Long term reliability of the 5BW LT4 unmodified

[bamagrad03]

Given the direction automakers are going (though seemingly that direction has slowed), of going away from V8s, it seems like the current iteration of the 5BW isn't going to be in production too much longer.

For those of us who want to hold onto these cars, but also drive them as dailies, I wonder what the long term reliability of these will look like.

Is 3-400k miles on one of these an unreasonable hope?

 

[Deneed4spd]

Given the direction automakers are going (though seemingly that direction has slowed), of going away from V8s, it seems like the current iteration of the 5BW isn't going to be in production too much longer.

For those of us who want to hold onto these cars, but also drive them as dailies, I wonder what the long term reliability of these will look like.

Is 3-400k miles on one of these an unreasonable hope?

300-400k miles?? Let me know of any car that goes that far without replacing majority of parts.

 

[CBH]

Loads of questions like that. A search should bring them up.

I wouldn't worry. The Chevy LS V8 is one of the best selling engines of all time. There will always be parts for it.

Someone has already replaced their magnaride struts and shocks, and they were much cheaper than I expected. That's what I was worried about, so I was happy to see they're not crazy expensive now.

I've never approached 400K miles in any vehicle I've ever owned, so that's hard to predict. The closest I ever got was 200K on my 2003 Suburban. It took us 13 years to accumulate that many miles, but I drive nowhere near that much any more. The truck had one alternator replacement, and 3 transmission replacements. Only had to do the brakes one time.

 

[XjonesX]

300-400k miles?? Let me know of any car that goes that far without replacing majority of parts.

Well, I don't know about majority..., but my original survivor 86 camino has 358,000 miles on the original trans and motor.
Maintenance is the true key to longevity.
Now grant you...., I've replaced a lot of auxiliary equipment. (Alt,battery, water pump, fuel pump, air pump, ect)
If it "Pumped", I replaced it. Things just wear out after a while, and you have no choice to replace them.
Do I suspect I'll get 300,000 miles on my BW? Probably not...., I'm a lot harder on the BW, and if I make it to 150,000 miles on it,
at that point I will have it rebuilt with some new powerful internals to give me a bit more HP.
My BW is a daily, and I average about 60 miles a day on it.

 

[jbawden]

I see loads of vehicles with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. A friend as a fleet of Duramax and they all have over 500k miles on the original engine and trans (and he tows skid steers all over northern CA). Every Crown Vic I've been in as a taxi have huge miles. The idea that 100k or 200k is the end of life on original drivetrain parts on a modern car is nonsense. Agree that maintenance is key as well as how and where you drive.

 

[5VBW Nick]

Loads of questions like that. A search should bring them up.

I wouldn't worry. The Chevy LS V8 is one of the best selling engines of all time. There will always be parts for it.

Someone has already replaced their magnaride struts and shocks, and they were much cheaper than I expected. That's what I was worried about, so I was happy to see they're not crazy expensive now.

I've never approached 400K miles in any vehicle I've ever owned, so that's hard to predict. The closest I ever got was 200K on my 2003 Suburban. It took us 13 years to accumulate that many miles, but I drive nowhere near that much any more. The truck had one alternator replacement, and 3 transmission replacements. Only had to do the brakes one time.

How is possible to have nearly 200k miles and 1 brake replacement??

 

[MookdocOE]

300-400k miles?? Let me know of any car that goes that far without replacing majority of parts.

If your interested I have a GM V-8 about 250k Never been opened? Will probably blow past 300k with 100% driveline original. Here's the kicker? You sitting down? I have active fuel management too! I know it's a hard pill to swallow......

 

[MookdocOE]

Well, I don't know about majority..., but my original survivor 86 camino has 358,000 miles on the original trans and motor.
Maintenance is the true key to longevity.
Now grant you...., I've replaced a lot of auxiliary equipment. (Alt,battery, water pump, fuel pump, air pump, ect)
If it "Pumped", I replaced it. Things just wear out after a while, and you have no choice to replace them.
Do I suspect I'll get 300,000 miles on my BW? Probably not...., I'm a lot harder on the BW, and if I make it to 150,000 miles on it,
at that point I will have it rebuilt with some new powerful internals to give me a bit more HP.
My BW is a daily, and I average about 60 miles a day on it.

Nice work mate on that El' Camino! Love those pretty much any year~!

 

[MookdocOE]

How is possible to have nearly 200k miles and 1 brake replacement??

Pretty simple really? I have seen many of fleet GM 1500's get 150-180k plus with original brake pads. It's called driving and lots of it!

 

[bamagrad03]

Pretty simple really? I have seen many of fleet GM 1500's get 150-180k plus with original brake pads. It's called driving and lots of it!

I was going to say. I bet that requires a lot of highway miles.

 

[GTANotch88]

Stuff definitely lasts longer now. My work has a '13 tahoe with the 5.3l over 225k miles and my work '14 silverado 5.3l is pushing 260k. Also an '04 ram with the 5.7 hemi up to 318k. Yes they all have their issues but still running everyday. The tahoe just needs #7 sparkplug changed annually.

 

[MookdocOE]

I was going to say. I bet that requires a lot of highway miles.

Yup, pretty much driven to jobsites hours away.

 

[FLYARMY]

1967 Cadillac deVille convertible. 204,000 miles plus. Yeah, the original engine and tranny have been rebuilt a couple of times. Only because they had alot miles over the years. Never rebuilt because of an issue. Bought new in 1967 for $5700.

 

[VBhak]

Given the direction automakers are going (though seemingly that direction has slowed), of going away from V8s, it seems like the current iteration of the 5BW isn't going to be in production too much longer.

For those of us who want to hold onto these cars, but also drive them as dailies, I wonder what the long term reliability of these will look like.

Is 3-400k miles on one of these an unreasonable hope?

I had a 2016 V3 which had a slighted detuned version of the Blackwing LT4. I daily drove her in Phoenix, put on ~76,000 miles without a powertrain issue. Did have small electric issues (temperature sensor, CUE screen, warped brake rotors x 2, etc) but none with the powertrain.

 

[Super Saloon]

Given the direction automakers are going (though seemingly that direction has slowed), of going away from V8s, it seems like the current iteration of the 5BW isn't going to be in production too much longer.

For those of us who want to hold onto these cars, but also drive them as dailies, I wonder what the long term reliability of these will look like.

Is 3-400k miles on one of these an unreasonable hope?

The owner will be the single biggest factor in determining how long the car will last. Driving style and maintenance will be huge factors, along with how much money you are willing to spend. How many miles a year do you drive, do you actually anticipate driving 300K-400K miles? I put about 10K miles between my two cars each year. It would take me 30 or 40 years to reach that mileage. I would be more worried about the car making it to 100K miles (which I’m not) as very few people actually put this many miles on their personal vehicles. The car has also not been in production long enough for anyone to give you any real world data points.

 

[Finally-a-V]

I think the bigger issue with (almost) any vehicle today isn't the engine or tranny long term, it's all the electronics and computers crapping out. If you're talking 400K miles, how many years is that? 10? 15? 20? I think you'll still be able to get parts and pieces, but a new electronic dash? A new ECM? New climate control unit? IDK

 

[CBH]

Yeah, those OEM brake pads were amazing. When they did finally go, I actually bought the exact same pads from the dealer.

 

[rdollie]

Yeah, those OEM brake pads were amazing. When they did finally go, I actually bought the exact same pads from the dealer.

I buy them at RockAuto, typically a lot less and install myself (I don't know of a dealer that will use parts they didn't order even if it's in the same OEM boxes.)

 

[FLYARMY]

My brother in law is currently driving a 2000 Chevy Tahoe. It is coming up on 600,000 miles ! It is a piece of garbage and all he does is keep throwing money into it to keep it running. The guy is a financial moron . He has 1.6 mil in his annuity and just retired after 40 years of union truck driving. He is in horrible health and weighs 360 pounds. I keep telling him that he should go out and buy a new truck, because he is not long for this world.

 

[MookdocOE]

My brother in law is currently driving a 2000 Chevy Tahoe. It is coming up on 600,000 miles ! It is a piece of garbage and all he does is keep throwing money into it to keep it running. The guy is a financial moron . He has 1.6 mil in his annuity and just retired after 40 years of union truck driving. He is in horrible health and weighs 360 pounds. I keep telling him that he should go out and buy a new truck, because he is not long for this world.

It's funny the ones not long for this world end up with having the most fun!