5.3L - Cam ugrade ? Anyone done it !

[HECDOGGIE]

Has anyone done a cam on their 5.3 Truck ?

I have a buddy that says the LS2/3 Cam adds around 50 hp?



Now, the only reason this is even being entertained is cost. Fairly inexpensive.
UPgrade springs, cam , and timing cover ...

Im guessing some work has to be done to intake and maybe headers , and of course a tune.... ?


Thoughts ? I am fairly inexperienced in GM Engines. I have had many GM products, i havent had the desire or $$ to crack open the engine and upgrade///

[lowthreeohz]

back when the 5.3 was newer, lots of people were putting custom grinds and ls1 cams in theirs and making respectable numbers. i'd check the nbs chevy truck forum. I think sam88gt and maybe hutto did a few of them?

[whitetrash]

I don't see you getting that out of either of those. An aftermarket cam maybe.

[War Machine]

Im putting this one in a customs 6.0. Cheap enough!

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfs-30602001/overview/make/chevrolet

[fastwhite99gt]

Car Craft did the article, just have to search for it. The little 5.3 gained like 40 horse from going from the factory LM7 cam to a LS2 if I remember right. You will need LS6 springs which are cheap and I'd put a set of pushrods in it, they are $100. Pretty much all the gaskets are reusable, I don't think we changed anything but the oil pump pickup tube oring when we did mine, but I put a 09 CTSV pump in at the same time. If the 5.3 has some miles on it, might consider it, the oil pump is $89 I believe and get an LS2 timing chain.

[fastwhite99gt]

My truck has a 218/224@.050 .564/.581 lift on a 110LSA cam, TBSS intake, 90mm throttle body, 1 3/4"x3" Pacesetter longtubes, 3" exhaust back to the muffler then dual 2 1/2" tailpipes, Specter CAI and a tune and the 5.3 lays down 330 at the wheels in a crew cab truck.

[jayjohnson600]

If you do teh mods with used parts, it can be done very inexpensively.

Getting a little more stall like 2600rpm, would make a big different too.

[4EyedTurd]

What's better about the CTSV pump over a stocker?

[Lone Star Performance]

Pretty simple to do.

[fastwhite99gt]

From everything we've read, it's just a higher flow pump to help the bearings survive under forced induction. It seems to work, my truck has 190,000 miles on it and idles with 50lbs of oil pressure and does about 75 going down the road.

[91CoupeMike]

I've always been told that you need to replace the lifters as well.

From what I hear you have to pull the heads for that.

[Blackpony]

^^ Depends on the mileage.. over 100k i would without a doubt replace them.

[fastwhite99gt]

You have to pull the heads to do lifters. If you are going that far, might as well shave the heads to up the compression, .040 head gasket and do the lifter trays as well.

[HECDOGGIE]

You have to pull the heads to do lifters. If you are going that far, might as well shave the heads to up the compression, .040 head gasket and do the lifter trays as well.

ah....good info.

My buddy mentioned the timing cover too ? ?

[fastwhite99gt]

Just reuse the old one, it's not like the Vortec 5.7 that were plastic. The LS stuff is really easy to work on, no adjusting valves, don't have to remove the lifters to change cams unless you are gonna swap them, damn near every gasket is reusable unless the oring is torn. I had never worked on one and I swapped oil pumps, timing chains, cam, pushrods and new springs by myself in an afternoon. If the truck can be down for a couple of days, find the pushrod length checker and make sure exactly what length you need, especially if you deck the heads.