New here, LS questions.

[Kick]

Hey everyone, thinking about selling my 94 Seville and picking up an LS instead. I'm looking at a few online and am wondering what are the major concerns?? I hear they have the coil pack issues, what do I look for when I test drive one? Are there many red flags to look for when I go to test drive one? Thanks for the help.

 

[RodLS]

Newer the better. Just get the newest and lowest mileage you can find for your price range.

 

[Kick]

Yea my price range is about $6000 right now, looking at mostly 01 and 02's with anywhere from 90-125k miles. Anything above 140k or so I wouldn't be benefiting much over my caddys miles.

 

[pektel]

Welcome to here. Nice to see another MN member

 

[1LoudLS]

Yea my price range is about $6000 right now, looking at mostly 01 and 02's with anywhere from 90-125k miles. Anything above 140k or so I wouldn't be benefiting much over my caddys miles.

wow, they are expensive there, here is a dealer selling a 03 with 75,000 here for a little over 6k


test every thing out that you can, and make sure that it idles and drives very smooth, watch out for a big clunk when going from reverse to drive, and maybe pull off the coil covers to make sure that there isnt any oil in the wells

also be forwarned, the LS will not handle anywhere near as good in the snow as a SLS/STS

 

[Kick]

Welcome to here. Nice to see another MN member

Thanks! Look like there's a bunch, where do you guys usually meet up?

wow, they are expensive there, here is a dealer selling a 03 with 75,000 here for a little over 6k


test every thing out that you can, and make sure that it idles and drives very smooth, watch out for a big clunk when going from reverse to drive, and maybe pull off the coil covers to make sure that there isnt any oil in the wells

also be forwarned, the LS will not handle anywhere near as good in the snow as a SLS/STS

Yea they are kinda spendy, I've seen them around 4500-5000 too. I figured the LS wouldn't handle as well in the snow (although I didn't think the STS did that great, the front end was so heavy on the snow/light in the back) but that's why I have my '00 Silverado for winter haha

How would I go about pulling off a coil cover? Seems like it's a big piece of plastic under the hoods...

 

[Silver_LS]

Hey Kick, usually in the cities. I've been dropping some hints to Pektel to organize a spring meet.

Just my opinion and it might be biased... I'd go for a 2nd Gen if I were you. The 2003+.

 

[FASTLLS]

:W to :V

 

[1LoudLS]

Thanks! Look like there's a bunch, where do you guys usually meet up?


Yea they are kinda spendy, I've seen them around 4500-5000 too. I figured the LS wouldn't handle as well in the snow (although I didn't think the STS did that great, the front end was so heavy on the snow/light in the back) but that's why I have my '00 Silverado for winter haha

How would I go about pulling off a coil cover? Seems like it's a big piece of plastic under the hoods...

well the coil covers are off to each side of the motor, not 100% sure about the 1st gens but with a 2nd gen the passenger one comes off real easy with 6 or 8 7mm bolts, now the intake tube could be in the way on the earlier ones

 

[FASTLLS]

^
Correct.. I would take the intake tube off for ease.. Only hard part on the drivers side is the bolt real close to the brake booster

 

[Kick]

Hey Kick, usually in the cities. I've been dropping some hints to Pektel to organize a spring meet.

Just my opinion and it might be biased... I'd go for a 2nd Gen if I were you. The 2003+.

Yea I'd love to and all, but $$$ haha being in college isn't nice on the wallet. I'm down in Lakefield, close to Fairmont, and go to school in Brookings, SD

^
Correct.. I would take the intake tube off for ease.. Only hard part on the drivers side is the bolt real close to the brake booster

Ahh, maybe should bring my mechanic along then lol

 

[FASTLLS]

Ahh, maybe should bring my mechanic along then lol

To just get the coil covers off, it's not too awfully difficult.. For the bolt I mentioned tie a string around your arm and around the wrench so if you drop it, you don't have to spend time looking for it.. You could take it to your mechanic and have him do a 'pre-purchase' inspection..

 

[Kick]

Yea I've got all summer to find one too, or at least until I get my cadillac sold.

 

[FASTLLS]

That's cool.. Well you have time to do your research and wait for the best deal to come around..

 

[Kick]

Yea, exactly. When I bought my seville I just went to the dealer and wrote a check after a test drive. I would have never done that knowing of the Head Gasket failure rates, although mine have held up haha

 

[tireman]

Welcome to LVC

Hey,,,,I would stick to a second gen model only, without the hydraulic fan. The hydra fan is extremely expensive to fix, and you will have to fix it in the future. It's one of the major mistakes of the early models. Stay with the later models with electric fans.

 

[Kick]

The hydraulic fan is really that big of a deal? Is it expensive to convert it to electric?

 

[1LoudLS]

Hey,,,,I would stick to a second gen model only,

i would also try to find a 2nd gen, but only because there where so many little things thats where changed that make the car so much better, and more convenient.

 

[Kick]

Well I'll keep an eye out for a good deal but I don't think I can afford a 2nd gen unless it has 150k+ miles...

 

[oddball]

The hydraulic fan is really that big of a deal? Is it expensive to convert it to electric?

If it breaks, then yes, it is a big (expensive) deal. If it doesn't break, then it's not.
*shameless self-plug* Here's my fan conversion thread with lots of notes:
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=70387

In general, just read the Owner's Manual sticky thread. Tons of hints in there. Expect coil problems. Expect suspension problems. Expect window problems. Whatever you look at, have a mechanic do an eval of the car. Well worth the money. You'll need to tell them about the coil problem, though, and ask them to pull a coil cover and some of the coils to look for oil. Might charge extra for that.

 

[Kick]

Suspension problems too huh? What usually happens there? Jeez maybe I should wait until I can afford a 2nd gen lol

 

[FASTLLS]

They're just general wear items and can be fixed yourself if your savy.. Sway bar bushings that cause a clunk only cost around 20 bucks.. Lower ball joints cost some money to replace

 

[Kick]

oh well that doesn't sound so bad, I did those on my cadillac last spring. Cadillac has its own suspension problems too (can't find the sensors for leveling anymore) and struts are like 800-1000 per corner....thanks for all the answers btw, tons of help here.