kjcmusic17

My Firebird was rearended a couple weeks ago and deemed "totalled." I took this as an opportunity to get an LS1 equipped car. I found a 98 TA with 194k miles on it. What should I be concerned about with such high mileage?

projectX

iTrader: (51)

Valve train should be re done.

kjcmusic17

how much would that run me?

Gordon0652

iTrader: (4)

That's a lot of miles...

BlumaroZ28

if the previous owner took good care of it , oil changes and other maintanence, and did not beat the holy hell out of it, then you probably wont have any problems, if you leave the engine stock. i am a drivability tech in the detroit area and see a lot of lsx engines. many of them get well over 200,000 miles, some even over 300,000. (usually in the trucks). however, if you start to mod the engine then you could drastically decrease the lifespan of the motor. either way i would recomend doing a tune-up (if it hasnt been done in a while) and defintitly some kind of a fuel and intake system cleaning. not the crap in the bottle on the shelf at the local parts store but a professional system. i have used BG Products with great results. try to find a local shop that uses it, or what ever is common in your area shouldn't cost any more than 100 -150 for the cleaning. do the tune up youself not as bad as it loooks.

kjcmusic17

Thanks for the insight! A friend said that a compression check will reveal a lot.

777Shock777

iTrader: (5)

I would also say completely swap all the fluids,, always gotta play it like the previous owner is lying to you about everything

garygnu

check the engine for piston ring blow by.hold your hand over the oil filler tube,if you feel pressure you have some blow by.if you buy the car consider a valve train pkg from Texas Speed.also consider getting a new timing chain and a oil pump ,and rebuilt rocker arms.

kjcmusic17

I figured I would need a timing chain. What's the price estimate on the other items? Is that something I can do myself?

garygnu

go to Texas speed for most of your parts.you can go to ls1howto.com for good instructions on doing most of the work your shelf.or you could locate a engine with lower miles like 6.0.

kjcmusic17

I would love a 6.0 but I don't have the money for that haha. That's why I'm looking at a car with almost 200k miles