Planning for engine work or replacement

[black_friday]

Hi all,

Just kicking a few ideas around at the moment as to what I should do with the wagon, and maybe justify spending some money on it! Its currently got 250,000k's on it and hasnt given me too much trouble but is in need of some potentially costly repairs in the next year or so ( aside from the shitty leaking extractors...).

Theres quite a bit of oil building up around the sump and gearbox, as well as a dry buildup around the intake manifold. The hose leading to the steering rack appears to be seeping as well. At this stage theres still only a few drops on the garage floor so not a massive issue just yet.

Im not in a position to replace the car any time soon and being dual fuel I dont really want to at this stage ( I do around 30,000k a year) so I guess my options are to run it as is til i sell it or throw some money at it and hang on for another couple of years.

My first question is when it eventually comes time to sell will the oil leaks need to be addressed to pass roadworthy?

Second is if the sump and rear main need doing is that a motor out job? If thats the case should I be looking at a 'freshen up' and what does that involve??

Third is if i drop a few grand on the motor in a car so old, should I consider using it as a donor for for my next one and part out the wagon? Id be looking at a dual cab 4x4 ute, but excluding the new generations of diesels the power and economy figures arent particularly inspiring. I ldo ike the first of the colorados, dual fuel ls1 would be awesome in one. They're around 20k give or take at the moment but with a shagged motor should be less...

Im not in a hurry but just trying to plan in my head financially where I might be at in the next few years...sorry if thats a bit of a ramble but I'd appreciate peoples thoughts!

Cheers

[Smashfist]

What model of wagon? If it's pre-VE then motor will need to come out. It's not hard to do as LS's are pretty simple beasts. Honestly if all it really needs is some gaskets and hoses there's no reason to not fix it. Power steering rack I wouldn't be worried about if it's just seeping a little, the rack in my VY has been seeping (hasn't dropped any oil) for 4 years. As for a roady, general rule of thumb is if it's not dripping it's fine. If it's not THAT bad then degrease it before the roady, but if you can swing spanners yourself the gaskets are cheap.

If you want to go the whole hog rip the heads off while the motor's out, if the bores still look OK then whack a cam and valvetrain in it, tune it and go for another 200,000km.

I'd be all over an LS powered Colorado (so would everyone else at work, we've mulled the thought over). Problem is in the wet they can be a bit iffy under power - double the power/torque and you'll have a handful.

[black_friday]

Its a VY SS, sorry I thought that was in my profile

[black_friday]

Thanks for the reply smash. Its certainly not dropping enough to book it in tomorrow, but if it were to start getting worse do you know how much I'd be looking at if I had to pay to have the gaskets done motor out? 2-3-4k? Ive got no idea...

And yeah, if its out a cam would be on the cards, I'd like to do it now but I need to make sure the motors gonna last!

[Smashfist]

It's a ~2k job for sump and rear main if you're paying for labour. A day's labour to remove and refit the engine/box + gaskets. As for the motor, I'd just do a comp test, that will tell you overall health. At those sorts of k's I'd look at refreshing the valvetrain for sure but the bottom end should be good.

[feistl]

Normally I'd say don't put too much into an older car, but the VY SS wagons are pretty rare and hold their value.
how good are you with the tools? It's actually a pretty easy job to drop the engine/gearbox and relatively inexpensive to replace all the gaskets, seals etc.
if you have to pay someone, it's a different story though.

[BLACK 346]

Normally I'd say don't put too much into an older car, but the VY SS wagons are pretty rare and hold their value.

According to Unique cars mag only 250 made in Black or Red.

[Micks]

Reckon most you speak of doing can be done with motor in. Sure it would be easier with it out but do able. With a simple jig inner guard to inner guard you can lift the LS1 in a VY sufficient enough to remove the sump. If a rear main is required then gearbox out but pretty straight forward job. Also with the engine lifted & sump off will give you greater access to the steering gear to identify that leak too. Sing out if you need any service manuals to do the job have LS1's here & can send you the pdf's. Good luck with it.

[black_friday]

According to Unique cars mag only 250 made in Black or Red.

And even less in manual Seeing as they arent making sportswagons in manual thats gotta be a bonus right?

Mick I I'll take you up on that offer of the pdf if thats ok. Can u PM it on here or do you need a private email address?

Ive gently broached the subject with the minister of finance and she didnt flip out at the money so it could be on the cards sometime next year. I think the cam might wear out and need replacing by then

Id love to tackle it myself but a lack of time and ability might get in the way...I'd hate to get halfway through and realise I'm in over my head!

Thanks for the replies fellas

[IJ.]

Or you could get someone to do the job for you

[black_friday]

Or you could get someone to do the job for you

I'll keep that in mind mate!

[IJ.]

Reading your post it sounds like it isn't going to be till early next year? If so that could work

[Smashfist]

If you send it to IJ it will come back AWD and supercharged

[black_friday]

Yeah no rush at this stage. I'd probably have to do it around some time off work so possibly not before mid year

[Micks]

If you send it to IJ it will come back AWD and supercharged

That would be of interest to the Blue Screen