It will be soon time for me to rebuild my engine due to the 195k MILES / 315k KMS. I have heard that rebuilding an LSJ engine is easy to do (provided you have the right tools and have some mechanical sense) Is this a true statement?

 

Depends how mechanically inclined you are. If you have to ask, then I'd probably let someone else do it

 

a buddy and i rebuilt mine. its wasn't too bad really. the parts get pricey if you go part for part though. get a good digital torque wrench, follow the specs, get a build book and haynes manual, feel free to read my build thread there's lots of pictures in there along the way of my journey

 

I should have provide more details. I have done may brake jobs and did my own Brembo conversion. I've removed both front and rear bumpers and reinstalled them. Put in my dual pass. Replaced the rad.

 

Ok, how comfortable are you with dealing with timing in an engine? This is really the "hardest" part if you're inexperienced..

 

This is a little more advanced. A little bit

 

I thought your engine was still stock with the keyway extended

 

there is a lot to rebuilding an engine if your using aftermarket or stock parts rings need to be filed clearances need to be checked the bore more then likely will be out of spec so will it get resleeved or bored if bored.010 is max to bore stock sleeves you will need to remove all oil galley and such once all machine work is done you will need to protect the bores and use a pressure washer to was the inside and oil galleys out and so on its way more in depth then a brake swap

 

I would say that is the "least hardest" part of the job. A beginner isnt going to understand how components go together properly. Such as bearing clearances, piston ring gaps, clocking the rings, orientation of the cylinder head gasket, measuring the deck of the block and head, honing the block, etc etc etc.

 

Is your car currently running good? Good compression in all the cylinders?

If so, why even mess with it, unless you are planning a performance build for more power.

You def have a lot of miles, but if the car is trouble free, I wouldnt dick around with it.

 

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball...
If you can change your brakes, you can build a motor...

AmIRight?

 

This. Stock, even high mileage lsjs can take a beating.

 

I know the LSJ's can take a beating but I figure since I plan to keep the car for a LOOONG time it is on my list of things to do to the car.

I haven't done a compression test but I was thinking of doing that as well.

The plan is to bring the car to a shop that I deal with and work on it there with experienced mechanics since they have the know how and all the tools.

 

And yes I plan to do a performance build somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 Ish WHP installing a meth injection system.

 

350 ish whp isn't much of a performance build in which the stock high mileage motor can still handle it.

We're at that # with 140k on the clock and doing fine. Only issue is blow by. So if your compression is good and you determine the rings are fine, leave it be.

 

if you having blow by problems things are not well

 

Agreed

Dreaming

Agreed.

 

LSJ get a lot of issues at high mileage with oil in the intake , faulty PVC valves, and with hard laminova core seals particularly if the h/e system has been run dry /low for extended periods of time which happens with the stock t bottle set up ;people are not good refilling it... And 350 on s TVS ? You will be fortunate indeed to get there and you won't be getting more than 20,000 miles out of it IF you made your dream of 350. So good luck with it. You gonna be spending big money to do it right for not a lot of reliability

 

Thanks for everyone's input.