I'm in the hunt for a replacement engine in the future for my truck. Right now I have 235,000 miles on my truck and it runs great, but I know it won't last forever. I don't see the point in spending $25-30k on a new truck when this one has everything I need in a truck as it's not my daily commuter, it's my weekend hunting/hiking/skiing/exploring rig.
I've been searching for either a good low mileage drop in or a cheap high mileage engine that needs rebuilding (still looking into the cost/benefit of each). My confusion centers around the actual engine that I need to swap in.
My truck is 2004 5.3L VIN T engine. But, what I'm finding out the 03-04 VIN T engines have differences from the 05-07 VIN T engines, and likewise going back to the 99-02 VIN T engines. Things like fuel rail size, injectors, etc.
I'm looking for something I can simply drop in (understanding some accessory swap might be necessary), or what kind of alterations am I looking at for dropping in a 05-07 or 99-02 engine?
I was a tech for about 5 years and I am completely comfortable doing all of the work, but I'm not a Chevrolet engineer and don't know exact specifics of each iteration of the 5.3L engine.
I've been searching for either a good low mileage drop in or a cheap high mileage engine that needs rebuilding (still looking into the cost/benefit of each). My confusion centers around the actual engine that I need to swap in.
My truck is 2004 5.3L VIN T engine. But, what I'm finding out the 03-04 VIN T engines have differences from the 05-07 VIN T engines, and likewise going back to the 99-02 VIN T engines. Things like fuel rail size, injectors, etc.
I'm looking for something I can simply drop in (understanding some accessory swap might be necessary), or what kind of alterations am I looking at for dropping in a 05-07 or 99-02 engine?
I was a tech for about 5 years and I am completely comfortable doing all of the work, but I'm not a Chevrolet engineer and don't know exact specifics of each iteration of the 5.3L engine.
