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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 10:54 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by StayinStock
Just the C5 lol, the rest of those were relatively mild
I've seen you bash the '05, especially the trans OVER and OVER and OVER again, are you saying you run a stock A4 trans is a highly modified '05?
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 11:03 AM
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Originally Posted by RobLo
I've seen you bash the '05, especially the trans OVER and OVER and OVER again, are you saying you run a stock A4 trans is a highly modified '05?
I'm not "bashing" anything. The OP asked for advice concerning potential problems with the 05's. I outlined all of those problems which are indeed legit problems. No but I went through my share of them on a C5 and various other models and broke more than plenty on stock or bolt on power. Like I just said, if you have an 05 and its been problem free thats awesome. But if your a new potential buyer and you have the option, and your aware of the problems that exists you can make an educated purchase and possibly avoid headache down the road. These cars are aging and the aftermarket support for things like BCMs and other electronics arent there yet. When they do come its likely 05 will be missed because its a 1 year model and the r&d for aftermarket wont outweight the cost. It happened with c5 on the 97/98 cars. Its not to bash anyone with an 05 but simply to educate someone about to make a huge financial decision so they have all the facts. Owners get way to defensive of their own choices... They all have issues, every single year... its important to be aware of what those issues are if your a potential buyer.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 11:08 AM
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Originally Posted by Corvette_Dez
It's great that there are many '05 owners that haven't had any issues. However, the fact remains that there are numerous one year only parts that can't be found if something does happen. It's also known for torque converter failure. One off part that is near impossible to find.
if you're buying a car now, why chance it when you can just spend your money on a '06 or newer.

Im not sure about c6 but fun fact, the c5 uses the same convertor as LT1 93-97 F-bodies with 4l60e's. I'd assume c6 would be the same case but dont quote me on that.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 11:10 AM
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Originally Posted by StayinStock
Im not sure about c6 but fun fact, the c5 uses the same convertor as LT1 93-97 F-bodies with 4l60e's. I'd assume c6 would be the same case but dont quote me on that.
For this fact, I have no experience. I'm going off the word of a highly respected 22+ year Corvette mechanic and Corvette Shop owner.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Corvette_Dez
For this fact, I have no experience. I'm going off the word of a highly respected 22+ year Corvette mechanic and Corvette Shop owner.

We got lucky once when we were shopping around for convertors for the RPM level 7 4l60e we had built, we happened to have a leftover Yank 3800 one from an LT1 Trans Am and as luck had it it was exactly what we needed. Thats the only good 4l60e I ever had but I paid dearly for it lol. It took 7 grand but it was solid.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 11:18 AM
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Originally Posted by StayinStock
We got lucky once when we were shopping around for convertors for the RPM level 7 4l60e we had built, we happened to have a leftover Yank 3800 one from an LT1 Trans Am and as luck had it it was exactly what we needed. Thats the only good 4l60e I ever had but I paid dearly for it lol. It took 7 grand but it was solid.
Nice converter! $7k for a tranny I hope it held up. Lol
Although, I do remember when Kenwood spent more than that on one for his Supra that grenaded on the first run.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 11:21 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Corvette_Dez
Nice converter! $7k for a tranny I hope it held up. Lol
Although, I do remember when Kenwood spent more than that on one for his Supra that grenaded on the first run.
Yep the RPM unit was solid, actually to my knowledge its still very much alive and well in the car the guy who bought it from me put it in.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 03:07 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by StayinStock
I'm not "bashing" anything. The OP asked for advice concerning potential problems with the 05's. I outlined all of those problems which are indeed legit problems. No but I went through my share of them on a C5 and various other models and broke more than plenty on stock or bolt on power. Like I just said, if you have an 05 and its been problem free thats awesome. But if your a new potential buyer and you have the option, and your aware of the problems that exists you can make an educated purchase and possibly avoid headache down the road. These cars are aging and the aftermarket support for things like BCMs and other electronics arent there yet. When they do come its likely 05 will be missed because its a 1 year model and the r&d for aftermarket wont outweight the cost. It happened with c5 on the 97/98 cars. Its not to bash anyone with an 05 but simply to educate someone about to make a huge financial decision so they have all the facts. Owners get way to defensive of their own choices... They all have issues, every single year... its important to be aware of what those issues are if your a potential buyer.
O.K., I appreciate the informative response but I have read MANY responses from you and you always have bad things to say about the A4 transmission so I'll ask again, are you or have you in the past ran a highly (or even moderately) modded car with the stock A4 transmission? It would be unfair to the OP or anyone else asking the question for you to tell them the trans is crap when in fact you're running 500-600-700 HP through a stock A4 trans and expecting that trans to perform well. There are THOUSANDS of us out here who have never had a problem with the A4 transmission so please, a little background on how you run your car. I'm guessing a highly modded car is not used just for Church on Sundays. Please, educate me so I know whether I should start looking for a replacement trans for my stock '05. And I do get what you say about it being an 18 year old car and parts being limited, I've already encountered that a few times so I'll definitely agree with you there. Now, back to the transmission...
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 04:19 PM
  #29  
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I dropped 3 in an 06 gto that I sold with 80k on it. When selling (buyer was informed) the 3rd one was starting to slip. Only thing done to the car was headers and a CAI. Trans were built to oem specs and tuned by the same company. After my first rebuild failed it was warrantied. Builder warrantied it, but insisted we added more torque management back into the tune. I declined that and forfeited my remaining warranty. The corvette much like the GTO push the torque limits right at factory torque levels. The A6 has some issues as well, but is much better. It just doesn't make sense to acquire a one year car when going up just one model year is going to give you a better experience at essentially the same cost. Just like any other car, the manufacturer tends to learn from the 1st model year and make improvements while continuing to make more improvements as the platform ages.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 05:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Iowa
I dropped 3 in an 06 gto that I sold with 80k on it. When selling (buyer was informed) the 3rd one was starting to slip. Only thing done to the car was headers and a CAI. Trans were built to oem specs and tuned by the same company. After my first rebuild failed it was warrantied. Builder warrantied it, but insisted we added more torque management back into the tune. I declined that and forfeited my remaining warranty. The corvette much like the GTO push the torque limits right at factory torque levels. The A6 has some issues as well, but is much better. It just doesn't make sense to acquire a one year car when going up just one model year is going to give you a better experience at essentially the same cost. Just like any other car, the manufacturer tends to learn from the 1st model year and make improvements while continuing to make more improvements as the platform ages.
In fairness, headers and tune is like 50hp, and a GTO was a good bit heavier than a c6.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 05:59 PM
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I have to believe the OP is just laughing out loud about how crazy some of these posts have accelerated to. The thread starter is nowhere to be seen and must have bought an 05 and dropped the transmission. Hahahahaha. There are many 05's out there with over 250,000 miles that still have the same rear end and transmission. This C6 forum is really starting to get silly and very opinionated by certain individuals with a lack of knowledge or common sense.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by joeking
I have to believe the OP is just laughing out loud about how crazy some of these posts have accelerated to. The thread starter is nowhere to be seen and must have bought an 05 and dropped the transmission. Hahahahaha. There are many 05's out there with over 250,000 miles that still have the same rear end and transmission. This C6 forum is really starting to get silly and very opinionated by certain individuals with a lack of knowledge or common sense.
Seems the knowledge on the forum about the problems with these cars is pretty accurate across the board. It certainly helped me when i was looking. The 05 out of them all is the biggest risk.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Iowa
Seems the knowledge on the forum about the problems with these cars is pretty accurate across the board. It certainly helped me when i was looking. The 05 out of them all is the biggest risk.
To be fair, it is sort of a punch in the junk (figuratively speaking) to anyone who happens to own a 2005 with the A4. That just killed their resale value if everyone says to steer clear of them when it could be a perfectly fine and reliable car. I completely understand why folks would jump on the defensive.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 06:45 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by VetteVinnie
To be fair, it is sort of a punch in the junk (figuratively speaking) to anyone who happens to own a 2005 with the A4. That just killed their resale value if everyone says to steer clear of them when it could be a perfectly fine and reliable car. I completely understand why folks would jump on the defensive.
I would personally steer clear even with a manual. Many cases of first year cars becoming less desirable. I honestly don't care what anyone buys. It's not my money. It's always nice to give and receive information on major purchases. The fact that the 05 guys are in their feelings about it isn't relevant. No one is saying they are bad cars. The 06+ is just a better option.
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Old Apr 20, 2023 | 10:42 PM
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Default 05 c6


2005 Z51 M6 and 89000 miles. Best car I've ever owned and absolutely no problems. Absolutely no reason to be afraid of an 05.
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Old Apr 21, 2023 | 08:17 AM
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I stand behind everything I said. All and the problems I listed in my initial response are facts that will help the OP get the most accurate view of potential issues it could have. I'll laugh off the hurting the resale value of 05s thing... come on, that's ridiculous. People are still going to buy them regardless, but why not let folks be informed of potential problems they could have. I'm sure there's plenty of examples that haven't had any of these issues and that's great. LS7s drop valves every day and people still buy those, people who are informed going in can mitigate that risk. If I hurt any 05 owners feelings I apologize, that wasn't my goal, just trying to help someone make an informed purchase.
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Old Apr 21, 2023 | 10:22 AM
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If you don’t like the steering wheel you can purchase one for a 2006 - 2013, however you need to also replace the airbag and clockspring. I opted for this:


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Old Apr 21, 2023 | 10:23 AM
  #38  
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This my 2005:



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Old Apr 21, 2023 | 10:30 AM
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Originally Posted by redsoxnation
if you don’t like the steering wheel you can purchase one for a 2006 - 2013, however you need to also replace the airbag and clockspring. I opted for this:

i am in love with this!!!
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Old Apr 21, 2023 | 10:36 AM
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I just bought a 05 coupe with 93k miles. I know the harmonic balancer is wobbling and that will be fixed on Monday. I am just going to cry once and pay once and go with the ATI HB. That's pretty much the only thing I've heard about the 05's that you might have a issue with.
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