Engine Longgevity? and other questions.

[dan winchester]

It has been interesting reading all of the different mail the past week
since I joined the list. The responses have been terrific with tons of
useful information.

I have owned my '78 GMC for 17 years and have had excellent service with
only one break down on the road when the transmission failed in Canada.
Even then It got us home but I had to find a new transmission since we
toasted that one.

My concern now is that we are up to 90k miles on the engine and even
though everything performs flawlessly today there is increasing worry every
time we travel as to whether this will be the trip that the engine decides
it has had enough of pulling a motor home around.

How many miles should I expect to get from the 403 engine and what types of
failures do people usually experience with high mileage engines? i.e.
catastrophic or increased oil burning and other things that give you
thousands of miles of warning.

Are there some preventative measures that are mandatory to avoid
catastrophic failure.

I have a 455 in the garage from a 74 toronado that I have considered
rebuilding to have available but a rebuilt engine sitting in an unheated
area can suffer sever damage and if I do have a catastrophic failure away
from home there are significant logistical problems in acquiring the
rebuilt engine and getting it installed at some remote location.

What are the gatcha's in converting to a 455 from the 403. Is the toronodo
455 intake manifold and exhaust manifolds usable or do the 403's move
across. How about the carburetor, distributor, generator etc.

 

[edgar t. kremer]

Dan, I have 188,000 miles on my 455. I have owned the coach for 14
years.
Nothing has ever been done to the engine except normal maintenance.
It runs beautifully. How long can it go???????? Yours is just broken in.

Edgar

>
> My concern now is that we are up to 90k miles on the engine and even
> though everything performs flawlessly today there is increasing worry every
> time we travel as to whether this will be the trip that the engine decides
> it has had enough of pulling a motor home around.
>
> How many miles should I expect to get from the 403 engine and what types of
> failures do people usually experience with high mileage engines? i.e.
> catastrophic or increased oil burning and other things that give you
> thousands of miles of warning.

 

[sharyn p nasca]

Hi Dan,
We had our 77 Kingsley [around 70,000 mi] for 6 months when the engine went
kaputz. It seems that we hit a piece of board that went through the oil
cooler line. That was a very expensive thing...I don't think you can really
figure out how long you have before financial ruin strikes (c:
Sharyn
- -----Original Message-----

To: gmcmotorhome
Date: Sunday, November 08, 1998 5:04 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: Engine Longgevity? and other questions.

>>
>> My concern now is that we are up to 90k miles on the engine and even
>> though everything performs flawlessly today there is increasing worry
every
>> time we travel as to whether this will be the trip that the engine
decides
>> it has had enough of pulling a motor home around.
>>
>> How many miles should I expect to get from the 403 engine and what types
of
>> failures do people usually experience with high mileage engines? i.e.
>> catastrophic or increased oil burning and other things that give you
>> thousands of miles of warning.

 

[thomas g. warner]

How could you not know that the oil cooler line had been severed? Doesn't
your engine have an oil pressure gauge?
Cheap insurance for the engine and transmission is a full set of gauges with
audible alarms that foreward serious damage.

>Hi Dan,
>We had our 77 Kingsley [around 70,000 mi] for 6 months when the engine went
>kaputz. It seems that we hit a piece of board that went through the oil
>cooler line. That was a very expensive thing...I don't think you can really
>figure out how long you have before financial ruin strikes (c:
>Sharyn
>-----Original Message-----
>
>To: gmcmotorhome
>Date: Sunday, November 08, 1998 5:04 PM
>Subject: Re: GMC: Engine Longgevity? and other questions.
>
>

>>>
>>> My concern now is that we are up to 90k miles on the engine and even
>>> though everything performs flawlessly today there is increasing worry
>every
>>> time we travel as to whether this will be the trip that the engine
>decides
>>> it has had enough of pulling a motor home around.
>>>
>>> How many miles should I expect to get from the 403 engine and what types
>of
>>> failures do people usually experience with high mileage engines? i.e.
>>> catastrophic or increased oil burning and other things that give you
>>> thousands of miles of warning.
>
>
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach