GXPeon

As I wait to find out my employment status which would determine whether or not I can pick up a Lacrosse Super, I've been perusing the web to read up on the LS4 W-bodies.

Now I wouldn't say they are disparaged to level of an Edsel or Pacer but it seems the consensus on them are a near unanimous thumbs down.

Granted some of the scathing diatribes focus on the cars as new but even on some discussion boards years later, some choose to just sweep them under the rug.

Ok, I get it, V8 + FWD isn't the best science but in real world daily commutes, does it really matter? If you need that weight for winter driving, then it seems more winning. If you just want a lead sled / street cruiser that sounds nice, you don't necessarily need a G8 GT. The sound from the LS4 with a res delete alone is badass and people will stare as you fly by. Also they are pretty stout in a drag race. If you ask me, these cars are some of the best kept secrets.

A tune can go a long way to keep these cars healthy in the drivetrain. Also you can tune out the DoD on the LS4 whereas on the L76, I don't think you can?

Were these cars the answer to the 300c / Charger R/T? Hell no. Were they better than the Fusion / Taurus? Hell yes.

Just my observations. Inb4coolstorybro

gxp-miller-gxp

i wouldnt buy one. bought mine new and now has 112,000 miles on it. its a clean smooth ride ,yes. but i have replaced the water pump, all four wheel bearings/sensors , rebuilt the trans. 3rd engine ( replaced because oil consumption and the second one blew a rod in a month ) eats batteries like crazy, harmonic balancer and other pullies . keep the g8 and dont buy anything else unless its like a silverado or an f body. i am a chevy mechanic and trust me , we make bank off of w-bodys no matter what engine. they are **** .they just arent designed to last 5 miles after a 100,000.

Mels SS

iTrader: (1)

But you were never hammering on it were you. Also I think our car is much better than the Charger RT. The 300c might have more luxury than the Pontiac and the Impala but I think both of them are more attractive.

92builtbird

You're a Chevy mechanic but you ran your motor dry of oil.

91parkave

iTrader: (4)

We all share the same motor man where the hell do get a different brand with the same mgine last any longer? I'm blaming operator error in your case for 3 different engines under 100k.batteries last as long as they do in any other car.plus batteries are a manufacture issue not a car issue. I'm almost 100k stock balancer and all pulleys. I replaced the water pump because I had the coolant flushed and figured I might as well.

baltsk8er69

iTrader: (1)

Are you sure your a mechanic and not a "mechanic"?

JessmoMonteSS

iTrader: (1)

Nice post, OP.

Miller...Sorry man but you come off a little ignorant here. You're a GM tech? Do you really think you can own ANY car maintenance free? I mean you have 112,000 miles....did you think all 4 wheel bearings would last that long?(I've replaced all 4 of mine too) Water pump too? C'mon man. And your car shouldn't eat batteries unless you have an electrical draw somewhere....or you buy dog **** batteries. Granted, your engine issues are serious but it sounds like you forgot to check your oil level...lol @ being a GM tech. Engine issues are far from the norm for the LS4. Tranny issues we all know are hit or miss, I'm running at 99,5xx miles on the stock tranny (w/shift kit and cooler) and it shifts like a champ through every gear. And there are plenty of guys with over 100k and their cars run strong. Also, don't make it sound like f-bodys and Silverados never have any mechanical issues...that's just laughable.

GXPeon

Do you have lemon laws in your state because your car sounds exactly like one. I would have given up after the first engine swap, never mind ONE MORE.

I am keeping the G8

Was debating on parting with my low mile Regal GS.

One of my older cars was a 1998 Lincoln Continental with the Intech V8 (similar to Northstar). To find the alternator, you had to basically call out to it. Since it was a Ford, it was a dead so you got to find it the hard way! I hate Ford engine bays.

I was impressed with the size of the LS4. Doesn't weigh too much either (500lbs IIRC). A header job may take a while but at least you can put some on.

A DOD delete kit for the L76 is over $1000 before labour. A tune for the LS4 is, what, $500 max?

Considering that most 'car guys' are show and dyno queens, who cares which wheels drive the car. Nothing beats the feeling when a stranger comes up to you and asks 'what do you have in that thing!?!?' especially when it's not a Mustang / Camaro / Vette etc.

UseAsDirected

Interesting thoughts, GXPeon. I really like my car. It's funny how much hate and defensiveness the platform stirs up. But you definitely can't say they're a dime a dozen.

MC06SS

I love my Monte, yes, I have replaced only 2 wheel bearings and I ADD OIL about every 2 weeks or so, but heck, it has 88K on the original tranny.. The exhaust note though the pipes is awesome, and I love smoking those stangs and hemis.. the look on their faces is priceless..

mostmint

My 08 SS has 73k. I've drag raced it some, had it out on the road course for track day. I don't beat on it a lot on the street but I don't baby it. I replaced the springs to lower it and put in new struts. The battery died at 3 yrs and the tranny whirs a little backing up. It leaks tranny fluid out the breather under hard cornering (on the road course) but other than that no real issues. No other parts replaced outside routine maintenance. I don't care much what other people think I like the car.

gxp-miller-gxp

at no point did i ever run my engine out of oil. Please point out where i even said that...... the engine the manufacturer sent was apparently fucked up.

gxp-miller-gxp

yet again, i never said i ran my car out of oil.i had the first engine replaced with the second one because it kept consuming about 2 quarts between each oil change. the second one blew a rod because of manufacturer error. the third one i have had no issues with. i change my engine oil in all my cars with dexos every other month. and i never said silverados never had mechanical issues. but they are way more reliable then the w-body. im not just speaking for my car with these issues, i see plenty of ss impalas come in for the same thing. but for anyone to say that these cars are more reliable then a silverado would be dumb.

gxp-miller-gxp

i wasnt speaking just for the engine of the silverado but the truck as a whole. and let me clear something up. the first engine i had replaced under warranty because it kept consuming oil, the second one blew a rod fairly quick . and again under warranty had a new one put in that i had no issues with.

ImpSS07

iTrader: (3)

I think my imp ss is a lemon. Mine only consumes about 1/2qt every 5kmiles. I've replaced 1 trans due to my negligence as an owner cause I raced the **** out of my car when I got it new(i must have put 200 1/4m passes on it in the first 2yrs). Everything else is OG triple OG(minus the headers, 1.8's, CAI, tune, cutout).


I still don't understand why some people give a **** about what you drive. As long and you don't go claiming your LS4 is the baddest mother on the road then F* what people say. I love my 120k Impala SS(bought it new in 07 with 54miles).



OP, the Taurus SHO is a pretty sexy car that I'm sure would give the LS4's and G8's a damn good run.

xxtheshockerxx

I love my Monte. I really don't care what the RWD guys have to say about it. I have shocked a lot of people and it gets plenty of attention. I have tons of people ask me all about it.

LS1 Racing

iTrader: (15)

We're up to 216,000 on ours as of yesterday. Motor still runs strong, and now that DoD is tuned out, oil consumption has slowed to about a quart every 5-6k, which is a huge improvement over 2 quarts every 1000 miles it was using with the DoD on.

Aside from the trans issues, about which ours are well-documented, the car has been very reliable. We had some minor stuff that needed to be addressed when we bought the car like the clunky ISS, noisy power window and seat regulators, bad TPMS board, and maybe another thing or, two. They were all addressed under warranty by the dealer that sold us the car. Since then, aside from the trans issues, we had to put a water pump in it at 124,000 along with a right side front hub assembly. The left side front hub was done along with the front struts at 192,000. We're still on the stock rear hubs and struts with no issues.

The car still pulls hard and will still surprise a lot of so-called "sports" sedans. And thanks to Dave @ TEP, I don't have to worry about the transmission, which now has 129,000 on it.

I guess the whole point is, these cars are all over the board when it comes to reliability and problems. The only thing certain with any of them is, they are more likely than not to experience a major transmission problem before they hit 80,000 miles. Before some of you chime in with "I've got 10 gazillion miles on the stock trans with no problems", please reread my previous sentence. They don't all have these problems, but you're in the minority if you're over 80k miles and haven't had problems.

The other issues that people experience with these cars are hit-and-miss. Some people go through hubs in 20k miles, while others never do. Ditto for waterpumps. There's also the alignment issues that cause some folks to go through tires in 10k miles, while others (like our ISS) can get 60k miles out of a set with perfectly even wear the whole time. Of course, ours warps brake rotors inside of 5000 miles, but hopefully, the custom ducts I installed have resolved that!

I think these cars are reflective of the uneven build quality that plagued GM in the 00's. They had improved from the utter crap they were pedaling (quality-wise, not cool wise) in from the 70's through the 90's, but had not yet reached where they are now.

Would I own another LS4 car? No. Absolutely not. In 2013, there are just too many other options available for us to have to make the FWD compromise for a sedan with decent V8 power. And with a ticking time-bomb of a transmission, it's just not worth the gamble. Besides, the money spent on the trans would have paid for a lot of other mods.

That said, we do like the car, and my wife LOVES it, as its her daily driver. We've resolved to drive it until the next major failure, or 300k miles, whichever comes first. After that, it's either a VOLT, Caddie ATS, or perhaps a Chevy SS, if I can convince my wife it's worth the coin...This is after all, her car!

LS1 Racing

iTrader: (15)

Totally agree. These things are very quick for what they are, and the W-body seemed to be the last of GM's "light" platforms, as all the newer stuff (except the Alpha platform) has been heavy as ****. Because of this, we can routinely beat more powerful cars, and for large sedans, these cars handle very well, too.

The SHO is a big heavy pig (almost 4400 lbs!), and even with that 365 HP TTV6, they're still only mid-14 second cars.

And they're ugly as ****, too. I'd go with a Chevy SS instead. No, it doesn't have the AWD of the SHO, but has more HP, weighs less, and can be had for about the same price as a moderately equipped SHO.

No brainer for me!

crich88848

You also have to consider the amount of w bodies that are on the road. The w body platform is probably the most owned platform in this country right now, so of course you will see a higher volume of these cars in for repairs than you would others. I can't drive a block down the road without seeing another w body.

GXPeon

I wouldn't really consider an LS4 myself in this day and age but considering (in my case) the car is a Lacrosse Super is what makes me so interested. If it were a Monte / Imp / GP, I wouldn't consider it. Hell, I almost bought a GP GXP almost 2 years ago but found a G8 instead.

My 98 Lincoln with the Intech V8 also had a transmission made for a V6 but mated to the V8 anyway. Known for fragility. I got lucky since the car reached 115,000 miles without a single issue. I traded it in for my 98 Regal GS which is in nicer condition than my G8. The G8 is my DD since it barely snows here (Pacific Northwest).

I can't imagine I would get lucky with an LS4 transmission but one can hope, lol.

Side question: Is the Lacrosse Super the only LS4 car that had a 'GM Performance Division' Plaque on it? I love the appeal of owning a car more rare than my G8 (even though most wouldn't notice) and the car wouldn't be daily driven I can tell you that. Some of the reasons I'm so drawn to this car. I'm already imagining a res delete

Edit: Does a trans tune help extend tranny life even somewhat?