my car is a F***ing P.O.S. Everythings gone wrong and ive replaced the motor and lateley I had tranny trouble and its regulary maintained and it still dont run right and now its smoking because its leaking somewhere and I dont want to spend the money Im sick of it. I cant wait to sell it I have put over 3500 into it in AFTERMARKET not including regular maintance. Everything is the best I can get and yet its still not running worth a ****. What year is good for the C4s. Please someone help me. Im going to a local dealer monday to look Thanks for the help guys. Youve all been awesome with helping me with this hopeless case

 

Every year has its pros and cons. As with any car, the newer models are most improved and the lower mile cars usually require less. Neither is a rule though. 86 was not a terrible year. 20 year old cars can be a pain in the d1ck though. If you need trans help, let me know. I am getting better at them

 

Sorry to hear about all the problems. Wish I could wave a magic wand and fix it for you. If you are serious trade for a 96 with the LT4 if you can find and afford one. Good Luck to You.

 

Ive spent 30k over the last 3 years on mine and couldnt be happier. good luck to you.

 

You might just a bad egg, or maybe you went the wrong way to throw parts at problems that might have started small originally, which happens with people sometime.

On that note, I' owned my C4 corvette for 11years and has been the msot reliable car I've ever owned.

 

i think the bottom line is that you can fork over tons of money for a top of the line motor these days.. and forget the rest of your car is still so old.

 

well, you've got a twenty year old car. look on the bright side. there are two major components that at some time will need changing. you've already replaced one. now you've just got to replace the other.

you can get a cheap, i hope well built auto tranny from mad dog on the net. i'm looking at your profile, and you say you're in n.c.. mad dog is florida, and if you drive down there, you can pick up one of his trannys for around $500. now i'm looking at your posts, you were complaining about a tranny oil leak. have you found where it is coming from. now i'm no expert on finding tranny leaks, but calm down, put the car on some reliable jack stands, wipe the tranny clean, start it up and look for leaks. the tranny has a sealed case, and (i believe) a blow out valve on the top, an oil pan and gasket, and two lines running to the radiator. it has to be leaking from the valve on the top, the lines going in, the pan gasket, or from one of the ends. if it is from the top, you've probably just over-filled the case. if it's leaking from the lines, just try tightening them up--but take it easy cause' the case is aluminum. if they are leaking and tight, take them off and retighten them, and if they still leak, teflon tape maybe all you need, or re-flare the end of the line. if it is leaking from the pan gasket--just replace it. if the tranny is leaking from one of the ends, then it is probably just a seal. on the back-end you've got the output seal and you won't have to pull the tranny to fix that. if it is leaking from the front, i believe you will have to pull the tranny for that one, but were just talking about your labor and a ten dollar seal.
as i remember, the leak was your only tranny symptom--you may not need a new tranny at all.

i can't tell how many miles are on your car from your profile, but it looks like you slapped a lot of expensive after market mods on the car and the engine went south. i hope you didn't know the engine would need replacing before you spent the money on non-essential performance upgrades and bling. anyway, you spent the money on performance mods, and then the motor went out. the exhaust is still viable, the intake transfered to the new motor. the wheels didn't stop rolling. the money wasn't wasted--if you're not floating in cash--being in school i doubt it, then it's unfortunate that the motor didn't go out before you did the mods, but that's o.k.. you were going to do the upgrades anyway, or you wouldn't have done them in the first place.

everything you've paid for and are going to pay for are things that people who plan on keeping an 86 get--new motor, trans and performance upgrades. they've probably just happened too close together for you and caused a great deal of stress.

just calm down. i'll tell you what we used to tell ourselves and each other in recon when things got hot--don't spaz. the hotter things get the cooler you need to be. calm down, keep your head and find the problem. this is a test. not the kind you're used too, but a real life test of your ability to cope under pressure, and you can pass it.

find out exactly where the leak is coming from and go back and look at your last tranny post and read the advice on it. if you need to: repost your problem and the specific place the tranny is leaking from while also telling people your situation--you're in school and you need help. we understand you need extra help in your situation. but people can't give you the help you need if you don't fill out your profile--be specific. put in your age, the exact mods and products, the car mileage, transmission type, what kind of rebuilt motor you put in with what is in it e.g. stock rebuild.

good luck and get with it. find someone around you to help with tools and mechanical know how. draw on your local resources--family and friends. if you want to, you can p.m. me for more help.


froggy.

 

Wow a long time Vette owner. Made it all the way since February? You either bought a poorly maintained beat up car or there is another issue. Best of luck on a new car.

 

Though there may be some disagreement as far as the best year for C4's, i would say it's the '96, as GM had 12 years to update and fix the C4's various problems. Good luck in selling your vette and in your new search.

 

I hate corvettes too, with my experience, had 2 engines and 3 tranny's in just barely 1 1/2 year is quite a bit, if u own a corvette u must have a garage+tools+time oh some spare money too, if u dont have all the above than pl sell ur corvette and buy a nissan 350Z period, i had a tough time to keep it as i dont have time, no garage plus no tools oh working 7 days a week to keep up paying corvette tax (cant work 8 days in a week) , but damn its hard to get rid of it, its addiction just like my cigarrettes, but at the end i feel like a LION already tasted blood now got addicted to it but damn its hard to kill something to taste blood again. Oh god i dont know what iam gonna do it with corvettes they are so addiction.

 

Well, I'm on my third, of course from C4 up they've become a little more challenging for me with FI, computerized engines, and other things
that challenge the grey matter. First, I've only had one that was my sole daily driver, that was the first, a 62.I'm not really sure if a vette or any other car that is say 20 years old is a good choice for a DD. But,
they do allow us to own a very nice machine at a very reasonable price.The question is-are you up to the challenge?

 

sorry to hear your troubles. my 88 has been an excellent car.

 

are you sure sammy? dont u mean, you have to find the proper guys to fix your car? if you lived in toronto, it would of been fixed right the first time.

 

I can relate to being in school and your corvette breaks down or something unforseen happens.
However when life gives you lemons...MAKE LEMONADE!!!
I bought sn '89 auto coupe with 40000 miles on it, however the car sat from 94 until 2001 (divorce battle) when it was shipped to Dallas where it became my baby.
Now all I knew at the time was that I loved the Corvette but had no clue about maintenance that had been done or what needed to be done to the car.
Over the years I have grown older and wiser and read every tech article there is to read out there for everything. So now at 25 I can say that I have no problem trouble shooting issues or fixen my car myself. My car now has 112000 miles on it and I will never sell it.

Moral of this ramble...these are old cars...old american cars...good news is they are really easy to work on if you are not afraid of them.
Use the internet for parts, the articles are very detailed, Haynes Manuel will become your bible. And for the love of god check this forum often. These guys are awsome, anything you need let them know and chances are you will get way more info than you'll need.

These guys will back me up when I say that when you work on the car yourself you enjoy it alot more than if you send it somewhere to let them do it. Plus you have all that money left over from the saved labor.

Kevs_L98

 

Yup, if he was within driving distance of North east pa, I could guarantee the same thing.

 

It's very easy to forget that ALL of the car is old, not just the two or three components that are shot at this moment. Old cars can be money pits.
I sympathize with the issue, but we can't be naive about this: new tires won't make the shocks act like factory-fresh, new clutch fluid won't make the clutch's friction plate like new, and a new trick motor won't make the trans all good again (in fact, a fresh motor will probably exacerbate issues with old driveline components)

Hang in there if your heart will let you and soon the whole car will be good again. If you can't put up with it, then sell and buy a C4 that is better shape...they ARE out there.
Good luck and keep us informed on what you are doing.

Larry
code5coupe

 

I can relate to your frustrations, I bought my C4 when I was a sophmore in college and quickly learned that when you put reair bills on your credit card...you still have to pay for them later. So I learned all that I could about my car and now I cringe at the thought of taking it to a shop for anything.
Use the internet for tech questions, buy a haynes repair manual and for the love of be nice to the guys on this forum, they are great wells of C4 knowledge just waiting to spring forth advice and other helpful information...(wow that way to poetic for this place )

Kevs_L98

 

I don't care what it is. If it has t*t's or tires and is 20 years old, you will have troubles.
I love that line

 

Its a love/hate relationship with C4 either u hate or love it, but its the name, torque, and classic style when runs good put a big grin on ur chin, so keep the chin up. To be honest u need a C5 but thier parts are damn expensive dont talk about mods on C5 that will break loose ur pocket in first gear.

 

I can relate to your frustrations, I bought my C4 when I was a sophmore in college and quickly learned that when you put reair bills on your credit card...you still have to pay for them later. So I learned all that I could about my car and now I cringe at the thought of taking it to a shop for anything.
Use the internet for tech questions, buy a haynes repair manual and for the love of be nice to the guys on this forum, they are great wells of C4 knowledge just waiting to spring forth advice and other helpful information...(wow that way to poetic for this place )

Kevs_L98