2008 suburban ltz engine swap
 

Here's the scenario... I've owned 4 suburban all with quirks, especially my 2004 that I had the pleasure of spending many hours replacing all of the defective brake lines in my driveway in the middle of winter. But the motors always went well over several hundred thousands if miles. That is till this one, and I'm bummed. I bought my new one with 125,000 miles and it seems the engine crapped out. Lifter tick turned into some oil pressure issues, and you guessed it... no compression In number 6 cylinder and drives like junk and blows oil smoke out the back, and christmas tree worth of lights on in dash from it.I have the all aluminum 5.3l Lc9 and I've read about the AND issues and piston ring thing too. I doubt the motor was taken care of so I'm thinking of replacing it. What is the biggest and nicest, most dependable motor I can put in one time? At this point I want more horsepower and something ultra dependable, maybe with VVT if possible. I'm open for the best suggestion out there from experienced people. Basically what the hell do I do that is the best fix? I am doing this myself and I'm in the military and home now but not for long and don't need my wife and kids stranded. Any advice is very appreciated.

Well, the 6.2 should be a pretty easy swap, since it came from the factory in Yukon/Yukon XL Denali trim and in the Escalades.

I love the L9H 6.2 in my Sierra Denali, and no stupid AFM.

PS - thank you for your service to our country.

6.2 swap
 

I would love to put the 6.2 liter into it but would I have to change the transmission as well and what about plugging up to the harnesses and the ECM? Basically I'm getting rid of the motor that's in it because I know they didn't take care of it anyways and I don't like the AFM. Do you really think that would work? I just need to be certain of every little detail because once I start it I have to finish it and I only have a few months to do it.

If it was me in your situation, I would think of swapping in a Duramax engine into it. There is a company called Duraburb in Florida, who do the swaps. Search on youtube for them, then have videos posted of some of the vehicles they have done.

I'm not affiliated with them at all. They would be my go to guys for a Duramax swap into my 07 Tahoe.

Good luck!

Duramax swap
 

That's interesting about the duramax, do you mean a diesel? There is a newer gasoline 6.0liter put into the 2009 Silverado I believe, and it was the last year without the AFM and with VVT and that was called a vortec max i believe. I don't have the $15,000 to whatever that they want to convert to a diesel, I'm just looking to put something in without AFM and closer to 400 horsepower that has the newest technology that I can put in without having to cut pigtails or anything like that that's all. I'm kind of leaning towards a 6.2 as in the earlier comment I guess but I just want someone to tell me that it's possible and how much work it is and what I need to do.

I actually pulled the engine out of my wife's 2007 Suburban last night, I'm rebuilding the 5.3, deleting the DOD & the AFM (non DOD cam & lifters) I think with a cam & tune the thing should run great!!
I have a 2006 Duramax Silverado, Not a chance the Suburban will keep up..................ever!

Rebuild
 

I thought about rebuilding it but it's not just the AFM, it's the other issues too that are a bad design. What about the oil splashing back up under the piston and the rings twisting and lining up, or the thing where the sending unit screen clogs, etc... I just think the motor would be much more to rebuild than it is worth idk. The delete kit and cam is 800, and if I gotta get the heads done and possibly piston then that's a lot in my opinion. I don't think mine was taken care of so it's a total rebuild, so for me I'm thinking a swap ya know. I just need someone who knows what to do amd what the best motor swap is. Im leaning towards the 6.2 without AFM that has VVT.

you could just replace the 5.3 with a 6.0 LQ9 and do a DOD delete before you install it. This will allow you to use everything else. Tranny, ECM, But if I was faced with your problem with limited funds I would just get a used motor and install it. You can get a LQ9 for 1700.00 on ebay...just a option

Lq9
 

Hey sarge I thought about that but there are a lot of other issues besides the AFM that worry me about these motors and I'm unsure about what one doesn't have them. Bottom line is I have around 6000 for a budget and I'm doing it all myself. That being said, I don't want my labor to be for nothing and have something else major happen and have to pull it out to do major top or lower end stuff ya know. Plus I'm a 68w and I'm always gone somewhere and don't need issues that will leave the wife and kids hating life while I'm gone. I'm looking for input because I'm starting this soon and I have limited time to research it all. Everyone here has been really helpful though so I'm very thankful for that. So parameters are 6000 dollar budget, I'm doing it myself, need dependability in a motor, willing to change tranny or whatever...but need to know all the facts. Still need suggestions though.

Hi Mike, yes, it would be a diesel engine. I don't know about pricing, you could call them up just to get a round-a-bout quote. I'm not knowledgable about the 6.2 and its fitment into our Tahoes. Good luck!