cam and thermostat question

[Nola327]

I think my friend is going to buy me a shortened ls2 cam for christmas.
I know some people are going to say get a different cam but ive seen the truck its coming out of and i like the easy lope. It still sounds very good. Very good power for a stock cam.
The question is am i going to have to get longer pushrods?

The question about a thermostat is..
What do people recommend if i was keeping my clutched fan for a while.
180 or 160?
Where can i get either?
And how do it get it out of the water neck or is there special one i have to buy?

This isnt in the thread title
But what is a nice intake manifold for a good price?
i dont care if its polished or anything i just want something that will give a nice horsepower gain, good priced, but is also generally a quality part.
I'd actually like to find a ls2 or ls6 intake manifold.

[wastedrubber]

What motor do you have? and i wouldn't bother swapping out your intake, stock ones are good for a lot of HP

[ff_jeff]

Leave the stock thermostat in, until you get efans. You wont see any cooler temps unless the fans come on sooner.
+1 on not getting a new intake manifold. You wont need it for a while.
What are the specs on the cam? Honestly If you have the money for a new intake manifold, then I would get a little more agressive cam. Depending on what your year and engine size is, you may want to save some cash and get a 6.0 or a Ls motor. If I could do it again, I would have bought a 6.0 and modded it, But good news is the parts can transfer over. Headers ORY an a cood cold air intake will compliment the cam well, with a Nelson Performance tune... >>> Nelson Performance - Performance without Sacrificing Drivability <<<<

[Nola327]

I donn't know the specs on the cam, all i know is it's a stock ls2 cam shortened to fit a 5.3.
I have an intake magnaflow exhaust tb spacer and LSD unit.
All I plan on addidng to a motor with 140,000 with a transmission that has less then 40 grand to go is...
ls2 cam
thermostat
electric fans
and pulleys
and maybe a tune

All depends if my tranny goes out anytime soon.

But my question still remains how do you get that thermostat out of the waterneck. I tried already on a new one. Its a biiiittttcccch

[RedHeartbeat]

Getting the stat out is easy, drain coolant, remove lower hose from water pump end, remove two 10mm bolts holding the stat housing in place, remove cover and then thermostat. If your's is built into the cover then the stat will come out with it. You replace the housing and stat at the same time. Thats how my fbody pumps are, one piece stat with housing.

[ff_jeff]

I donn't know the specs on the cam, all i know is it's a stock ls2 cam shortened to fit a 5.3.
I have an intake magnaflow exhaust tb spacer and LSD unit.
All I plan on addidng to a motor with 140,000 with a transmission that has less then 40 grand to go is...
ls2 cam
thermostat
electric fans
and pulleys
and maybe a tune

All depends if my tranny goes out anytime soon.

But my question still remains how do you get that thermostat out of the waterneck. I tried already on a new one. Its a biiiittttcccch

What year is the truck? If its older,pre-2003, the thermostat doesnt come out. The whole housing is replaced. 04 and up the thermostat pops out of the housing. I didnt drain All my coolant, I just removd the 2 bolts, had a bucket under to catch coolant, and swapped them out. However much coolant drained, I replaced.

[GasGuzzler]

Yep. The 03's and earlier are one piece UNLESS the water pump has been replaced. The new truck pumps are new style even for 1999-2003 models. Good thing too....all I had to do was buy a $200 to save $35 on my tstat...LOL

Get the tune and fans 1st.

[Nola327]

well its a 2000 and I know its a one peice.
Where do i go about getting the housing to hold that, I really have to get a newer stle water pump in order to get a lower temperature t-stat

[GasGuzzler]

well its a 2000 and I know its a one peice.
Where do i go about getting the housing to hold that, I really have to get a newer stle water pump in order to get a lower temperature t-stat

If it still has the old style tstat with the outlet on it you'll need to buy the $45-60 lower temp tstat that also comes with the housing.

[mean05]

you cant use an LS2 cam in the 5.3 anyways....LS2's cam sensor is at the front on the timing chain cover it reads off the timing chain gear on a 5.3 the cam sensor is at the back of the motor and reads off the cam itself...i will try and get you pics of the 2 later when i get home