Are stock Ls-1 Camaros more durable than 5.0's

**denegrader** · 05-11-2011, 11:51 PM

ok replaced fuel pump, several waterpumps, 5 spd tranny at 217,000 miles an 89 stock lx 5.0 map sensor, egr, sensor, heater core twice radiator twice, sevral brake jobs, clutch once, lotta sets a tires, cruise control went out, gas gauge quit, headlight switch once, headlight bulbs,tie rods, alternator, rack and pinion, plugs fuel filters aircleaners, u joints, front wheel bearings,
Cars got 240,000 miles now engine still runs and passes cali smog but uses 1 qt per 500 miles basicaly.
got car at 107,000 miles.
Question are these chevys more or less durable parts replacemant wise?

**02transamce** · 05-12-2011, 12:09 AM

216,xxx on a 02 ws6.replaced water pump and fuel pump.transmission and rear axle.both window motors and more front turn signal bulbs than i can recall.Alternator and a power steering hose.

But durability is relative to how a vehicle is maintained.
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**02transamce** · 05-12-2011, 12:10 AM

And does not use oil
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**denegrader** · 05-12-2011, 12:22 AM

original motor and reved 3 to 5500 daily?
well a stick in second its at 3000 rpms easy at 35mph or so ya cruise at over 4000 rpm??

Originally Posted by 02transamce

And does not use oil
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**02transamce** · 05-12-2011, 02:06 AM

Automatic trans.it has been a really good car.i have had 5litre mustangs too,my 92 gt was a great car,must have found 50 timeslips from racing that car and it never gave me amy trouble.
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**transamtom** · 05-12-2011, 04:25 AM

You want reliability? buy an econo box and drive it like a grandma.

You want to go fast or drive hard in a 12+ year old car expect to be fixing stuff.

**9t8z28** · 05-14-2011, 07:08 PM

I have heard of a lot of new 5.0's blowin cylinder #8. The knock sensor doesn't detect like it should and it pops the ringland. It is more common on aftermarket tunes, handhelds and dyno tunes.

**konigandy6** · 05-15-2011, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by 02transamce

216,xxx on a 02 ws6.replaced water pump and fuel pump.transmission and rear axle.both window motors and more front turn signal bulbs than i can recall.Alternator and a power steering hose.

But durability is relative to how a vehicle is maintained.

This

**snaggeltooth** · 05-15-2011, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by 9t8z28

I have heard of a lot of new 5.0's blowin cylinder #8. The knock sensor doesn't detect like it should and it pops the ringland. It is more common on aftermarket tunes, handhelds and dyno tunes.

Thats why you never buy a car or in this case engine in its first year run ...

**Z28_Driver** · 05-15-2011, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by transamtom

You want reliability? buy an econo box and drive it like a grandma.

You want to go fast or drive hard in a 12+ year old car expect to be fixing stuff.

Bingo!

**denegrader** · 05-15-2011, 12:52 PM

well after keepin this old 5.0 on the road for 16 years yeah maybe im gonna have to bite the bullet and hope this z doesnt breakdown too much as i know the access is more difficult
.1 cause its a different layout to different manafacturer and engine and all situated more complex, so we'll see
i dont expect it not to ever need anything though,
just ambivalent 1 ya got to crawl on top of engine just access things. 2 its lower harder to gret under ect
3 i do 99% of my own work in sure most on this site do not instead pay someone to repair thie camaro thats why guess im more concerned than most

Originally Posted by Z28_Driver

Bingo!

**02transamce** · 05-15-2011, 01:07 PM

+1 fox mustangs and about a million times easier to work on,lol
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**Z28_Driver** · 05-15-2011, 01:13 PM

You'll be fine working on an LS1 car at home. That engine bay may look intimidating, but after a few repairs it gets pretty easy.
In 75,000 hard miles mine has broke:
Transmission sun gear, causing a rebuild.
waterpump, easy pull and swap.
HVAC head unit, under warranty so I didn't do that repair.
Cat went bad, good excuss to put headers on.
Drivers window motor, couple hours at the most.
Seat belt guide, 15 minutes.
And they are great for modding.
They seem to be durable as long maintenance is done.

**98maro** · 05-15-2011, 02:33 PM

Mustangs are easy to work on. But they always need something. All my friends have mustangs. They always fixing something.
They race or something. After that they fix something major.
So I dnt think those cars are reliable.
My car. I hardly work on it.
Since I bought it. I havnt done nothing major to it. Only service and that's it. I don't see that with my ford friends.
Camaros are hard to work on them but they last wayore than ford

I hope my car doesn't brake in my after this lol.

**Firebirdjones** · 05-15-2011, 04:27 PM

Unless you buy a car new,,,,there are too many unknowns. Maintanance and how you treat the car is the key factor in a cars durability.

I will say this though denegrader, the old fox body 5.0 package was a stout little package for it's time. Factory forged pistons, what was a semi decent world class 5 speed, and the 8.8 rear was hard to beat/break. Mechanically they were stout, cheap for parts, and lasted a long time if taken care of. 302's have been around nearly 50 years without much at all in design changes so Ford had a pretty good handle on that little motor. It was installed in nearly everything Ford made.

302's are cheap and easy to find parts for. Unfortunately the LS platform hasn't shared the luxury of being around for 50 years, so parts are not yet cheap to buy. The LS platform, although it has proven itself durable, is still in it's infancy compared to alot of other older platforms that are still made. Therefore modifying and maintaning tend to be a bit more expensive.

**denegrader** · 05-15-2011, 11:44 PM

got that right no matter how good it looks and or drives thiers always something on a 10 year ol car

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

Unless you buy a car new,,,,there are too many unknowns. Maintanance and how you treat the car is the key factor in a cars durability.

I will say this though denegrader, the old fox body 5.0 package was a stout little package for it's time. Factory forged pistons, what was a semi decent world class 5 speed, and the 8.8 rear was hard to beat/break. Mechanically they were stout, cheap for parts, and lasted a long time if taken care of. 302's have been around nearly 50 years without much at all in design changes so Ford had a pretty good handle on that little motor. It was installed in nearly everything Ford made.

302's are cheap and easy to find parts for. Unfortunately the LS platform hasn't shared the luxury of being around for 50 years, so parts are not yet cheap to buy. The LS platform, although it has proven itself durable, is still in it's infancy compared to alot of other older platforms that are still made. Therefore modifying and maintaning tend to be a bit more expensive.