What to do
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 94
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From: Beloit Wisconsin
What to do
Have a chance to get a 97 c5 car is black on black in pretty good shape needs a little interior work but looks good and runs good. The thing is it has 174,500 miles I'm trading a car for it need to know how good these engines are. I had a 99 trans am with 124,000 miles ran perfect. And I could always have it rebuilt. Any comments would be appreciated.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
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From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
The LS1 is a great engine. They were designed to run 200k miles with no issues. Nothing is perfect of course and they will last the distance based upon how the were taken care of or how they were abused. If it was run at redline, tons of times, the longevity will be reduced. I've got way over 300k miles on my '99 LS1 but at 274k miles, I did lose a lifter(s) and had to take down the top end. As preventative maintenance, I replaced the rockers, lifters, push-rods, springs, stem seals, guides and of course the all of the assoicated gaskets and so on. No problems since. Eventually the bottom end will have to come open as nothing lasts forever.
Something you should pay attention to is your harmonic balancer to see if its wobbling or not. Mine is still OEM and is not wobbling, but its just a matter of time. You do want to deal with it before it comes off and wobbling is the first indicator.
Overall, the LS1 is a strong platform which is why they are in high demand for car builders and so on.
Something you should pay attention to is your harmonic balancer to see if its wobbling or not. Mine is still OEM and is not wobbling, but its just a matter of time. You do want to deal with it before it comes off and wobbling is the first indicator.
Overall, the LS1 is a strong platform which is why they are in high demand for car builders and so on.
