Common Fbody Problems

[LarryMow]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

Im at 149,000 with mine and have had little trouble out of it in 14yrs. Replaced upper lower intake manifold gaskets, starter, heater core, water pump, power steering pump, 2 headliners, 2 d/s window motors, 1 p/s window motor, and installed brass gear for headlight motor.

[mloaks]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

Long time gone, but back iaw I hope to buy another F-body...
1. loved my M5 catfish and it still runs strong, but a DC commute makes me consider a '99 automatic. Gen 4 ATs very robust in normal driving? ad;
(1999 Camaro
V6 Automatic 168K miles 1 family owner
T-Tops Remote Start Alarm. new duals for install
Minor passenger side damage (blue car in photos)
Asking $1,995 OBO)
2. cars with this high of mileage are when I usually sell... is everyone's hi-mile birds and maros still fun to own vs not too high maint? PO seemed on top of it...
3. thought of checking out Stealth/3000s, BMW3s, and other makes since Ive owned so many, but 4th gens are one of my few past I'd want again. I think...
4. as always, tks for any input or advise. i recall what to watch for re int gaskets, window mtrs etc., but wondered how theyve aged since my '98 stick. tks

[RedDeadCamaro]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

My 95 3.4L is in project mode right now with an ignition module bad, coil packs, plugs and plug wires. Both window motors, muffler rotted off. Needs shocks and struts, brakes, and the transmission rebuilt. But, I'd rather drive this daily than a Honda or Toyota, And it's paid for. I think its worth it. And all these issues are things that need to be addressed anyway.

[PalmHarbor]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

I don't know about everybody else, but this car is starting to tick me off. I have a 99 Camaro with 54K miles and since the warranty ended 2 years ago, it's been falling apart. The intake gasket sprung a coolant leak, the TCC solenoid in the tranny went bad, the AC compressor is on the way out, right side window motor barely works, AND the y-pipe is starting to rattle. All in all it's going to cost a bundle to keep this thing in good shape. Are all of you having the same amount of trouble? Is this common on these cars? They are nice cars, but they sure aren't reliable, at least mine's not.

I think what you are experiencing is normal....I have had multiple repairs and replacements and at 120K...I have to get the engine rebuilt $1600+ or put in a different (used) engine.

[ACiFiC]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

I think what you are experiencing is normal....I have had multiple repairs and replacements and at 120K...I have to get the engine rebuilt $1600+ or put in a different (used) engine.

Dont blame the car for the engine rebuild.

[Winch]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

This is a scary thread since I just bought an 02 V6 auto T-top. It's my first non-first-gen Camaro. I bought it for my son who is in college. He has been saving for one when he graduates but since the old Toyota gave out on him I'm surprising him on Christmas morning.

It has 125k miles but seems in real good shape. The body and interior are near perfect and I couldn't find anything mechanically wrong when I checked it out. I have seen a minor coolant leak when it's cold from the O-ring on the lower heater hose where it goes into the block (or WP?) but it quits as soon as it warms up and it sounds like that's a common problem and relatively cheap fix.

I'll keep my fingers crossed on all the other problems I'm reading about here. Especially the rear main seal.

[Cdr.Instigator]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

I've about had it with my 97 W68 Convertible..



I've owned it since 1997 November. Bought it brand new with 17 miles on it, never... never been mistreated. Never, no burning tires.. I have replaced:

Alternator
Started
CAI Sensor
MAS Sensor
MAF Sensor
Fuel filters
All Solenoid packs
Both window motors
Convertible top twice and it's ready for a new one
Convertible failed 1 week ago and I fear it's the pump as it only goes down and not up
Fuel pump
Exhaust sensors
Serpentine belt 3 times
Spark plugs 3 times
Break shoe pads 4 times
Spark plug cables 3 times
Catalytic converter
Muffler
Shocks
Springs
Tires
Stereo
Power antenna has been broke for years, does not go up or down, stays affixed at midway
Radiator taken apart and flushed
Fuel injectors replaced
All sensors have been replaced
I think it now has started to leak oil from the rear main seal, as a little stain has appeared on the exhaust manifold and has a light smell of burned oil
Air condition pump has been replaced with hoses once, but now the hose need to be replaced again

I've been chasing a fix to the Check engine light that wont go away even after replacing all of the above sensors... I'm about to fire my mechanic as He has been charging me to fix this freaking light hundreds of dollars. Just got my car back from the mechanic shop 2 days ago and the ****ING check engine light is back again... %^&$*&^% !!!


I will not get rid of my car though, I'm too attached to it and I will find a fix one way or another...

I'm pissed at my mechanic..

[thebeewantsboost]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

cai sensor? is that a cold air intake sensor ? lol or do u mean "iac valve"
and mas sensor? do you mean map? if you've gone through that many brake drum pads something isn't right they usually last well over 100k
what do you mean by solenoid pack? coil packs maybe? whats the code you are getting? and if you're mechanic is just replacing parts. replace him

[Cdr.Instigator]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

cai sensor? is that a cold air intake sensor ? lol or do u mean "iac valve"
and mas sensor? do you mean map? if you've gone through that many brake drum pads something isn't right they usually last well over 100k
what do you mean by solenoid pack? coil packs maybe? whats the code you are getting? and if you're mechanic is just replacing parts. replace him

Yes, I had those wrong...

The error codes I am getting are,

P-041 EGR
P-0446 Canister Purge

I have done changed both of those things and I still get a gurgle upon driving off on high rpms..

O2 censors are new.. catalytic converter is new... I don't get it!

[FirebirdGT]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

Yes, I had those wrong...

The error codes I am getting are,

P-041 EGR
P-0446 Canister Purge

I have done changed both of those things and I still get a gurgle upon driving off on high rpms..

O2 censors are new.. catalytic converter is new... I don't get it!

0441 EGR - get that all the time on my 96 - sticking EGR valve - either remove and clean, or replace, or delete :) - been too busy to do either - just clear it with my scanner, and good for the entire day. Replaced it years ago - fixed it then.

0446 Purge - gas cap is bad - replace, fixed mine.

.

[87SC/SS]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

@Cdr.Instigator: I'm not going to address your entire list, but I think a lot of your replaced parts are due to your mechanic not being able to figure out what the actual problem is. Replacing injectors, plugs, wires, coil packs, etc suggests maybe he was trying to diagnose a misfire. CAI? IAT - intake air temp sensor, IAC - inlet air control valve, CTS - coolant temperature sensor. Either way the only sensors that tend to fail are O2 sensors and maybe MAF sensors. IAC's need to be removed and cleaned from time to time. Most other sensors are pretty bullet proof. Also springs? did you lower the car, did one actually break, or did your mechanic say you needed them?


Unfortunately I think a lot of the problems people have with these cars is the mechanics that work on them. You get a lot of mechanics that just throw parts at them until the figure it out. That's not the correct approach. Not to mention when people do repairs sometimes they get the cheapest parts available - not always a good idea. Spend a couple of dollars more and get the better parts or you'll be replacing them again and blaming the poor quality on the car instead of the part. I go AC Delco whenever it's available.

Also towards the late 90's GM really slacked on quality, not to be corrected until 2007/2008.

I've got a 95 bird w/ 135,000 miles. I'm the third owner. I bought it in 2007 for $2,700 with 70,000 miles when I got it. It's currently on a lift in the shop with the engine and trans sitting on the ground underneath it. :-/. Most of my issues with the car are age related, it really has been a great car for me.

When I bought it the AC compressor was bad and it needed a new clutch (no fault of the car). I made them replace both before I'd hand over the $$. SInce then I've fixed the following:

Maintenance - these are wearable parts, you can't really call these repairs and consider the car of poor quality because it needs the following
- Plugs
- Wires
- Battery
- Tires
- Timing chain
- Oil
- Oil Filter
- Fuel Filter
- swapped air filter for K&N so - just clean and re-oil periodically
- serpentine belt
- coolant hoses
- brake pads
- brake shoes
- front rotors
- rear drums

Repairs:

2007
- Replaced plastic gear with brass gear in headlight motor - stupid design from the factory causes them to wear the plastic gear out and make noise when they go down. Either a brass gear from the factory or a limit switch would've avoided these problems - Corvettes have the same problem.

2008
- Catalytic converter - catalyst was loose and rattling around

2009
- water pump - it didn't need one but I was replacing the timing chain and had it apart.
- Front freeze plug - again it wasn't leaking but had it apart

About a month ago
- All 4 shocks - needed
- All front and rear suspension bushings -needed
- Ball Joints - not needed, but since I had it apart
- O2 sensors - thew parts at a poor idle condition - turned out it needed a valve job
- since I was doing suspension work I decided to upgrade the front brakes to the bigger 98+ breaks so add spindles, calipers, rotors and pads

Currently in progress
- steering rack - was leaking, but working otherwise
- P/S pump - leaking but working otherwise
- rear main seal - needed badly
- exhaust manifold gaskets - small leak under heavy acceleration
- valve job and resurface heads - leaky intake valve on driver's side bank
- driveshaft - center bearing is worn - replacing with LS1 aluminum DS
- all other freeze plugs - not needed, but engine's out might as well do it
- lifters - not needed, but intake was off so, might as well do it
- clutch - only about 50% worn, but was replacing rear main seal - also another example of bad mechanics - when I bought the car and had them replace the clutch they didn't replace the pilot bushing when they replaced the clutch, the old one had to come out in 3 pieces. Just a situation where the guy I bought the car from wanted to spend as little as possible getting the car in salable condition.

A lot of the repairs were preemptive - nothing was really wrong, but I was in the process of maintaining something in that area and because I've had a few F-Bodies, I know what goes wrong and decided to get to it before it got to me. I only paid $2700 for the car so by the time all is said and done, including the price of the car I have less than $6000 into it.

I agree with what many have said - if you maintain the car, in most cases it'll last for a long time.

There are a small handful of things that do go wrong with most GM cars, like alternators, fuel pumps, power window motors and regulators.

For those that have replaced power window motors over and over - replace the regulator too - they get rusty and the spring wears out and causes extra strain on the motor. Also lube the tracks and rollers before you put it back together.

My office is right next door to the repair shop I use so I walk over there constantly while there doing the work and tell them exactly what I want them to do and what I don't want them to do. Also I do most of my own work - I just didn't have the time to do it this time. If I'm having a problem with the car I figure out what it is and tell them what to replace or repair. If I can't figure it out, I'm look on here and maybe post a question. This way I can be sure they're not just throwing parts at it until it's fixed.

Just my $0.02

[WarShrike]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

Actual issues of the car from failure of parts through regular use?
Intake manifold gasket
Window motors and one headlight motor

Other stuff was from abuse like the trans.
All the rest has been from regular wear and tear of maintenance items anyway and I replaced them with aftermarket components.

[adrummer02L78]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

On my 02 Camaro I have replaced:

non reg maintenance parts -

fuel pump
drivers side window motor
(I need to fix my AC now, just haven't done it yet)
changed manifolds for headers - had three broken manifold studs, which I still can't comprehend

and besides that the regular things... tires, exhaust, brakes, plugs, wires, belt, sensors and such crap etc.....

[thebeewantsboost]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

knock on wood, i've never replaced anything other than consumeables. i would have needed a window motor but i had to replace my door and got a new one with it. not that a door is a consumeable lol.

[r_simmonds]

Re: Common Fbody Problems

I've never really had too much trouble out of my car. I bought it in 2003 with 52k on the clock. It now has 140k on it and still runs great. One thing to remember is that not all parts are going to last the life of the car. Things like the starter, alternator, water pump, window motors, headlight motors on Firebird models, are all parts that will wear out eventually if you actually drive the car.

In the time I've owned my car, I've replaced these hard parts-
alternator (3 times, because my amplifiers were drawing too much current when turned up while the car was at idle)
starter
3 coil packs (these are not uncommon for any DIS car, especially when they become heat soaked)
water pump
passenger window motor
both headlight motors
wheel bearings
one clogged injector
catalytic converter (original got crushed when my ex ran it through a ditch)

-all of which are things I consider parts that will need to be replaced under normal wear and tear, aside from the cat.

Other things I've replaced, which are normal wear and tear items that should be replaced at some point in the life of the car-
spark plugs and wires
fuel filter
air filter upgraded to K&N
all fluids get flushed on a regular basis, even differential oil and brake fluid
serpentine belt
shocks, springs, and bushings
brake pads, rotors upgraded with Powerslot pieces
battery (swapped for an Optima shortly after I bought the car, finally had to replace it this year)

I'm sure I've missed some things in there, but all in all, my Firebird has been very good to me. I take very good care of it, but I also drive it very hard. So it's not far fetched to think that some things will eventually need replaced. But it gets old hearing people saying their cars are junk or problematic when the parts they're replacing are parts that wear out on any vehicle, or they don't bother with routine maintanence and the car breaks down. If you don't want to worry about replacing normal wear and tear parts on a vehicle, then don't buy a car, lease one.