50kta

i was told to stay away from the 1998 ls1 not told why but i want to know why? ....im lookin for a motor(ls1) to put in my 1980 t/a.

5_02ls1

iTrader: (20)

eehh its bullshit there all good...

firefighting1101

iTrader: (48)

i ahve a bolt on 98 that whoops on most other bolt on ls1's and keeps up with most ls6's

quiet_storm98

iTrader: (48)

the 98's are fine..there are lots of people around with fast 98's that have lasted a long time

Demonicbird00

iTrader: (17)

i think the reason ppl say that is due to the stock heads, and they dont flow as well as the 241/243 head. also the later heads were made from a foam casting instead of a sand casting which were alot rougher in the runners

the block and cam tho are still good the 98s had a bigger stock cam then the 01/02 fbodys

-brandon

ROCNDAV

iTrader: (100)

I'm building everything in my sig below into a 1997 Vette Block.

NHRAMAN

iTrader: (1)

Isn't the computer different..???????? Thats why companies took so long to get out handhelds etc.......

THEBRAD

iTrader: (3)

there r a bunch of differences heads computer exhaust rod bolts i believe changed in the later years i think the shifter in the m6s is in a wierd place idk they have a bunch of threads on the differences

NHRAMAN

iTrader: (1)

Valve covers also.

BigBirdTA

Oil pump is known issue. Design changed in 2000 or 01.

89Formulaws6

iTrader: (52)

mine had no piston slap or anything and still ran damn good times at the track spinning till 3rd and had 110k on it

stevied916

iTrader: (30)

98-99 oil pumps go out but are changed anyway when you change cams. The heads arent as good of a design as the 00+ ones and the computer is harder to tune realtime but can easily be tuned by anyone who knows what they are doing. If you found a 98 in good shape and good price I would get it. Most of the problems are fixed when you mod it anyway so it doesnt matter

LS1crazy01

iTrader: (14)

Only real negative is you just have to upgrade to bigger injectors a little earlier since they came with smaller ones.

dug

iTrader: (10)

ive read the knock sensors were overly sensitive and would pull back timing. not sure if its true or not

SladeX

98's had 28lb injectors like 01-02, 99 and 00 had 26lb injectors

98-00 had the bigger cam
98-00 had crappy flowing stainless steel manifolds
98 had poor flowing heads
98 has rod bolt issues at 6500rpm greater
98 has perimeter bolt valve covers
98-00 had possibility of weak spring in oil pump, if it went it went early, if it's still going then it's fine
98 may have had over sensitive knock sensors, but when tuning it can easily be fixed
98 has a unique ECM, just limited in tuning as opposed to later models when doing big hp mods like forced induction
98 has no black box for crashes
98 has a WORKING temp guage, as opposed to "it's cold, hot or overheating" 99+ guages
98 has no oil light indicating you need an oil change
98 also doesn't tell you to check guages when you are low on fuel
98-00 have the LS1 intake
98 has a metal gas tank AND is only 15.5 gallons
98 has Mystic Teal Metallic!!!

That's about all I can say off the top of my head. Mod for mod though you will find that if all bolt ons are done, you will be right in line with ANY LS1 with the same bolt ons, albeit a bit less due to the crappy heads. Change that and you end up with the old saying, a LS1 is an LS1 is an LS1.

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

everything was better in 99

z28berryhill

iTrader: (26)

98 has Mystic Teal Metallic!!!yupp thats me


but mine seems fine heads arent the good in em

but get new heads
lol

kwiksilverz28

iTrader: (7)

Smaller injectors in 99. That is one thing.

Dyno tuner said just can't do live tuning, but he did not seem to have an issue at all. I had a lot of 100 octane in the tank, so he could desensitize the knock sensors, tune, and then resensitize. Worked fine. Super smooth, ran perfect, and decent power. I have since upped cam and boost, so we'll see.

The 98 is fine. The electronics are a little different, but a competent tuner should have no problem. Norris did a buddy of mines, and he was another with no problems.....

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

yea i know it sucks! but my heads are better!! haha

ryansm1

iTrader: (8)

He's swapping it into an older car, so a lot of the "issues" being posted won't apply.

The computer can be swapped with a 99+ piece, giving you all of the functions of the later model PCMs.

Things you might actually care about:

• Weaker rod bolts. I think the design changed in 00-01, and am pretty sure the 98-99s had the weaker bolts that were more prone to stretching.
• 98 coolant sensor has a three-pin design (one pin for dash, one for PCM, one ground). The later model sensors (two pin) can be swapped if the 80 TA has only a "overheat" light rather than gauge.
• Some of the earlier builds had knock sensors that like to show 4* of knock. These were revised as well, and can be replaced (or tuned out).
• Perimeter bolt heads/valve covers. The advantage here is that you don't have to unbolt the coil packs to remove valve covers. The disadvantage is that you have to buy new valve covers if you swap heads.
• 98 had 28.8lb/hr injectors compared to 26lb/hr that were used in 99.

It seems like I have also read that the 98s had thicker ring lands, but lacked "windows" in the bottom of the block for oiling purposes.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....80&postcount=2