Fix or swap HELP!

[MurderedOutSVT]

The window edition club is pretty exclusive and the dues are quite pricey.

Budget is #1

All said and done, I have just under 10K in a straight swap

Head gasket is my first thought. Is there chocolate puddin looking goo on the oil filler cap bottom?

150K on a 5.4 is starting to get tired, not bad but a little too much for forced induction for my comfort. Consider the trans is also tired too and that would need rebuilt while the motor is out.

Would a 6.2/6.6 swap need the computer and other management stuffs for the bigger motor?

6.2 are damñ near impossible to find. It took 6 months to find one and it was only by chance a poor Jen Juan got nailed in the rear and shop guy found it. The 6.6 shortblock alone is somewhere in the 10K range, if i remember. It would surely handily gut the trans.

I would rebuild or get a new 5.4 and keep the Procharger... they're fun and make a neat S/C whine. It's fun to see the reaction when I tell folks it's just a vacuum leak

 

[MTF]

Livernois is in MI and from what i hear the upgrades are worth it but it seems the tuning is the problem in terms of reliability

Not if you use Livernois's Tune!
Only Livernois has developed a proper calibration for the cams.

 

[smurfslayer]

Not if you use Livernois's Tune!
Only Livernois has developed a proper calibration for the cams.

good point here.

 

[someday]

Seems like if they build it they should have the best tune. It just seems to me a custom tune will always have problems

 

[mtnghost]

I went through all this with my 4x4 quad cab Dakota. The best answer is rebuild and do it better. Forged internals, maybe forced induction cams, cosmetic gaskets. Only high end parts for the build. It will be a little pricy, but you will have a brand new fully built engine vs a used or even new factory engine. Just my experience, and 2c. Disclaimer, my Dakota got hit and totaled while parked in front of my work, and I never saw the outcome of years of collecting and planning for the build. This is also a caution but serves true for any route you choose.

 

[trick76cj5]

A godzilla swap would also be a good option. There are stand-alone controller options for them that will work with the transmission. I had a similar issue with a high mileage motor in my truck, it needed some head work and the time to pull the head and have it rebuilt, i might as well do the whole motor.

I ran the numbers on a 7.3 godzilla build, and it was very close to building a 6.2 . . . with a lot more potential (Check out what they are doing on the stock coyote F150's on youtube).

Anyway, i found a decent deal on a lower mile 6.2 motor that I swapped into my truck. That motor wound up being fully built and 11:1 compression, so i still had some hurdles to overcome.

Having a built 6.2, i don't think there is enough power in the Livernois 6.6 to justify the cost . . . they still need a supercharger to make big HP . . .and at that point, a stock 6.2 build with decent pistons and rods (for 1/4 the cost) and a supercharger will give very similar results. Additionally, after a lot of research on cams, the jury is still out regarding if the cam swap on these trucks is even worth it . .. mine are still stock and will likely stay that way.

If you have time for the truck to be down, and a little bit of fabrication/problem solving skills, the godzilla option is a very solid option.

Here is a link to a stand alone controller that seems to be a very solid option: 7.3 Controller
Here is a line to s complete enging/trans that i was also looking at to source the powertrain: Source Motor