All the talk up dmax upgrades and the ages of some of the h2's- mine is getting up there. 13 years old 126k. I am thinking about when she finally gives up the ghost- what all are my options. I know my 03 is the smaller motor and crappy tranny. Would the stuff in the pic work? Just out of curiosity and wasting time before turning in for the night.
Thanks for playing!

 

Depends on what you want to spend.
It's obviously cheaper to source each part separately (most of the time...)

I found the same engine with a 6L90 transmission. I am in no way impressed with the 6L80. I think it's garbage, lol. From what I've read, the 6L90 is just a heavier duty version. You know we need something overbuilt with the weight of the H2. The 90 is a hair longer, but there's always a way to make something fit. Also consider that the 6L90 is rated for lower power diesels (300hp/520ft-lb), but can be overbuilt to accomodate more power.
CPSLS76L90E - GM LS7 505HP Engine with 6L90E 6-Speed Auto Transmission Combo Package.

Here's a little more info on doing a 6l80 to 90 swap:
6L80/90E Swap FAQS - Chevy Trailblazer SS Forum


At that price point, you might as well get a diesel & throw a better turbo on it.
If you never wanted diesel, I'd be curious if the 8L90 would be sufficient. An 8 speed should help with MPGs & keeps the rpms low.


Just a few thoughts...

 

Thanks synthetickiller. I like the idea of a diesel but a big gas motor would make me just as happy. Plus i thing gas would be an easier swap.

This isnt anything i plan on soon but as the truck gets older and more miles it is good to have a plan. I plan on keeping this truck so motor/tranny upgrades will eventually be in the works.

A 6 speed transmission.... That would be crazy! The rpm's would be so low that you would have to tap the instrument cluster to see if it was working! Lol!

 

the new 8-speeds are insane. My Wife's new Camaro 2SS has one. You can be cruising on the highway at 80 in 8th gear and the RPM's are basically idling. It's crazy!


Our engines are not really "small". A 6 liter engine is a good sized engine. These are basically detuned cast iron block LS2's. LS2's have proven themselves for years in other vehicles. My GTO was ridiculous with the LS2 in had! Instead of going bigger you could always do a stroker and pull every last pony out of these engines.

 

Lojac that is also a great alternative to a swap out. A complete rebuild and upgrade of mechanical and bolt on parts would be a lot cheaper and the block is solid as a rock. Cams, rockers, pistons blah blah blah would make a beast! Plus a rebuild would be a lot cheaper! And therefore could spend money elsewhere!

Just looked up ls2 stroker rebuild kit and they run about $2500.. Not bad at all!
That leaves more money in the bank for tranny, axles, exhaust and whatever else.

 

Whatever gasser you go for, get the thing to generate torque.
I see this post come up a lot on H2 forums. We're not driving 2500 - 3000 lb cars. We need torque more than anything.

 

Torque for sure! I think anything would be better that the stock 03 engine/tranny. But reworking the motor and upgrading the tranny would put it on equal footing to the late model h2's. A little mechanical magic could make it stand out in the crowd and run up and down the highways under less rpm's and better mileage.
Theres plenty time to figure out what i want to do though. My baby is running wuite well and i baby her for sure! Except when i drove her over 30 miles of USFS "roads"! She popped and squeeked and rattled the whole way but came out fine on the other end!

 

My question is with a 6 speed trans.... how would you get that to work. I just cant see it
being a plug and play

Unless the computer controller replaces the old 4 speed one and there is no interface to the main ECU that changes anything on the main computers side.

 

I know i've seen lq4 builds with the 6l80e, but I can't seem to find any.
It's been done on an H3: Click me!

The same guys also sell a plug & play conversion kit. I'm wondering if this would work:Click me!




Another option would be to find a donor that has whatever powertrain he's looking for & just swap everything. It would be a ton of work, but everything should work with only minor tweaks here & there.

 

If you want to stay with a gas motor, I would look into getting a newer Gen V based engine.

You can get it built up if you want, or just throw in a stock one (6.2 or 5.3)

With all of the new features they are actually pretty powerful, and get decent mileage on the road.
The LS7 engine that you listed would not be a good fit for a heavy deuce. You need something that is more torque biased, and not horsepower biased.

Like Synkiller listed you could also get an engine/ trans combo with the newer 8 speed trans.

I would search for a wrecked suv, and get all of the harnesses and swap it over.

With the engine out of the donor, you can always put in an upgraded cam, etc.