I am tired of messing with Camaro's; because everytime I look at it, I think of a million things I want to do with it (and also my workload will not allow me to make the mods that I want to make to it). I want a great performer, which is actually engineered instead of the result of the question "what do we have to do to this car to make people buy them, and the car atleast drive off the lot without having problems?" (the gen 4 camaro...I'm not dissing them by any means, it's all i've ever owned :-[)

I, being an engineer, can appreciate anything that is the direct result of thougth inspired by purpose. I drove a ZO6 this weekend, and then had to drive my SS Camaro home. Let's just say, there's no comparison (and my Camaro has a few mods).

Now you know my purpose, the question is...what, if any problems are common to the '02 model ZO6? I am looking for an '02 specifically because they are within my current price range, and they are the first year of the 405hp LS6. I just need to know what to look out for when it comes to finding one. Also, I am in SC, so if anyone could give me the heads up if anyone in the area is going to get rid of an '02, that would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, and sorry for such a long post!

 

There just really isn't anything bad about an 02. I have one.
The rear diffs leak sometimes, but service guys can fix this up under warranty. I can't complain the car is totally solid. It needs maintenance like any other car, air filter, plugs (maybe), brake, clutch fluid changes, trans fluid, rear end. Pay attention to the maint on this car and it will last forever. Might I recommend an alignment after purchase, at least one to your specs, a-xross or drag racing.

 

The biggest problem that I can think of is the aluminum shift forks in the transmission. During the middle of the '03 production year, GM replaced the aluminum shift forks with steel shift fork like what the Viper has.

What happens is you end up getting the trans stuck in 3rd or 4th gear and it's a PITA to get out. The only way to fix this from happening is to take the trans apart and replace the bent shift forks with steel shift forks. When you bend the shift forks, you also wear out the synchro's, so those have to be replaced as well.

Just make sure the car shifts smoothly and doesn't grind in any gear, especially into 3rd and 4th gear. It wouldn't hurt to ask the seller about it either.

 

PS. I just did a forum search on shift forks and came up with plenty of information about it.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/sear...archid=2933008

I know it may not be in the budget, but I would probably try and stretch it a little and try to get an '04. In addition to the transmission, there's a lot of other little things that are improved upon for the '04 model year.

 

Please share.

 

Two things that come to mind immediately to me are:

1) Improved shocks on the '04's. This is easily upgradeable for other years.

2) A change to the fuel pickup system. Someone else will have to elaborate more on this change. I think the change was made in mid '03.

 

I've owned my '02 since new, and have put on about 28k miles, and the car has been rock solid reliable, and nearly trouble free. I've driven it hard on the track, autocrosses, and thousands of miles of canyon driving, and the only thing it has asked for in return has been tires and oil changes.

The most common issues are column lock (there is a recall for it), bending aluminum shift forks, and leaking differential at the output shafts. Of these, my car only experienced the last one, and it was temporary and fixed itself. Apparently the factory overfilled the differential, and this was a common cause of the leaks. Once the excess leaked out, mine stopped leaking.

The only factory defects I noted on my car were the rear upper shock mount bolts were loose causing a rattle (which I fixed myself), and the driver's side weatherstripping was poorly installed, causing a slight wind noise from the drivers side window at high speeds. Other than that, the car was perfect, and no additional problems showed up.

I'm getting a P0410 smog pump error code in cooler weather, but I think that is caused by my aftermarket headers or cold air intake. Can't blame the car for issues caused by aftermarket modifications.

Overall, I don't think you can find a more reliable, durable, and low maintenance sports car with exotic levels of performance.

 

I'd say "avoiding speeding tickets" ranks pretty high with '02 Z06s. Oh wait...that also impacts the '01, '03, and '04. Damn!

 

There were other slight changes to the suspension in addition to the "Nurburgring" tuned Sach's shocks. I'm thinking that the rear bushings are different?

The fuel system that was upgraded at the end of the '03 model year is the same fuel system used in the C6. I'm not sure of the improvements, but I think that one of the problems that it fixed was the problem that people were having with the fuel gauge.

I would think that GM would've gotten a handle on other small issues like the rocking seat, the leaking rear diff or any other slight problems. Typically, the first year of a model is the worst to have and the last year is the best because the company has had time to take care of the problems.

You could probably get a late '03 and get a lot of the improvements of an '04. The problem is that I don't know the VIN cutoff dates. You're pretty much assured of getting the improvements like the upgraded trans with the '04 model.

One thing that GM did potentially change for the worse was the headliner in '03. GM says that it was a safety issue, so they put a headliner in the car that has a ridge in the back. Some people that are on the tall side have had an issue with this. I'm 6'1 and have no problems with the '03 even with a helmet on.

 

Unfortunately, even after you get your ZO6, the mod fever is hard to resist, and much more expensive for Corvettes.

 

No problems with mine. 49K now. Have been thinking of selling. What part of SC are you in my mom lives in Inman.

 

I'm another high-miles '02 owner. No issues to date, after 18 months of HPDEs and daily drives. Good car, very solid. Guess I've got around $2000 in mods, including oil cooler (no need for this is you autox or just drive; necessary for the track though), track wheels, stainless brake lines, harness and bar. Few mods, very fast. Me and the car weigh 3400 pounds, which is pretty good for a stock Z.

 

I was talking about potential problems. Some may have it and others may not. The biggest potential problem that I see is the transmission. My (early '03) car suffered the dreaded bent shift fork problem and I had to have it fixed under warranty. That would've been a lot of $$ if I had to pay for it out of pocket.

 

I have had 2 different 02s with no problems, in spite of being driven on roadcourses once in a while.

MD

 

Man, thanks for the response! Yeah, I'd really like to stay away from any tranny problems...other problems I can fix, but I stay away from trannys.

Of course the higher year models are more desirable, but is slightly out of budget for me right now; but with potential tranny problems maybe it would be good to wait? The '02 that I drove this weekend about 65k miles) shifted much better than my SS (53k miles).

I am definitely OCD, and when it comes to the maintenance, believe me, I'd be right on top of that. I just want a daily driver that is a phenomenal perfomer right out of the box. Surely, your right, the mod bug will catch me, but for now, stock is what's best for me (with the exception of small stuff like improved intake (filter, etc))

I live in Columbia, SC but I frequent Greenwood as well.

 

Unless you or the previous owner was a horrible shifting gorrila, the 2002 Z06's will be fine. I learned how to shift a manual in my 2002 Z06, and it's fine at 27k miles.

The 03+ fuel systems are a bitch if the fuel filter ever needs to changed. I think you have to remove the whole tank from the car.

 

Link doesn't work.

Dave

 

It can go on forever!

 

I don't know why it quite working. Here's another link. All I did was put "shift fork" in the forum search engine and pulled up these threads.

Edit: I'm not going to post a link to a forum search any longer because after about a day, they come up as "not found" for some reason. Just run a forum search on "shift fork" and you will find all the information you need about the shift fork issue.

 

I have 56K miles on my 02 z06... it's driven for what its designed for. no problems yet. had the sticky clutch, but changing the slave cyl. fluid everytime i get gas helps alot.