Looking to replace the engine of my '03 Impala LS?

Jacob M · 09-10-2007, 07:35 AM

I bought an '03 Impala LS about a year ago, and it already had a lot of miles on it. However, I drive a lot, so I have put several more on it since then. With the miles building up, I'm planning on putting an aftermarket engine in it. I want one with a lot more take-off and speed to it.

The car is an automatic, not to mention front-wheel drive, so I don't know exactly what I can do. Has anyone seen an aftermarket engine that would fit and give me some speed and take-off? Noticeable more-so than the stock one did.

ImpalaRacer · 11-20-2007, 11:42 AM

You want to be careful with switching the engine, if youre looking for more speed and take off my advice would to be get the same engine that was already in your impala (3.8 or 3.4) and look at a turbo charger. If you move to a larger engine you can easily run into tons of head aches with wiring.

77Impala · 11-20-2007, 09:09 PM

Stay with the engine you have, just get or have yours rebuilt. It would be very hard with the electronics and computers to change to a larger faster engine. If you have the 3400 series you might check into installing the 3800 series. See if any one else has done this. Then check into other performance enhancements that you can add to your engine.

Lingenfelter · 11-12-2008, 07:12 PM

Swapping motors period is a PITA. You've got to deal with a mess of computer programming/tuning, hardware swaps, and the labor/downtime involved with it all.

You have the 3800 motor, so a topswap would be a good option for you, and leaves plenty of potential for a reasonable amount of money.

Member 04DetroitLS has plenty of knowledge on this subject.

Alternatively to having any headaches associated with modifying vehicles, you could trade in the LS and try to pick up a lower-milage Impala SS. The 04-05 Impala SS models have 40 more horsepower stock than your 03 LS has.

73impala · 11-12-2008, 07:15 PM

replacing an engine period is a PITA trust me ive been without my impa for like almost 3 months (doing it myself) but i would recommend replacing with the same type of engine and just put upgrades on it

04DetroitLS · 11-13-2008, 05:32 AM

we did a topswap in a weekend, it wasnt all that bad
If you're worried about milage grab a 06 Buick Lucerne engine (3800) w/ lower miles, use your oil pan and swap away, while its out you could do heads/cam or topswa/cam or rockers, etc... any number of things. This would allow you to drive your imp while building an engine for least amount of downtime. If you shop correctly, you can grab the L26 for ~$600-800 as opposed to a $3000+ "race block", and any non 3800 swap will cost more than that

09-10-2007, 07:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jacob M Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2	Looking to replace the engine of my '03 Impala LS? I bought an '03 Impala LS about a year ago, and it already had a lot of miles on it. However, I drive a lot, so I have put several more on it since then. With the miles building up, I'm planning on putting an aftermarket engine in it. I want one with a lot more take-off and speed to it. The car is an automatic, not to mention front-wheel drive, so I don't know exactly what I can do. Has anyone seen an aftermarket engine that would fit and give me some speed and take-off? Noticeable more-so than the stock one did. __________________ Powered by Yahoo! Answers

11-12-2008, 07:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
Lingenfelter Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 54 View My Garage	Swapping motors period is a PITA. You've got to deal with a mess of computer programming/tuning, hardware swaps, and the labor/downtime involved with it all. You have the 3800 motor, so a topswap would be a good option for you, and leaves plenty of potential for a reasonable amount of money. Member 04DetroitLS has plenty of knowledge on this subject. Alternatively to having any headaches associated with modifying vehicles, you could trade in the LS and try to pick up a lower-milage Impala SS. The 04-05 Impala SS models have 40 more horsepower stock than your 03 LS has. __________________ GMPP Duals, GMPP Handling Kit, NAIOA FWI V2, Silverstar Hi/Lo/Fogs, Viper 5900 Remote Start/Security. Top 10 poster at NAIOA. Top 10 poster at NewImpala.

11-12-2008, 07:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
73impala Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Margate Posts: 49 View My Garage	replacing an engine period is a PITA trust me ive been without my impa for like almost 3 months (doing it myself) but i would recommend replacing with the same type of engine and just put upgrades on it __________________ Link to My Impalas Donk Rida

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11-20-2007, 11:42 AM	#2 (permalink)
ImpalaRacer Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 5	You want to be careful with switching the engine, if youre looking for more speed and take off my advice would to be get the same engine that was already in your impala (3.8 or 3.4) and look at a turbo charger. If you move to a larger engine you can easily run into tons of head aches with wiring.

11-20-2007, 09:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
77Impala Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Denison, TX Posts: 1,029 View My Garage	Stay with the engine you have, just get or have yours rebuilt. It would be very hard with the electronics and computers to change to a larger faster engine. If you have the 3400 series you might check into installing the 3800 series. See if any one else has done this. Then check into other performance enhancements that you can add to your engine.

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