I am installing new heads and cam on my 91 5.0 gt w/ 120k miles. I had a mechanic tell me today that if I didn't get a new bottom half to go along with it that it was a waste of money.
Is this true?
Zack
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"God will not have his will made manifest by cowards" -- Emerson
Well, it depends. Most main bearings and rings are only good till somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 miles determined by how regularly the oil is changed and how hard the engine is run over it's lifetime. So "waste of money" is a phrase that is relative to what YOUR engine condition is. You may do what you're suggesting only to have to tear it back apart soon after to replace the bottom end stuff... or it could last a long time with no problems.I, being a person to leave nothing to chance, would rebuild the whole engine, but many have done a "half" build with success. This is your choice and many will have different opinions... good luck.
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Being a "car freak" is NOT a hobby... it's an ILLNESS and if anyone has the cure... I don't want it!!
If your car is running good now and your paying for labor, in my opinion i would just put on the heads and cam and not worry about the rest for now. Heads and cam can be installed while engine still in car, if they pull it, labor will be crazy. Now if your doing it yourself then i would definitaly build the bottom end also. Like stated above these engines can last a very long time and some not so long. I had a 91 with over 225k on stock engine and it ran great, did not even smoke. After you pay for labor to completely rebuild one you can just about purchase a built engine already, but then if you don't have the know how you would still have to pay to install.
My car ran great and i kept the bottomend stock, they are build well from the factory
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89 2.3 Turbo, 82 T-Top Notch 5.0, 86 LX T-Top 5.0 roller and 86 GT Black in and out with Gt 40X Heads, Smoothed Engine Bay, Battery in Trunk, SLP's, Bolt-on's
I've got a stock bottom end with 150,000 miles and it still runs strong. Do a compression check on yours and go from there... Check out my setup in my sig. I race every weekend at my local track too.
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ORIGINAL: dubarado
I love how the S197 owners on MF are known as retards.