early 5.3l heads had thin castings in areas proned to cracking.. my '02 was drinking a gallon a week through both heads..
due to family hookup, cheaper to repower.. made the swap around 145k miles 12 yo..
knock sensors were a pita but knocked them out in the driveway on a Sunday afternoon..
oil pressure sender went geyser on me, year after having intake off, if only I had known
plastic heater hose connection blew a mile from work, easy fix but depends where/when it goes..
water pump, trans job, one tune up, couple of batteries and sets of tires, that's about it.. original brakes made it almost 140k miles!
I'll admit though, I work it hard and it doesn't even know it's only a half ton
if I had known what I would eventually use it for, would have bought a bigger truck..
but I don't regret it, been a great truck for all the heavy jobs and 185k miles and plenty more in it..
having smog checks in CA I've only installed k&n kit and single flow master, plenty of power for chores and looks good doing them
good luck!
