billschroeder5842

I picked up my new (to me) '91 ZR1 in Akron Ohio yesterday (Oct 28) at 9 am and arrived at my home near Ft Worth Texas at 1:30 am after 1183 miles. Love the power road trip and the car was fun. Drive train, trans, brakes were flawless. Really liked the was the car drove. It was a blast.

I do however have a few knits that I need to work on. I ordered all the service manuals, but they have not come in yet. I'm not sure these are easy fixes, common stuff or harbingers of crazy. Mind you the dealer told me (after exhaustive conversations) that EVERYTHING was in perfect working condition.

1) AC. Nope, nada nothing. All the vents worked and the heat came on but no cold air just vents. My guess is that the system is low on 134 and that the compressor did not come on as a fail safe? Also, the vent air speed changed with the setting but I never got that usual "WHOOSH" of air flow at the high settings like my 82? Is that normal? I actually have it at the shop getting a evac and fill even as I write.

2) Radio. Again zip. I have the Bose Gold cd/cassette and the piece turn on, channels scan, buttons work but no sound. Just a faint crackle. Is there missing fuses, amps, etc that are easy fix or is it something larger?

3) Suspension Service light. The light came on after about 150 miles for no apparent and stayed on till about 900 miles. It did go off after I used the brakes hard to avoid an idiot near Little Rock, AR. I have it set on the middle setting. Whats that about?

3) Tire pressure warning system. The light comes on after a about 15 miles and stays on unitl restart. This morning I checked the pressure (new tires) and it was 2lbs off on the front and dead even at the rear. Will 2 lbs throw the system into a fault or is there something larger going on?

All in all, I love the car, it is a one owner and I have all the docs including original bill of sale.

Thanks for the help!

Z51JEFF

The amps in the speakers are bad and most likely the lumbar bladders in the seats are toast as well. The CDM controller for the stereo goes bad in some. That's just for starters.

billschroeder5842

Both Lumbars are good.

So, there are separate amps in each speaker?

Dynomite

See Bose Speaker Amp Options TIPS

Goldcylon

If it's a 91 then it's R12 unless it's been converted. May have a bad compressor or leak. Is the green LED flashing on the HVAC head unit? Usually that's means low on freon.

ghlkal

Congrats ... it's a beauty!

And, yes, the compressor will not engage if the freon is low.

ghlkal

Mine will do something similar ... a large jolt will set it off and sometime later it goes off.

Look at Cliff's (Dynomite) links "solutions" to find out about all of your issues.

Dynomite

Like Daryll suggests....prolly R12 which you CAN get on Ebay.

You can give it a charge yourself by hot wiring the ac cycling switch

See Item #4 R12 vrs R134a and recharging R12

mike100

The low tire pressure warning system- it is entirely possible one or all of the wheels don't have the sensors anymore. Those are garbage anyhow. I had mine working for a few years, but gave up on them. Always you will have one corner lose communication and the light pops up. I mean, it can work, but I would just pull the lamp out of the display.

The FX3 suspension...well, maybe one actuator or shock is bad. Some people also say adios to FX3 suspension and remove the bulb... unless you find you only need one single part- you will have to assess the cost and decide.

CD player- broken on every C4 just about, but the radio might still work- you just have to figure out if the speaker amps are shot. Try a cassette tape- If you get some decent audio from that, it may mean the tuner is bad (which is a separate box under the passenger airbag). See Cliff's solutions link for how to get amps for cheap.

If the ZF transmission is solid, you should be alright.

dbdreams

I feel like I'm living vicariously through you. I'm exited hearing your story and experience anticipating what mine will be like. I'm glad you like it but if you ever decide to trade I would love to have first dibs because it's exactly what I was looking for. Keep the stories coming I'm really enjoying them!

Dominic Sorresso

BTW, become a member of the Registry at zr1.net

FASTAZU

Congrats, Hope you have many miles of smiles.

billy mild

Dynomite made a ALDL code reader/eraser tool. It was pretty handy to plug in and check for codes. I highly recommend looking for that.

billschroeder5842

That was my first "project" on the car today. I took the console and the DIC out and popped out the bulbs for the LTPWS and the suspension warning. I'm not good at fighting idiot lights- I feel out gunned.

Thanks for the tip!

G8nightman

I would fix the FX3 instead of puling the bulb might be something simple.

mike100

The shock valving might be stuck on soft- if you ditch the FX3, you need to replace the shocks. If you can read the codes, maybe you can find out how many problems it is reporting and try to fix it. The FX3 is ok to have when it works.

billschroeder5842

Thanks. I'll keep that on the list-I'd love to get everything working (cant wait for my shop manual. Tuesday delivery)

Now, I noticed a weird popping/crackling coming from the rear drivers wheel at slow speeds. It goes away when I shift to second and I can only hear it with the window down.

FASTAZU

Time to jack it up and check the u-joints and wheel bearings just to be safe.

billy mild

It could be wheel bearings, u joints or the coated washer at the yoke/spindle nut. If you replace the wheel bearings make sure to get a new washer and coat the spindle in anti seize. Torque to 274 ft/lbs.

mike100

The rear sway bar bushings go out on C4's from age more than use- check those too. As far as the rear axle stub spline, you can just grease the splines and retighten the axle nut. I have never needed to replace a teflon washer. The popping is dry, rusty axle splines.