Spare Time Toy

I have a 02 rag top and am getting tired of the ls1 and its oil leaks and PCV issues. I have done the ls6 valley mod some help but not a total fix. I have an oil leak coming up out of my cam position sensor. I have pulled the intake 3 times trying to fix it and changed 2 CPS o rings the oil pres sender repositioned the valley cover all no help. I read about the high pressure passage on the back of the engine that will push oil up and out the CPS. To fix that I have to pull the engine or the driveline. If I go that far I would dump the LS1 and go with a LS2. There is a Vette graveyard here that sells the engine and harness with comp. Im thinking I could sell the LS1 to a hot rod guy. Or would I just be better off and money ahead selling the car and buying a C6? What are your thoughts?

Spare Time Toy

Any opinion on this? Anyone?

alxltd1

Any advice would be really subjective. As I like the C5 styling much better than the C6 I personally would opt to swap the engine. If you can sell the LS1 to offset some of the expense of an LS2 that would help. I have 54000 on my 2000 LS1 coupe and thankfully have not experienced any of the problems you are having, but that some times is just the luck of the draw. Good luck on whatever you decide.

vettenuts

Since you are in Texas, have you thought of having the LS1 rebuilt by Erik at HKE? I believe he is in Houston. Then there are no compatibility issues, he can correct any problems when he freshens the motor and you can add some modifications while he has it.

Spare Time Toy

I have thought about this but I thought a LS1 cant be bored out due to something with the cylinder liners? I figured a swap to another newer bigger engine would be more cost effective. I figured going to the 6L size and around 500 HP. would make this a nice fun little go cart.

neutron82

an ls2 won't be much different than your ls1 unless you have a stroker kit installed in it before you swap it in... if I were to pull out a good running motor for something else I would go for the ls3... if your car is a 6spd fixing the rear cover gasket/main seal would be a good time to do the clutch and replace or at least inspect the torque tube couplers and bearings... if you do the work it isn't too bad of a job and nothing particularly hard, it's just a good amount of work involved but will save you money... as far as trading up to a c6 that is totally on you, if you like the body style that much better then it might be good for you instead of dumping more money into one that you don't want... again I would go for the 09+ c6 for the ls3 and personally the only one I would get rid of my car for is a 2010-13 grand sport and someone would have to offer me a ridiculous amount of money to get me to sell my c5z

Bill Dearborn

A lot of money to save a few quarts of oil. I had an LS1 for 6 years and never had an oil leak. Are you sure you are fixing the right thing to stop the leak? People regularly transplant these motors into Porsche's, BMWs, Miata's, etc due to their high power output per engine size/weight and extremely low maintenance requirements compared to the stock motors.

Bill

Bill

Spare Time Toy

I have laid under the car with it running and used a scope to follow the leak up the sides of the block and over to the CPS area. Its not coming out of the oil pres sender but out around the mount for the CPS.

bad man Barry White

If I was to take the oil leak out of the picture, I would consider two options and the LS2 wouldn't be one of them. Here's what I would consider:

A. A newer 09+ vette w/LS3

B. A LS3 swap

At this junction, it either time, money or styling of the vehicle. If you love your body style, swap the LS3 in. They are relatively cheap. If your ready to move on, skip the LS2 cars and move into the most recent gen and save some money. Me, I love this body style so much that I'm going to do the motor swap and hope to have it complete for less than 10k in a immaculate factory condition fashion.

Just my .02

ezrider4u2

Honestly if you like the car and if financially it makes sense to keep it then do an egine swap.
My car was paid off and when my LS1 went, I decided on a crate LS3 swap. Initially installed in 2013 in NA config we added a cam, headers and other stuff and it put down 482 rwhp. Brought great life back to the car and really made it fun to drive. Now Im still keeping the car but have decided to go with an SC build and for a few $k I'll go over the 600+ rwhp which will is plenty for me.
Above all for the amount of time I drive the car each year it, was a better choice in my case to keep the car. If I want to spend some money on go fast stuff here and there, I can do it without worrying about car payments.

Good luck to you.

vettenuts

Or stroke the LS1 to 383.

Spare Time Toy

If I pull the engine out to do the rear cover plate I would just go ahead and do this. It would be more economical than finding all the stuff for a ls2/3 swap over.

neutron82

I think it would be easier to pull the drivetrain to do the rear gasket/main rather than pulling the whole engine

Spare Time Toy

At the house I am better equipped to pull the engine than the driveline.

littleed

Out of curiosity if you swap to an l s3 does the pcm need to be one meant for an ls3? What all is needed to make the swap?

Caveboy

old stingray

X2 on the curiosity.

Boss75

I think as long as you convert the ls3 to a 24x reluctor then you can just run the ls1 computer system