I've got a cracked head and I can get a nice 5.3l from the bone yard cheap. Does anyone have a thread or post that can direct me to things I want to look out for when swapping the engines. Has anyone done this before? Are there any gotcha's or things i want to know to make the swap a bit easier.

I'm just swapping a stock 5.3l vortec for another 5.3l vortec.

 

Why not just swap the head?

 

Original Motor = 180,000 miles
Replacement Motor = 70,000 miles
Replacement Motor Cost = $350
Replacement Alumninum Heads/bolts/gaskets = $500

It's easier to replace the motor then it is to tear down the top of the motor to replace the heads. And what is the gaurentee that my problem isn't isolated to just the heads. I am burning through a gallon of coolant evey 200 miles. I brought it to a mechanic, he replaced the intake manifold which fixed the rough idle but the coolant is still burning like crazy. He ran a compression test and said he was almost positive it was a cracked head. What do you recommend? I would hate to spend all the time and money on the heads and the problem doesn't go away.

 

Is there any warranty on the junkyard motor? Are you willing to fork out some $ to rebuild the junkyard motor if need be? Also is the motor garanteed to run adn have you seen it running first hand? Does it smoke or have water in the oil? All sorts of red flags pop into my head when you say boneyard motor... remember a quote to live by. "You get what you pay for."