1998 corvette, low miles, what maintenance needed?
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
From: Old Tappan NJ
1998 corvette, low miles, what maintenance needed?
Hello, I have a 98 convertible with 19,000 miles, 4 previous owners. The car is clean. The previous owner did oil changes and coolant service. What other maintenace items should I be concerned with? A mechanic friend suggested a fuel filter change.
The car runs great but does need tires. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
The car runs great but does need tires. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 3,050
Likes: 124
From: Wichita KS
Hello, I have a 98 convertible with 19,000 miles, 4 previous owners. The car is clean. The previous owner did oil changes and coolant service. What other maintenace items should I be concerned with? A mechanic friend suggested a fuel filter change.
The car runs great but does need tires. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
The car runs great but does need tires. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
You might think about getting the Service Manuals for your car - several sources eBay, Forum Sponsors (Fichtner), etc. Even if you don't work on your car they make talking/understanding with your mechanic easier and also contain all the maintenance information.
You might also want to check out the information available from the GM Heritage Center at:
http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-h...tion-kits.html
Click on the link, then scroll down to "Corvette" and click on "show"
The page will open up, select your year, and click to download
(You might look at the data for the 2000 Corvette vs your 1998 as the pdf is more comprehensive on the 2000)
You have to accept GM's use agreement - and then this archive will download. Hope it helps.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,510
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From: Life moves pretty fast... if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!
CI 6-8-9 Veteran
I've got a 98 and it's been the most reliable car that we own. One thing I would recommend is to add additional miles to the odometer! Just sit back and enjoy! 
Zuti!
Zuti!
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 593
Likes: 9
From: San Antonio Texas
I have a 98 vert with the same miles. No real issues except for one thing. The harmonic balancer came apart and since it is not pinned on the crank it moved towards the engine and in a few miles destroyed the oil pan and timing cover. It cost about $1100 to fix with used parts. The HB is notoriously bad on these models and it deserves a good look to see if it is wobbling. If it is, replace it as soon as possible. I also had a CEL pop up and it was the AIR system fault. After replacing a few parts and lightening my wallet a good bit, I decided to have a tuner change the parameters on the computer to "tune out" the check engine codes. Doing this will not effect your performance or the ability to get a vehicle emissions test. Good luck and happy motoring!
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,606
Likes: 355
From: Rochester New York
It sounds like the car has been well taken care of. 19k miles is low, but still a decent amount of miles to ensure everything gets lubricated and functions properly. A good idea would be to look at items that can be effected by age. Brake fluid is one that should probably be flushed. Transmission and gear oil is probably not necessary to change, but would be good to do. If it has original tires, get new ones. I wouldn't want my life to be in the hands of old hard rubber. Most of all, enjoy it!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: If you wanna live life on your own terms, you gotta be willing to crash and burn Florida
If I were you I would replace the headlight gears to brass gears before the original ones get stripped and sound off.
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I'd for sure flush the brake fluid and if a 6 speed, the clutch fluid. Probably wouldn't be needed, but if you want to go ahead and change the diff and tranny fluid. Fuel filter should be OK but it's not hard to do so I would add that to the list. Check your hoses and belts also - the car is 13 years old so they may be brittle.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,606
Likes: 355
From: Rochester New York
I don't think this is something that he should worry about right now. Plenty of C5's out there with much higher mileage that have not stripped headlight gears. In 18k miles I doubt the headlights have had much use.
