I just bought a zr-1

[plev]

I just bought a 1991 turquoise metallic ZR1 with 78k miles. I'm picking it up tonight!

I found a TON of extremely useful information on this site that, hopefully, enabled me get a good deal.

When I put the car on a lift, there were some minor issues such as the brake lines were starting to rust, the e-brake cables were completely shot, Rotors were slightly worn,and there was an oil leak. The mechanic(who admitted to never seeing an lt5 engine before) who looked at it with me thought the leak was the gasket. This was before I knew that loose bolts were an issue.

On the inside, there is a small hole in the driver side seat, the radio (or speakers) don't really work, and the air bladders don't all inflate.

I don't want to trust the oil leak repair to the mechanic who checked the car out for me simply because he's not familiar with the engine. I called a local Chevy dealer and spoke to the service manager who assured me they have someone trained to work on the car. I've read comments about dealers screwing up these engines so my question is...What specific questions should I be asking the service manager to make sure they really DO have someone qualified to work on this?

Anything else I should be doing or I should have checked out? any and all advice is much appreciated as I'm not really mechanically oriented and need as much help as I can get.

Thanks in advance!

[tomtom72]

Okay I'll take a stab at trying to answer until one of the guys that really know these motors see this and chimes in.

Obvious Q's to ask of the dealer is How many LT5's and how often? Did the tech own a ZR-1 or did he go thru the LT5 service course? The Tech would have to be at least a middle aged person, last yr was 95. I'm not trying to be a wise guy, but I would be more interested in how often & how many LT5's his shop actually works on.

The oil leak is coming from where, as you said you saw it when under the car.
If I understand you, your diagnosis is the pan gasket is leaking. If it is you could try to re-torque the pan bolts. You will have to have the car on a lift or up on jack stands. All the pan bolts are okay to get on save the front ones. For those you take the two cross braces off of the car. I think the are the "K" braces, I think. Whatever they're called you see that the forward ends anchor to the cross member that holds the rack and the aft ends look like they hold the motor mounts. The aft ends Do Not hold the motor mounts. I know it don't look that way, but it's true. The motor mounts are on ears just above the braces you have to remove to get at the oil pan bolts at the front edge of the pan. Just take those braces out and you can get on all the bolts. Please be careful and do not over torque the pan bolts. Just put a socket on them and use a T/Q wrench to test for their present T/Q. If they start to move then check the T/Q number and go from there. In order for me not to over T/Q them I used my 1/4" set to test their tightness before I attacked them with my 3/8" T/Q wrench.

Anything else you need just post up!:thumbsup:

Oh, sorry forgot.....Welcome to the Brotherhood!:hello:

:cheers:
Tom

[scholtmj]

Very cool! Welcome!

[xlr8nflorida]

I agree with Tom.

I would not bring my car to a dealer, very few mechanics were certified and unless you live in a big city, they have seen a handful at best. My friend is certified and he has probably worked on a few dozen ZR-1's but he also lives in a major city and most of his work is pretty routine because the cars often sit in storage etc.

I'd try to figure out your problems here on the forum or at the very minimum get an independent mechanic who you can trust or will come to your house where you can supervise if you don't wrench yourself.

When I was in my 20's, I had alot of bad experiences at dealerships until I met a mechanic at a GM dealership and we became friends. He is a great honest Christian guy but there are alot of bad eggs at dealers who just want to run your bill up or "throw parts at the problem" instead of diagnosing the problem correctly. Over the years, on the regular C4's I've pretty much learned all the pitfalls as I have had the majority of common problems over the last decade :lol:

The LT-5 can be tricky and say just on something simple like a Vacuum leak or fuel injectors, your bill can get up there in a hurry when half the time, you might not even need what they are selling you.

Good luck

[Gunny]

Congratulations on your new Z. You're going to have a ball.
And welcome to the brotherhood. You've already found the Registry Forum and let me invite you to "find" the ZR-1 Net Registry itself by becoming a member.

First, visit the registry site itself so that you can get an idea of what's available http://www.zr1netregistry.com/

When you're ready to join go to new member (http://zr1netregistry.com/ZR1registrystore/contents/en-us/d17.html) to complete your registration.

Any questions, post here or shoot an email to me. Again, welcome aboard.

George Jones

[secondchance]

Congratulations!
Welcome to the forum.

[rudolph schenker]

Congrats and welcome! :cheers:

[tomtom72]

Sorry I forgot this plev, a ZR-1 is a C4, mechanically speaking, except for the motor. Therefore any competent auto tech that has worked on enough C4's can handle the oil pan bolt checking job. You can do this yourself easily if you have the tools? It's just a question of having some "mechanical common sense" when it comes to stuff like this. You don't want to just tighten so that you squash the pan gasket out of it's rail or worse tear it from over tightening.


On another note. Trust me I know that this package looks "strange" , but the brotherhood taught me and we can teach you. That's what we're all about. Consider joining up and crack a beer & pull up a tire & stay awhile!

:cheers:
Tom

[GOLDCYLON]

Welcome to the forum and the madness that is the Beast :hello:

[Huntingbigun]

I also new to the ZR-1 world but welcome but old hand with vettes, I have my new to me 90 with 60,000 miles torn down fixing a few issuses that you may have so here couple things to check

Seat bladders , when I took the seats apart the bladders has fell apart and the bellows in the pumps were blown, you can buy new bladders & repair kits for the pumps.

My vacum motor was shot that powers the full power on the engine, turn on the valet key and just turn on the ign, listen for the pump should come on (r/h under the headlight when you open the hood) run a few seconds then turn off if not NO FULL POWER, replace pump or if it keeps running fix leaks

Speakers have indv. amps you can replace them easy

Fun car, pretty easy to thinker with just get you a GM manual and have fun.

Have fun:cheers:

[jrd1990zr1]

Best thing to get is the 3 book set of "Helms" manuals. You can find them pretty reasonably on e-bay.

I retorqued my pan last winter. A couple bolts were actually missing.

It is really not hard. Pull the 2 "K" braces for better access. Just be careful not to over torque the bolts.

Welcome! :cheers:

[Paul Workman]

Welcome to the Brotherhood! As said, be sure to joint the Registry - if for nothing else, the info in the periodical is worth the dues, but there are many more fringe bennies too!

I too wouldn't trust any dealer with the LT5. The real experts are here on this board, for a fact! Being an old hot rodder, I felt at home playing with, building/rebuilding, etc, etc, the SBC and BBCs. But, initially, I felt quite intimidated by the LT5. It is an entirely different animal, but two things help with the anxiety: First, the engine is bullet proof, and the issues it does have are related to aging plastic and rubber fittings - mostly under the plenum - and once you freshen that stuff up, you're good ta go.

The rest of the problems are pretty much the routine kinds of stuff you have on any car: e.g., belts, pumps, alternators, etc. Buy a Factory Service Manual (Helms) and much of the anxiety goes away (or did for me).

Enjoy your toy! Be prepared for a permagrin!:mrgreen:

P.

[Blue Flame Restorations]

Congratulations on your new Z!!!!!!

[tomtom72]

Yo plev.....you want to hook up with us & travel to the Gathering in BG this May? If so post up in this thread:

http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11182&page=4


:cheers:
Tom

[plev]

Tom, I responded in the caravan thread. Thanks for the invite but no can do.

Thanks for all the welcomes and for all the good advice.

A speed shop in RI that my brother uses for all his cars has agreed to learn about the zr-1 and more importantly the LT-5. I gave him this website and I'm sure he'll be seeking expert opinions for his questions. I have a STEEP learning curve and at least he'll understand most of what you folks are saying!!

I'm also going to buy the manuals as suggested. Thanks again!

[Z Factor]

I just bought a 1991 turquoise metallic ZR1 with 78k miles.

Hello and welcome to the forum. :handshak:

Most of your questions have been answered already, but also consider taking your ZR-1 to one of the shops that specialize in them.

That is a nice and uncommon color, so enjoy bring it back to all it's glory.

:handshak:

[WB9MCW]

Congrats and welcome to the ZOO.