engine life expectancy

My 88' has 175,000 on it now and I have given it a hard life, I bought it with something like 150,000 on it. She still runs strong with the original T-5 that has seen better days. I'm rebuilding the tranny within the next month or so.

...Ron

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I'll weigh in on this one. Well maintained is key. Every "V8 GM" engine I have owned ran fine without major engine work past 250,000 miles until they were sold (with the exception of one plastic timing gear). Wife's caddy still goes from oil change to oil change without using a quart and it has over 275K miles on it. These engines, if properly maintained, will wear a body out before they need overhaul. (Charles will probably weigh in on the reliability of the V6's *g*). "Well maintained" is misunderstood by some people. Most people think it only means: change the oil every 3000 miles and keep good sparkplugs in it. It means certain conditions must never have been allowed to occur.

1. Never have been run overtemp with low coolant level or without antifreeze.
2. Never have been run with a "dirt leak" in the air intake system.
3. Never have been run in over-rich fuel condition for long periods.
4. Never have been run over 6000 miles on any one change of oil, or major wrong weight of oil used.
5. Never have been run overspeed in excess of 100% manufacturers redline RPM for any length of time. If these conditions are avoided the V8 will survive the rest. If you think the 89 has never been subjected to any of these conditions, buy it and worry more about when to overhaul the transmission. p.s. the order of these just happens to be causes of "premature death" order from personal "auto-psies".

What can need replacement is the alternator, water pump, fuel pump, hoses, belts, the heater core maybe on its last legs, the same with the radiator. If there is a distributor, the bushings could be going. Timing chain.

But, these are all replaceable. My brother has a heavy duty Chevy (350

Good luck.