ejvettes

Hello everyone, I'm a new member. I just bought a 2003 anniversary coupe with 3,844 miles on it. the oil has been changed in the car,should flush out the radiator and put new coolant in the car? and the transmission also? I also bought a 2003 convertible with 22,000 miles on it, both cars were estate cars, so i couldn't talk to the original owners. I need some advise. thanks

FX VETTE

Welcome to the CF! and yes on the coolant

Vetteman Jack

Moved to C5 Tech.

c4cruiser

Certainly a good idea to flush the cooling system and replace with a 50-50 mix of DexCool and distilled water. I would also suggest changing all of the fluids: oil and filter, brake fluid, trans and diff fluids, and if the car is a manual trans change the clutch hydraulic fluid too.

Are the tires original to the car? If the tires are more than 5-6 years old (check the date codes!) buy new tires before you drive it. Old tires can dry out and start to crack; either on the sidewalls or in the tread. You don't want the tires to come apart while you are driving.

4XLR8N

More solid CF advice...

rrwirsi

Welcome to the C5 madness and forum. Does the car (and you have a M6) steering wheel lock (cannot turn the wheel back and forth) with key out? If yes, then highly suggest getting the LMC5 module that disables the locking mechanism. Search the threads for the reason. The fix is $50 or so and it is the best thing you can do for your peace of mind driving. The vendor that sells it is number 1 in customer service. No other fix (factory or other) matches this.

lmc5unlocker

gimp

Yes, replace _all_ the fluids you can.

New oil, new trans fluid, new diff fluid, new coolant, new brake fluid.

Hard to replace clutch fluid. Ranger method may or may not be useful.

New tires too, they're probably deathtrap tires. Strongly consider new accessory belts.

Also a new fluid filter. If the engine air filter is stock, put on a new one; if it's cleanable, clean it. There is no cabin air filter.

My Vette Life

Agreed! That the problem with low mileage cars, they will need more maintenance than one thats been on the streets.

I wounder what the endlinks look like.

Swap the tires and brakes while you're at it, hope tires are not originals.

gimp

At ~4k miles I'd bet a dollar the tires are original. At 22k, well, old guy keeping it garaged ... wouldn't be surprised if they were original too.

Met a guy at autox yesterday who just bought a C5Z. He was on runflats from '09. Put down a terrible time because he had no traction - to the surprise of nobody!

Yes, I'd also inspect a lotta rubber bits and other annoyances - the control arm bushings, the ball joints, the anti-roll bar arm end links, the anti-roll bar bushings, the shock bushings. The parking brake mechanism, and how well the parking brake shoes engage in the rear disc hat on each side. Whether the star adjuster is frozen. And speaking of brakes, I'm sure the original pads and rotors are fine if they were well kept ... but they may be rusted all to hell from disuse. Also, the slide pin grease is probably not in great shape. Like My_Vette_Life said, new brakes may be on the agenda. Check!

Also, it can probably do with new plugs, new wires, and if it doesn't have 'em, katech socks wouldn't hurt. The plugs are probably fine by mileage, but due to age, I'd be worried about them not wanting to come out of the head - either now, or if OP runs 'em, years from now when they're finally up for service.

I'd also want to see how much play in the shifter, if it's a manual (doubtful) - those rubber insulators might be weird due to age and disuse, or they may feel great due to not being all used up.

My Vette Life

Money pit

ejvettes

Thanks for the input, my car has new tires, new oil and filter. I'll flush the coolant also and the brake system. thanks for the help.

ejvettes

we put new tires on it.

Vette_DD

and they're "Corvettes."

Spaggs

Take a look at the air filter to see if it has deteriorated. Good time to change to a K&N filter. Also, swap out the fuel filter. With that low of mileage, you probably have some rust build up in the tank/filter.
With the age of the vehicle I'd replace all of the radiator hoses, belts and windshield wiper blades. As mentioned before, change all of the fluids with some good quality synthetic. Run some Techron in your gas.
Check out the battery.

Have fun with your new toy.

Spaggs

VFR RC46

Lol have fun with the clutch fluid change. Don't bother with the Ranger Method, it just adds unnecessary wear and tear to your clutch system. If time and money is tight, just empty and fill the reservoir with fresh fluid (natural clutch pumping action will circulate better than the Ranger method) and repeat once a week or month, depending on how the fluid is looking after use. If you have a lot of extra money or time/skill/tools on your hands, install a remote bleeder and or do a full clutch fluid bleed.