Sorting Through All the LS: The Mule Pt. 2

The mule hit 200,000 miles several months ago. On a cold start, I would find a noticeable amount of sheen on the driveway with an annoying amount rattle from the drivetrain. 5W30 seemed to ooze from every gasket on the block and heads. The performance of the engine started to become questionable at times too. It was time to rebuild or replace the engine.

Finding an Engine Whisperer

Assessing my options, doing a rebuild or pulling the engine on my own wasn’t practical at the time because my workshop full from the other two projects hoarding space. Left with finding a shop my search stumbled across a local turnkey, price-reasonable, engine shop.

The shop I found do a lot of great things to make engines “new” again. Sonic cleaners, factory blueprints, CNC machines of various tasks, stockpile of quality parts, and the list goes on. When they build the engine to specifications, they also address any tech bulletins for that particular engine series. For instance, there was a valve cover redesign that addressed ventilation and pressure that came with my new engine instead of using the originals; I think Holley, Jegs, and few others also makes an aftermarket valve cover that does the same but at a premium. The only thing I think they should have addressed at the time when they did the swap was make a suggestion about replacing coolant hoses, especially with the age of the truck. It was probably an oversight but in general . They did mention about new belts, pumps, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and even engine mounts which all were replaced.

What makes them stand out from a lot of other machine and/or repair shops is their warranty: 3 years/36,000 for labor and parts as long as you properly maintain your engine. It is in the contract – unless its a high performance racing engine, then its a “as is” purchase. The average service life of a vehicle is roughly a decade and now you extended its life for potentially another decade. They service a lot of commercial vehicles due to that point since replacing one could cost most businesses +$40k for a new, reasonably equipped truck or van. So the name of the shop is called Texon Motor Center and their website doesn’t do them enough justice. I’m not being paid to give them a glowing review, just really enjoy doing business with other shops that don’t BS you, waste your time, or charge excessively for a blah product.

Are they the GM Whisperer? Maybe…

Now say like your truck came with a 5.3L LS engine and you’re thinking about more “powah”. They can do that too. Upgrade to the 6L and they will have the ECU recalibrated as well. Gen II SBC? They’ll build one. ‘Cuda with a Hemi, they do that too. Waters get a little murky when it comes to import engines. They did have Honda B- or K-series engine they were working on when I did a tour of their shop. But, they do not keep parts in stock like they do with domestic engines, especially the LS variants. To be clear, GM doesn’t necessarily refer to their V8s as “LS” but as their Gen IV SBCs. Even then, things get murky again from the various engine displacement, head, and internal designs; I linked a several videos below to check out to better ed-u-ma-cate yourself on the topic.

Gripes and Complaints about the Mule

So after all this research (and money) I put into this, there are some flaws I need to address that I wish caught several years ago. GM for whatever reason not to do several things to my particular make and model (hint: it’s always financial). As a refresher, what we are talking about is a ’07 Chevy Avalanche with a new 5.3L vortec-variant LS, Gen IV SBC, or whatever.

Return-less fuel system – Nope
An actual Flex fuel sensor – Nope… Well actually… Through an algorithm using other variables and tables… Soo, that is a no under certain circumstances
Fuel filter – seriously, no redundancy?!

The first point isn’t that bad but would have addressed the last because GM makes these filters for their return-less fuel system on other LS-equipped vehicles that also regulates fuel pressure. While there is a fuel filter at the beginning in the tank, redundancy with a filter nearby the fuel rails would be great too. The truck not having a physical flex fuel sensor yet relying on other conditions to determine what fuel is in the tank feels egregious. One previous model year earlier, it was there. Afterwards, “let’s make the ECU guess using clues. Vortec engines are strong enough to take some knock before getting it right” suggests some exec. “Can we at least add a wideband O² sensor so the guessing can be better,” some young calibration engineer says. He or she probably didn’t last too long after that because the truck has narrow band oxygen sensors.

Okay, so other than those complaints, its a great engine platform. The body, interior, and electrical on the other hand seem to be designed for planned obsolescence which is a complaint for another day.

Wishlist and Unicorn Chasing

Now that I have a fresh powerplant, there are a few things I would like to upgrade. Actually getting around to upgrading is an obstacle of its own. Ultimately, adding a supercharger for a 25% to 50% increase in power on hand when towing uphill while crossing the hill country of central Texas or mountain ranges of west Texas (yes, Texas has mountains) would be very helpful. Not to forget to mention it also helps in efficiency on the highway and of course it looks cool. I tossed around the idea of turbocharging, but the complete kits I found so far were either working with questionable turbos and/or the plumbing/assembly was terribly complicated compared to a supercharger setup like Whipple or Magnuson. Not looking for insane power, just better performance while improving efficiency even by a little. If or when I do start to upgrade, I will focus on supporting electronics first.

Wishful Upgrade List	Cost (Avg)
HP Tuners MPVI2 Pro w/License(s)	650.00
Ballenger AFR500CAN W/CAN Cable	475.00
Misc. Bung Installs, Fuel Lines, Cabling	125.00
HGSI EGT Controller w/Probe	100.00
Flex Fuel Sensor w/connector	60.00
OBDII Splitter Cable	16.00
Supercharger	6700.00
Total	8191.00

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