LQ9 , deal or not?

[BlackenedRR]

I got offered an LQ9 for $1650. It has 73k miles on it, but no harness or ECU. I have absolutely no idea how much LS engines are going for, I just keep reading about all these junkyard LS motors in magazines that were bought for well under $1000. By the way, this is possibly going to be swapped into my 95 GMC or 96 Chevy truck. Any insight?

[WSSix]

All accessories and other engine hard parts included in that price? If not, a little high is what I'd say but it you were planning new accessories anyway, no big deal.

If you're not actively looking and this was simply offered to you, counter with $1400 and see what they say. You're in control if this was offered to you out of the blue.

[grif54]

The engines you see in the magazines are usually 4.8 or 5.3's, the iron versions. 6.0's are a little pricier. I bought a 6.0 a few years ago with ECU, pedal, alternator, starter, harness and PS pump for 1400 and I thought that was a little high but the vehicle it came out of had 35,000 miles and was super clean(I inspected everything before it was pulled) so that was worth a piece of mind and a little more money in my mind. It looks like you are in Texas so I don't really know the market down there though. Good luck.

[BlackenedRR]

I'm trying to get more info right now. I put out the word to a few friends that I was looking for one, not in a rush to buy though. One friend found this through one of his salvage yard hookups, so it's supposed to be a "buddy" discount... LOL!! I know in Houston these engines go for decent coin due to everyone and their momma wanting them, but here in the DFW area I don't think we have as big of a performance truck scene.

[Vega$69]

The LQ9 is a better motor with higher compression then the LQ4 and other 5.3 and 4.8 truck motors guys are talking up as the juckyard finds.

75K miles is not bad assuming it's not been damaged.

You're better to go with a custom harness and ECUs cost about $50 now days.

If it's local and no shipping you can check it out and go from there. I'd go $1500 or so.

[67Rally]

I paid $1800 for mine complete with ECU, pedal, harness and all accessories. Then I proceeded to replace all the accessories, intake, heads, cam, harness, and ECU.

Figure out how much stuff your actual going to use, what you'll be able to resell, and buy accordingly.

[BlackenedRR]

Ended up passing on that engine, picked up a 5.3L/4L60E combo today with harness and ECU. Came out of a wrecked Tahoe with 79k miles, shelled out $1800. I called just about every salvage yard and shop I could think of, all the prices I got back were right about the same for a similar combo as mine. I'll be in the shop bright and early tomorrow to start tearing it apart, then I just have to start ordering conversion parts and decide if I'm going to handle the wiring harness myself or be smart and let someone else do it... LOL!

[67Rally]

Ended up passing on that engine, picked up a 5.3L/4L60E combo today with harness and ECU. Came out of a wrecked Tahoe with 79k miles, shelled out $1800. I called just about every salvage yard and shop I could think of, all the prices I got back were right about the same for a similar combo as mine. I'll be in the shop bright and early tomorrow to start tearing it apart, then I just have to start ordering conversion parts and decide if I'm going to handle the wiring harness myself or be smart and let someone else do it... LOL!

Curious why you'd go with a 5.3l for $1800, when you could have the 6.0l for $1650? I don't think the harness is worth anything. Most people go with an aftermarket harness and ECU anyways. And the 4L60E isn't the strongest of transmissions?

[BlackenedRR]

The 6.0l was just the engine, the 5.3l was a complete pullout with trans. But while going over the engine today I discovered it's an older model than what the seller stated in his ad, so I'm guessing the miles aren't as low as he claimed. No worries though, I know where he lives and he'll take the engine and trans back without issue. I'll know by next week if I'm gonna keep this engine or not. If it goes back I'll track down another 6.0 or 6.2 and go that route.

[67Rally]

Understood. It just depends on how much power you want to get out of it. If your staying NA, then a 6.0 or 6.2 is a better starting point. The 5.3 converts to around 325cu. If you are going to add a turbo, then it doesn't really matter, the 5.3l is a good base but then the 4L60E isn't going to hold up to that much HP.

If you go 6.0l, the LQ9 has the flat top pistons and a little higher compression. The LQ4 is dished, lower compression, better for boost. If you want even more compression on the LQ9, swap on a set of 243 or 799 heads and you'd be close to 11:1.

Most wiring harness places don't even want to touch old harnesses any longer. They take longer to tear apart than building a new one from scratch. I think I paid around $500 for a new harness and ECU from PSI Conversions.

[Vega$69]

Understood. It just depends on how much power you want to get out of it. If your staying NA, then a 6.0 or 6.2 is a better starting point. The 5.3 converts to around 325cu. If you are going to add a turbo, then it doesn't really matter, the 5.3l is a good base but then the 4L60E isn't going to hold up to that much HP.

If you go 6.0l, the LQ9 has the flat top pistons and a little higher compression. The LQ4 is dished, lower compression, better for boost. If you want even more compression on the LQ9, swap on a set of 243 or 799 heads and you'd be close to 11:1.

Most wiring harness places don't even want to touch old harnesses any longer. They take longer to tear apart than building a new one from scratch. I think I paid around $500 for a new harness and ECU from PSI Conversions.

PSI is a good harness but it's close to $1k all said and done.

If you change the LQ9 heads you may have to flycut the pistons for valve clearance depending on cam choice

[PTAddict]

$1650 is a good price for an LQ9 in good running condition. Well maintained, those motors are pretty bullet proof.

I'm putting an LQ9 into my 67 Chevelle. After examining all of my used choices, I ended up going with a reman engine for $3K. Thing is, most of the extra stuff that comes with a pull out motor - intake, oil pan, harness, accessories, water pump, exhaust manifolds - is stuff that had to be swapped out anyway. Given that, I decided the extra 1200 bucks or so for a reman was worth the lower risk, considering that it isn't such a big percentage of the total cost in the end.

[BlackenedRR]

Well the 5.3 and it's trans went back today. After running the casting numbers from the block and heads and the service number from the ECU I discovered the engine was not what the seller advertised it as being. Got my money back in full, starting my search over again. I made up my mind that I'm going to do a swap on my crew cab truck first since it has the most miles. Since it's a big, long truck I've decided this time I'm going all out and I'm searching for an L92 and 6LXXE trans. I figure that motor will have no trouble moving the truck and with 6 gears I just might see some MPG's that will make me smile for once. There's a salvage place in Waxahachie that I've been told by several people is THE place to get LS swap combos, at least in my area. So hopefully I'll be starting a build thread in the truck section soon...