If anything get new gears....not as high as 4.10 but something in the middle if it'll work.
But i'm not sure if you could use an axle ratio that comes from a different make of truck. I know that dodge has a 3.92 axle ratio which would probably be about perfect and then add the blackbear tune. But like i said i'm not sure if you can use that ratio or not. You'd have to ask around

 

Mathews; I would strongly advise that you don't take your truck to the dealer to do any sort of engine swap. It's going to be, as you can already see, ridiculously expensive. Call your local scrap yards and see what kind of price you can get on a 5.3L or 5.7L engine from a similar model year. You will surely find (if you make enough calls) a relatively low mileage engine for about $500-$1500. You might even find a 6.0L for that cheap.

Your current upgrades on your 4.8L will probably hook right into those motors as well.

EDIT: Also, keep your gears. 3.73's are just about perfect for your application. I have 4.10's in my truck and I long for 3.42's because I don't haul often at all, and with 410ft/lbs of torque, I could easily deal with 3.42's.

 

i agree with blindsight. check into your local scrap yards for 5.3 or 5.7L motors. dude i love my 5.3. it accelerates like you say. my sister had a tahoe with the 4.8 and i believe 3.42 gears and it would stutter on acceleration. i would step on the gas and it took a few seconds to accelerate. i didnt like it. but there will be a slight hesitation. sometimes it happens on my truck but i think im at the wrong speed to change gears. its how these newer computer controlled motors are. not like carbureted motors where its almost direct response.

 

Good point on the motor from the dealer. Problem is I have no idea how to install the motor so I would have to have a mechanic do that as well. Good to know on the 3.73 gears as well. I have been in contact with Black Bear, we have exchanged several emails now. They said the 4.10 would be ideal but the 3.73 are more than sufficient. They also said the total cost for the tune on my truck would be b/t $300-$400. Based on what everyone has said I guess that is my cheapest route to start with. There is about a 7 week wait list for the cables so I am on the list. So going to stick with the 3.73 for now and get the BB tune and see how it feels. If I still am not happy I will start the process of looking into a new motor. I will everyone posted as I am sure I will have more questions.

I really like this site and thanks to everyone for all the great advice.

If you ain't slingin mud....you ain't havin fun!
Brando

 

Yeah, that sounds a little insane to me. At 6500$ parts + 1700$ labor,
(total 8200$), you could get a really decent used vehicle to pull your boat, maybe even two.

Many times a large junkyard(they call themselves "recyclers" these days) has a garage and will do the install, also...

 

well good luck to you and keep us updated.

 

I will for sure and thanks for all the help it has been great. Hopefully this tune does the trick. Would be nice to spend $300-$400 vs. a $2000-$3000.

 

sts makes a remote bolt on turbo for your truck it will increase your fuel mileage get you wayyyyy more power and mounts at the rear of your truck saving engin bay **** and heat very cost effective and cheaper then superchargers which will decrease your mpgs go to ststurbo.com and check it out the company is out of orem utah ie had their turbos on my 2000 5.3 had the intercooler and turbo with slightly bigger injectors pushing about480 hp and at 22 mpg

 

Hey max I looked at sts turbos and there are lots of good things said about them but the dealer I found in Arizona has them priced at $5,100. That is still a bit more than I really want to pay at this point. Thanks for the input and if the bb tune does not do the trick that may be my next step.

 

try going to a junk yard and pull a block out of a truck
its not as exspensive to do it yourself but if your not to fimilar with engiens do some research and take apart some old lawnmowr motors all internal combustion engiens work the same

alos there the possibility of boring out your v8