1997 camaro rs daily driver
#1
02-04-2019, 07:40 PM
1997 camaro rs daily driver
Hello, Ive decided to make a thread documenting any work I do or get done on my 1997 Camaro RS. As of 2/4/2019 it has 169406 miles on it. My father traded his 2002-2004 (I am not sure the exact year) Ford Expedition for the Camaro on 5/23/18 it had about 167900 miles on it when we got it.
It had and still has a good amount of problems. Thankfully the automatic transmission still shifts fine and the engine still runs just good after 21+ years. About a week after I received my license the car would not start, it would crank but not turn over. We thought it was a bad fuel pump since the spark plugs where okay, we tested it by blowing starter fluid into the air intake. We were going to have It towed to a shop Monday since it died on a Friday night but the sunday before I decided to go and try to start it, miraculously it started up just fine. I drove it to school that Monday and then to the shop where he replaced all the spark plugs, which were still the original stock plugs from 1996! He also replaced the fuel and oil filters along with changing the oil. The car has ran fine engine wise since then.
The only issue is the electrical system. The driver side front headlight fixture doesn't work the clicker clicks but the blinker doesn't blink. The passenger side lights work fine but the passenger side turn signal indicator on my dash often rapidly flickers but the signal itself never does. Both the power side mirrors stopped working about two months after getting the car but that's no big deal since I can adjust them manually. The drivers side power window stopped working last week (it only ever went 3/4 of the way up on its own so its probably a bad regulator), the power locks also don't work unless I use the key fob which I don't carry since the back clips are broken and it falls apart in my pocket.
I think someone shorted something when the previous owner had some amps installed and the electrical work was very shoddy. Ive since removed all the old wiring for those amps and correctly wired in new 12v outlets since the previous owner snipped the wires to them and used them to power his subs and amp. There were multiple blown fuses that I replaced before removing the bad electrical work that then blew a second time, since removing the bad wiring no more fuses have blown but the blinker issues still remain.
So besides ALL those issues the car runs great, it has good speed even for a older v6 and handles just fine especially after getting a new set of tires.
Here is a 1/4 mileish run from early today (could have been better but had a slow start do to the light drizzle) enjoy
It had and still has a good amount of problems. Thankfully the automatic transmission still shifts fine and the engine still runs just good after 21+ years. About a week after I received my license the car would not start, it would crank but not turn over. We thought it was a bad fuel pump since the spark plugs where okay, we tested it by blowing starter fluid into the air intake. We were going to have It towed to a shop Monday since it died on a Friday night but the sunday before I decided to go and try to start it, miraculously it started up just fine. I drove it to school that Monday and then to the shop where he replaced all the spark plugs, which were still the original stock plugs from 1996! He also replaced the fuel and oil filters along with changing the oil. The car has ran fine engine wise since then.
The only issue is the electrical system. The driver side front headlight fixture doesn't work the clicker clicks but the blinker doesn't blink. The passenger side lights work fine but the passenger side turn signal indicator on my dash often rapidly flickers but the signal itself never does. Both the power side mirrors stopped working about two months after getting the car but that's no big deal since I can adjust them manually. The drivers side power window stopped working last week (it only ever went 3/4 of the way up on its own so its probably a bad regulator), the power locks also don't work unless I use the key fob which I don't carry since the back clips are broken and it falls apart in my pocket.
I think someone shorted something when the previous owner had some amps installed and the electrical work was very shoddy. Ive since removed all the old wiring for those amps and correctly wired in new 12v outlets since the previous owner snipped the wires to them and used them to power his subs and amp. There were multiple blown fuses that I replaced before removing the bad electrical work that then blew a second time, since removing the bad wiring no more fuses have blown but the blinker issues still remain.
So besides ALL those issues the car runs great, it has good speed even for a older v6 and handles just fine especially after getting a new set of tires.
Here is a 1/4 mileish run from early today (could have been better but had a slow start do to the light drizzle) enjoy
Last edited by TooBizzy36; 02-04-2019 at 07:43 PM. Reason: Further explination and grammer corrections
#2
02-05-2019, 07:30 AM
Just a FYI the blinker issue you described is how GM tells you there is a bad bulb. One of the main lights or sidemarker lights is burn out. Although the car does not know the difference between a bad bulb or a bad socket.
Everything else is kind normal for camaro that old. Most are very common problems. Window being the most common.
You want to keep an eye on the coolant. Intake gaskets are common failure points and when they go there is a chance they will take the engine with them. If its already done it should never need it done a second time as long as a decent gasket was used. You nay want to flush the coolant also.
Everything else is kind normal for camaro that old. Most are very common problems. Window being the most common.
You want to keep an eye on the coolant. Intake gaskets are common failure points and when they go there is a chance they will take the engine with them. If its already done it should never need it done a second time as long as a decent gasket was used. You nay want to flush the coolant also.
#3
02-05-2019, 01:12 PM
Thank you, I believe the intake gasket was replaced when a prior owner was screwing around with a bolt on supercharger that they never got to work. I'm planning on flushing the coolant soon but I haven't got around to it since it's been so cold out. The only other issue I have and I can't believe I didn't mention it is the cars electrical system dies sometimes when I try to start it up. The security light turns on and if the doors open it will chime but as soon as I go from acc to run it all the electric dies. I can fix it every time by just undoing the batteries contacts and reconnect them and it will start right up. I don't think it a bad contact since I've cleaned off all the corrosion. Im thinking about just wiring in a kill switch right after the terminals so I wont have to unscrew them everytime since it happens maybe 2 or 3 times a month.
#4
02-06-2019, 11:21 AM
Kind of sounds like a body conrtol module/Security system issue. When you pull the power off you are resetting the system. Pulling fuses instead of the disconnecting the battery may give you more information on which system is not happy.
Is there an aftermarket alarm or remote starter? That can cause all kinds of issues once they hit 10 years old or so.
Is there an aftermarket alarm or remote starter? That can cause all kinds of issues once they hit 10 years old or so.
Last edited by Gorn; 02-06-2019 at 11:23 AM.
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