Engine swap question

ScottyBoy · August 10, 2006

I have a friend who has a 2006 silverado that has been severely wrecked. But it has less than 20,000 miles on it. He can buy it back from the insurance company for about 4 grand. My question is, will the 2006 engine go into a 2001 tahoe? My lil brother's tahoe has about 200,000 miles on it and he is considering a new engine. Both have a 5.3 V8 . If so, what will need to be changed? Intake, wiring, computer? or what? Or is it an exact swap? any knowledge on these 2 engines is appreciated.

vortecfcar · August 11, 2006

The engines will probably look almost identical, however I'd worry a bit about the possiblity that the crank trigger (reluctor ring) count has changed. I know the LS2 is different than the LS1 in this way and the LS7 (427) also has the updated 42(?) tooth reluctor. Because of this difference, the swap would be less than straightforward.

If I had 4,000 and wanted to replace my worn out 5.3 I'd head over to www.LS1tech.com and look for a sponsor offering a group purchase or deal (also check classifieds). You could do a lot better than a used 5.3 for 4,000 if all you want to replace is hard parts.

ScottyBoy · August 12, 2006

He says he'll replace the entire engine if its possible. But I figured there had to be some differences in the two engines requiring some parts off his 01 to be swapped onto the 06 engine. I'll check on ls1tech.com for him. Now I have another question. Would an ls1 from a 99-02 camaro drop right in? Are there big differences between that and the tahoe engine?

vortecfcar · August 14, 2006

Would an ls1 from a 99-02 camaro drop right in? Are there big differences between that and the tahoe engine?

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I believe an LS1/LS6 would bolt right in. You would probably retain the truck intake for convenience though. I would reccomend a tune (HPtuners or EFIlive) but in reality you could probably do just fine without it.

I would check oil pans for compatability also.

ScottyBoy · August 18, 2006

Ok, I talked to my brother and he says he'd rather get the 06 engine if possible. mainly because he can get the whole truck, the entire engine and transmission, and even some body parts. Is there any way to get the 06 engine to work in the 01 Tahoe? He also wants to put the 06 front cap on his tahoe. The truck is wrecked on the rear and the side so the entire drivetrain is fine. So what all would be involved in putting the 06 engine into the 01 Tahoe????

2004GMC1500CC · August 20, 2006

Ok, I talked to my brother and he says he'd rather get the 06 engine if possible. mainly because he can get the whole truck, the entire engine and transmission, and even some body parts. Is there any way to get the 06 engine to work in the 01 Tahoe? He also wants to put the 06 front cap on his tahoe. The truck is wrecked on the rear and the side so the entire drivetrain is fine. So what all would be involved in putting the 06 engine into the 01 Tahoe????

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I don't know but I bet it will bolt in with little trouble. The biggest issue I could see would be with the computer. As long as you have the donor truck available, I would go for it.

OnyxMAX · August 20, 2006

most of the problems will be electronic

ScottyBoy · August 21, 2006

I'm wondering about issues tying the 06 engine harness and computer into the tahoe's wiring. Getting the guages to work right, and making sure it starts up fine(passlock issues). Does anyone know if the engine on an 06 is databus controlled or is it just the body and interior wiring that is databus controlled????