I recently clicked over 200k on the 2000 vette. It has some issues but works great as a daily driver.
Issues:
Leaks oil from rear main and oil pressure sensor.
Bad Knock Sensor.

The oil leak is super annoying because it drips on the exhaust and the fumes are pulled into the cabin.
So is it worth the time to repair or should I just find a junkyard engine and swap it out? If I pull the intake to repair the knock sensor and oil pressure sensor leak, what else should I replace?
The engine runs great, doesn't smoke, pulls hard and other than piston slap on a cold start, it sounds good with no unusual valve train noise. I have to put 1 to 2 quarts of oil in between oil changes because of the leak. If I run it hard it leaks more of course.
Thanks for the advice.

 

Knock sensors and oil pressure sender are cheap and easy to replace. I would start there and how much of the leak is stopped.

 

Garrett, 200,000 on an LS-1 engine that has been run on synthetic oil and driven 'responsibly' since new, should show little evidence of internal wear. Of course seals, hoses and vacuum lines are consumable, so changing them periodically is always a good idea. It sounds as if you are happy with the way it is running so I would either have a competent technician (or you if you have the tools and skill ) do a compression check and/or leak-down test of the engine to get a better idea of its internal condition before considering changing it out for a used unknown one.

If your satisfied with the condition of the engine I would certainly look at fixing any of the leaks you currently have. I personally would rather stick with a 200,000 mile engine I have personally known since new (or an exceptionally long time) than go to the trouble of swapping out for a lower mileage engine I only know what the seller tells me about.

With 200,000 miles, I would be more concerned with the the condition of the suspension (bushings, ball joints, shocks, etc) than the engine, except for the leaks of course. It would probably be foolhardy to spend a bunch of money replacing the engine, only to have a ball joint separate while going down the road. Refreshing some of the suspension components will have the added benefit of restoring some of the ride quality, handling and ambient noise inside the car.

Good luck and do let us know what you decide or discover.

GUSTO

 

Fix the leak and drive it, I might rebuild the torque tube (especially if it is a manual) as I would not want to pull it twice. 200k on a daily driven LS is not a big deal with regular oil changes.

I would buy a rear cover loaded that comes with the rear main seal in the rear cover with a rear cover gasket. It cost less than just the gasket when I did it on my LQ4 in my truck (which is an iron block LS, same covers/gaskets)

 

it’s an automatic. As far as the rest of the car I have been knocking out the parts over the 2 years since I bought it. The ball joints are ok, I replaced the outer tie rods and the front suspension is nice and tight.

I am at least the 3rd owner of the car so I have no idea what has been done to it or how it was driven. I guess it’s a gamble either way.

 

Sounds like a solid car. I was part of a re-ring and new bearings in a 2000 LS1 which had seen track time and was at ~140k miles with 243 heads and cam for about half that. It was his daily before getting turned into a track car. It was cared for but not the oil changed every 3k miles babied. Likely more 5-7k miles between oil changes with Mobil 1 oil and filters.

The inside of an LS will surprise you. In truth the motor could have likely lasted for a long time as a daily. It had an injector leaking down and the car would sit for weeks between track days. A cylinder started giving up some compression and we were getting oil in the catch can (partially due to PCV routing and the not using the best catch can). So we decided it was likely time for a rebuild or given the future use of the car likely was in need soon. We have a mutual friend that works for local shop that did a hone on it. We disassembled the motor one Saturday and reassembled another after it was cleaned and honed at the shop. It was not bored and is back together with stock pistons. A track day later at Road Atlanta or AMP with minimal oil in the catch can. If it had been in daily use and not on track, I very much believe it would be a 200k+ mile motor as the cylinder walls and bearings were in good shape.

If all it is doing is leaking, I'd fix the leaks and run it. My LQ4 is about to turn 195k. I'd replace the gasket above the oil filter were the oil temp sensor is as well. They like to leak and it is easier to get to when the exhaust is down. I had a friend do the oil pan, rear main, rear cover, and the oil cooler/temp gasket just mentioned done on the truck last year. I didn't want to drop the trans on the truck and was in a time crunch or I would have done it.

C5s are actually relatively easy to work on, and we are lucky to have a community which supports keeping them on the road. If I were in a need of a daily, I'd seriously consider a 100k mile C5 but thankfully I work from home 2 days a week.

 

your leak might not be the seal itself .... there is a revised cover design that GM cam out with that also has larger bolt heads... GM found that LS's with high miles started to leak up by the cam where the cover "necks down" hence the revision... I just put on in my LS6 ... found it on Amazon for $43 it incuded the cover, bolts seal and gasket.


its $62 now... but I'm sure you can shop around.... here is the link

 

and I thought you get the cover with cover gasket and the rear main seal installed in the cover. Verify with whoever you buy from. I would replace the cover gasket even if it is reusable as I wouldn't want to drop the drive line or pull the motor again. It also came out cheaper than just the gaskets when I did it about a year ago.