New Guy New ZR1 Owner Few problems Need Assistance

[tomtom72]

Welcome TFNET to the BOB! You sir, have excellant taste in fine motor cars.........the black ones are faster...they tell me.

On that reverse thing, oh yea I know about that, but I'll go one better....parking brake lever took me a while to get also! The transport driver got a kick outta me that day! He was laughing up a storm. Oh, on the Helm FSM's....I was just there & they are out of stock on the 90 set.

Good luck with, and enjoy your christmass present!


Tom

[TFENT]

Update.

So today started out with a bath to see how the paint looked. I would say it is a solid 9.5 out of 10 for 18 years old.

Next stop was to the good old CA smog shop. Car passed with flying colors!

Then to AAA to register the car and change titles. Also added to the policy. Insured it as a classic with an agreed payout of $35K and full coverage for get this. $161 per year. NICE!

Next stop was Discount Tire. Read below. In addition to the below info. I have the Chromed Sawblade wheels on my car. I am reading these are the rare ones?? I am correct? I am going to take these off to make room for the 18's that will be needed to the new brake system. So any advice on these rims would help.

Then Stereo Shop for a look over of electrical system. StreetNoyz in San Diego is the best in the business. Made an appointment for high fidelity make-over, new tint, alarm system, HID install ect.

Then last stop of the day I think as I am here now typing this on the laptop. Is a place call True-Line. They are the wrench experts I trust here locally. They do all of my clients MovIt Brake upgrades for me and numerious other things like suspension systems and general wrenching. I brought the ZR1 here for an alignment and so they can go over the whole car to see if it needs any fluids, bolts tightened, or anything that needs imidiate attention.

Problems from last night addressed:

TPS was working surprisingly. The tires had between 15-21 psi in them all around. So we balanced and air them up. So far not too bad. Still a tiny vibration but I will try the Hunter Load Balance machine in a few weeks. Should fix that. Low Press light is now off but the TPS system light is on.

Radio: SHOT! makes no sound at all. Thinking of just installing and Eclipse GPS NAV system in it. Maybe send out the factory deck to get fixed for future use.


New items discovered:

The glass top is whacked in one spot. The mount in the crossover of the roof is off by like an inch. So that will have to come apart so I can see if the mount can be re-aligned.

The rear window window defroster wire on the glass itself has become unsoldered in several places. Anyone ever heard of this wire being resolderable?

Rear window creaks loudly from the roof mount when entering uneven surfaces. Actually this thing is a regular rattle box. Seems there are sounds coming from everywhere.

There is a sound coming from under the car when I turn the Ign off. Almost sounds like a rod knocking. I am guessing that it is in the clutch system.

The tranny whins pretty loudly. Specially in 1st gear. But then again I am without any radio so I am being hyper-sensitive.

Lastly on thing I have notcied is at an idle the oil pressure bounces all over the place. From below 0-up, I am assuming this is a known issue and is in the sender or pigtail to the sender.

[Z Factor]

Originally Posted by TFENT

Hey all

Hello Tom, and welcome to the forum.

As you can see, most of the list has been covered by helpful forum members and can be do it yourself repairs. Normally I don't recommend going to dealers, but there is a certified(at least there was a few years ago) ZR-1/LT5 mechanic working in the San Diego area if you are interested. Just PM me if you need the info.

[TFENT]

Originally Posted by Z Factor

Hello Tom, and welcome to the forum.

As you can see, most of the list has been covered by helpful forum members and can be do it yourself repairs. Normally I don't recommend going to dealers, but there is a certified(at least there was a few years ago) ZR-1/LT5 mechanic working in the San Diego area if you are interested. Just PM me if you need the info.

Thank you PM sent.

Well last update for the night. We found a rather large oil leak under the motor at the cross member.

Gonna order some of Amsoil's slippery stuff to put in the motor and tranny.

[tccrab]

Welcome to the Brotherhood of the Beast!!

The '90's are the best looking as well as the fastest.

Update.

TPS was working surprisingly. The tires had between 15-21 psi in them all around. So we balanced and air them up. So far not too bad. Still a tiny vibration but I will try the Hunter Load Balance machine in a few weeks. Should fix that. Low Press light is now off but the TPS system light is on.

Remove the wheel sensors. The light will go out.
A couple of people a year experience a wheel sensor failure at high speed. It could be fatal. Take 'em out and put them away for the next guy.

Radio: SHOT! makes no sound at all. Thinking of just installing and Eclipse GPS NAV system in it. Maybe send out the factory deck to get fixed for future use.

A radio in a ZR1 is kind of an oxymoron. Why listen to Willey Nelson or Abba when there's a world class symphony playing the most beautiful music known to man under the hood?
The "Blows" radio is a common failure item. You might have to send the speakers off too, the amps in them are another common failure item. Send 'em all to Dr. Don's:
http://www.doctordons.com/
Then put them in a box and save them for the next guy.

New items discovered:

The glass top is whacked in one spot. The mount in the crossover of the roof is off by like an inch. So that will have to come apart so I can see if the mount can be re-aligned.

There's some play in the mounts, but an inch? *shakes head*
I'll bet the glass top of from an earlier C4.

The rear window window defroster wire on the glass itself has become unsoldered in several places. Anyone ever heard of this wire being resolderable?

The rear hatch is common to all C4's.
It will probably be cheaper and easier to just replace it with a good used one that's in better shape.

Rear window creaks loudly from the roof mount when entering uneven surfaces. Actually this thing is a regular rattle box. Seems there are sounds coming from everywhere.

Tighten the 4 bolts holding the targa top in place. If the top isn't secured, the car will flex, and squeaks come from everywhere.

There is a sound coming from under the car when I turn the Ign off. Almost sounds like a rod knocking. I am guessing that it is in the clutch system.
The tranny whins pretty loudly. Specially in 1st gear. But then again I am without any radio so I am being hyper-sensitive.

This "Rod Knocking" sound is a common feature of the Dual Mass Flywheel. Have a fellow ZR1'er listen to the sound, if it is the dual mass flywheel, get used to it.
The whining you hear is common to the "Black Tag" ZF6.
There's a long drawn out scientific explanation involving the angle of the gears, phases of the moon, and pimples on a hyenas' butt, but I won't bore you with the details. It whines in first gear.
It sounds great.

Lastly on thing I have noticed is at an idle the oil pressure bounces all over the place. From below 0-up, I am assuming this is a known issue and is in the sender or pigtail to the sender.

Another common item, it's probably the pressure sending unit under the oil filter.
http://www.zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_issues.htm#4


And again, welcome to the Brotherhood!!

TomC
"Crabs"

[TFENT]

I am sure this will not be the last time I thank all of you for the assistance. I really appriciate all the help.


I will be removing the radio this coming weekend and having the Eclipse NAV system installed. Radio and supporting hardware will be sent to the DR. Stereo shop stated the only way to get the front speaker system out of the door was to remove the window regulators.

Wheel sensors will be removed ASAP, then boxed and stored.

The car is super fun to drive. I will be ordering a chip too this week. Now if I can just figure out what wheels and tires to run. Thinking 18's all around with 10"a in front with 295's and 12's in back with 335's.

Just need to figure out the oil leak now under the car near the engine cross-over. We were going to use dye this week and blacklight it.

The roof piece is wierd. I will post a picture of it in the AM when the sun arises again.

[carter200]

Originally Posted by TFENT

Just need to figure out the oil leak now under the car near the engine cross-over. We were going to use dye this week and blacklight it.

Usually the leak you are talking about is from loose oil pan bolts. See if they are loose before trying dye's.

To set the record straight the Black Z's are the fast ones and the 95's look way better

Good luck with your Z.

[Jason 91]

TFENT, welcome to the Brotherhood! The support here is always great and I've learned so much from these guys.



Here's an example;

Quote:
If I chuck the TPS sensors will the light remain on or do I install new ones or???
No, the light will go out if all 4 are removed.

I did not know this until reading this post. My driver's side rear is the bad one and I'm just going to have them removed.

Jason

Originally Posted by TFENT

Rev
Where do I get the ZR1 bibles from?

Welcome to the family.

Have you considered this in the ZR-1 Net Store if you don't need the hard copy of manuals:

LT5 Technical Documentation

$69.99 ShippingShipping USA (+$6.00) Shipping International (+$12.00)



LT5 Technical Documentation on DVD
The DVD of the LT5 Technical documentation includes the following manuals:
1. 1990 Service Repair Manual
2. 1990 Service Repair Manual Electrical Supplement
3. 1990 - 1993 Engine supplement
4. 1990 - 1994 CCM Diagnostics Repair Manual
5. 1990 - 1995 Engine Overhaul Mechanical Manual
6. 1990 - 1995 Parts & Illustrations Manual
All 6 manuals are compiled onto one DVD and indexed, searchable by text, as well as part #, contains almost 6,000 pages.

$69.99 + shipping ($6.00 in the US)

[TFENT]

Originally Posted by HAWAIIZR-1

Welcome to the family.

Have you considered this in the ZR-1 Net Store if you don't need the hard copy of manuals:

LT5 Technical Documentation

$69.99 ShippingShipping USA (+$6.00) Shipping International (+$12.00)



LT5 Technical Documentation on DVD
The DVD of the LT5 Technical documentation includes the following manuals:
1. 1990 Service Repair Manual
2. 1990 Service Repair Manual Electrical Supplement
3. 1990 - 1993 Engine supplement
4. 1990 - 1994 CCM Diagnostics Repair Manual
5. 1990 - 1995 Engine Overhaul Mechanical Manual
6. 1990 - 1995 Parts & Illustrations Manual
All 6 manuals are compiled onto one DVD and indexed, searchable by text, as well as part #, contains almost 6,000 pages.

$69.99 + shipping ($6.00 in the US)

Gonna buy it right now Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Hey how do you find out what number your vette was made?