454. Vortec max miles you would go?

[andy396]

i know this is an older post but look a newby used the search feature, any special maintenance for engines with those mileages? I bought a 454 Vortec from a truck that supposedly had 180k when the roof was damaged and the guy used parts for another truck. just wondering if there is anything I should do before swapping into a truck?

If you do some searching here and at fullsizechevy you'll find some great info on the L29 7.4L. What you should do all depends on your tolerance for issues. At 180k it'll likely use some oil. If that will bother you a full rebuild is required.

I would say at the very least F & R crankshaft seals (possibly with a repair sleeve), FP regulator, water pump, check distributor drive gear, and upgrade the injectors if they're still the originals.

Next level might be to check compression and depending on the answer, measure the crank journals, regrind if out of tolerance, replace the bearings, oil pump and timing chain. It'll still burn oil the same but less likely to fail completely.

After that, full rebuild.



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[Jeffro87]

Ran mine from new(ISH) , nothing but delco filter and mobil1 to 165k, open up for rebuild and the gods shined on me. Engine was not even tarnished. No cylinder or valve wear. Not even piston rocking. Good even compression. These motors are fantastic with good maintenance.

 

[rcm9364]

Hope I'm not bothering anyone replying to an old post but I'll add my two cents. My grandma bought an 01 Suburban brand new and its still going strong at 260k. I know its the smaller V8 but it is a Vortec. It made me a believer. I bought a 96 5.7 at 153k and daily drive it: 40k in 2 years and no problems. Now the fun... I love the Vortec platform so much I stumbled across a pretty straight single owner (kinda) 99 crew cab SRW 1 ton with a 454 and 321k miles for 800 dollars. (800!!!) I couldn't pass it up. At that price I couldn't pass it up. Wouldn't start but replaced starter, has been running strong for another 10k with no signs of stopping. As long as they're well kept, these are some of the best engines. Period.

 

[Koast]

In February I bought a 98 suburban 2500 from an older gentleman who was the original owner kept it in his garage never park it outside. The interior looks almost new. It has 200k with 454/4l80e and 14 bolt full floater rear axle. Doesn't leak any fluids and one of the biggest selling points for me is that it has the manual shift four wheel drive instead of the push button which I'm not a fan of. I honestly believe this truck will make it to 300,000.

 

[Marbo]

Hah. My 1997 yukon GT, vortec 5.7, just cracked 600K. May get around to an oil change "shortly".... it drips but don't smoke.

 

[98chevy2500SS]

600k miles?! No way, that's awesome! We need pics

 

[smdk2500]

600k miles?! No way, that's awesome! We need pics

im betting its kilometers sine he is in canada but it is still impressive.

 

[98chevy2500SS]

im betting its kilometers sine he is in canada but it is still impressive.

Oooh ok, did not see he was in Canada. Looks like it converts to about 373k miles. It is impressive, indeed.

 

[Aparke4]

269k on my 1996 k2500... no smoke, great oil pressure but drips... power steering box and pump work but leak under/ near pitman arm. Also lots of oil drips- looks like rear main is culprit and valve covers need to be done. Recently changed trans fluid- tranny looked great! Shifts strong. Motor pepped up with black bear tune.

Any advice on valve cover gaskets? Looks like not much fun... just did oil pressure sensor and plugs/ wires and you want to talk about feeling it out/ out of sight LOL- especially with 4.5 inches of lift. That was not fun- need to do accel distributor to round oil accel wires, NGK iridium plugs and accel coil. More fun!

 

[Charles Myers]

Mine had 302,000 on before I rebuilt it. Still ran pretty good.