Alchemist

I've got +221K on the '94....and it's stronger than EVER. The BIGGEST bonus is that it's NEVER left me stranded! The "secret" to it's longevity is keeping the oil changed RELIGIOUSLY every 3-5K miles with Mobil 1, and keeping on top of the other routine maintenance.

I'm on my 3rd opti, and my 3rd water pump, and I've replaced the starter. The only other problem i've had was the tranny, which was MY fault.

Lone Ranger

:eek: Looks like Alchemist is in the lead w/ Rspvette running a close 2nd!

Awesome, baaaabyyyy! :thumbs: Them's some miles to be still running tight and strong w/ no prior tear-down :yesnod:

:chevy

FASTAZU

130K+ on the yellow 95 :) 109K on my sons polo 95 :thumbs:

MTVette

I have about 110K on my 92, and it loses NO oil at all. I beat the snot out of it at the track ever since I got it 2 years ago with 64K. Valve covers haven't come off since it left the factory. The opti went at 78K, and the starter motor at 90K, but otherwise it's been just fine. It gave me a 13.3 quarter at 106 mph this weekend on street tires.

Red Rocket

Engine #1 - 46,000 miles (Spun Rod Bearing)

Engine #2- 5,000 miles (Bad Cam Bearing)

Engine #3- 3,000 miles and running strong.

Driven mostly 1/4 mile at a time on last two engines. :thumbs:

larryfs

>>Engine #1 - 46,000 miles (Spun Rod Bearing)<<

I started a thread about a month ago of LT1/4 failures. no one liked it, and they ragged on in cause they didn't believe these motors spun bearings or failed like that.

Quiktrp94

Hey Red Rocket if you drive it more than 1/4 mile at a time it might last longer. LOL. I guess those drag runs are hard on the engine which is why I won't race mine since it's got 206,000 miles on it. :cheers:

92LT1Roadster

Mine is at 109k with no problems Plus I was running a 150 shot every other weekend. This is not the norm, but I did not rump on her everyday. Just when needed. I have a vigilante 2800 stall, 3:75 gears. and BFG drags... The engine did fine... the dana 36 broke like hell :)


[Modified by 92LT1Roadster, 11:52 PM 10/22/2003]

vet95mb98

ROAD AND TRACK DID A ARTICLE ON C-4S, ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO. A WELL TAKEN CARE OF LT-1 SHOULD EASYLY GET YOU 270K OR MORE. A BULLET PROOF MOTOR. I HAVE HAD LT-I WITH OVER 300K RUNNING LIKE A TOP. I HAVE HAD LT-1 WITH 45K I WOULDNT BUY AT NO PRICE. ITS LIKE ANYTHING, TAKE CARE OF IT AND IT WILL LAST YOU A LIFE TIME.
:steering:

lectroglide

Love my 92 LT1 that just turned over to 130 and runs like something with 1/2 the mileage!! think the last time I had it in the air looked like the front main might be going bad, but oil level doesn't seem to be dropping that much if any. opti and waterpump was changed at 124K so its still holding up. I do 10-30 mobile one extended life changes every 3K if not sooner and is very good insurance! altho the tranny doesn't slip need to do a tranny Transfusion soon and hoping that will also extend the life...BTW I donot drive the car hard and respect it like my grandmother, but do open it up on the freeway, the power is still unbelievable!

Joe C

- with proper care, there's no reason that an LT engine, or for that fact, an L98, LS series, etc, will not go over 300K. not to hi-jack the thread, but I'm at 155K on my L98 motor - compression at 167 average, across all 8 - - the thing should outlast me. beyond that, I personally don't care -

crowz

My 81 suburban motor upgraded to l98 intake has around 500k on it in a trans am.

My lt1 97 formula firebird has 275k on it I think.

So they will go a good bit. Personally I believe the decks stacked in the l98 setup over the lt1 but that's just the less fickle cooling system is why I believe that. Ive had far less issues with the l98's I have and have had compared to the 2 lt1's. I don't really trust the lt1's the way I do the L98's but that's just past experiences with them.

Still if you don't have anything weird happen the block and crank should get over 300k on an lt1 easy enough.

ghoastrider1

Years ago, when a car got anywhere near 100,000 miles, it was nearly worn out. Todays machining and materials, the use of syn oils/fluids, has streached that to well over 200,000 miles for a decently maintained car/engine. At 200,00, many times it just needs a simple ring/head/bearing job without a bore being done.

FASTAZU

WOW old thread The 95 LT1 now has 197K and still going strong.. I did replace the water pump opti & injectors a few years ago.

yellowvette1992

My 92 vert has 99500 on it. Like other have said I change the oil about every 3k. Replaced opti and one fuel injector. Runs like a top.

mike100

As these cars (and the engines) get older with age, I would say keeping up with the cooling system and changing the coolant would be just as important as the oil since eventually the headgaskets could rot from electrolysis and corrosion from bad water chemistry. Seems like most LT1's are good for 200k+ miles in a lightweight car like the C4.

PLRX

You have a 20 years old car with 59,000 miles, and you wonder about 200,000 miles. You'll need to drive you car more often first. My 92 had 195,000 miles, and the day before it perished I was doing 140 MPH.

don hall

Original thread was posted in 2003....?

ovrebo1

My 92 C4 currently has 157k. I bought it with 114k in 2007 and then shortly after sold it to my parents. When I visited them annually I could see the car slowly deteriorating. They wouoldn't do anything other than oil changes or replace anything unless it left them stranded. Finally in 2014 they said they could no longer afford repairs on it and needed to sell it. Luck on my side, I had a friend with a car hauler passing through their area. I said how about I give you a good running car in trade for it. They agreed and I gave them a miatta for it.

When I got it back it looked like they hadn't done a thing to it since I sold it to them in 07. I immediately jacked the car up on its side, engine gunked the underside and engine bay and pressure washed it from top to bottom and then scrubbed every surface in the interior. I replaced the optispark, timing chain, timing cover gasket, oil pan gasketk, updated water pump to bypass the throttle body, valve cover gaskets, various little sensors and dried up vacuum lines. Bottom line the car now runs better than I ever remember it running and each new week I drive it it seems to blow more cob webs out and I might find something that needs tweaking or replacing, but as long as I fix it as soon as I discover the problem then the car just gets better. Last worn out thing I'm intending to do is replace the rotted out flowmaster mid pipe with an H pipe.

I fully intend to autocross and track the car this summer. Right now its so mechanically sorted I'm on to things like weather stripping, the stereo and drilled and slotted rotors.

Also the truck in my avatar is a 97 with well over 200k and I beat the crap out of it regularly. This last weekend I drove it 100 miles to an off road park that was holding a desert race. After the race I went out with the guy that took 2nd during the race and we went at it for 2 laps (30 min+). Def made me nervous, but the truck made it the 100 miles back home no problem. I drove it to work this morning and I haven't touched a thing on it, that motor just seems to always run no matter what.

I think my 2 cents worth of advice is that if you are mechanically inclined and you think something feels wrong or not running right, fix it right away.

JKinFLA

211,000