Ls1/ls2 identifying traits??
#1
03-03-2009, 09:31 PM
Ls1/ls2 identifying traits??
so the girl i took to homecomings' dad has a 1996 camaro z-28 he got for free from a friend. i know for a fact its got a racing/high performance cam, full exhaust, and wastegate, along with a k&n filtercharger intake kit
heres my problem. the girls dad says that it has a LS2 engine, and was a street racing car. BUT he says they didnt swap the engine. this cant be possible because the LS2 was new in like 2004-ish.
any way i can look and see the differences between an LS1 and LS2?
he only wants $3100, so is it a good deal either way? thanks!
heres my problem. the girls dad says that it has a LS2 engine, and was a street racing car. BUT he says they didnt swap the engine. this cant be possible because the LS2 was new in like 2004-ish.
any way i can look and see the differences between an LS1 and LS2?
he only wants $3100, so is it a good deal either way? thanks!
#2
03-03-2009, 09:58 PM
You have some conflicting information going on here...
First of all, the car should have come with an LT1 since it's a 1996 car. The easiest way to tell the difference between an LT1 and an LSx series is the intake manifold. If the top of the intake manifold is aluminum or red powder coated aluminum and flat on top it has an LT series motor. If the intake manifold is flat black and tubular looking it's an LS series motor. You'll also be able to tell by the top of the heads and whether they have ignition coils on top of them or not (see pics below). Second, if the car has a wastegate that would be indicative of a turbo charged setup, which should be very easy to identify. I think you need to get all the info on the car before you go any further into this, the last thing you want is a scam.
LT1:
http://www.zorly.com/images_camaro/0...oski%20Jr..jpg
LS1:
First of all, the car should have come with an LT1 since it's a 1996 car. The easiest way to tell the difference between an LT1 and an LSx series is the intake manifold. If the top of the intake manifold is aluminum or red powder coated aluminum and flat on top it has an LT series motor. If the intake manifold is flat black and tubular looking it's an LS series motor. You'll also be able to tell by the top of the heads and whether they have ignition coils on top of them or not (see pics below). Second, if the car has a wastegate that would be indicative of a turbo charged setup, which should be very easy to identify. I think you need to get all the info on the car before you go any further into this, the last thing you want is a scam.
LT1:
http://www.zorly.com/images_camaro/0...oski%20Jr..jpg
LS1:
Last edited by 95slvrZ28; 03-04-2009 at 12:24 AM. Reason: Cut out LT1 pic to make the thread a normal size again...
#3
03-03-2009, 10:30 PM
thanks for the info/ pics. looking at it, i know for a fact its not an LT model engine. the intake manifold has the spirals on it.
its either a 96 or 98, i cant remember right now.lol. i was told by her dad(hes a car salesman at a big dealership) that it has the intake, exhaust, wastegate and cam in it. i can see the exhaust and intake so know they are there. when we start it up tomorrow, i should be able to hear the lope in it to know theres a cam. where would the wastegate be located at on the car?
i know the ls1 is a cable driven throttle body(right?), and there is a cable in the same place on this cars engine, except it has TWO cables and they are hooked up to different things. ls1's only have one cable no matter what as far as i know. could the cables be for a turbo or another mod that wasnt mentioned maybe? where would the turbo be located? i didnt think i saw one, but im not that good with the camaro engine yet.
i truthfully has no idea what to think right now. ive known the family for a while, so there arent trying to screw me. if anything got the info on it wrong.
whats the difference between an ls1 and ls2?
and thanks for the help man!!
its either a 96 or 98, i cant remember right now.lol. i was told by her dad(hes a car salesman at a big dealership) that it has the intake, exhaust, wastegate and cam in it. i can see the exhaust and intake so know they are there. when we start it up tomorrow, i should be able to hear the lope in it to know theres a cam. where would the wastegate be located at on the car?
i know the ls1 is a cable driven throttle body(right?), and there is a cable in the same place on this cars engine, except it has TWO cables and they are hooked up to different things. ls1's only have one cable no matter what as far as i know. could the cables be for a turbo or another mod that wasnt mentioned maybe? where would the turbo be located? i didnt think i saw one, but im not that good with the camaro engine yet.
i truthfully has no idea what to think right now. ive known the family for a while, so there arent trying to screw me. if anything got the info on it wrong.
whats the difference between an ls1 and ls2?
and thanks for the help man!!
#4
03-04-2009, 12:23 AM
Oh boy, you have a myriad of questions...Ok, first off, if it has the front end that looks like my car (in my sig) it's a 93-97, if it has the updated front end with the "peanut" headlights it's a 98+.
If it is turbo charged there shouldn't be any cables running to a turbo charger, some vacuum hoses, but no cables. If it truly has a turbo, and therefore has a wastegate it will depend on the turbo. Many turbos have an internal waste gate so it's not something you can actually see. If the car has an external wastegate it's going to have a separate module attached to the up pipe that bypasses the turbo (the point of a wastegate is to modulate boost by controlling how much exhaust is actually routed through the turbine housing). As far as where to look for the turbo, it would have to be a custom job. You'll either notice it in the engine bay and it will stand out like a soar thumb, or it could be a rear mounted turbo. Honestly the car probably doesn't have a turbo, it would be pretty obvious if it did. The salesman may be getting "wastegate" confused with "cut-out."
Differences between the LS1 and LS2:
LS1 is 5.7L, LS2 is 6.0L. The LS2 uses the same heads that went on the LS6, but it has a smaller cam resulting in 5HP less than an LS6 even with its larger displacement. Really there isn't going to be anything other than serial numbers on the block to identify what the car has in it.
With all of that said, I would be hesitant to purchase a car that had performance modifications. Many times performance enhancements are indicative of someone beating on the car constantly. It's not guaranteed, I personally baby my car, but there is a higher possibility. If the seller can produce receipts for all the work that has been done and parts purchased that would be a bit better, but still not great. Just my $0.02
If it is turbo charged there shouldn't be any cables running to a turbo charger, some vacuum hoses, but no cables. If it truly has a turbo, and therefore has a wastegate it will depend on the turbo. Many turbos have an internal waste gate so it's not something you can actually see. If the car has an external wastegate it's going to have a separate module attached to the up pipe that bypasses the turbo (the point of a wastegate is to modulate boost by controlling how much exhaust is actually routed through the turbine housing). As far as where to look for the turbo, it would have to be a custom job. You'll either notice it in the engine bay and it will stand out like a soar thumb, or it could be a rear mounted turbo. Honestly the car probably doesn't have a turbo, it would be pretty obvious if it did. The salesman may be getting "wastegate" confused with "cut-out."
Differences between the LS1 and LS2:
LS1 is 5.7L, LS2 is 6.0L. The LS2 uses the same heads that went on the LS6, but it has a smaller cam resulting in 5HP less than an LS6 even with its larger displacement. Really there isn't going to be anything other than serial numbers on the block to identify what the car has in it.
With all of that said, I would be hesitant to purchase a car that had performance modifications. Many times performance enhancements are indicative of someone beating on the car constantly. It's not guaranteed, I personally baby my car, but there is a higher possibility. If the seller can produce receipts for all the work that has been done and parts purchased that would be a bit better, but still not great. Just my $0.02
Last edited by 95slvrZ28; 03-04-2009 at 12:26 AM.
#5
03-04-2009, 08:06 PM
thanks for all the info. i talked with the owner today. its a 98 z28. we identified the engine as an ls1, with a 6spd manual transmission. he says it has a wastegate, but i found a thin metal peice in the glove box that is a round-triangular shape with 3 holes, and its about the size of a exhaust opening. im almost positive its a cutout cover, and it has a manual cutout. it does have a cam and full exhaust, with a k&n intake system. the body if basically perfect, only thing wrong with it is the paint is faded just a bit. it also has a 10" sub, amp, and kenwood cd player. it has t-tops too.
it has been sitting for around a year, and when jumped off started right up, very loud exhaust, sounds like its running strong. there is a rod that is knocking so the engine needs rebuilt. clear title. he is asking $3100, which i think is a little to high. if i could get him to around $2600 would it be a decent deal? it does still need an engine rebuild, but after that would make a great weekend car.
thanks for your help/opinions. im new to the chevy stuff :P
it has been sitting for around a year, and when jumped off started right up, very loud exhaust, sounds like its running strong. there is a rod that is knocking so the engine needs rebuilt. clear title. he is asking $3100, which i think is a little to high. if i could get him to around $2600 would it be a decent deal? it does still need an engine rebuild, but after that would make a great weekend car.
thanks for your help/opinions. im new to the chevy stuff :P
#6
03-04-2009, 09:23 PM
the 98 has 2 cables because the cruise control is cable controlled.
later models had 2 cables (or wires, or osmething) that run to a box off to the side, and a single cable comes out of it and hooks to the throttle body.
i say hes got an ls1. but who knows. the ls2 swap really isnt that difficult.
and lol, wastegate and cutout are 2 very different things
later models had 2 cables (or wires, or osmething) that run to a box off to the side, and a single cable comes out of it and hooks to the throttle body.
i say hes got an ls1. but who knows. the ls2 swap really isnt that difficult.
and lol, wastegate and cutout are 2 very different things
#7
03-05-2009, 02:05 PM
yea i got the casting number. its an ls1. and i know the difference between a cutout and wastegate from my dodge ram. lol
this car has the cutout, seller was wrong.
so now the question is, do i pull the string? ive got a hookup on an engine rebuild for $500, or i can build the motor for a little less then $1000.. 3k for car + less then 1k for rebuild seems pretty good to me.
what do you guys think?
this car has the cutout, seller was wrong.
so now the question is, do i pull the string? ive got a hookup on an engine rebuild for $500, or i can build the motor for a little less then $1000.. 3k for car + less then 1k for rebuild seems pretty good to me.
what do you guys think?
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