The transmission needs a rebuild as 3rd and 4th were slipping. He has it out of the car already but hasnt had time to properly devote to it. The engine and frame have 120k on them. They listed for 2500 and he has said on texts that 2000 is the least he would go but obviously Im going to nitpick and lowball. The front leather seats are torn and the driver side quarter panel has some paint flaws. So those and the transmission are the only issues he has listed. I dont mind dropping 2k on a rebuild for the transmission as Id rather have it done professionally than try to do it myself and botch it.. Im really posting this to see if any of you have any suggestions on what to look for to help me try to bring his price down.

Ive compiled a list of common issues with 98s-2002 v8's and I plan on bringing a jack and stands and looking over every inch of this car for possible flaws/issues.

Right now my list of common issues stands at this:

-Rust

-Check for fluid leaks. I am aware that some of these early year LS1's had some problems with oil consumption and leaks and just had a poor oiling system altogether.

-Differential

-Axle bearings

-Pinion seal

-Shocks

-Rotors

-Any piston slap

-Engine knock

-Should be able to get a good look at the rear main seal with the trans out

-PS Pump

-AC Compressor

-Valve covers

-Oil pressure sending unit

-Cracked flex plate(he says its pinging with the transmission out but
obviously just want to make sure)

-Sludge in the coolant/water leaks

-Window motors

-T Top leaks

-Interior vents

-Monsoon system

Ive checked out some videos on youtube for common engine noises to familiarize myself with them. Any other suggestions? Do you guys think its even worth buying? Is the price kind of ridiculous for a car with the issues it has? Thanks as always guys. You're the best!

 

'98 was a one year only style PCM too. Check to see if dash is intact, since that's a $300 piece by itself, but note, 80% of 4th gens have broken dashes.

Otherwise, $2k isn't a bad deal, though location does matter. Where I live, the engine alone would go for nearly that much.

 

When you check for piston slap, make sure the engine is cold and hasn't been run on the same day. Piston slap in these cars is much worse when cold starting. Since it's summer, you may not even hear it until winter.

 

So I pulled the trigger guys. if she turns out to be a bust.. so be it! ill have learned something and thats priceless to me. every used car is a gamble and especially so for one listed as a mechanic special(moreso for someone who aint a mechanic lol). i know alot more about these cars than i did when i bought my 93(kind of lucked out there as that one was in really good shape despite the fuel mileage issues im sure some of you are aware im having) but i still have alot to learn. she does need ALOT of work but I kind of wanted something like that. Ok so heres the situation..

The important info:

-Body and engine have 120k on them. the engine runs good and sounds awesome. he had it on a battery charger when i pulled up with the hood open and i immediately felt the engine to see if it had been fired up and it was cold though he fired it up basically right away after we did introductions and greetings and pleasantries. it fired right up without any hesitation and idled smooth. it was a little loud because a portion of the muffler was disconnected but it sounded.. healthy i guess is how i would describe it. that said i have zero experience with ls1 engines and this was really my first chance to see one in person instead of pictures online. i had watched a few videos of engine noises in these cars as well as videos of healthy running ls1's.. now i know that doesnt really qualify me to state definitively that it is healthy but thats just my unprofessional impression.

-no strange noises at all.. no ticks, knocks, slaps, nothing aside from a very slight and minor ping from the flex plate(due to the trans being removed). he noted this in the ad and i even had to get on my knees with my ear under the car to even hear it. hell it sounded better than my lt1.. also worth noting it was 95-100+ degree florida heat and boy after an hour of inspection i was about to have heat exhaustion lol..

-the air filter housing was slightly damaged on the pass side corner and there is a hose disconnected that didnt seem to have any immediate place to plug it back in. in the picture the 3 arrows point to that disconnected hose and the damage to the air filter housing.

-the underside of the car was pretty dirty aside from the differential which had not a single bit of dirt on it. when i said "wow that differential is spotless!" he said that apparently the rear end was replaced but the guy couldnt give me any more information than that. he did live on a sandy dirt road with no cement driveway fwiw. he did say that in the process of removing the transmission he got tranny fluid all over the place. i suppose that would account for some of the grime however i honestly wouldnt really know any better.

-the bottom of the engine had the normal grime but there didnt appear to be any fresh fluid leak but that also could be from sitting for 3 months and only being run occasionally.

-after towing it home with the engine running for the 3 hours or so during the return trip(so we had power steering and power brakes).. temps were consistent as was the oil pressure. power steering works but i suspect a possible leak as the fluid level was low. i checked it again after arriving at home and it was at the same level so its a small leak if at all.

-the ac compressor literally looks like it exploded, check out the pic. in fact that entire belt that the compressor runs on is not there. can anyone tell me how that could have happened?

-i looked over the entire car and the only rust i could find was at the base of the radiator and the very front of the hood near the hatch release. it was only surface rust at that and it hadnt really made its way very deep into the metal or spread very far. my 93 has this same rust but a bit more extensive. i even pulled up the carpet on the passenger side foot well and it was dry as a bone.

-the interior has the usual wear and tear plus some, specifically the leather seats are torn to hell. the dash pad is completely missing but thats ok i can pull the good one from my 2002 for her. ebony leather door panels in awesome shape. carpet is ok. console is good aside from one spot that i really dont even know how to describe, it kind of looks like it either cracked or had a hole open up and someone used some kind of maybe putty to fill it and painted it to match but they did a horrible job. sound system sounded great with all speakers and the hatch speaker working good. trunk hatch struts brand new apparently

-paint as you can see in the pictures is rough and on the driver side quarter panel near the door its down to the bare metal. im not really concerned about the paint though.

-the guy said the transmission slips in 3rd and 4th. He took it out with the intention of having it rebuilt and he said a shop quoted him around 600 to do just the rebuild with the reinstallation done by himself. He had lost his job and needed money so he obviously couldnt move forward. Now.. heres the thing. He said the lady he bought it from(about 6 months ago, it was slipping from the time he bought it) had the transmission rebuilt once before.. so this would be the second rebuild. Im thinking that either it was shoddy work or possible abuse.. im thinking that maybe buying a remanufactured 4l60e might be my best option. What do you guys think? Should I gamble on the one ive got now or just be done with it getting a reman?

if i do get a reman.. im definitely interested in one without a core charge because im hoping to be able to keep this one and be able to disassemble it and hopefully attempt to rebuild it myself just for experience. ive looked at a few websites selling remans.. but im unsure what the best means for obtaining one might be. anyone have experience buying one online? should i just call around to local junk yards? is there a better option that im unaware of? a quick google searching shows websites like this Camaro 1998 - 2002 4l60e Rebuilt Transmission with LS1 Motor - RebuiltTransmissionSupply.com but are websites like this legit or are they to be avoided? im not necessarily looking for a performance trans.. though if there is any kind of upgrade to reliability that can be done i might be interested in something like that.

i was also thinking of having an oil analysis on both my 93 and the 98. have any of you ever had one done? you think its worth the couple bucks?

anyways, thanks for reading and thanks for any input. i know its not optimal info and one cant definitively say for absolute sure but good deal? bad deal? did i just throw 2 grand down the drain? any comments? if this is going to be an expensive lesson to learn in buying junk.. id rather know sooner than later lol

 

you know what? it just dawned on me. the air lid was probably damaged because the guy removing the transmission didnt remove it before taking out the trans. you guys think thats where that damage came from?

 

if they were driving with a slipping trans then it no doubt overheated and expect to replace the torque converter as well as some hard parts. That rebuild will run over $1,000 even for a bench rebuild. That is without labor to re-install the trans or the 12 quarts of fluid you'll need. You may as well go with Dex VI (6). It costs more but is better against wear and friction.

As for the air lid, I can't imagine how dropping a tranny could effect the lid up in the nose of the car.

Paint and interior will cost you the most.

Get the new AC compressor and dryer from Ebay. You can get them both for well under $200 total. You can't be living near UF without air conditioning.

If you do a lot of the odds and ends yourself and pay for a paint job, you are probably looking at around $5,000- $6,000 (excluding tires if needed) by the time that you're done and that's without mods and upgrades. That includes the tranny and you re-installing yourself

good luck with the project

 

Alright that's exactly what I was expecting to hear. Yes I'm planning on doing every thing I possibly can myself. Ok so.. Transmission overheat would a transmission cooler help in this situation? Here in Florida we run pretty hot all the time(and it seems especially so this year) and I've noticed that my 93 the transmission seems to be very hot as well after running. This is my third camaro in under a year lol and my other 2 have had issues but nothing I couldn't fix without a bit of elbow grease. Some stuff I know is beyond me like paint and the actual Trans rebuild itself but I am planning on mounting it myself. So if it was you, you would just go with the rebuild and not get a reman unit?

 

here comes the answer that everyone (including me) hates

six of one, half-dozen of the other.

In my life, I've purchased rebuilt engines, rebuilt trannies and also had my engines rebuilt as well as trannies (or is it trannys)

I've had good and bad experiences with both.

If it's significantly cheaper to ship your core, and buy a rebuilt and new TC, then that's the path I'd take. If it's equal or close, then I like giving business to local guys. I always try to keep it local if at all possible

 

I put valoline maxlife atf fully synthentic ,is great for a tranny rebuild,an the cost at walmart is unbeatable meets or exceeds dexron VI,an good for 75.000 miles ,its made for high miles trasmissons ,but has been proven to be good for any tranmision needing dexronVI ,an a cooler there like 79.00 for decent one or less ,an its not 7.00 to 12.00 a quart, I think I got it on sale for like 18.00 for 5 quart bottle so 36.00 for 12 quarts ,to 80 .to 150.00 for other brands from auto store