Catastrophic engine failure
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,938
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From: Rochester Hills MI
Catastrophic engine failure
Just wondering how many people here have had an engine failure where the cost of an engine swap would be less than the repairs to the engine.
What was the mileage and what was the cause of failure?
It would be interesting to know the most common failures among high mileage ls engines so i can perform the best preventive maintenance.
What was the mileage and what was the cause of failure?
It would be interesting to know the most common failures among high mileage ls engines so i can perform the best preventive maintenance.
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I know there have been some hydrolocked engines reported on here. Hope I never have any catastrophic failures on the car.
Pro
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From: Cypress TX
I just busted the valve spring in cylinder 1 last week. Luckily it happened while I had the car idling in my driveway so no catastrophic failure or permanent damage. It did however cost me an upgraded cam kit from the fine gentlemen of EnglandGreen
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I've been here for a few years and never seen anyone post anything about a destroyed engine. Not an LS1/6 at least. However there have been posts with members reporting very high mileage engines and still going strong. All depends on the maintenance.
-Alex
-Alex
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What he said. While it's not a perfect motor, I heard mechanic after mechanic talk about how bullet proof these engines are to going Kaboom. Nah not so for all my Wankel RX8 friends.
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From: Palmdale, Ca----- 2009 Cyber Gray 4LT A6 F55 452 RWHP 422 RWTQ- RIP 1998 C5 734 RWHP & 585 RWTQ-----
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Bottom end rebuild and a hone .05 over forged and all is good now
Thanks,Matt
Bottom end rebuild and a hone .05 over forged and all is good now
Thanks,Matt
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If it is truly catastrophic, the block will be toast. Repair is not an option in that scenario. 99% of engine failures require a new block.
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I've been here since 02 and I can't say I remember any posts of a major implosion of an LS1/LS6 (although Matt just changed that!). dgrant's 300 mile+ engine has to be an example to all although I think it's needed a new head gasket.
Last edited by DeeGee; Jan 5, 2011 at 01:33 PM.
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2008
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From: Rochester Hills MI
This is what i'm thinking. the only thing that would really be catastrophic would be a timing chain failure, which is highly unlikely on a close to stock engine under 250k miles. i love how bullet proof these engines are! This is why i ask this question, because i don't recall hearing about any catastrophic engine failure on an LS engine. You could probably just keep it running forever with regular maintenance!
