Folks, as promised, I am copied over my report from the analysis from my automotive repair shop. The Vette is new to me. It is a Black 95 LT1 with 157K miles.

The list is a very, very discouraging one. I did ask for a complete write up from them and I got one. I have a gameplan below and I welcome comment from the experienced gurus here.

Since I paid $7K for the car, I was a realist going in. I did hope for better on the report. She still drives great. Well, here is the list.......


1. Brakes - Front 70% worn, Rear 95% worn, rear rotors are too thin to machine.

2. Shocks - Left front and rear shocks show sign of leakage.

3. Engine/Transmission Leaks - Value Cover Gasket, Intake Gasket, Rear Main Seal, Oil Pan Gasket, Front Crank Gasket, Transmission Pan Gasket, Trans Tailshaft Gasket. (odd, the only sign of leaks I saw was a quarter size spot on the floor overnight)

4. Stored Codes - 32 EGR System, 67 A/C System Pressure, 78 Fan Control A/O.

5. Battery Good 730 CCA, Battery Voltage 12.55V, Available current 761 CCA, 104% capacity

6. Starter - Good 11.5v cranking voltage min 10.61V

7. Alternator - Good Charging 13.93v. Amp output was inaccurate from machine - said it was charging 230 amps

8. Front of radiator needs to be cleaned - foreign matter stuck on radiator fins.

9. Mode select for vents are inoperative - system is stuck on defrost and floor.

10. Radio antenna mast is broken - will not retract.

11. Keyless remote is inoperative. (darn, just bought that too)

12. Weather stripping around rear glass is broken. Window weather stripping is dry/cracking.

13. While flushing cooling system temp guage would go up to 260. the cooling fans would never cycle on. vehicle has 3 cooling fan relays and two of them have wires taped into them.

14. "A/C system inoperative. Its cooling fan came on but the compressor did not. A/C clutch cleaner is out of spec (.5mm and clutch gap is .9mm) May need new A/C compressor and clutch. Need new high side schrader valve and new high side line. This is just the starting point. Other problems could be present."

15. The interior needs work, I know that, it shows its age. Saw that as a future project.


Well folks that's the list. I see that I need to focus on the colling fan issue first, the intake gasket second, the brakes third. The shop said about $2K to fix these three items. The AC can wait.

Should I consider an engine overhall?

One shop representative said I should consider getting rid of the car. Other did not.

Shop all repairs could be about $6K.

Thoughts to all of this welcomed.

I still like to drive the car. I am worried about driving it (long trips) to far with the intake gasket issue. Should I be???? The shop was really stressing that.

 

I assume it is not a daily driver so with that in mind, I would say that you have yourself a nice project car. These guys can get your baby running good as new if not better. Alot of us have had the dreaded intake leak. I had the leak on the garage floor as mentioned and the only thing I did was park the car in the same spot so as not to make a bigger spot. I recall reading about guys who had the leak and it would smoke as they were coming/during racing. Just add more oil until you get it fixed. IF you do alot of the work yourself it shouldn't be too bad and in fact it is one way to get to know your car a little better. My 94 was/is my project car and you know what? I would rather drive it than any of my other vettes because it makes me feel like I did something everytime I make a repair. As stated earlier, tackle each of te problems you can and you will save quite a bit of money. Most of these guys on here will know more and tell you the truth about what is wrong with your car.

 

Well, I drive it to and from the airport weekly. total 100 miles, then when I want to need to. I work on out of town client sites. So, in a way it is my transportation when needed and my cruise car on weekends.

I was thnking of driving my daughter and myself from Atlanta and Nashville and back over the weekend. Now, I am re-considering using the Vette for that.

 

It doesn't seem all that bad compared to what you paid. #1, #2, #8 on your list are regular maint items anyway and might need to be replaced on any car with over 50K miles on it.

On # 3 the tough ones are the intake manifold gasked and the rear main seel.
The valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket and tranny pan gasket you ought to be able to do yourself. In fact the only one that would effect drivability is the intake manafold gasket.

To fix all these things should not cost you $6K but I'll let Bogus or sammi chime in with their opinions.

 

Major question... Are you willing to do a bunch of the work yourself?

The following from your list, I have done myself (and I ain't no mechanic...) and enjoyed it (I also arranged them in what I would imagine to be priority):

1. Brakes - Medium to easy

2. Shocks - Easy

3. While flushing cooling system temp guage would go up to 260. the cooling fans would never cycle on. vehicle has 3 cooling fan relays and two of them have wires taped into them - This is probably related to the code. I think this can be figured out. Wonder if the guy set it up so that you manually operate the fans?

3. Engine/Transmission Leaks -
Value Cover Gasket - Easy
Intake Gasket - MediumRear Main Seal - Very hard
Oil Pan Gasket - Medium
Front Crank Gasket - Hard
Transmission Pan Gasket - You should have the trans serviced anyway
Trans Tailshaft Gasket - ?

4. Stored Codes -
32 EGR System - Medium to easy
67 A/C System Pressure - Professional required
78 Fan Control A/O - Shouldn't be bad

8. Front of radiator needs to be cleaned - Medium (gotta pull a lot of stuff apart to get at is)

9. Mode select for vents are inoperative - ?

10. Radio antenna mast is broken - will not retract - ?

11. Keyless remote is inoperative. (darn, just bought that too) - I'm not sure I would believe the mechanic on this one... Do you have a manual?

12. Weather stripping around rear glass is broken. Window weather stripping is dry/cracking - Medium

14. "A/C system inoperative. Its cooling fan came on but the compressor did not. A/C clutch cleaner is out of spec (.5mm and clutch gap is .9mm) May need new A/C compressor and clutch. Need new high side schrader valve and new high side line. This is just the starting point. Other problems could be present." - Professional required

15. The interior needs work, I know that, it shows its age. Saw that as a future project - medium to tediuous

This doesn't seem to horrible overall... If you do a bunch of this, you will learn ALOT about the car...

Good luck

 

Do you trust this facility?Some of it sounds a little high.If you don't
have or don't know a mechanic you can trust then bring it to KY.
We're only 5 hours away.Not trying to drum up any work,but you won't
get screwed here & it will be repaired right & at a reasonable price.Or
if you can then fix all you can yourself & then bring it.I hate seeing
people getting screwed by any shop or mechanic.No brag just fact.And
no i'm not soliciting work just trying to help.

 

It sounds like you made a good buy. You do know how to eat an elephant, don't you? One bite at a time. What *I* would do is first, order a FSM (Factory Service Manual). After that I would pick up the front and rear pads, rear rotors, and go after the safety issue, first. I tend to minimize the value of shocks, but they are a safety item and go hand in hand with the brakes.

Next, I would clean the engine the best I could without getting any liquid near the opti spark distributor and change the intake manifold and valve cover gaskets. From there you should better be able to see if all the reported leaks, REALLY exist.

Somewhere, early on, I would do a thorough flush of the cooling system and pull the radiator to clean out in front of it. It wouldn't hurt to send the rad to a radiator shop for a flow test and a general inspection, just to play it safe. After that I would tackle the codes. You can have a heck of a lot of fun and an immense feeling of satisfaction, not to mention saving a fortune, in doing it yourself. Don't consider it an obligation, but an opportunity. Who knows, you just might pick up some automotive knowledge, along the way.

RACE ON!!!

 

It really is a pretty cool hobby... You get to the point that you won't trust anyone else to work on it.

 

The post informing you to buy the FSM is about the best information you can get. I bought one and it is amazing just how comfortable you feel working on the car. I find myself just skimming through it sometimes just to see what I can do to the car. The book will pay for itself with the money you save from doing some of the maintenance yourself. And it does sound like you got a great deal on the car!

 

Sounds like a thorough inspection. They're probably hoping you'll take it there for all of it too.

Some of the leaks may not be that big a deal, and some are hard to identify. An intake leak might look like valve covers oil pan and rear main.

Even if they are all must-fixes, most of those tough ones can be done in one shot during a clutch job. How many miles on the clutch?

 

I'd tackle the brakes 1st. I went to www.rockauto.com and got my rotors there, they sell pads as well and have many choices and reasonable prices. The shocks have many choices and you can go with KYBs for less than $150 a set (I think), to OEM Bilsteins for $80 each. These 2 projects are straight forward and relatively easy if you have the tools and the desire.
The cooling issue puzzles me, be sure you are checking the digital guage for the coolant temp and not the analog guage as it is inaccurate on many cars. There are 2 coolant sensors, one on the waterpump and one on the pass side head. The cooling system can have a spike in temp when flushing it because air pockets can get trapped and it takes a cycle or two of heating the engine up to clear it out and/or "burping" the system. There is lots of info here on these subjects.
I wouldn't worry about the oil leaks if you only see a small spot on the floor.
You bought a fixer-upper, these issues can be handled easily, it seems, and reasonably if you want to do the work yourself. Having a shop do all these repairs will leave your wallet empty and take away the "I got a deal" feeling of a 7k vette.