Matthew91-Z28

Just curious....Got 170k on the stock 305. Still runs great (knock on wood!

I was going to replace it, but I have to stretch funds right now and since its running fine, I was just going to do some of the maintanence stuff I've neglected lately.


What I'd like to know, is that if you had a grand, what areas would you focus on specifically to keep your ride on the road?


I've only had 1 thing thats left me stranded: The heater control valve. It broke, I overheated, and it cost me $500 to replace my head gaskets. Ouch!

Anyone else recommend replacing somethign now before I get hit with a whammy like my example?? (BTW, all the suspension parts have been done).

Air_Adam

So far:

- Cracked clutch Z-bar
- Ran outta gas (guage not working)
- Alternator belt kept coming off, leaving me stuck on freeway
- Cracked rad tank
- Blown upper rad hose
- Locked up e-brake
- Dead battery

Maybe this summer will be better than last summer (see above for what happened last summer, lol)

RB83L69

So far in life:

• Cars
• Women
• Stock tips
• Lack of education and marketable skills

Other than that, most everything is fine.

Stekman

If i had a grand.....to get my car on the road....HMMMM

Where do i start?

jfreeman74

I think you're going to need more than a grand.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Lets see...
Power steering pump broke and flung all the belts
Stock torque converter split open
1st TH400 went belly up 3 times before switching to the one I have now
Ignition module went bad twice about 6 months apart

CaysE

change the plugs, wires, cap & rotor... module & coil if you have the money at the end. If you haven't been keeping up on maintenance, do the usual stuff... change oil, flush coolant, flush the trans, hell do the rear too.

Do your volts start dropping if the car sits in traffic for a while? May be time to think about a new alternator. Battery been in there since the 80's? It'll probably go on you. Starters like to die after 15 years or so. Change the belts when you get that new alt on. All the belts.

Check the coolant hoses for leaks/bulges/etc and replace as needed. If your A/C clutch (if you have one) starts dying it will eventually lock up and stall the car, just another something to keep in mind.

This could go on and on, really. Your best bet is to start with the maintenance stuff and gradually move your way through the entire car to keep everything in working order.

Morley

Stranded? In 19 years my Camaro has never left me stranded. Then again, I always keep close tabs on how it is running, always look at under side of the car. Check all fluids 3-4 times a week..if a problem is coming you'll get notice before it fails completely.
Things that have broken in those 19 years:
Power steering pump bracket (cast factory bracket, stupid idea)
Radiator tank cracked
Alt gave out
Ignition switch
PROM (bad factory prom)
Driver's seat bracket broke
#3 main bearing galled (replaced engine before it failed completely)
Limited slip govenor exploded (warrenty)
Steering box started to leak
A.I.R. pump
Door lock switch
Driver's door handle
Radio
Heater bypass hose (3 of them)
CRAPPY Bosch plat plugs (never again)
MAF ingested water and burned up (warrenty)
Park neutral switch burned up

and many more little things...19 years is a long time for a daily driven car.

Hal3246

I, well, I was at my freinds house and went to leave and got nothing, somehow the starter wire from battery melted to manifold. happened twice.

I was on my way to my friends house again. about 8 at night october or around then, I saw sparks fly out of my rear end at 85 mph then the engine was rolling like it was out of fuel, would turn over but not start. Turned out to be some computer, if not my main one.

My wire to the ignition from the starter carrying power for everything sinjed while on the road to bring sis to school and go to work...LOL The wire sinjed to the same side manifold.... LOL

I now have rewired and bypassed the nuetral/saftey switch.

Funny situations for me...LOL

spartyon

i am 21 and in my 5 years of driving and 4 cars, i have had these problems:

alternator (6)
starter (3)
battery (3)
fuel pump
ran out of gas cuz of gas gauge
transmission (2)
engine (1)

1BadGTA

Only one thing. Fuel pump.

ede

i'd have to agree with RB

dankhound

You guys have some seriously bad luck. Only thing thats broke in 60k on my car was the alternator. Actually its starting to go again. I knew starting the car on 11.6v was a bad idea.

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

Only things that left me stranded were Alternator, slave cylinder, mech fuel pump, and a flat tire and having no tire iron to take the lugs off and put the spare on.

CaysE

Here's my new favorite: tie rod failure. Damn thing just popped right off the spindle today. Towing is f***in expensive.

Chris89GTA

iTrader: (2)

I agree w/ RB on the first two...

Cars and Women!!! I may be a young 21, but both have stranded me before...

As for the car, [list=1][*]Alternator[*]t-top seals, not a must, but fixing that would make me more than happy[*]New gears again... 3.42s don't like the track beatings[*]fuel pump... its going fast...[*]starter...[/list=1]

Thats just a start of the list... Those things would make me sleep better knowing that I drive about an hour each way to home and back from school.

Z28guy83

me too on that and i had a rod let loose on my 305 under load wasnt pretty but it still ran !

PyRo9862

Lets see, battery cable came off about 3x causing it not to start(stripped screw) that took about 30 seconts to fix though. I had the rad hose pop off, that was another 30 secont fix. Left my lights on and killed the battery twice. Overheated once when the fan switch was going, but I managed to get home without overheating it.

beedo

had very few problems in the last 10 years of driving, the usual GM gonna break parts, alt, fuel pump, starter, rad, these are the ones you keep in the trunk cause there gonna take a dump on you sooner than later, any way love GM and never work for any one else

curt86iroc

alternator, ignition switch, choke, battery

Z28GEN3

of all the little things, the stinkin heater valve on my way to school. a blowout while i was cruising across NM and the factory jack wouldnt lift the car. Left lights on once killed the battery, left the door cracked enough to leave the dome light on killed the battery again. The rear end went out while OMW home at 11pm not fun, 60 mile drive in the towtruck. the worst one would have to be a blown head gasket.

QuickStyle

i saw a couple people say they ran out of gas. regardless your gauge works or not, you should not run out of gas. sorry, just had to say this. i dont know if my gauge works or not, it kinda just goes where it wants, ive never ran out of gas.

Cronic3rd

What all has broken and left me stranded?

Dirty alternator connection
corroded battery terminals
Fruitopia instead of gas
radiator ending existiance in a puddle of green
carb
rods letting go at 65mph
Something I don't care to fix so i junked the truck
Break lines
4 gears inside the trans becoming 400 peices
Leavind the stupid thing in drive and trying to start it
wheel bearings
steering wheel fell off (not me but my car)
got rear ended by a tracker
tire came off of the rim
door latch stuck shut with the door open
alt belt shredding itself

I am sure there is more that i can't rember right now but the moral of the story is - Pay more that $500 for a car

TheMysticWizard

iTrader: (1)

I need to hear more about that one...

MrDude_1

with this car?

nothing. (knock on wood)
everything thats happend, ive been able to fix and keep on going.


so far its been pretty good though.. i put almost 50k on it since last year..

only probs i could think of:

heater control bypass cracked.. bypassed it and drove to autozone.. got new one.

thermal fan switch failed.. turned on AC with the compressor unplugged.. that kept the fan on until i got the $9 switch the next weekend

alt failed.. drove home.. next morning got a new one and a new battery (i figured why not.. its under warrenty) NAPA alt cost $100, battery was free.




now all thats with my 91 vert..

my previous thirdgen was a basketcase 82.. it has too many to mention.
i went thru SEVERAL motors (all but the last were free/cheap junkyard rebuilds) two 700R4s, a couple rear ends, and everything else.....

Ricktpi

Only one thing here. Tryed to drive 15 miles to the next county to get cheaper gas, went up a very steep hill & ran out of gas. First time in 29 years of driving.

Streetiron85

Lost Keys

beedo

tried to replaced t-stat and bolt seized in intake, 3 drill bits later and a heli coil finally fixed it. thats about the worst thing ive had, ran out of gas pulling in driveway once

TheMysticWizard

iTrader: (1)

That was the same as mine... cept I couldn't drill it out, because I broke an easy out off in it, so I bought a new intake!

curt86iroc

haha, forgot about that one too. t-stat bolt got me

Matthew91-Z28

You got that fan to come on with the ac on and compressor unplugged?

I thought that fan only comes on at a certain psi and/or 220 degrees. (Maybe I'm confused)

430T/A

you must have had one lame th400 to blow it up on with a 15 second car... were you using a cooler with that high of a stall? I've used many 400s behind very torquey low 12 big block cars, bone stock, literally righ tout of the yard with a good converter with no problems at all... you must have had a really high mileage tranny

MrDude_1

RSs like mine have SINGLE fans..
whenever the temp switch in the passenger side head goes on, OR when the AC is on, the fan comes on.

Z28s have Dual fans.
the drivers side fan comes on when the AC is on and when the ECM grounds the relay.
the passenger side fan only comes on when the temp switch in the passenger side head grounds..



if you unplug the clutch to the AC compressor, the compressor doesnt kick on, but the fan still kicks on...
on 90-92s (possibly others) its the orange connector on the top of the compressor.

this is how i keep the car cool at the track too

SSC

All of the above except the car and stock tips have left me broke and homeless for a while but never stranded.

Oh Oh always change the fuel filter, nothing like feeling the car surge on the interstate 80 miles from home droping to 40mph in a 75 zone, surge surge. But its not like I was going to pull to the side and be towed or anything even though the nag in the passenger seat insisted.

ddn69

plenty of stuff has left me stranded. Belts, batteries, plugs, alternators, just recently an ignition coil. Not to mention the oldsmobile last year that got stolen. I hate cars. Bah I dislike this thread.

Nate

pizza_guy

well, I got hit w/thermo bolt too...sixty in a shop

my 14" open element wore the insulation on a wire on my ignition coil wire, grounded it. Blew fusable link...stranded, highway interchange

Flat tire, spare looked really ****ed up when i aired it up. stuck

ah well, all major problems tied to me messing with car
I'm learnin'

jmd88iroc-z

The only thing that's actually left me stranded is I keep locking my key in the car (I only have one and I,m too sorry to go get one made).

When I changed my pulleys, I didn't get the water pump pulley tight enough and it started flopping on me one day. Luckily, I was near a store and still had two bolts holding it on. I borrowed a wrench and tighten those to get me home.

If I keep running the dog **** out of my car, like I do, their will probably be alot more problems before its over.

Scania

One thing so far in 5 years. The heater hose came lose and dranied the coolant so the engine overheated. The head gasket didnt blow so i just replaced the hose clamp and refilled the coolant system.

IROZINCO

iTrader: (1)

In 10 years of owning 3rd gens (4 of 'em)

Water pump (well, it didn't strand me exactly, i saw the temperature rise and pulled into a gas station)
Computer - pulled out of the driveway one day and the whole car just died right there. Replaced computer and away we went
Dead battery - it was old and just came out one morning and not enough juice to start - grabbed the 2nd car and went out and got it a new battery, so guess that's not stranded either

I think the things that will stop you quickest are the basic ones - spark, fuel, cooling. So make sure your ignition system is in top shape, that your electronics are all good, and the oil and coolant are running right and have no leaks. I have 125K on my current 87, and it's NEVER left me stranded, knock on wood. The fuel pump gave plenty of warning before it quit, same for the alternator, p/s pump, master cylinder and heater bypass valve. I guess meaning that if you keep a close eye on the car, and do regulary maint, it's rare to actually get stranded. So make sure the basics are in order, then take that $1k and put it in your bank account and just go drive the car. That way if you do break it, you'll have the $1,000 to fall back on at the time you need it!

Tremo

Hummm..

Alternators crapped out (3 times)
Cracked radiator tanks (3 times)
MAF burnoff relay (4 times)
The ECU died (twice)
Water pump
Fuel pump
Broken driver's seat brackets (twice)
Leaking intake manifold gasket
Fan switch (nearly overheated)
Clutch & pilot bushing wore out
Brakes
Tranny needed new bearings
Engine had bad bottom end knocking (warranty repair, they replaced the engine)
Heater control valve
POS Accel coil
Headlight switch
Battery (twice)

Matthew91-Z28

What are signs that the fuel pump is failing?

Tremo

You know the fuel pump is failing when the car won't start.

copperhead110

Stranded by:

Battery: the original battery lasted 8 years It wouldn't start with the temp at 15 degrees F. Stranded at home

Fuel Pump: Stranded me at the liquor store.

No Oil pressure in 100+ heat after car warms up. 180k miles on car. Rebuild fixed that.

Alternator: 4 hours away from home and 60 miles from parts store.


A good thing to do before you break down is to find a towing company that is close to your home. The one time I needed my car towed, it took me many phone calls to find a towing service close to me. Prior to a break down, I now call a chevy dealership in my neighborhood and ask them who they use. Its just for my piece of mind. Of course this won't work if you break down far from home.

jmd88iroc-z

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tremo
[B]Hummm..


Engine had bad bottom end knocking (warranty repair, they replaced the engine) I got my '88 IROC from the original owner and I have maintenance records showing that the original engine in this car had a cracked block at 70,000 miles (which was a warranty replacement). Whats the deal with that?

Tremo

Warranty replacement at 70k miles? How did he get that out of them, the factory warranty didn't go that long.

Mine had the knocking problem at about 35k miles. And that was in the early 90s. After the LB9 was discontinued. They had the car for 2 weeks trying to get me a replacement block. Said they had to get one from the east coast (i'm in California).

I've often wondered if they just gave up and put in a 350, or if they really were able to get a new 305 block. I was told they had to build up the engine from scratch.

Anyway, maybe there was a bad batch of 305 castings? I never was able to find out from the dealer what the knocking was or what caused it, all they told me was "bad bearings". It was quiet when it was cold and the oil thick. Once it warmed up and the oil thinned, it sounded like someone was hitting the engine with a ball peen hammer.

Whatcha think guys? Bad rod? Bad rod bearing? Bad crank?

Anyway, the replacement engine has been very solid internally. It's got about 120k on the new engine, it burns some oil, but the only sounds are the clicking of the injectors. Still pulls strong.

Cronic3rd

Not much of a story there. Some idiot friend of mine thought it would be funny... His parent's got him the best defense lawyer in the city (for a $1700 criminal damaging case mind you - dude usally did capital murder and the like). It really was funny when he and his expensive *** lawyer lost the case . 4 years later he is still paying it off at $20 a month.

What a loser I should have just bashed his head in with a tire iron and fergot about court anything.

jmd88iroc-z

I guess the previous owner of my car had extended warranty on the car was the reason the 305 block was replaced.

By the way, I'm on the east coast. I guess they had blocks laying all over the place. Who knows?

Dr G

Another thing to be aware of is the length of time you hear the fuel pump priming for after you switch the ignition to the first notch. Anything more than 2-3 seconds and it may be on the way out.

Dr G

Parts which have broken leaving me stranded:-

Alternator:- Alternator died on me one night I was out with the guys. So I got one of my buddies to go back to my house and pick up the chrome Powermaster 140 amp alternator that I had ordered from Summit and bring it over to where I was. We fitted it at the roadside, and where then homeward bound! I had got it whilst getting a large order, and was getting a 10% discount, but wasn't going to fit it until I was doing other 'dress-up parts' below the hood.

Ignition Module:- Driving in the outside lane of the motorway and the car started being hesitant - and seemed to need WOT to 'keep it lit'. I had no power, then it would surge forwards and so on. So I pulled in to the service station and figured the problem out - the ignition module connectors were rusted out. Then it was 300+miles on the back on the tow truck home!!! The money I saved in gas more than paid for the part when I got back!

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

T-stat!! That little $3 POS broke on my way while I was driving through the ghetto one hot summer day. Needless to say the car overheated everytime it was turned on.

Also, I've been dead on the road from the tranny taking a crap 3 TIMES!! All w/in 15,000 miles.