Upgrade from the Chevy 5.3 (L59)?

[FourOff]

Hey Chevy folks - The L59 (aka flex-fuel LM7) on my 2003 Suburban is getting pretty tired and I'm looking to replace it this summer.
The current plan is to buy a junkyard motor, do a full rebuild, and swap it out to keep the downtime to a minimum (as long as the current motor keeps ticking in the meantime). Transmission, transfer case, and diff would get a rebuild while I'm in there.

While I'm doing this, of course I started looking at options to increase the power a bit. I'm not looking to go "too crazy" so this doesn't snowball into a complete driveline overhaul to handle the power, but I am wondering if I should be looking at other motors to swap in. Again, not looking for this to snowball, but if y'all have any ideas that would be an "easy" swap I should consider, please let me know and what would be involved without breaking the bank.

 

[ExpoMike]

Unless you are planning to have your current computer retuned or run an aftermarket computer, anything you put in that is not the same, is likely going to create problems. These can all be addressed but it's not going to be a drop in and go situation, like the old school carbureted engine days. You next option would be going up to a 6.0L but you might need to upgrade to different injectors (not sure if they used the same between the 5.3 and 6.0) along with the computer issues.

Unless there is some overwhelming need to have more power, I wouldn't put the time and effort into a different engine swap. Put another 5.3L in and add some headers, good flowing exhaust and intake. Maybe a plug in tuner and call it good.

 

[FourOff]

Unless you are planning to have your current computer retuned or run an aftermarket computer, anything you put in that is not the same, is likely going to create problems. These can all be addressed but it's not going to be a drop in and go situation, like the old school carbureted engine days. You next option would be going up to a 6.0L but you might need to upgrade to different injectors (not sure if they used the same between the 5.3 and 6.0) along with the computer issues.

Unless there is some overwhelming need to have more power, I wouldn't put the time and effort into a different engine swap. Put another 5.3L in and add some headers, good flowing exhaust and intake. Maybe a plug in tuner and call it good.

Thanks for the input! I was thinking that way, but just wanted to make sure there wasn't an "easy" swap I was missing. A fresh 5.3 might feel like an upgrade against the old tired one in the truck now.