Should I

[Zable49]

So I am taking a poll, the wife finally gave me permission to part-out her 01 Tahoe with a 5.3L because the transmission is totally shot and it would cost to much money to replace.

Anyways, should I take the 5.3 and put it into my truck?

[68bowtie]

sure. if you are over 50, plan to take it wine tasting, and you want your truck to get up like a tahoe.

just kidding, there's an application for everything, if you want nice reliable driver that should be a good route.

[bowtie72]

If I were in your shoes I say why not. You can get way better gas mileage and enjoy driving your truck everyday. I get 10 mpg in my 72 402 cid truck. I love driving it. Its a 70 mile round trip for me to work. It I could get 15-18 I would drive it everyday!

[Ol Blue K20]

I voted yes, because if you want the swap and not the Tahoe. Why not use running gear that you know what condition it's in. But what ya going to tell her when you still want an overdrive trans? I know from experience that the dog house is a little cramped. ....lol

[Ed F]

Originally Posted by bowtie72

If I were in your shoes I say why not. You can get way better gas mileage and enjoy driving your truck everyday. I get 10 mpg in my 72 402 cid truck. I love driving it. Its a 70 mile round trip for me to work. It I could get 15-18 I would drive it everyday!

My '70 is a 350 Qjet with a manual 3speed. If I drive 55-65 it get over 18 mpg. Haven't had the '72 on the highway yet.

[71swb4x4]

Half the benefit is the transmission. I say do it, but you are going to want to find a trans too.

[35boulder]

Pull the motor, set it aside and decide later down the road. If your motor now gives up the ghost then you are ready.

[Mrturner1]

Nope sell everything from the Tahoe. If you do a 5.3L swap, you are absolutely going to want to have the transmission with it. A 5.3L in good running condition with a good trans already bolted to it can be found anywhere for a reasonable price.

[Grumpy old man]

DON'T DRINK THE LS KOOL-AID !

[jocko]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. You didnt mention if you had a 350 or 402 (and I may have missed it) or what state of health it's in, but I am assuming it must be ok if you're looking at the upgrade as an optio rather than a necessity. It's not worth it all without the trans, as many have stated. You can probably sell the motor (to some guy wanting to stuff it in his old truck who doesn't have the benefit of such sage advice as you'll find on this forum that says to do it with a trans only). But seriously - not worth the effort w/o an o/d trans - that's what makes the mileage better. Sure and LS is a more efficient motor, but o/d gears are what make the most impact for improving mileage. If your current motor was good - I'd sell the LS and buy a well-built 700R4 or 2004R - they can be built for C20 duty, with a few bucks invested for longevity/strength sake. Or, a GV over/under drive.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Is the Tahoe a beat up wreck? I mean, in my area, an early 2000s Tahoe that runs/drives with 200K+ is still worth like 4-5 grand. Does your wife just want a new vehicle? The last time I was at a transmission shop (they specialized in A/C and Transmissions) my 2000 Z71 had 170K on it so I asked what rebuilds go for, and of course he said it depends, but it would be $1,200-1,700 to R&R and rebuild it.

And No. If I had the parts/money I would definitely LS my truck, buy only with a 4L60 or even 5 or 6 speed. It's not a simple motor swap. There's a lot of $$$ in parts to make everything work and fit together, and if you're going to go through all the trouble you'll definitely want the OD trans, so you'll need another one. I'm also assuming since the trans is shot, the 5.3 has a lot of miles on it as well?

[Zable49]

Good Morning Everyone,
Thanks for all the responses. Now that I have everyones opinion, lets see if things change. :-) My truck is still in state of project so I can go any direction. As for the Tahoe, no its not a wreck its trully extremely straight. However due to all the internal cab electrical issues it would cost to much money to fix when your talking about a tahoe that is worth only $2000. (All window motors, dash lights are half dead, and some other issues) As for the motor, it has 212,000 miles with new heads at 180,00(ish). But the lower portion does still have 212....

Now a question, since its a 4x4 wouldn't I need to change the output shaft on the trans anyways since my truck is a 2wd? Or am I wrong... So I guess what I am saying is that, wouldn't I need a new transmission regardless?

Thanks Everyone.

[XwalkerX]

i voted yes since I love my 5.3

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Zable49

Good Morning Everyone,
Thanks for all the responses. Now that I have everyones opinion, lets see if things change. :-) My truck is still in state of project so I can go any direction. As for the Tahoe, no its not a wreck its trully extremely straight. However due to all the internal cab electrical issues it would cost to much money to fix when your talking about a tahoe that is worth only $2000. (All window motors, dash lights are half dead, and some other issues) As for the motor, it has 212,000 miles with new heads at 180,00(ish). But the lower portion does still have 212....

Now a question, since its a 4x4 wouldn't I need to change the output shaft on the trans anyways since my truck is a 2wd? Or am I wrong... So I guess what I am saying is that, wouldn't I need a new transmission regardless?

Thanks Everyone.

Well, you're in luck, since it needs to be rebuilt anyway, you can swap the output shaft (it does require a tear down to get to it.) You can then use the 2wd tailshaft housing. If you pull everything yourself and bring the trans to a shop, it really shouldn't be that $ to get it bench rebuilt then put it in the C10.

Great info here:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=532654