how reliable is a L98 vz ss thunder engine? and how to make it more reliable?

[losh1971]

A mechanical inspection is very wise if the owner agrees. I know you're keen on getting another Thunder but don't let your heart rule your head. If you end up buying one you just have to get it at a reasonable price, because you're likely going to need to dump a fair amount of coin on one getting it up to scratch. Also remember Covid Tax is finished and the price of most V8s including HSV's have come down. So a VZ Thunder, which is nothing overly special really is around a $15k car in this current market and one with known problems, probably less.

 

[lout]

just haunt all the sites
carsales, facebook, autotrader, carsguide
took me nearly a year to find my low km adventra

 

[Drawnnite]

There's a bunch of them on carsales right now. Depends on where you are but there are plenty in the lower to mid 20s with alot less kms.
You're better off spending a few thou more on something with half the kms. and looking at the condition of them rather than just price.

Have a Thunder myself (L98 M6) and there hasn't been any cause for concern, but its more just a weekender. probably spent 6-9 months back in 2018/9 looking for what I wanted.
Kept tabs on the prices of them over a few years, back in 18/19 they were in the 15-25k range. Went up to 25-35k around 21/22/23 and seem to have gone back to 20-30k for similar stuff recently. Obviously there are anomalies in that, but thats roughly the guide ive kept tabs on.

If you are going to End up dailying something it'll need regular maintenance anyway, both preventative and reactive.
The more you look the more you'll find in terms of what shows up as bad.

When I looked at mine the bloke opened the bonnet and hands went on the headers to show I would hear it from cold. Wasn't hiding anything that way.
Might be something to consider, what common problems are found and what to look for in the LS series. Common issues or mods that show things have gone wrong.
Rattles and noises can mean something and often the more kms the more likely they will be there.

And hopefully if you hold out you'll find Exactly what you want without compromising.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Hi everyone, i'm currently looking at a 06 vz ss thunder as a daily and i've been trying to find post and forums that tell you or show you recommended upgrades for a l98 motor and haven't had the easiest time. the motor does have slight lifter tick on start up and if your idealing for a fair couple of minutes it starts ticking but the owner has said that a new oil pump 18% volume would do the job, has about 270,000k's on it. any advice on what parts i should look into to try and make the motor last longer? / make it more reliable then what it currently is. cheers everyonje

It’s probably sold now.

 

[J_D 2.0]

The L98 is the engine to have for reliability as it doesn’t have all the cylinder deactivation shitfuckery to make it unreliable.

As Losh said though if it’s got lifter problems walk away unless you can get it for an absolute red hot price. The lifters are one of the weak points in nearly all the LS engines and because they made the lifters captive beneath the heads it’s basically a full top end rebuild if lifters need replacing.

If it’s only got a tick then it might not be lifters as plenty of other things can make a tick. If it’s squeezing then run screaming from the building as it’s probably wiped the cam. Although again there are plenty of other things that can squeak too. A professional inspection preferably by someone who knows LS engines is probably a wise idea.

 

[gtrboyy]

Car will be at the stage as it gets to 300k mark where owner has to decide if better off to sell or be prepared to rebuild expensive parts of car...


More common to be lifters/cam than needing an oil pump unless it has low oil pressure.


vz 6.0ltr are getting old now so getting to stage where you're either going to buy cheaper one & end up doing alot of work or buy an expensive one that has already had the work done or modified.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Having driven a lot of different new cars over the last two years, another next week, I would hands down rebuild an older car over what you get with new cars. They are junk (All manufacturers) and nothing like the older cars.

Driving a Mazda CX8 at the moment and it’s rubbish. Gutless. Hole in the exhaust somewhere already. Little bits of oil under the car. Radio and CarPlay is heavily distracting to use.

We pick up a new car again next week and can only hope like hell we get a good one.

If I could get the time, I would rebuild an Adventra LX8 for far less money than a new car. I’d add Birds Eye camera feature and CarPlay, over buying a new SUV. You would have a far superior car. It’s something more reliable and easier to fix than anything new.

 

[Fu Manchu]

The LS is a beautiful motor.

 

[J_D 2.0]

The LS is a beautiful motor.

The only real downside is the captive lifters. If it would have been been made with the lifters under the valley plate like the iron lion it would be the ducks nuts.

 

[J_D 2.0]

Hole in the exhaust somewhere already.

No, pretty sure the Mazda Skyactive engines just sound like that. My mum has a Mazda 3 and it sounds like it’s got a hole in the exhaust, but it doesn’t.