Hi all,

I'm not a fan of hate; if you have hate for this swap, please keep it to yourself. My 89 f350 crew 4x4 is getting a GM LS LQ4 6.0. The 460 in there now makes at most 8mpg, and is expensive to modify and difficult to tune. 6.0's, while I don't expect much of a milage increase, they made good power, are easy & cheap to modify and have tons of aftermarket support. Helps that I have a 6.0 Yukon denali which I'll be pulling all needed components from.

anyways, question I have is, does anyone know of a bellhousing adapter which will mate the ZF5's 460 bellhousing to that 6.0? I see one company that offers an adapter when I google it, however it is for the 351W bellhousing to zf5. I assume the 460 and 351w have different size/shaped housings? Never seen a 351w to zf5 bellhousing and am unsure. It's the only thing stumping me on this swap; any help is appreciated.

thx

 

Get a 4L80 to go with the 6.0 and be done. Will handle the power better if you decide to boost it in the future. Guys doing a 14 psi setup just do a transgo hd2 kit and are done. Make 500 to the wheels with proper fuel system

 

It would for sure. Thing is, and I should've mentioned this, I like having the stick in that truck, and this swap is going more on the reliability and drivability side of things. I don't plan to exceed 450 hp 400 tq, and no boost will be applied to the truck so long as I own it; I have a boosted 78 f150 2wd fun truck for when I need to let off some steam lol. Gf prefers manuals as well; and I can wire the harness and stuff up for it. It's just going to be tricky getting that zf5 to match it. Might need to swap in an nv4500 though leaving that as a last resort. Kind like that notchy zf5 with its aluminum casing haha

 

Nope. Dumb idea.

 

 

Ditching speed density EFI for modern injection sounds like a good idea to me, whether you like the badge on the new engine or not. This thread suggests the big block and small block bolt pattern is different, unfortunately, and yeah, I'm not seeing any 460 ZF to LS kits either (though it looks like you can get kits for Cummins engines). I guess the question is whether you get a smallblock ZF and an adapter or a GM trans/transfer that'll bolt to the engine and then have the driveshafts adapted. Depends on what the driveshaft shop charges vs what the adapter costs, I guess.

 

Id opt for the 8.1L and the Allison transmission if I were to take the 460 out of my truck. LS engines are also pricey to upgrade btw. You will likely need to track down a ZF6 or NV4500 with the LS bolt pattern.

 

The 460 in there already makes more torque than the 6L does and at a lower rpm. Heads/intake/FiTech would be cheaper than the swap. A crew cab long bed 4x4 will get ***** mpg anyway. Drive the yukon if you need mpg and use the truck when needed.

 

Hey guys thanks for all the responses. Frank, I had for a while been thinking of swapping a dt466 with an EF t13 speed and div'd tcase, but a number of things turned me off of that swap. Mainly, where I live (Alberta), diesel has consistently been 1.22 a liter for a long time, where as gas has fluctuated but averaged around .089. Weight was another I'm a millwright by trade, and have access to a shop fully loaded with tools I'm very familiar with, and I've done lots of creative modification both at work and at home on my cars, so no sweat on that part. The only thing we don't have is a cnc, so I may have to make an adapter plate on my own with a tape measure and a plasma cutter. I'll weigh out the options of a gm 5 speed or nv4500.

TMM that's precisely the issue. I've never owned or even seen a post late 80's GM with a stick; with the exception being this one 1500 that lived on a farm I worked on in my youth; years ago. So I wonder if they'll be hard to track down. It's an idea though and one I haven't discarded. I think some GM 6.0s came with zf6's, and that may be the route I end up taking if I can track one down for a reasonable price. Wishful thinking i know lol.

Mongoose. I like both of those. I built a tractor pull truck a few years back for a buddy: 8.1 with a built alli. Made over 1000 hp and I believe he's still running it on that build. Good strong motors. Thing is, I already have the 6.0 and i like a stick in my trucks. Not to mention I'm a (cheap) Ukrainian so I'm aiming to make this swap as cheap as possible without cutting corners. The LS series motors are expensive to modify, if you want big power. They make good power N/A, and my power goals are easily within range of a cam and intake swap, and maybe some head work if needed; which I can do myself

 

You are correct. However, torque isn't much of a concern to me in this case. As the 6.0 will make similar numbers once in finished with the light mods I plan. I ran a megasquirt on the truck for a while, and have figured my way around tuning. The issue is heads and intakes cost $$ for these motors, as there isn't a big aftermarket support. In the short range scope of things, it would be smarter to leave things as is. But for long range, I look at other things say; if I warp a head or wreck something. On a 385 I'd be looking for another aftermarket head which could get pricey, where as the 6.0, I can just find another 5.3 head (heads that'll be on the block) at the wreckers for 100 bucks and good to go. Parts are easy to find and easily accessible up here.

the other thing is, I got smoked by a kid on his phone last week; rear ended my SUV and total write off. I bought it back off insurance for the motor. I have a little car I commute around town with, but we love camping and prefer to take the truck to do so. You forgot to mention the 12k warn winch pretty well welded into the big steel bumper hanging off the front, and steel flat deck on the rear... Mpgs are bound to be ***** regardless Haha. I'm more in it for the ease of upgrade and tune-ability. And I do enjoy a challenge

 

You do a set of 706 heads on a 6.0 and you'll be in the 10.7 compression area, but a good tune will get around that on 93. Use the dorman trailblazer ss intake from a parts store it's a proven power maker based on the FAST XFI intake. Hell truck manifolds can support 450hp na so dont really need to lose those even. 5.3 heads and an elgin 1839 cam and you'll make good power

 

good to know brother thanks. Hadn't heard of Elgin cams. Theres a comp rv cam I was planning on throwing in there but I may go with that 1839 after looking at the specs.

 

Hell I meant to post the 1838p cam number. The 1839 might be a bit big for a 4x4 rig offroad.

 

I would normally try to talk anyone out of this swap, but you have legitimate reasons for doing the swap. Carb heads and an "efi intake" or adapters is still a viable option IMO but I can't try to talk you out of the 6.0 with a straight face.

That said, the following will be like my "post #2"

The 6.0 is not really "truck friendly", as it favors strong mid range and even a little top end over what I would want in a truck. Gm of course got around this with 5 and 6 speed transmissions, but the fact of the matter is the engine is far from optimal for a big truck like yours, doing so as a result of the "peak hp race" (gm, and everyone else, has been forced to pedal peak hp to nitwits as a result of the culture we live in today, but transmissions have "blended" the change from strong low rpm hp to weak low end, brutal mid range, strong upper)

You have it right with some smaller port, smaller chamber 5.3 cathedral heads to promote torque. *port the valve bowls* but leave the cathedral ports untouched. If you want to commit to using 93 octane, mill them....but only after close study of your dynamic compression ratio after cam choice.

The obvious "next", is cam. Select a cam similar to the way we select a speed density 5.8 cam: high lift, low duration, and a wide lsa. This will promote a high dynamic compression ratio, in turn promoting low end and brutal mid range hp.

Lastly, do not use exhaust manifolds....period....it would be a total waste of time to do a 6.0 swap without long tubes. What you need (also what you may not find easily) is something with 1 3/4" or smaller primaries. Do not get car or truck headers that use > 1.75 primaries, as they will promote mid and upper rpm up production, and not the off idle hp that you will be seeking in your head and cam combo.

With this setup, you should have as much or more hp than stock, but at a much lesser rpm. Go this route, then dyno it, because I would love to see the torque curve.

As for transmission, I would go for an nv5600 (less amount of tunnel mods) or a zf6 (taller trans, more mods)

 

I don't see how the LS swap is going to be less time/$$ than better heads/intake for the 460.