'93 LS400, looking for some advice.

[rad_rob]

Hey d00ds, I'm new here to the forum, and am looking for a little advice. I recently purchased a '93 LS400 and have decided I want to give it some TLC. The car has 200k on the odometer, and runs a little rough at times. The car is in fairly rough shape, but that's part of the fun in restoring a car I guess. haha. Anyways, I've decided I am going to start with the engine/trans. What do you guys think would be the best route? Rebuilding, or replacing? The motor thats in there now definitely needs some attention, so I will either be doing a complete rebuild, or buying another motor to drop in its place. Right now I am leaning towards replacing. As for the transmission, I want to rebuild it to be safe. As far as I know, this thing hasn't gotten much attention over the years, so I want to either rebuild it or replace it. What do you guys think would be the better way to go?

If I were to rebuild, what do you think I would be looking at roughly cost wise for parts, all the labor I would take care of (minus the head work).

If you were to do this to your car, what route would you go?

Thanks in advance for any advice! I'm looking forward to learning a lot from this site!

 

[XR8tt]

Atleast consider a rebuilt short / long block...
Depending on how good the heads are..
This way you know exactly what costs are..

 

[rad_rob]

Atleast consider a rebuilt short / long block...
Depending on how good the heads are..
This way you know exactly what costs are..

Well, I won't know the condition of the heads until I pull them off, but when I went to get the car smogged, the guy was telling me that he thinks one of my valves is sticking. I never really thought about just picking up a rebuilt long block, since I just figured it would be more cost effective for me to rebuild my own. Do you know a good place to check out pricing on short/long blocks? And thanks for the input!

 

[smokeyo1]

Hey fella
There a few things to consider, first of all check compression, then oil pressure, then does it burn oil IE how much oil if any do you have to add and over what period?
If your compressions are good and your oil pressure is good, and you dont burn oil, then why rebuild? it may just be injector fault or yes a valve, do these tests first to decide if a rebuild is actually necessary, If your going to take the heads off, be prepared to have them skimmed and air tested as a matter of course
Norm

 

[XR8tt]

EXACTLY just because it has hi miles doesn't mean it's stuffed..
A good service can cure alot of issues ..
Compression, blowby, and oil pressure as said above tells how well the engine is..
Loading engine up on torque converter and check blowby with either rocker cover breather off or oil filler filler cap..
Taking rocker covers off to see what condition engine is in as in carbon build up etc..
Check valve clearance if too tight which could be the issues rather than sticking valve ??? Little things like PCV and sensers may require changing / replacing..
Along with fuel filter etc .. A new engine won't cure these issues...