How many miles is too many miles on ls based engines?

[Mains52]

I was told mine has 170k on it. I planned on doing at least a re-ring and some few misc. things. Do you guys rebuild them or run them?
Thanks

[abig84]

ive been a mechanic for about 8 years and it almost seems like mileage means very little. ive seen blown motors at less then 100k and engines that run as good as the day they have been made with over 300k. i tried buying a sububan off a regular customer that had 220k on it and would have had no problems just replacing gaskets and throwing it in the truck but he declined the offer.

but at the same time you have the engine sitting on a stand it wouldnt hurt to rebuild it. in the above situation i was able to test drive the vehicle, he just needed all brake lines and brakes all the way around

[va4cqd]

decide once you have it opened up

[mongocanfly]

My 99 had 285000 on it when I sold it..never turned a screw on it except for a waterpump..but there's something to be said for having one on a stand as well..very easy to do maintenance while its easy to get to..remember to change all the torque to yield bolts if you go in there..they're one time use bolts..

[joedoh]

I have a 2500HD with a 174k 6 liter, runs like new.

[Mains52]

Thanks guys, I plan on tearing it down and inspecting everything either way just wanted to know what everyone else is doing or have done.

[mr48chev]

A lot of it depends on the maintenance and oil changes that the engine got along with how it was driven during it's life.

I've got three cars with over 100K on them that still run great and can run down the road. Worse thing about two of them is that they leak oil. The V6 in my wife's car at 225K goes though a quart every oil change

I'm not sure what the 292 on the stand for my 48 has on it but it was a good runner with good oil pressure that leaked oil every place one could leak when the guy pulled out of his Pickup. It will probably get new rod and main bearings and timing set at the least when I have the pan off.

[svr]

Had a '01 chev pickup 5.3 I put 325k miles on before parting with it, it got an alternator somewhere in there and a set of plugs and wires about 200k, rear seal was starting to leak a quart every 1000 miles, sold it to a guy and the trans went out in a Burgerking drive through about a month later, he put a different trans in and last I heard was still driveing it.

[57chevyman]

i had a '00 Silverado with the 5.3. ended up selling the truck with 285k miles on it in 2014 because the rear seal was leaking pretty bad. still ran great tho.

[Mains52]

Dang I feel like if everything looks good and I re-ring it put a bigger cam in it the thing will be decent for a while then. I think its like 200 for my local machine shop to inspect it so that would probably be worth the money also. Since I am not an engine expert by any means.

[1project2many]

Fuel injection and good computer tuning plus much better oil plays a huge part of today's engines lasting much longer than in the past. If the bodies hold up we routinely keep our fleet vehicles until they have 350,000+ miles. We have had one 6.0 LS family engine fail at 120k out of about 14 in the fleet and we have three that are currently showing low oil pressure when warm with around 140k miles. The highest mileage on any of the GM 6.0 buses is 175k.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Mains52

Thanks guys, I plan on tearing it down and inspecting everything either way just wanted to know what everyone else is doing or have done.

This is the smart thing ro do. Cheap insurance and you'll have peace of mind

The LQ4 going into my '55 Chevy truck came out of an Isuzu N series truck totaled at 81,000 miles. I'm getting a warranty with mine so it was lightly ball honed, re-ringed and main, rod and cam bearings replaced - but the mechanic said it was totally fine inside and would have given me a couple hundred thousand miles without all that.

[OutlawDrifter]

Why are you so dead set on putting rings in it? I would change the oil pump, timing chain, add a cam/springs/push rods of your choice and run it.

Most still have crosshatch in the bores at 200k.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Why are you so dead set on putting rings in it? I would change the oil pump, timing chain, add a cam/springs/push rods of your choice and run it.

Most still have crosshatch in the bores at 200k.

^^^ I agree with this but ONLY if you visually and dimensionally inspect it.

Why get it installed only to find out you have a problem later?

Is it unlikely? Yes, maybe even very unlikely but not impossible. Strokes/folks, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. YMMV

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Why are you so dead set on putting rings in it? I would change the oil pump, timing chain, add a cam/springs/push rods of your choice and run it.

Most still have crosshatch in the bores at 200k.

Just because rings are cheap and bearings are cheap. If I take the time to tear it down for inspection then I can do the cheap stuff to it and have a little more peace of mind. Guy I bought it from said he kept getting low oil pressure warnings so I might as well check it out right.

[yossarian19]

I wouldn't touch a thing. Run it. If you have an android phone, buy the cheap ebay fiberoptic camera and look in the bores if you feel you must. Do a compression check on the stand if you gotta.
If it gives you any peace of mind, there's a bunch of guys making 600 wheel horsepower with turbos on these engines and 250K+ miles on them from the junkyard.
My attitude is that hobby cars aren't going to get a ton of miles on them (generally) and an LS motor, unless really abused, will run just fine pretty much indefinitely. 170K on it... I personally wouldn't pull the valve covers, even.

[SalvagedSouls]

My daily driver 2002 2500 Silverado with the 6.0 has 297,493, good oil pressure and runs smooth. Pulled the transmission out last week and had it rebuilt as it was starting to slip. I'll continue to drive it and when it's time I'll rebuild the engine.

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by yossarian19

I wouldn't touch a thing. Run it. If you have an android phone, buy the cheap ebay fiberoptic camera and look in the bores if you feel you must. Do a compression check on the stand if you gotta.
If it gives you any peace of mind, there's a bunch of guys making 600 wheel horsepower with turbos on these engines and 250K+ miles on them from the junkyard.
My attitude is that hobby cars aren't going to get a ton of miles on them (generally) and an LS motor, unless really abused, will run just fine pretty much indefinitely. 170K on it... I personally wouldn't pull the valve covers, even.

Honestly one second that's my thoughts and the other second I'm the complete opposite haha. Thanks for the suggestion. I sort of want to build an engine run stand and at least start the thing.

[Coupeguy2001]

find somebody with a wrecked truck, and see if they will let you put your engine in the wreck, and run it so u can hear it.
I would stay away from 2000 and 2001 engines, as they have a known problem with piston slap.
(go to pistonslap.com)
I was at a cadillac dealership, checking on parts. Taled to a mechanic that said stay away from the engines with variable valve timing, and the ones that drop cylinders, (2005-2010)
He said the cams go flat because of the low lubrication on the lobes when the (loose) lifters aren't riding on the cam. When the cam follower goes full length, it prematurely wears the lobes.

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by Coupeguy2001

find somebody with a wrecked truck, and see if they will let you put your engine in the wreck, and run it so u can hear it.
I would stay away from 2000 and 2001 engines, as they have a known problem with piston slap.
(go to pistonslap.com)
I was at a cadillac dealership, checking on parts. Taled to a mechanic that said stay away from the engines with variable valve timing, and the ones that drop cylinders, (2005-2010)
He said the cams go flat because of the low lubrication on the lobes when the (loose) lifters aren't riding on the cam. When the cam follower goes full length, it prematurely wears the lobes.

Mine is an '02 from a Tahoe I believe. I have found a couple ways to build a cheap run stand so that's most likely what I am going to do as far as running it. Thanks for the info.