Some of you have followed my thread, "Finally Bought a Vette..." and know that I recently became the owner of a 1986 White coupe. The day I bought it, I took it back to the dealer because the car stalled on me 5 times.

After a week of tests (and 2 different mechanics) the fuel pump was identified as the issue. Mind you, prior to buying the car, it had the spark plugs, spark wires, distributor cap all replaced. Now the fuel pump and filter replaced. It drove fine for a week after I got it back.

This week I intended to finally get all fluids & filters flushed & redone when the car starts acting weird. After driving on the interstate, "Service Engine Soon" light hits and the car makes a strange ticking sound while moving - like when a playing card flaps against a bicycle wheel. It had a burning/chemical-y smell from the driver's side of the engine (exterior smelled, not interior).

Next day when I start it, white smoke blows out of the exhaust. Only upon startup, but the car still smells bad. Like chemical/coolant smell and strong gas smell. Coolant level looks low but the info system isn't warning me yet. Oil doesn't look milky but car has a small puddle after driving. *summon eye-rolls*



I'm thoroughly annoyed. I knew buying an older car meant it would require updates, but come on. I've barely been able to drive it. Now I'm worried I have a busted head gasket after paying a premium for a car I thought had been repaired. I don't even know if I can afford to pay to fix the head gasket after dropping all the cash on purchasing the car itself. Is this typical? Do these cars break down a lot, or what??

 

You should be able to do a head gasket yourself. No need to pay someone, unless you don't have tools. And if you don't have tools, instead of paying someone, use the money to buy some tools.

If you think a head gasket job on a car is a nightmare, try dealing with one on a diesel. I baby my Duramax (meaning don't run the engine hard before it warms up, let it sit and idle down, don't push the Horsepower Up Button on the computer to the level it could lift the heads) as I have one of the ones that were before a design change to the head gaskets.

I could go buy that 94 M6 out by Youngstown for what it costs to pay a shop to do them. $5000.00 minimum. If you go with ARP studs instead of GM's crappy torque to yield bolts, the parts alone are $1000.00'ish and that is if you don't break something taking it apart.

And yes I have done SBC head gaskets. Not a big deal. Just read the directions and ask for help if need be. And if you invest in a good set of tools, fixing the rest of the issues that pop up won't be such an ordeal.

 

I hope I don't sound like a dick...but I think your reality and the reality of owning a 31 year old 'Vette are in totally different places.

What leads you to believe the "car had been repaired" when you bought it?

Yeah, this is probably pretty typical. It's not typical for MY car...but I'm totally on top of my own car's maintenance...I KNOW what is going on w/it all the time and as a consequence, I end up repairing it before it breaks.

The reality is, you either need to be well funded to pay for an old car's maintenance, or you have to get intimate w/it, and do it all yourself.

Sorry that you're having troubles...my recommendation is to roll up your sleeves and have a relationship w/your own car.


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I know this doesn't help, but EVERY time I take my Vette out I expect it to break, I beat on the car...if it breaks it breaks. When it breaks, replace it with better stronger parts ! These cars are old and if not kept up with will run into problems, not sure if you ever looked at the thread on my 84 that I sent you but that car was a mess, things constantly breaking. I've never understood paying a premium for a car that has sat and has low miles, THOSE are the ones that break in my opinion, but everyone has a different experience obviously.

 

I understand that a lot of Corvette owners are their own mechanics, and that's well and good, but it will probably never be me. I bought the car to drive and enjoy, not to become an amateur mechanic. I don't even know how to change my own oil (though I've been learning things by watching tutorials on YT). I'm willing to learn some things, but it's a lot easier said than done to just "roll up your sleeves and dig in there" when you cant tell half of the engine components apart from one another. I'm starting from absolute square 1 with regard to mechanical knowledge.


Like I said, I expected the car would need work because I get that it's a 31 year old car. But I was told by the dealership I bought it from that it had been through a mechanical reconditioning process and I knew about the spark plug/wiring work. So now the car has 2, possibly a 3rd major repair and I've owned it for three weeks. That's why I'm pissy. I've driven this thing less than 10 times. I didn't expect it to break down every single week the first month of ownership. I thought I could get at least 1 season in before the major repairs started. This would be a different story if I'd bought it from an honest seller for an honest price as a "fixer upper."

 

I think that you need to be well funded and/or have a mechanic friend. No offense intended at all; my Mom is into brass era cars; she has a 1910 Hupmobile and a 1910 Hudson...both of which she just wants to drive and enjoy. She is no mechanic. She calls me about mechanical troubles, I try to coach her through them...some times I can, some times she doesn't have the patience and she takes it to her guy. The costs of some of these repairs blows my mind. IDK how she affords it, but she is option #2; well funded, apparently.



What I've read in this thread isn't a "mechanical reconditioning process"...it's the bare minimum of a tune up. I'd take up that wording with the dealership. Unless there is a LOT more involved with what they've done to the car, that borders on false advertising. If is was mechanically reconditioned, were they confident enough to provide a warranty on it?



You got the dealership experience, unfortunately.

See if you can buy a Carmax or similar used car warranty; then you costs will be fixed/managed and you can enjoy the car more, perhaps.

 

Owning a 31 yr old car that you have to pay someone else to work on is a recipe for disaster. I would not trust a used car dealer as far as I could throw them, but it is possible that they did not know about the problems. Stuff breaks, and does not always give a warning sign before it does. Take all this as an opportunity to learn something new, and spend some quality time in the garage with you new car. Good luck.

 

Sorry you're having bigger than normal issues. But for the most part, you need to understand you bought a 31 year old car with 90,000 miles on it. That's a lot of time and a lot of miles.... no matter how you slice it. Factor in its a sports car that might have been driven like a sports car could be... AND you bought it from a dealer... your chances of problems increases.

Its always a crap shoot when buying an older car, even more so with a Corvette... I've had 8 now, and I know things needed attention on all of them.

I used to turn wrenches for a living, so I wasn't really afraid of repairs. I'm now older and really don't want any major repairs to deal with. I bought a 34,000 mile 86 last month... from a Forum Member like pretty much all of my Vettes. The car was in as advertised condition (excellent).... That said, even with the low miles, I needed to do brakes, valve cover gaskets and shocks (this week), I know it will also need fuel injectors soon.... Its just the nature of the beast. Old cars = $$$

You need to do some foot work before buying one of these cars. Ask the right questions and read allot about the different trials and tribulations of others who've been through it.

You're in now.... so either you will need to start learning how to turn wrenches and buy some tools, or pay to fix it, sell it and cut your loses... Old Corvettes aren't for everyone. If you do sell it, I would consider a C5. LS engines are much newer and there are shops that will be able to diagnose and work on them.

Good Luck with whatever you do....

 

I should have known better than to trust a dealership, but I figured I could hold them accountable to their reputation. They did take care of the fuel pump situation. If it truly is a blown head gasket they will hear from me again. I feel like they would have known about that, especially if they are claiming to have reconditioned it.

I'm waiting to see what a mechanic says when I take my car to one on Wednesday. I'm worried this thing will be in the shop more than I get to drive it. I wanted a daily driver (for non-winter use of course). Maybe it just has a lot of neglected areas to address before its back to being relatively "normal."

If I'd bought a $5,000 car under the presumption that I needed to tackle lots of repairs, that would be more fair in my mind. If I'd bought what I would have considered the "perfect" Vette, it was pristine and pretty and "worth it," then that would also be a different story. But this is honestly not the most special Corvette out there, and I'm annoyed that it's going to be a money pit when it never fully crossed everything off my wish list.

 

Cut your loses and sell the car.

 

I bought my car new in 1990 and it has been very reliable. I have stayed on top of everything so it is still pretty good after 27 years. The car was 10 years old before something actually broke and that was my injectors. The most difficult problem to solve and repair was the clutch and master and slave clutch cylinders. Recently we have been doing little repairs that we can tackle on the car and that has saved me and my friend some money. He has a 1987 and his runs pretty good too. I should note that it helps when you have friends nearby who have similar cars. We both worked at the same Honda motorcycle shop in the service department, he was a mechanic there and I assembled bikes so we have some mechanical knowledge. My policy is drive a car 10 years or 200,000 miles, which ever comes first, the exception to that rule has been my 1990 Corvette.

 

Seriously, You never know what to expect from a 31 year old car. Just cause it has pretty paint and interior does not mean it's in top mechanical condition. What kind of a joke of a dealership did you buy it from ? Did you even test drive it for more than a mile ? You need to see what the lemon law is in your state. If you have only driven it a few miles and you are looking at bad fuel pump. blown head gaskets, ses lights popping on. Honestly those lights are not meant to pop on right away if they have been reset. The system will learn the problem in a few miles, then pop on. Why are you seeing other mechanics, go back to the dealership you bought it from. If they have a good rep, they just might work with you especially if you have only put a few miles on it.

Next time you buy a used car. take it on a good test drive. For all that **** to happen within three weeks and not many miles, I bet something was wrong before you even cranked it up.

 

Well, I'm jumping the gun by assuming it's something as bad/costly as head gasket. The car never overheated. I also read it could be valve covers (?) or something to that effect. I'm really just venting because I'd rather be out driving the car than sitting on my butt complaining.

The day I bought, I test drove the car for a couple of hours. It was fine during that test drive. I was confident enough in it to plop down the cash for the car. The dealer isn't super reputable and is a used-car-only place. Their mechanic was kind of a jerk but I guess it would send a message if I brought the car back in again... ha.



I felt bad for ******* on my car so I did the bare-minimum of "repairs" and tightened all the loose phillips screws in the car. That much I know how to do. Turns out the components near the hatch were loose and preventing it from releasing, so now that's fixed. I imagine it will squeak and rattle a tiny bit less from my interior tightening. It is special to me because it's finally my first Vette, as much of a problem child as it seems to be....

I'll just have to put up the funds the repairs require and get a FSM in the meantime. Big picture is I got the biggest cost -the initial purchase- out of the way. The first thing I bought for the car was its build sheet, guess I had my priorities mixed up. Time to watch some YT videos and learn....

 

Sorry for your inconvenience. Try to look at the bright side, it may be nothing serious; it may be serious and an opportunity to learn; it may be an expensive less to learn. No matter what, you are a Corvette owner. Its not a car, its a way of life.

 

I know the feeling. The EXACT same thing happened to me, with my "OMZ!! Totally rebuilt motor!!!" (The one thing I wasn't supposed to have to fix.) Which had almost no compression on 3 cylinders.

There's three options.

1) Fix it.

2) Dump it.

3) Make lemonade with life's lemons, like mom used to tell us.

If you wanna do the third, it's a great opportunity to add a cam and some heads.

I put these on mine and I like them a lot.







http://sdparts.com/i-23896057-sdpc-s...baseplate.html



Also, a set of rebuilt injectors from FIC.

It's a 30 year old car and it's not running good even when you think it is.

I know it is disappointing, (Trust me on meandering aimlessly through the C4 stages of grief!) but if you take the opportunity to do some upgrades and fix it better than new, then you can really enjoy it!

I'm thrilled now.. But I sure wasn't that afternoon I was sitting there with it blowing coolant everywhere.

 

I know its a drive but I would be happy to help you get your Corvette up and running again. You can me pm or call me and I'll offer advice on solutions and repairs. I agree that a premium paid for a C4 should get you a nice mostly trouble free example.

Every C4 I buy does need work. I prefer it that way so that I can sort the car out and get it where I want and learn the car thoroughly. The current one I own gave me a little buyers remorse after the initial purchase but I really like the car now and enjoy driving it. I still want another 84, but the 86 fills my heart.

The C4's are generally pretty reliable as long as the maintenance is kept up and the fluids checked. It sounds to me like your car does need some attention. Whatever I can do to help let me know. The C4 is a fantastic car and its really a bummer to see your first C4 breaking on you. If you do sell this car and buy another one in the future, buy from someone that collects them and maintains them. A true Corvette enthusiast.

 

I bought a 20 yr old car last July with 11,800 miles on it. Even these (low mileage cars) have their little (and sometimes not so little) issues due to sitting and age. I am ordering a set of rear wheel bearings tomorrow, the ones in the car are making noise. There is a radiator in the back room (the one in it has a pin hole leak) and other parts also to go into the car. Old radiators with plastic side tanks are a problem waiting to happen especially in a climate such as Ohio (even though it was a sunny day, it was cold and we had frost last night, I did get to drive the car a bit, so the tanks expand and contract a lot more than say the folks who live down south).

Unless you are a wealthy person, unless you learn to fix it yourself (there are a few things that you need specialized equipment for, such as servicing an AC system, alignments (for the most part) and would pay someone to do) you might as well cut your losses now and trade it in on a c5 or newer vehicle that is going to take less maintenance.

No one above is being a d*ck saying that. It is just the truth.

BUT learning to work on the cars is not that hard, unless you have a mental block that you can't or won't do it.

 

Same here. I do transmission and driveline for a living, (Not a Vette mechanic) but I'm about an hour east of you, and if I can answer questions or help in any way, just PM me and I will try to get you through it to the best of my ability.

I hate to see you stuck.

 

Thanks for offering up the help, mazdaverx7 and confab. I'll keep you in mind. I definitely intend to stay very on-top of maintenance, fluids, filters, etc now that the car is mine. I will learn how to do those things by myself over time. My Vette will be treated very well.. Ideally it will be a car I keep for a long time. I want a 2nd one, even in spite of my troubles.


I think I have found a one-of-a-kind mechanic that I can trust who won't bankrupt me. My cousin out of town is also a mechanic, so if the guy I'm taking it to this week fails me, I'll drive up to my cousin's shop next. Hopefully he won't bankrupt me either . I also understand the value of paying for a service. Yeah, you can do things by yourself but if you don't know what you're doing, is it really a good idea?

If I had any experience whatsoever working on cars, then I would totally hop out in my garage and get to tinkering. Of the last 3 cars I've owned, I never once looked at the engine/popped the hood. Didn't need to. I have never opened the oil cap on an engine until I checked mine on my Corvette the other day. I had to google what oil is supposed to look like. I don't know anything!!


If I'd had the money to afford a C5, C6, C7 I might have considered it. Perhaps when I no longer have a lease as my DD, draining my bank account, I'll consider a more expensive/newer Vette that I can get a loan for. But I don't like the C5 body style, never have, and the C6 is not much different to me. It will be quite some time before I can afford a C7. I've always loved the C4 and still do.

 

These are car's at the end of the day, I learned a lot working on my 84 with little to no knowledge, you can get a ton of tools for cheap at harbor freight. Everything is on youtube, what does it matter if you break something that's already broken? That's the way i see it. Fluids are pretty easy, Oil is a bolt and filling it back up, anyone can do it!