then sealed up the pan and front and rear covers.

then we flipped it over and installed the lifters. I had them soaking in a tub of new oil prior to installation.

Then we torqued down the heads.

Then came pushrods, rockers, valve covers, intake manifold, and balancer.

wilsonz71 · May 27, 2015

Had a long weekend here a few weeks ago which made it a perfect time to do the swap. I noticed a transmission leak about a week prior to the swap coming from the main connector on the right side (large grey round connector). Seemed to be a pretty common problem. The clips that hold it up had failed letting the connector and o ring fall into the pan. made a pretty big mess in my driveway. I called Alan at performabuilt the next morning and he sent out a new internal wiring harness for the trans under warranty right away. Super helpful guys over there, I highly recommend them. Im sure ill be getting another trans for another project from them someday.

having the trans out of the truck for the engine swap made it real easy to put the new harness in.

We removed the front clip which gave me tons of room to work

out came the 5.3

Sat it down next to the 6.0 to start swapping over parts

there she sits almost all dressed ready to go in

wilsonz71 · May 27, 2015

Didn't take too much to get it in on the mounts

and thats basically where my picture taking stopped. once i primed the engine, cleared the codes and crossed my fingers the engine fired right up. It runs alright as it is right now. lopes a bit with the mild ls6 cam but really needs a tune to wake it up. it already pulls way harder than the old 5.3, I can't way to get it on the dyno and tune it. I ordered 8.1L injectors and new headers this week so they should be in soon. that should do it for the engine and trans for a while.

ill be sure to update with dyno numbers once tuned.

Im now looking to put together a 14 bolt 6 lug rear axle for it.