I'm looking to buy a 92-95 vette coupe 6 speed, What should I look out for? What are the big problems with these cars.
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The only thing that concerned me when I purchased mine was the optispark and water pump are known to go around 60k-70K miles. There has been so much written about this that I think I could change it myself and save the big GM bill. Other than that the rule seems to be to buy the newest C4 you can afford, they made some nice changes over the years and each one seems to be more reliable. I will say I love my 93 and have only had to put a starter on it.

 

no problems with my 95 coupe 70+K(knock on wood) :D

 

The Optispark problems were solved by 95. That is the reason I got my 95, instead of a 94. I am sure the fokes with 94's might have something to add. ;)

 

:iagree:

 

I don't feel so fortunate. :( My Opti went @ 25,000 miles and so did the water pump. :mad The majority of the bearings in the pump were gone and the Opti was throwing codes.

Most times you will recognize a bad Opti by bucking, sputtering and shaking. Codes should also be thrown by a bad Opti. My water pump gave no indication that it was on it's way out.

At the same time I had the Opti/water pump done, I also had the plugs and wires replaced since it's easier to do at the same time. Total cost with labor = $1,200.00. :eek:

Never take running water to an Opti equipped motor. The Opti is very sensitive to moisture, and GM strategically placed it directly beneath the water pump. :skep: :nono:

 

I had mine go on a stretch of Skyline Drive, sort of an inconvenience to get towed off a mountain and wait two days for a repair. The GM replacement was only warranteed for 12 months.

But, Dynotech has a billet aluminum replacement for the 92-94 model in Beta testing right now. I plan to buy one of them as soon as I can, and put it on to solve the problem forever. I hear that Accel is also working on a billet opti replacement, so that will be an excellent part. If you bought the part and had a good shop install it for you it would probably total $1000.

Just put aside the money for a good aftermarket replacement opti and there is no other maintenance issue with the 92-94 Lt1 cars.

That being said, the steady engineering changes from 92 to 94 might be worth considering. The 93 has 10 lb/ft more torque than the 92. The changes to the sequential injection for 94 add up to drivability improvements, especially with the automatic, tighter shift points that you can feel SOP according to the articles at the time.

But SOP implies a good seat, and the 93 is the last year for the really "fit like a glove" sport seats. My 94 seat is comfortable, but I would say that the early seats are part of the C4 jet cockpit experience.

I bought mine from a private owner who was extremely proud of how clean the oil and engine internals were. I just had top end work done and the inside of the engine at 80K miles was perfect, no wear at all. I would be very choosy about what kind of owner I bought the car from. I would go private and not a dealer. These cars are old enough now that owner care really does matter.

I have a 94 and love it, but if I had to do it again I would buy a 93 for the sport seats, or if I could afford it a 96 for the LT4 engine.




[Modified by 94lt1torchred, 3:12 PM 2/27/2003]

 

These are great cars. It's true the opti can go out. One other thing is oil leaks from the intake manifold (front or rear). Also, before buying any Vette I would get it up in the air (BY SOME WHO KNOWS HOW!) and look for damage underneath. I think many people do not know how to put these cars on a rack (i.e. quik lube joints and backyard mechanics). There can be damage done to footwells and you name it because somebody didn't take the time to do it right. When it's up in the air you can look for oil leaks around the engine. If they are there, it's going to cost you to replace gaskets or seals.

Greg

 

I had my water pump go out at 28,000. If you can do it yourself, it will cost less than $300. If you pay for it, it will cost around $700-800. Other than that, the car is great on parts! I have extra $$ to spend on mods because of that.

 

they never solved them, thus the term OPTISUCK. i have a 96, have replaced my optispark already. Humidity and rain are their enemies.

 

{knock on wood} I've avoided the opti-curse so far.... :blueangel:

I've had my '93 for 3 1/2 years now (just passed 97K miles) and I've had to rebuild the starter, replace the water pump (caught it weeping just before it really blew....talk about lucky!), converted the A/C to R134, and have done a complete brake job (upgraded to GS parts/specs). I also had the ignition cylinder go bad on me...that was the one time I had to take it to a dealer for repairs. Oh yeah, recently had the Bose head unit refurbished by Dr. Don's.

For 3 1/2 years of daily driving, I'd say that all of the above is pretty much regular/expected maintenance. It has been quite reliable. :)

 

My 92 had the starter go around 40K, but the odd one was the computer just went wacky a few years ago. The car would idle at 2K rpm all the time, like it was real cold outside. Since its a 6spd, I would launch it all the time. It was the computer and $200 later, it was fine.

 

Don't forget the LT-1 intake manofold oil leak. Got our '96 last fall with 8K on it. Yes, the intake was leaking. Took me about eight hours to fix it but it's ok now.
It was an adhesion problem likely caused by poor surface cleaning at the factory. The RTV fell off when I removed the intake.

I'm now replacing the auto trans shifter cable because it is suddenly taking alot more muscle to pull it though from park to drive to 1st. It probably failed because the car has sat unused for so long.

 

i think the opti going out is over done, i really dont think its as bad as its made out to be.

 

The only other item I can think of is morning sickness. I had to replace the steering gear and rack in my 96. It had something to do with the seals being bad and letting dirt get into the assembly. I thought all C4's could have that problem?

John

 

Usually around 70K the water pump goes out, and that gets the distributor wet. More times than not it will ruin the distributor, and that's a costly thing when you must replace both, and both cost alot! I got lucky with mine when the water pump went out and my Optispark was spared. 1994 got passenger side air bags. 1996 is more or less the same as 1995, with very minor changes. 1995 and 1996 had standard big brakes (ZR1 brakes or J55 option)on all models. 1993-1996 have 10 more ft lbs of torque than the 1992. Check the weatherstripping, especially around the rear glass. It tends to seperate at the corners over time, and that's a great place for water to get in. I should know, I've had it split since I bought it a while back. :smash:

Your best bet is to buy the newest, best conditioned 'vette that meets ALL of your expectations. Save yourself the grief of catching the fever and buying one if it has a few things you don't want. There are so many out there that it's not even funny. More than enough that are perfect for what you're looking for. Don't make concessions in what you want. One will come along. :cheers:


[Modified by GDP, 9:28 PM 2/27/2003]

 

My '95 is just great...the only problem I had 3 days after I bought it was the ignition switch on the steering colum...I was told that this switch usually goes around 50k...some less some more....but chevrolet replaced mine for nothing...so I have no complaints...I also got a 4 year 50k mile warranty for almost all parts and repairs except clutch, shocks, brake pads,, etc.(normal wear items)...everything else including H2O pump, a/c, optispark, all computers and bearings, etc. are covered... :D...

 

I've only owned my '94 since June of 2002, but it had 80,000 or so on it when I bought it. It just turned over to 101,000. It's the original opti-spark on the car. Runs great. Just a little oil drip coming from the tranny seal. I get about one to two drips every other day or so. Other than that my 94 is good to go. I'm not replacing that dangOpti until I have to. It's hard enough to see the dang thing let alone get tools down there!!! :jester

 

You have the car I want except I want a coupe

 

I am curious to why you are not inquiring about the 1996 models?

Is there something I should be concerned specifically about the 96?