Major 93 motor issues

[Spinout93]

Hello everyone,
I had a bad MLK day. My 93 low coolant light came on the night before, I stopped and added water to get me home(it was dark and nothing was dripping from underneath). I noticed the sweet smell of antifreeze and thought it was coming from a flash off on the motor. So the next morning I placed a piece of cardboard under the entire engine area and checked the coolant level. I added mabe three ounces more of coolant to top it off. When I started it all hell broke loose inside the motor. After having an ASE mechanic take a look. He pressure tested the coolant system. It tested ok, then he asked me to start it. You could hear rods, valves and rocker arms upchucking. Within thirty seconds the pressure rose and we shut it down. Yes, as you guessed by now I lost a head gasket and filled the cyclinder with fluid. The smeel was actually coming from the exhaust. D##n! So my question is do I replace the motor or rebuild. It has 154,000 miles on it and has been an awesome engine(many mustangs and firebirds will confess to it). I checked with four chevy dealers they say I have to go back with the LT1 motor because of the opti spark control. There price for a new one is $4900. to $6200. and $900. to $1600. to install. I want to keep it but will I step over into the money pit and never see the value again. I want to pass this car on to my son someday. I want him to have a piece of a legend.
Thanks and burnout in front of a stang,
Spinout93

 

[aboatguy]

Hello everyone,
I had a bad MLK day. My 93 low coolant light came on the night before, I stopped and added water to get me home(it was dark and nothing was dripping from underneath). I noticed the sweet smell of antifreeze and thought it was coming from a flash off on the motor. So the next morning I placed a piece of cardboard under the entire engine area and checked the coolant level. I added mabe three ounces more of coolant to top it off. When I started it all hell broke loose inside the motor. After having an ASE mechanic take a look. He pressure tested the coolant system. It tested ok, then he asked me to start it. You could hear rods, valves and rocker arms upchucking. Within thirty seconds the pressure rose and we shut it down. Yes, as you guessed by now I lost a head gasket and filled the cyclinder with fluid. The smeel was actually coming from the exhaust. D##n! So my question is do I replace the motor or rebuild. It has 154,000 miles on it and has been an awesome engine(many mustangs and firebirds will confess to it). I checked with four chevy dealers they say I have to go back with the LT1 motor because of the opti spark control. There price for a new one is $4900. to $6200. and $900. to $1600. to install. I want to keep it but will I step over into the money pit and never see the value again. I want to pass this car on to my son someday. I want him to have a piece of a legend.
Thanks and burnout in front of a stang,
Spinout93

I would rebuild the engine my self however, by reading your thread it looks like that is not an option. If I had to pay someone to fix my car and the locals wants $4,900 to $6200; for that kind of money I'd have it rebuilt as a 383 or 396. I would go with one of the engine rebuilding companies that offer warrantees, one example is Golan's LINK

 

[tlong]

There should be some Lt-1s available from salvage well below that price. I've seen them on ebay. You could get one and tweak it up a little and then plug and play. It might be a great project for you and your son, the future heir, to get involved with.

The rebuild could get steep going into a 383 but if you diy feasible. All this depends on your ability and motivation, and of course, budget. Also whether this event is perceived as a giant pita or an opportunity for vast performance improvement.

 

[John Robinson]

Unless you want to keep the car OEM I would go with as suggested a rebuilt engine. I have seen many Jasper engines put in other cars that have gone over 150k. If you want to keep the car and hand it down then my suggestion would be to do the job right. That is a full engine all new accessarys on it and a transmission. If you replace the ujoints and go over the suspension you will have a car ready to go another 150K +

 

[Aurora40]

I certainly think dealers are the place to go for some types of service. However, I'd probably look somewhere else that works on 'vettes for replacing or rebuilding an engine. You'll pay big-time from a dealer, but at that I'm not sure they'd do the premium work the price reflects (other than using a GM replacement motor).

You might also check GMPartsDirect for the motor, it may be you can get a GM replacement for well below the dealer price.

 

[vetteboy86]

Sorry to hear about the news. I am not sure but ask my brother how much the shop was to rebuild his motor. I would rebuild it. Keep it the way it has been with the same LT-1 power plant under the hood. You can always keep the original in tact, but if it were me I would rebuild it.

Good Luck
Craig

 

[Chris Kennedy]

I think you might want to contact Fparts@fpartssalvage.com Also, I think there is a place called Dino's Corvette Salvage, and what both these places offer are complete, used motors. A number of people on this list have commented that these places sell very good equipment, and the price is only a small fraction of the costs you are quoting, above. I think you can get a complete L98 engine (including all the add on equipment) for something like $1500 (and you can sell what you don't need and keep the rest). I seem to recall a price of $2.5K for your motor. I understand the concerns about used parts, but, at the end of the day, it often comes down to a balancing act of cost vs. risk, etc. There is often a tendency to throw money at our cars when we really don't have to. Contacting gmpartsdirect.com for their quote is also a superb idea----please let us all know what you find out.

/s/ Chris Kennedy
Houston, Texas

 

[Vettefan87]

Sorry to hear about the news. I am not sure but ask my brother how much the shop was to rebuild his motor. I would rebuild it. Keep it the way it has been with the same LT-1 power plant under the hood. You can always keep the original in tact, but if it were me I would rebuild it.

Good Luck
Craig

Which rebuild?? The first, the second, or the third time it was done?? ad

 

[jldecke]

I would either look at a savalage yard or rebuild it. Just remember a little bit of added performance never hurt anyone.

 

[Spinout93]

I would rebuild the engine my self however, by reading your thread it looks like that is not an option. If I had to pay someone to fix my car and the locals wants $4,900 to $6200; for that kind of money I'd have it rebuilt as a 383 or 396. I would go with one of the engine rebuilding companies that offer warrantees, one example is Golan's LINK

Thanks for the advice. I spoke to a Chevy dealer mechanic yesyerday, he said I should remove the bad head and check the cylinder wall. It is possible there could be a crack. My oil still shows clean so hopefully the fluid went out the exhaust port. He also suggested replacing the heads if the cyclinder is ok, but GM does not sell just the heads(LT1). They will sell a brand new engine but will not seperate the two. So I looked at some edelbrock heads and they will give me 24hp more with a matched pair. I will continue to dig deeper and keep you posted. Can't wait to ride a little pony(mustang) and eat a chicken(firebird).
Thanks,
Spinout93

 

[jldecke]

I can't believe that GM doesn't sell the LT1 heads anymore. I'm not sure but I think they still sell the LT4 heads which are a direct fit on a LT1 if you want to go the GM route.

 

[aboatguy]

Thanks for the advice. I spoke to a Chevy dealer mechanic yesyerday, he said I should remove the bad head and check the cylinder wall. It is possible there could be a crack. My oil still shows clean so hopefully the fluid went out the exhaust port. He also suggested replacing the heads if the cyclinder is ok, but GM does not sell just the heads(LT1). They will sell a brand new engine but will not seperate the two. So I looked at some edelbrock heads and they will give me 24hp more with a matched pair. I will continue to dig deeper and keep you posted. Can't wait to ride a little pony(mustang) and eat a chicken(firebird).
Thanks,
Spinout93

Don't buy the edlebrocks, the hp gain was with some supporting mods. You can get good used LT1 heads for about 200 to 250 bucks and then you have choices: ie budget rebuild of the heads for a 100 or 200 bucks or spend some money on porting them and getting a 50 to the skies the limit on the HP gain. Actually the sky is not the limit your wallet is; more HP = more money.