My LT1 Corvette had a design problem with the Opti spark. Water pump goes, it would take the Opti spark with it. Couldn't get engine wet because you might mess up the Opti spark. What special problems are there with the LS1 engines? I'm looking for a 2002 Z28 and would like a heads up - Thanks - Later, JPC

 

Piston slap.

 

LS1s can use a bit of oil also.

 

mine never loses oil.. All engines USE oil..
im at 91K miles now.. no issues thus far. Only change oil when the light comes on (btw 7K-13K miles).

 

Cold piston slap, if it goes away in a few minutes of running it's not a problem.
Pushrods are the weak link in the valve train. Any overreving as in shifting from 3rd to 2nd at WOT will bend them. Normal driving even red line shifts will not usually hurt them.
PCV system needs to be watched. If an LS1 suddenly starts using lots of oil then the PCV valve needs to be changed.

 

Not much.

The 01s used a little more oil than any other year, but any kind of oil-consumption can be cured with an LS6-style PCV and valley cover

 

Just like GM took the C4 Corvettes, fixed pretty much every "problem" with them, and created the C5 (which is an amazing car, and far superior to the C4's) GM took everything they knew about building small-block V8's, everything they'd learned about fuel injection, and then they "re-invented it" and made it better!! The LS1, and every successor thereafter (LS6/2/7) is a great engine, with very few problems. The guys pretty much highlighted the most common "quirks", but that's about the extent of it.

Out of the box, they're very fast, and they respond VERY well to mods. Even my Dad, who is about as old-school as they come, has been extremely impressed by the performance of my '02 Z28 (and even his '00 Sierra pick-up, with the 5.3L that's a Gen-III small-block like the LS1 is) and he says the next engine that ever goes into his '73 Camaro will be a new generation SBC .

 

I have owned two LT1 fourthgens and three LS1 fourthgens; both have pros and cons. Overall I prefer the LS1, but on a max effort car, do not believe it matters which one you start with.