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Don't forget the transmission...the early 02's, like mine, have the aluminum shift fork(s). Since I don't force the shifter mine were fine at rebuild time; GMPP felt compelled to replace them during the rebuild.
The vehicles qualification for GMPP may be criteria you want to consider when purchasing. A four year, 32K plan set me back $1100...then the ECBM went...then the tranny. Transmission was not all that bad, but labor to take it out and look is well over 1K in addition to any work on the tranny. I wish my stock picks had the same kind of return on investment
Slightly off thread topic: How many miles did you have on the car when the was tranny rebuilt? Just for general knowledge as I'm at ~53k miles.
Besides the new shocks, there are two other changes. Front, upper control arm bushings now use higher durometer rubber to reduce compliance. This increases front "camber stiffness" under high cornering loads, especially during hard cornering over chatter bumps. The increased camber stiffness makes the front end stick a little better so, to balance the car, a little rear end grip was added by increasing the compliance of the rear stabilizer bar mounts. This had the same effect as a slight reduction in bar diameter but was less costly than tooling-up a new rear bar.
Just a fact, 04's are the best of all C5 Z's. And as said before, buy the newest one you can afford.
I know they changed the gas tanks / fuel system for 03, but the fuel pump is still in the tank on 01 and 02 model years.
Mid 03 was the change. Fuel pressure regulation went from inside the fuel filter on the frame next to the transmission, to inside the pump module inside the tank. Also, you can change the pump without dropping the tank on any pre mid-03 car as well as change the fuel filter. These earlier systems, which start in 99, tend to be better for highly modified cars hence why the 02-mid 03 cars tend to be the best for people planning to modify their cars since shocks are a simple swap afterwards.
In the left tank at the bottom pointing towards the back of the car. I sits behind a shield that just bolts on. If you pull the left rear tire you can see it behind the brake duct.