LT-1 engine

Jim Staruk

Jim Staruk

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I thought this was talked about before but a search on "LT-1" turned up nothing. What's everyone's opinion of the Corvette engine used in Cadillacs between 1994 and 1996? Should I look for a professional car from those years or run from them? I was told they are very reliable and gas efficient.
 
lt1

Jim Staruk said:
I thought this was talked about before but a search on "LT-1" turned up nothing. What's everyone's opinion of the Corvette engine used in Cadillacs between 1994 and 1996? Should I look for a professional car from those years or run from them? I was told they are very reliable and gas efficient.
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Jim they are very dependable my caprice with the lt1 gets 26 mpg on the freeway


Russ
 
I had a 96 Impala SS with basically the same engine. From what I remember when I was running with that crowd, the main thing to be concerned with is the water pump and Optispark distributor. If I remember correctly, the water pump is prone to leaking over time, and it sits directly above the Optispark. When it leaks the water gets into the Optispark and makes it go bad, and it is a rather expensive part to replace.

Other than that I don't remember any major problems with the engine. There was some issue with the wrong (or badly designed) gasket being used with the rearend cover, which prevented the axle bearings(?) from being lubricated properly and failing. There was some debate as to whether it was a real issue, but the gasket itself is easy to replace. The bearings not so much.
 
We had hearses, limousines and sedans with the LT1 engine. All were good cars...now we have the the northstar engines in our cars.....UGG
 
Elmo (the gold limo) is a 1994 and has the LT1, and gets around 21 miles a gallon on the highway. We had him loaded down in Philadelphia at the New Jersey meet, ran around in traffic, etc and I think it still got around 16 or 17. I got the car in March of 2008 and it had around 43,000 miles on it, I think it has around 60,000 now. I would go look, but 'Mo is still in police custody in Indiana.... I haven't had any trouble that I can think of, other than one of the fans went out and it overheated on the way back from New York. Car runs great. And it's alot of fun looking at the expressions on people's face when I say it has a "Corvette engine". I think they don't believe me....
 
Everyone's comments are right on, great on gas, haul's butt, very dependable, cheap to maintain, no real issues except for what Todd said but this is not a common issue. Out of the hundreds of these I have seen or had or been at dealership only had one with issue Todd mentioned but it had over 200k when it went. Don't know of a better engine. That comment reminds me of what my mechanic told me once. "customer ask him why GM quit making engine like the 283 and 327 being they were also very good, he said GM needed something of less quality so they could get more money working on their cars".:071:
 
In a heartbeat!

The LT1 is one of the best engines ever built, I'd say. If you take care of them, they seem to run forever, efficiently, with lots of power and smoothness.

A little story I'll share: I recently stumbled upon a 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate wagon that my dad special ordered new. Couldn't believe it; was 200 miles from my hometown and I happen upon our old car! I knew it was dad's based on the tinted windows and cell phone antenna that was still on the rear window.

I scoped the car out till the owners returned. I asked, "You don't happen to be from Detroit Lakes, do you?"

"Why yes we are!" they replied, to which I asked, "Do you know Dave Karsnia?"

"We sure do! In fact, this used to be his car!"

Like I said, we were 200 miles away from DL...small world!

They turned out to be people I knew from years ago and we had a wonderful visit. The car is still going strong with 221,000 miles on it. They say it runs and drives excellent and is still serviced at the Buick dealer in my hometown where my dad ordered it new.
 

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a PCS member has a Buick hearse with this engine and last I knew it was pushing very close to 400,000 miles and still running strong, although the tranny wore out, and last I knew he was waiting to get it fixed.
 
Those engine's no matter what type of vehicle they are in are total sleeper's very fast. and alot can be done to them.
 
I've got one of the LT-1 cars, a 94 Roadmaster wagon that we've put 60k on and we absolutely love it. We've had to replace a radiator, a water pump, and since we have the Dynaride suspension, we had to replace the compressor for it. Other wise, a great car.

My hearse is a 95 Roadmaster with the LT-1 and it's been great, as well. Plenty of power, smooth, quiet. Not so many miles, but still a joy to drive. The coachwork however... (Eureka! I found the rust!)
 
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