I have a 98 z28 that I've owned for the past 5 years or so. Roughly 3 years ago, I had some serious mods done and until now everything has been ok. Just recently though on regular oil change, my oil was down to 1.5 quarts at 2500 miles. I had a compression test performed and 3 cylinders are extremely low. The car runs, but eats oil like no other.

As far as engine mods go, I had a custom grind ( 232/232 112 LSA w/ relatively high lift ) installed with new springs, retainers, and pushrods 3 years back. I installed JetHot long tubes and an offroad Ypipe about a year prior and have a long list of various other and unrelated mods.

My regular mechanic suggested either a rebuild or new engine. My questions are ...

Any ideas as to what the exact the problem is? Piston rings?

What kind of cost can I expect in a rebuild or what parts can I expect to be replaced? I expect that this number can vary significantly, but any rough guesstimates would be appreciated. My regular mechanic does not perform rebuilds so if anyone knows of a good shop that performs this type of work regularly in or near Boise, ID, please let me know.

Budget will be an issue and I assume a rebuild will be cheaper than purchasing a long-block and having it installed. However, how cheap can I find a new and nearly stock LS1? Visiting some of the sponsor sites I've been seeing prices in the $5000 range for engines alone. Are there any better prices or sources out there?

Thanks in advance for your time and help. It's greatly appreciated.

Sean

 

How many miles are on it? You could always watch the classifieds on here. there are always used stock motors pretty resonable on there.

 

Just under 90,000.