2003 4.3v6 6.0 swap

I got a great deal on a LQ9 6.0 from a Escalade, though the guy was selling for a friend and was not sure of the year. He said it was Drive By Wire though. It was close so i will be able to inspect before I pay the guy.

I have a few questions.

The project : 2003 1500chevy 4.3v6 i presume 4L60E

The donor: Escalade 200X LQ9 6.0 drop out with all acc, ecm and wiring

1. Will my 4L60E bolt to the LQ9? I know it wont last but I will rebuild if it a direct bolt on.

2. This is a complete drop out with wiring and ecm, What problems do you think I will run into with this swap? Or will this be a direct replacement, other than motor mounts , wiring, ecm and various hardware?

3. When I do get to inspect the motor what casting number will I be looking for to verify his claims of this motor being an LQ9?

as long as you have everything from the lq9 it will work, i put a lq9 out of a 04 excalade..

pull a plug **** a light see if the piston is flat top if it is then its a lq9

oh yeah and the 4l60e will work as well

i presume u will have to get a drive by cable tb.....also....make sure u get the motor mounts and the frame mounts

Thanks for the replies,

After doing some more reading I think i may be in trouble on the wiring and
since I have no experience with a conversion I have a few questions.

Could someone give me a basic run down as to how many separate wiring harness my 03 4.3l has? I am thinking the motor wiring is one harness, then a separate harness for the transmission? So basically, how is the wiring laid out?

Will I need the fuse box from the donor vehicle? Which of course I do not have.

I am hoping that my chassis harness will be a direct fit with the new ECM? So the fuel system, gagues, speedometer ect..... will interface with the new ECM

Do you think custom wiring harness will have to be made for this to work?

the motor and trans harness is all on one harness...it all goes to the black block on the bottom side of the fuse box...if you lift up the fuse box and look underneath there are 4 blocks...2 bigger blocks and 2 smaller blocks...the motor/trans is the black block....you dont need a new fuse box..it just bolts right back where the v6 one did.


the swap really isnt that bad....you can do it

Encouraging,


I have heard the my wiring harness going to the 4L80E will not work with a 4L60E? (Different connectors)

Were all 2003 and later vehicles drive by wire? Will I run into problems with wiring if my truck is not drive by wire? (the donor is drive by wire

ok .... no the harness for the 4l80e will not work with the 4l60e...same thing happened to me...you should get a harness off a 99-02 4.8 or 5.3 out of a junkyard and run that along with the tb off the same truck.

drive by wire is possible but it is a lot of work...new gas pedal and stuff....i would just do a drive by cable since thats what the truck has now....being a v6

I have been able to locate a 2002 4.8 wiring harness, so I can do away with the DBW. I just wanted to make sure this harness would work? The reason I ask, the junk yard was not sure if it was DBW or DBC. Did they have DBW in 02?

i think dbw started in 03...not 100% sure tho

Quote:

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Originally Posted by banker099

i think dbw started in 03...not 100% sure tho

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i think youre correct lol, if not mistaken i just picked up a harness for a 6.0 from an 02 and it worked .

yeah...my harness came off an 02 and it is drive by cable

I am missing a few items from the motor.

1. AC unit and hoses.

2. Alternator

3. Starter


I know my AC hoses will not work but will my ac compressor, alternator and starter from the 4.3 bolt to the 6.0l?

I am making a trip to the salvage yard today, what motor mounts will I need for the swap. IE 4.8 5.3 mounts work with the 6.0l?

yeah get the mounts from a 5.3, 4.8 and get the frame mounts and the motor mounts.

some of the acc will swap over from the v6...asssuming you already have the bracket on the 6.0....

read here

I know the flywheel from the 6.0l will not work with my 4l60e but will the flywheel from the 4.3l bolt to the 6.0l?

What year 6.0l? Early models will work with the 4.3L flywheel. Late model won't. Measure how much crankshaft sticks out of the rear cover. If you bolt it to the crank and it wont turn because its against the back of the block, its a newer engine and won't work obviously.

Guys,

I have my harness and TB swap completed but have a question about the DBC harness. The mechanical TB has two electrical connections but it seems my harness has three? The third connection is an in line 4 plug connector that has one red wire pinned?

mass air flow wire connector?

that goes to the alternator.....yes....score one for me!!

A picture is worth a thousand guesses. :laugh:

no pic...the only plug that is 4-pin and only has 1 wire is the alternator...has to be

Ah, didn't read it that way. Yeah, must be the alternator plug. :thumb: Good call.

After looking over the wiring I am going to take a guess and say that the oil sending unit from the 6.0 will not work with the 5.3 harness?

It seems the oil sending unit from the 5.3l has only one wire, the one on the 6.0l has three wires?


Also it seems the fuel rail system from the 6.0L is a return less system? What is going to be my best option for making my 4.3 fuel system work?

i cut my fuel lines and ran fuel hose to make it work, the oil sending unit i just replaced it with with a 6.0 sending unit from the parts store.. or just take the 5.3 sending unit and install it on the 6.0

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skeet

i cut my fuel lines and ran fuel hose to make it work, the oil sending unit i just replaced it with with a 6.0 sending unit from the parts store.. or just take the 5.3 sending unit and install it on the 6.0

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So are you saying you just cut the fuel line and spliced a T in? I am thinking of just finding a fuel rail from a vehicle with a return system.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jtaliaferro

So are you saying you just cut the fuel line and spliced a T in? I am thinking of just finding a fuel rail from a vehicle with a return system.

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Im sure you saw my threads, but I shortned up the stock fuel hose with a small pipe cutter, then ran some AN fittings as well as some steel braided hose. Works great