85IROCzzz

Well I was driving today and watched my odometer roll over 172,000 and it made me wonder how much life I should still expect out of this tired old motor. I'm very sure it's still the original and it still runs perfectly fine, holds oil pressure, and doesn't burn anything. I know proper maintenance should keep it good but obviously it can't last forever, so what do you all think, how long do they usually last before they decide to kick the bucket?

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'91 Z28 350 TPI

MustangTamer

my odometer stopped at 186,xxx over a year ago and its still running great. i guess its just a matter of how well the car was taken care of. proper oil changes etc.

Camaro305SB

They will run forever if maintained. If not, when something breaks, you fix it and keep driving.

kd5icr

My 94 chevy c1500 truck is at 200,000 and runes great for the miles on it. I hope that the engine going into my 85 Z28 last half that.

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Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar states, “Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ list;”

85 Z28.
305 carb,mild street cam
700r4 with stock rear end
Shorty headers.

///DAN///

my friends 86 monte ss with a 305 H.O. had 300,000 plus on it when he got it off his gran father he killed it in a year or so. It all depends on how you drive and how well you maintain it.

Rajin

314 000 km and still going

KNBlazer

my bird hemorrhaged at around 90K miles... I had it for about 10K or so ... about 5 years... when the engine was disassembled, pistons were cracked and walls were scuffed, had to go .040 over... I think that was the correct measurement...

GTA88

Of course it's possible you could throw a rod or have a valve break, etc. but those things are rare. Otherwise, I go with the "forever" answer. I had 426,000 miles on my 85 caprice 305 chevy engine, with no internal engine problems, when I traded it in last year. But I kept VG care of it.............

85IROCzzz

Yeah I understand they'll last a while if you maintain them and replace stuff when it breaks. What I kind of meant more was how long until a big mechanical failure like a thrown rod or what have you.

jwande

I purchased my son's 1992 Firebird with the TBI 305 new. I drove it pretty aggressively for years and years, racking up 193,000. My son and I re-did the whole car including stripping the engine down to the bare block and heads. It was rebuilt as a learning point for my son, plus to get some "skin in the game" so he took care of it.

When we pulled the engine apart, I knew it didn't need to be rebuilt. I was religious about all maintenance, but particularly oil changes every 3k with a good quality oil and filter.

Rajin

Drain the oil and coolant. Run the engine at WOT, and you can expect anywhere between 30 seconds and 15 minutes.

IMissMy86TA

Cliff Jones on GTASource page got 305,000 on the 5.7. died the other week. he kept it up too.

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1988 5.0 TPI 5-Speed GTA 1 of 809 made
21,000 miles - original floor mats (orig rims w/plastidip)

KNBlazer

frequent oil changes at appropriate intervals and maintaining the air/fuel system will prolong the life of your engine as well as your heads...

92GTA

Almost 210K on mine, still going strong. I've been driving the **** out of it for over 10 years. I also have been using Royal Purple and Redline since only 70K miles and NEVER go more than 5K on an oil change. I also think I've replaced every sensor on it ATLEAST once as a preventitive measure. It has NEVER left me stranded.

Now my transmission, I just started on my 3rd. they only last me about 100K exactly.

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www.TheFoat.com/92GTA 1992 Trans Am GTA SLP: GMPP optioned "SLP Performance Parts Package" GTA, 231K Miles, Dark Jade Gray Metallic, LB9, 4L60, T-Tops, and Gray Leather. Documentation includes Window Sticker, Factory Invoice, Etc. 2008 GMC Acadia. F-Body & Zeta Forum!

InfernalVortex

That thing was raced hard, too. Even had a small cam in it.

JohnMC64

mine has a little over 190,000 mi. im almost 100% sure its the original engine, suprisingly my car has literally no rust, and im in the midwest. but the engine has most likly been rebuilt idk when, but right now it has been running great exept the water pump just went out and when i took that out i fugured id take a look at the timing chain and omg! it has over an inch of side to side slop so im replacing that but exept for the water pump it seemed to be running fine. the owner/s who had it before me probly drove it fairly hard to.

GTA88

Graph. I've heard of fatal things happening to V8 engines like sucking a valve, pistons cracking, rings breaking, rods being thrown, and they happen even under 100,000 miles. But I must say I've never met anyone who actually had it happen, so it must be very rare.

InfernalVortex

Seems to me like piston ring wear and bore wear inducing excess blowby is what kills most engines. If the constant burning of oil doesnt start to mess with things mechanically, the eventual point where the owner will not keep putting enough oil in it and it runs dry will kill it.

I kind of always had the impression that v8s that didnt blow up from racing and constant high RPMs usually succumb to oil starvation because blowby uses up the oil in the crankcase before the owner can refill it.

I'd call an engine living on borrowed time past 200-250k miles. I think they could go much farther if maintained, but I think once you hit 175k or so, poor maintenance will start to catch up with it and proper maintenance will ensure it will last to 250-300k miles.

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I actually use my vbgarage!

red rock

For your info; I just heard on the radio of a 2006 ford truck with a million miles on it? Now the motor was replaced at 190,000mi. But we were figuring the guy had to average over 690mi. everyday 365 days a year. Doesn't seem possible. BTW, he delivered greyhound dogs i guess.

KNBlazer

If you were to ask me, I would say those were mostly highway miles, which are miles that don't impact the engine as much as stop n'go miles... or so I think...

Stevolwevol

I have 148,000 miles on my 92 RS, and it seems to run like new. No oil burning, no blow by, no nothing. I am fairly easy on it, and I change the oil every 3000. I use snake oil in my Camaros also. I add marvels mystery oil every time I gas up, and I add STP to the oil at every oil change.

novafirebirdguy

The V6's will run forever if maintained too. My 2.8 has 294,000 on it. But it was regularly maintained it's whole life, I've got records back to 1985.

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Got the feel for the wheel, keep the movin' parts clean ~ Van Halen