How long do Chevy engines last?

ANDY&REBECKA

MEMBER
CHEVROLET SUBURBAN

2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4WD V8 5.3 Liter; 150,000+ miles. We are in the market for a Suburban, and we have found a fully loaded 2002, for an excellent price, $5,000 less than Kelly Blue Book, even if it were in poor condition, but it has 150,000+ miles, and we need something really dependable, so I was wondering how long these Chevy engines and parts last on average? Overall have heard and read great things about the Suburban, but have also seen some problems. Guess that could be with any car? Would it be a good idea to look into rebuilding the motor, or just pay more for one with less miles and higher price? Or do Chevy's have a good reputation for building lasting engines?

Signed,
Worried Buyer

5 Replies

GARFIELD

MECHANIC
197 POSTS

That is a loaded question. First it really depends on how well the maintenance was kept up. If the maintenance was done regularly it is not uncommon for the engines to last several hundred thousand miles. I would recommend that you take the vehicle to a trusted mechanic and have then give the car a good check up including a compression check and leakdown test to really tell the condition of the engine. Do this before you buy it! Hope this helps.

Good luck,

Gary

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Friday, February 2nd, 2007 AT 5:15 AM

SERVICE WRITER

MECHANIC
9,123 POSTS

I wouldn't get totally wrapped up on the motor. There are so many other factors to consider. You can have $5000 worth of repairs needed to a car that excludes the motor.

Some important details such as maintenance records and repair records should be considered.
When was last: coolant flush, transmission filter change, tune up etc.

I would do a search on this forum for post related to the truck.

You should get this to your regular mechanic for a good general look over.

The rear brakes on these are an expensive issue, do the e-brakes hold?

I wouldn't be afraid of this truck because of the miles, unless it wasn't maintained. EArly maintenance= long life.

How much work can you or yours do on your own?

Keep in mind that fuel milage and gas prices are causing these vehicles to not move as fast. My employer just sold his for $8000, it was a 2000 and in very good condition. Book was around $11000-12000

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Friday, February 2nd, 2007 AT 5:28 AM

ANOTHERVIEW

MEMBER
20 POSTS

I will just share our experience.

We bought our 1985 Suburban (5.7L, 1/2 ton) brand new. It now has about 265k miles on it.

No work done on the engine ever--unless you count the intake manifold which was changed out due to clogging passages. Did work on the carb. Several times, and the fuel pump. No work on the block or cylinder heads. Original oil pump and timing chain--even front and rear seals.

I wish I could say that it had perfet maintenance, but that is not the case. A water pump went bad on a trip and we drove it about 100 miles like that. Also got very low on oil a few times.

As the other poster mentioned, a compression test is really a good indicator. A couple of years ago I was happy that ours tested well, still.

By the way, we had a 1997 Bonneville with a 3.8 in it. Went through three engines before we traded it last year.

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+1

Friday, March 2nd, 2007 AT 10:26 PM

SCOTTDANNY22

MEMBER
36 POSTS

I have a 2002 chevy suburban 5.3 flex ls 4x4 and I have 361000 miles on the original engine runs perfect still dosent burn oil runs just like new I have had to replace the iac intake manifold gaskets the knock sensors and the mass airflow sensor all easy diy fixes

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Saturday, July 20th, 2019 AT 2:26 AM