Chevy 2500 HD 6.0 question

jkilroy wrote:
I’m towing a 7500 lb. Cougar 28SGS. The truck I have is a 03 Silverado 2500 HD 6.0 with 4.10 rear.

One more thing on this engine. When towing hard like you're doing, you will eventually snap exhaust manifold bolts. Usually it's not if, but when this finally happens. I don't know the reason why, but it's very common on the 5.3L and 6.0L engines when used for towing.

Most often it's the bolts on the front and rear cylinders on either side. It happened to mine and I decided to just let a shop do the work. I also bought stainless shorty headers to get a little better exhaust flow. The shop charged $350 to remove the old manifolds, extract the broken bolts, and install the new headers. This did not give me a boost in HP, but I did find the engine revved a little quicker. With the headers when I gave it throttle climbing a hill it seemed to jump into that 3500RPM and higher range a little earlier than with the manifolds which translated to a slightly easier climb.

KJ