06 1500 motor replacment options

nitro882 · August 22, 2017

Im looking to get some opinions on what i should do with my old 06 silverado that now has a bad motor.

To make a long story short when i got my 2014 i gave my old 2006 to my nephew. He has had and driven it for close to 2 years now until recently. his father was "taking care" of the maintenance did do anything but add the cheapest oil on the market and never changed it. After 25k of this im told the oil filter failed and starved the motor of oil. The shop they brought it to says the motor is toast and they dont want to fix it. So i decided im going to fix it and im looking for opinions on what path to take.

The truck currently has a 5.3l L33 aluminum block motor. Right now im thinking another l33 if i can find one would be the simplest swap. The things im not sure of is if an iron block unit will go in without ECU work. Im also considering a 6.0l motor as well and i know it will fit and i will need ECU work to get it running right.

If i could easily bolt the 6.2l in my 2014 into this 06 chassis i think i would have a winner. I love the motor in my 2014 but the rest of the truck not so much. I cant stand the transmission and the seats suck....

Opinions?

swathdiver · August 26, 2017

The aluminum blocks were usually for 4WD trucks, at least that's the case with the GMT900s. So other than adding 85 pounds you should be fine. Now if you're going to change generations, the first mod I can think of is a lengthening of your wiring harness as the Cam sensor is up front and not in back on the Gen IV motors. Aftermarket adapters are made for that.

Are you fixing the truck for your nephew or going to use it yourself now and as a DD or a weekender? If going back to the youngster, I'd look for another Gen III 5.3 or 6.0 motor.

nitro882 · August 28, 2017

Thanks for the input. The truck in question is a 4wd Z71. The plan is to fix the truck and put it back in my stable mostly as a worker but as a driver as well. Like i said before, i actually like this truck better than my 2014 so it will get some miles for sure.

So quick update on it, i got it back on Thursday and i don't think there is anything actually wrong with the motor internally. It starts and runs, makes no odd noises and oil pressure is fine. I have no idea how this shop got the point of condemning the motor but i'm not shocked since they also told my sister that the y pipe needed to be changed because the cats were clogged causing the p0050 code in the computer. I think these guys are totally clueless.

There is an issue going on that i do need to pinpoint and its strange. Like i said the truck fires right up and runs fine, no mil light since i fixed the sensor, power is all there etc etc. It also appears to drive normal, until it doesn't. The motor just suddenly stops running with no warning. It seems electrical to me since its so sudden. You just drive along and poof it stops running. Popping it into neutral and a quick stab at the starter its running again and off you go. I'm wondering if its a cam or crank sensor issue? The shop they brought it to said the cam was toast, but the symptoms don't line up with that. They also never looked inside the motor so i'm not sure where that conclusion came from.

So far all i have done was drop the oil, looked inside with my mini camera and also popped the valve covers to have a look. They claimed the motor was totally sludged up and not salvageable, the reality is the motor clean inside, very clean..... I also swapped the upstream sensor on the passenger side to fix the p0050 code.

swathdiver · August 29, 2017

I don't think the mechanics are clueless, I think they are dishonest!

Long ago I had clogged cats but don't remember the symptoms anymore. Without a Tech2 these GM vehicles had frustrated me for years until recently buying one so I can see what's going on inside now with regards to the computers and wiring.

A failing cat can cause a stall though.