NEW Build LQ4 6.0L / 2.68 Box / 2 Blade SW

[T-REX]

Cool- is it a completely new harness or did he just take the unnecessary plugs/ wires out of a old one?

[scottyroll]

Cool- is it a completely new harness or did he just take the unnecessary plugs/ wires out of a old one?

He just refitted it for airboat use.

Added fuse block and relays, lengthened the necessary wires, deleted unnecessary wires, provided warning light, flashed ECM, ETC.

[ls1airboat]

getting close?

[scottyroll]

getting close?

There you are, Matt!

Haven't heard from you in a bit.

I wasn't making much progress myself so I dropped it back off at Jefford's for him to finish the build.
He ain't the fastest but he's also just a one man operation with work coming in daily and he's done good work so far.

A big hold up was an airboat company back in ocala put my engine mounts upside down and backwards and that set me back. The cooling stuff and intake didn't line up after they set the engine and I didn't even notice it when I picked it up because it was sitting in the cradle seemingly fine

[scottyroll]

Looks like I'm finally ready to hit the water this weekend

I've got about 2 hours testing in the driveway and am happy overall with the performance of the engine in regards to it running well even with 2 bad coils and throttle position sensor error which have since been replaced. All that's left is to mount the prop and a new alternator on there and to remember the plugs and keys .

The gauges are all reading well and it is cool to see quite a bit of real time info on my smartphone with the help of the OBD2 bluetooth module.

I plan on riding the withlacoochee or Hernando Saturday morning and would like to meet up with some people for back up

[Dixiedog60]

Hey Scotty ! good to see your back on the marsh. We need to plan a trip down to Orange soon, got my freezer full of venison so Im ready to blow the dust back off the boat !

[scottyroll]

Jeff, I'm glad to see that the season has been good to you!

I'm down to meet up to ride orange soon and there is also a country concert out at the flying eagle off the withlacoochee December 6th that I plan to attend if I can get there without needing poly. I think Phil is going to try and make it too.

[One Eyed Gator]

Scotty, you can get to the concert without poly. Would be better to have it but not required. Just sand and roots for the most part.

The only place that is rough is crossing the shell rock road, other than that your good.

[KBA]

Any updates on how it ran /rode eventually want to get a newer ls style motor myself

[scottyroll]

Tried doing the shakedown run back on Nov 14th but had a fuel pump issue (need a dedicated wire & switch for the fuel pump) also noticed that one of my header tubes wasn't colored so that means an injector is likely clogged, probably from sitting X-years, and the cylinder isn't firing but cleaning or changing out is quick.

Engine still ran fine in the yard but would misfire every now and then so I decided to hold off on hitting the water.
It's tough not living close to the boat...

Motor sounds Great; I still can't get over how many things can be going wrong and this engine will still keep running within safe limits

I'm going to try and get things situated this Saturday morning and ride over for the swamp concert from ocala.

Worth noting again: Had to change my tool bag around since everything I have encountered on these newer motors is metric and there are some Torx fittings as well.

[scottyroll]

The boat is all done and I'm very happy with it.

Cruises right around 2400-2500 at 3.75-4.25 GPH and runs ground like it should.

The seats were worth the extra coin and are comfortable for long rides.

No complaints with the old motor. runs on 87 octane, starts every time and spins the 79" "K" blade a little over the 1 mark up to 5,000 RPM.

Just need to fix the slight hop in it but I can get around just fine as it stands

[josh_2562]

Hello did you every run your boat with the 2.68:1 and 2 blade super wide prop? If so do you remember the pitch setting and max rpm? Thanks

[scottyroll]

Hello did you every run your boat with the 2.68:1 and 2 blade super wide prop? If so do you remember the pitch setting and max rpm? Thanks

I ended up switching to a 2.37 box before I ever tried the 2.68.

When I switched to the 3 blade "K" from the 2 blade "S" my cruise went down about 200-300 RPM. Both were governed to 5k engine RPM.

I thought the 2blade would be a good compromise for my setup but it does not compare to the 3blade hardly at all in terms of overall performance.

If I was going to spin the engine up past 5k I would go with the 2.68 box but I'm aiming for longevity with this junk yard motor and I'm content with the results for now.

[josh_2562]

I'm going from a pretty strong 383 to a ls1 with waterthunder cam kit. Do you remember what pitch you were running on the two blade s? I'll be going to a 3 blade R when the funds recover from the engine swap.Thanks for the help.

[scottyroll]

Do you remember what pitch you were running on the two blade s? p.

You should end up at the 2 mark, maybe a little over. You will be able to add more but I personally wouldn't throw too much more pitch into though; the wide blades don't seem to like a steep pitch like the K or R's and will just fall off. Paddling air is not efficient.

[lamarineandprop]

I know I'm behind time but was the engine stock when u put it on the boat and if so how long did it last. I have the same motor 6.0 came out of a 2500 have truck just wondering if it's good as is or if u had changed any internals /main bearings to withstand the abuse they r put through.

[bsiehler]

I have a stock one that is going on it's 5th year on the boat. No problems what so ever.

[scottyroll]

I know I'm behind time but was the engine stock when u put it on the boat and if so how long did it last. I have the same motor 6.0 came out of a 2500 have truck just wondering if it's good as is or if u had changed any internals /main bearings to withstand the abuse they r put through.

Here's the way I look at it... I rolled the dice on a junkyard 13 year old iron LS engine with about 130K miles and an unknown amount of time sitting for under 2 grand shipped to the door. Then put less than another 1 grand in retrofits to make it an "air boat" engine and work out a few kinks like bad coils and injectors. The engine internals are stock and I ride the boat on average only about once a month for a couple of hours (60hrs total on boat)

It's held up fine spinning up to 5,000 rpm while hunting hogs on dry land for miles. If the engine does lose oil pressure or the heads get messed up resulting in major damage then I can pick up another block and heads for under 1 grand and transfer my other parts over to it.

It's a gamble but I've met people with upwards of 500 hours on these stock things after they have been taken out of trucks and they ride them with out serious issue every weekend. These engines are a step up in quality from the old school small block; from the heads to the 8 bolt mains to the stock plastic intake that produces good torque as is, plus they are lighter and handle heat better.

Even if the engine ONLY lasts a couple of years then I am looking at about $500 a year in engine expenses including oil change and filter. And since it does everything I need it to I feel that it puts me in a better situation then someone who dishes out of 10k for a performance engine which ends up blown after a couple of years also with out warranty and that happens more than you may think.

EDIT: Brandon posted above this post while I was typing and I'd like to point out that he was a good resource for getting me set up with the right people. You can feel free to PM me with any questions and I'm sure Brandon wouldn't mind sharing more of what he knows as well.

[lamarineandprop]

Awesome thanks for the info guys I found me one of these motors in a wrecked gmc 2500 I'm gunna try pulling it this week was just wondering if it's worth it to go that route since they make 300+ hp out the box. Or just build the 4 bolt block I have. I really like the fact that u can change out the motor and have another one for next to nothing and almost in the same week as to having to build a 350 and spend an arm and leg in parts.

[lamarineandprop]

Only thin is I wanna go the carb route we have no one around me that can mess with the wiring or even the ecm and I figure by the time I send all this off pay the money to convert I'll be cheaper just slapping a 650 double pump on it and calling it good

[lamarineandprop]

I have a stock one that is going on it's 5th year on the boat. No problems what so ever.

Imanput hours on this we're gunna use it to crawfish with so it'll have a lot of hours on it. But most won't be hard hours either

[scottyroll]

Only thin is I wanna go the carb route we have no one around me that can mess with the wiring or even the ecm and I figure by the time I send all this off pay the money to convert I'll be cheaper just slapping a 650 double pump on it and calling it good

Do what you want but you can probably get that harness cleaned up and computer flashed for under $300 including shipping and keep the stock injection. The carb conversions I looked at were over double that not including the carb. I prefer the injection because I feel it is more simple given that you can diagnose any errors thru your phone with an app hooked up to the OBD2 and often time limp home which you cant do if you dizzy goes dead. Quick starting and precise fueling are both inherent with injection systems as well. I'm not sure if fuel mileage is drastically different as some claim but in almost any situations the injection should prevail as the most efficient.

[bsiehler]

I don't have a hour meter on mine but I would say it's in the 400hr range. In my mind you are really setting it back by putting a carb on it. The motor are super reliable in stock form with the injection and the computer due to the fact that the ecm will not let it hurt itself. I was skeptical of it when we first put mine together that it would leave me stranded. Even if something goes wrong it has still made it home. I've had far less trouble out of it then I did out the old style sbc that I run before it. Plus like Scotty said if it blows up I can spend less than a grand and about 4hrs work and be back running

[lamarineandprop]

That's totally understandable just I have no one in my area that can really mess with the ecm. That I can find anyway however I do like the reliability factor so I'm trying to pull the engine and wiring system with it.

[Chevytime]

Scotty you still running the 6.0? Hows everything holding up? Is it still stock? Who did the harness work in Palatka? Was it a shop or individual? I may have missed it but who did the programming?