CURSE OF THE BOW TIE

mrspeed64 · February 17, 2005

I JUST JOINED THIS WEB SITE AND I NEED SOME ADVISE ON WHAT TO BUY. I DID A REALLY BAD THING BACK IN 2000 AND BOUGHT A NEW DODGE RAM 2500 QUAD CAB AND MY 2ND TRANSMISSION IS STARTING TO GO (73000 MILES). I BOUGHT THIS PIG BECAUSE OF $$ AND BOY I PAID MORE OVERALL THAN IF I BOUGHT WHAT I REALLY WANTED AT THE TIME (CHEVY). I'VE BEEN A DIE HARD CHEVY GUY ALL MY LIFE (STILL HAVE MY 68 RS CAMARO) AND I HAVE TO REMOVE THE CURSE OF THE BOW TIE FOR WHAT I DID.

I'M LOOKING TO BUY A 2005 CHEVY OR GMC 4X4 EXTENDED CAB 1500 AND NEED ADVISE ON MOTORS. 4.8L IS THE STANDARD MOTOR,5.3 FLEX FUEL OR 5.3 ALUMINUM BLOCK WITH THE 310 HP ARE THE OTHER OPTIONS I CAN GET. I'M REALLY NOT INTO THE ALUMINUM BLOCK TOO MUCH BECAUSE STEEL AND ALUMINUM DON'T REALLY GO THAT GOOD TOGETHER. I WANT A MOTOR THAT I CAN GET ALOT OF MILES ON (MY OLD S-10 HAD 232,000) AND WANT POWER. I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE FLEX FUEL MOTOR.DOES THIS MOTOR HAVE MORE COMPUTER CONTROLLED EMMISION JUNK ON IT?? SHOULD I GO FOR THE 4.8L?? DO ANY OF THESE MOTORS HAVE ISSUES??I LIKE THE OLD MOTORS (CARB AND STRAIGHT PIPES). I ALSO NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE AUTO TRAC OPTION (GOOD OR BAD) AND HOW MUCH MODIFICATION DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO RAISE THESE TRUCKS UP (WIRING ETC). BY THE WAY, MOPAR STANDS FOR "MY OLD PIG AIN'T RUNNING". PLEASE HELP!!!!!! IF I'M IN THE WRONG AREA ON THIS WEB SITE DIRECT ME PLEASE.....

Bgdsub72 · February 17, 2005

turn the caps lock OFF. Thank You.

SnakeEyeSS · February 17, 2005

good thing he hasn't found the text enlargement feature yet

if steel and aluminum don't go well together, then why do those engine make so much power? plus, there are many 99-up Sily's with over 150K on them now.

My 87 BMW has aluminum head and it's got 222K on it and runs great(albiet an engine rebuild at 145K , which had nothing to do with. aluminum and steel components).

your question is too broad. do you want advice for MPG? for Power? towing, hauling, off-roading????

Welcome to the site, and please turn the CAPS OFF.

mrspeed64 · February 17, 2005

sorry about the caps on.didn't know that it was a big deal.hey snake eyes nice camaro. when i talk about aluminum with steel i'm not talking about the heads.i'm talking about the steel cyl sleeves in the block. i'm looking for a long lasting motor that has lots of power for everything that a truck is suppose to do (tow,off-road & haul).p.s i know about the text enlargement feature.i know you can reprogram the computers to get more out of them.i'm just looking for advise on motors & the autotrac system.

Scyry · February 17, 2005

-5.3 good all around power

-4.8 quick reving

-Autotrac, nice feature for if it is raining or pulling a boat out of the water. It kicks the truck in and ut of 4WD when it feels slippage, works pretty good imo.

-Autotrac has some issues with raising the truck (from what I have heard), but I think there are now lifts out there designed for it.

-The CC 1500 have a shorter bed than the regular short bed trucks, going to a 2500 is the only way to get a CC SB right now.

airbalancer · February 17, 2005

I had a 4.8 in a 00 Chevy ecsb, now have 5.3 4x4 Z71 ecsb

I find the 5.3 much easy truck to be in. It does not downshift as much cursing on the highway

Tucson_02Silverado · February 17, 2005

The LS1 5.7L, as in the Vette and F-Body, is all alloy...LS1TECH forum would be one the best places to ask about reliability.

MCourson · February 17, 2005

i'm talking about the steel cyl sleeves in the block.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For what its worth our kart race engines are aluminum blocks with steel bores. We run them 7000-8000 rpm for 20-45mins straight in enduro races. (Briggs Raptor, Animal and World Formula series motors.) I have one engine, an Animal, that has ~1000 miles on it. Of course its not my #1 race engine but its a little project. I wouldnt be worried about longevity.

Truckman031 · February 17, 2005

Go with the 5.3. It has more power, while getting around the same mileage. Not many trucks have the flex fuel, so I can't tell you about that.

mrspeed64 · February 18, 2005

thanks for the information.my ears are open for more if anybody wants to give advise. thanks again

BBSilverado · February 18, 2005

Welcome aboard.

I would go with the 5.3 You don't have anything to worry about with the steel sleeves in a aluminum block. they are not exposed to moisture or the environment, that is what make aluminum corrode faster when it is mated to steel.