Today I talk about 5 things to look for when you’re looking to purchase a C5 Corvette. I also go over some of the most effective easy performance mods to do once you’ve made your purchase. Like and subscribe!
I just bought a 2004 Corvette c5 with 75k miles from an old lady who had an divorce from her husband for 6k. Its a win win for me and I'm blessed with not problems yet with the t56 trans and harmonic balancer. This car came with borla xpipe and bb bullet exhaust. I Love it. Texas longtube headers is my next new mod. Thanks for the input!
I got lucky, bought my '01 C5 with 38K miles on it 3 years ago. The grommets on the electric seat slider rails needed to be replaced and just replaced the driver side headlight motor, both DIY and not to bad. Upgrade brakes to slotted and drilled disks, K&N intake, drivers seat foam and went ahead and replaced the spark plugs and wires and Borla exhaust. Only things left is the cross over exhaust X-pipe, new cam and perhaps a new L6 intake. Love my C5 and you can definitely work on most things yourself.
A year ago I bought a 99 with 36,000 miles and paid a fair price. I love it and have no regrets, HOWEVER, had a known of a few common problems I discovered, I would have paid a thousand or two less. Most important, the A/C has a leak in the evaporator and will not run for more than a couple weeks without a recharge. The cost of repair, if I don't do it myself will be over $1,100. It is very labor intensive since the whole dash needs to be disassembled. My suggestion is to ask the owner when the last time he charged the A/C system and hope for an honest reply. Second thing, and common on LS1''s is that the harmonic balancer goes bad. That repair cost $600 and is also very labor intensive. My suggestion is to take a flashlight and look for wobble on each pulley along the serpentine belt. It was easy to spot the wobble on the harmonic balancer. Lastly, and it wasn't a big deal, but very frightening until I learned what it was, check three drainage udders below the windshield for clogging by leaf debris. Water poured in below the dashboard onto my feet at the first big downpour. A lot of owners never heard of these. They are very easy to clean.
The T56 transmission is one of the best transmissions ever made. Usually when there's excessive wear or damage, it's because of abuse. If you get a grinding noise from the headlight motors, it's because there is a nylon gear that's driven by a brass worm gear mounted to the motor. It's easily repaired with an aftermarket brass gear.
I wonder if you're better to stick with a replacement nylon gear - it's a sacrificial part in case something goes wrong, it only strips out the gear and doesn't really F something up.
I recently did the 180 degree swap of the nylon gear method to get the headlight working again on my '03 Z06. Found the video on RU-vid. Pretty easy and zero cost.
Just watch the video and I thought it was pretty good. A few things you mentioned have terrific remedies now. I don’t know right now when the video was made so I’m not certain if those remedies existed at the time of filming. One thing that helps a lot is a screen that covers the air intake area on the bottom of the car. Adjure makes a good one for about $50, I have used them on every Vette I’ve owned except for one. I’ve had 6 different Bette’s and five of them were C5’s. So definitely a good point to make. The second and even less expensive cure to a common problem is how water and air can get under the leading edge of the hood. There is a seal called a “performance hood seal” that can be bought for about $15-$20. Overall I really liked the video and the points made therein. These are terrific cars and perform pretty well. They really are a great value and you can get a lot of bang for your buck if you find the right one. Thanks!
Nice video presentation dude. I was looking at buying a 2002 corvette -- you've given me a lot of ideas on how to maintain this vehicle and what to expected when things go bad. Thanks!
Ya man just make sure it has a good history and you should be fine, 02 and up are definitely the better ones. I drive mine daily and its great! GET ONE!!!
Personally, I think the '01 and up models are best. Also, though the LS6 came with the hottest factory cams, the 2000 models came with the hottest factory cam of any year LS1. They had a tighter lobe separation angle and .500 lift intake and exhaust. btw....I've owned a 2000 C5 for 15 years.
Thanks for the video man. About to look into a '99 M6 Coupe for my next project, building a list of inspection points to check the condition before I buy it.
Hnat Automotive nice! Check out the comments because I forgot a few! They’re great cars though. So much bang for your buck, they’re a great value for sure. You won’t regret it.
Yep, I noticed all those others too. The other big one with the steering column hopefully shouldn't be an issue since on the CarFax it says it's been replaced/fixed. I'm definitely excited for it to get into the garage and start wrenching on it. Looking forward to more videos on your car too. It sounds mean!! Would love to see what it sounds like driving as well!
The C5 is the beginning of a more European design. Having the transmission in the back makes it a real handling car. If you can, if the T-56 needs replacement, see if it's possible to go with a Tremec TR-6060.This is what I have in my C6Z. It's a far superior transmission. The shifting is amazing. Otherwise, the C5 represents what was super car territory not that long ago.The only issue is the EBC module for the '97s and back. They're rare as hen's teeth and go for about $1300 if you can find one. There is a place, Corvette Mike's, I think, that can rebuild on if it's like a bad relay, for a fraction of the cost. Good luck to anyone who picks up a C5. They're terrific starter super cars.
I have a 1998 C5. Have had since 2012. It had 60,000 miles when bought. No problems except for the right headlight motor went out. It now has 100,000 miles. Have been real happy with the car.
The rear seal on the transmission is not a “cheap fix “ if you’re not extremely mechanically inclined. You’re looking at 2 -3thousand to get that fixed. The rear seal leaking was a big issue for the c5!
I just bought one and I think my oil sending until went out cause my oil gauge is stuck on 80 but my gas gauge not working and i went to open it and gas shot out of it and i don't know why can someone help me
Harmonic balancer is not simple to replace. Steering rack needs to come off. Air check valve behind the engine goes bad throwing codes, valve springs breaking is notorious for 2002 - 2003 models, AC blow motor resistor goes bad, notorious pushrod ticks (common not really bothersom) , seat track nylon bushing goes bad, headlight plastic gears, etc. I've know because I own one and replaced these at 31K miles on a 2003 Z06 but it's a blast of car to own. I wouldn't trade her for anything so far... Nice video tho. Keep it up.
1. Bad grounds. 2.Headlight gears. 3. Power window motors. 4 Harmonic damper. 5 Steering column lock. 6 Heater core. 7 Oil pressure sensor. 8. Torque tube bearings. The cars are over twenty years old, and a lot of people just want to abuse then with no Pryor maintenance. Without records from the former owners, you really have no ideas. Remember, Before you do any mods, due all service items first.
2500HDjeff yes I do! Take a look at the other videos on my channel. I have and idle and rev video as well as a cold start. Also I have another video where I talk about good mods. As far as intakes go, a vararam or k&n would be fine. For exhaust, as long as you have headers and an x pipe, the rest of the exhaust is just up to how you want it to sound.
see you have the 50th anniversary. I have the 24 hrs at lemans. its an '04 convert. a.f. blue(lemans)..4 sp. auto. everything works and the interior is in excellent condition. need to stabilize you camera. (getting sea-sick)… Go Airforce...
Bill Dollarmovie yep it’s tough to quit, I’ve tried. And I’ve had it about 2 years now. Haven’t had a single problem with it, even after it’s been modified.
Other issues it if the car says on the display. Steering wheel lock. This problem was a recall that would turn the fuel pump off over 10 mph and lock the steering wheel. There is a small bypass box relay that is located under the driver side dash that must be replaced. The hazard switch can go bad and make the turn signals not function properly. Another issue is the driver side seats are easily torn. The cushioning of the material will wear down. Another issue is the weather stripping can leak in raining weather or car washes. Another issue is the climate control display will fade out. The ABS module can go bad and cause the display to say antilock service soon, traction control service. LS1 motors have the weaker oil rings so eventually the car will start to smoke and oil foul plugs. The valve seals were another issue on LS1 with 241 heads. The 243 heads that come on z06 models were a bigger improvement. They improve this problem with the LS2, LS3, LS6, LS7 and LS9 motors. If the head lights don't pop up, there is also a small black control box . IF you turn your head lights on and look. You will see it back and under the right head light . that box must be replaced. C5 corvettes were improved in 2001. The improvements increase the stock HP from 345 to 350 because of the LS6 intake. Another is with the throttle body can cause a reduce engine power issue. Usually this is the TPS sensor. But overall, Corvettes are still generally and extremely reliable. Expect for the alternator and starter to need replacing around 100,000 miles or just over time. If the starter goes out, expect to disconnect the entire exhaust system to get to it.
@@DanielRichards644the whole trans is weak, multiple start slipping before they even get to 80k, if you buy a vette with over 100k and it still has the OEM auto trans, expect to replace it soon.
@@martinvalencia6141 I've owned multiple 4l60 based vehicles, hell my Trailblazer has one and it made it past 200k miles before that trans failed, my dad's old 97 suburban made it over 200k without failure, infact the only issue that truck had was the water pump going at almost exactly 100k miles each time. Sure if you did major performance upgrades I could see having tranny issues or maybe if you never check/change the fluid like you are supposed to you could have issues.
Martin Valencia very false lmao, the 60e is no where near as weak as people make it out to be. I’ve known people that have pushed them past 275k with 0 problems. Even if they give, they’re extremely cheap to buy a replacement.
I found a 1997 C5 Corvette with 38,000 miles automatic for just about $14,000 is this a good deal or does this sound fishy what should I look for before possibly purchasing
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing electrical issues are the main problem with those years. Check for that, as well as the oil pressure gauge. Other than than I’d say it’s not a terrible price but you could definitely talk him down a bit. I’d try to be around 12k
There are several in my area with under 40,000 miles ranging from 97 to 04. All the automatic ones are right around the mid teens and the 6 speeds are around 22 to 25. I'm looking at an 01 Z06 6 speed with 87k on it for 14,500. Nothing special really about a common Corvette and it's sad they weren't driven or enjoyed. My friend gets so much shit for having modified his. My new favorite one is, and I swear this is 100% factual, "You ruined a rare limited production valuable car!" Said to him by some old codger literally as an identical one drove past. Don't be afraid to modify it, drive it hard or enjoy it. Never let anyone tell you it's rare or a keepsake. It' slightly more special than your average car, but then so are most sports cars.
Air Force Vette nice dude how does the trans hold up running that power? I've heard good and bad things about them but majority say the trans can hold up around 450rwhp with proper maintenance and just street use.
daily z06vette yeah you’re basically correct. The main thing is avoiding wheel hop. ECS makes a transmission brace to help reinforce the unit and that will help. But yeah with street use they can take quite a bit of power. I’m going to eventually get an rpm tr6060
Air Force Vette sounds awesome dude do you do most of your maintenance yourself or do you get a garage to do the work also your cam is that running on stock lifters or do you have aftermarket? I need a personal piggy bank for my car so I can buy all this stuff. Yeah I'm thinking when I do the clutch as I'm dropping the whole gearbox out I might as well invest in one of those braces. See I say that I would want my car to be around the 415-430rwhp and be done with it but then the speed bug will bite again and I'll be chasing more power.
daily z06vette haha it’s on stock lifters still. And I do all the maintenance stuff but for big jobs like the cam I just too it to a pro and let him do it. And yeah I need to get one of those braces too. I’m at around that power level and I’m already bored with it. The problem is that the next step up from here is VERY expensive.
Daytime running lights get hot and burn out all the time. It's really no big deal just keep a spare set in your glove box no tools required to replace them.
"Harmonic damper is fairly easy to replace".....Ha you have clearly never changed one or you would have an entirely different take on it. It is a huge PITA which requires the cradle to be lowered/PowerSteering rack removed. It is an 8 to 14 hour job which requires a few special tools as well. Very doable, but not 'Easy" at all
I loved this car when I drove it but even new, parts and repairs (even oil changes) cost close to 3 times a regular GM car. To own one now, you better have lots of money, a great mechanic, and a time machine to go back into the past to get parts!
@@darrenhanson7696 I drove the Vette for 7 years and loved it. However, from the beginning parts were expensive! For example, to change the small piece of roof, the dealer wanted $1800 for a painted one. However, the latching equipment was not included. At the junk yard, I got it for $600!
@@johncipolletti6139 yeah the dealer is crazy, you just gotta find a dirty guy with an old garage, and 4 star review, he'll be able to do it all, its pretty straight forward mechanically.
Hi... 2001 C-5 question.... It runs rough for the 1st 45 sec to 1 min... Then smooths out and runs like a scalded cat... Florida heat too.. Anyone ? Anyone ? Bueller ? Last time I did a plug & wire change was Mmmm 6 yrs ago.. But, keeping up on everything else 😸✌ Uhhh Also... 189 k miles
Rough run while cold, smoothing out as the engine warms is a classic sign of worn rings. Compression is low while the pistons and rings are small, going up as the pistons and block warm and expand. Years mean nothing to plugs, but exposure to oil (worn rings) sure does. Fresh plugs will probably help, but only till they start to oil foul.
genej501 the engine covers get in the way when you’re trying to work on it. I had an oil catch can that bolts to the engine that would have been against the covers as well. So I took them off.
I lived on ft dix side never had a vette in my garage. Lol nice car bro. Got out in 2013 after 12 yrs active. Now fighting with VA. Make it a career cuz they suck if you don’t retire. You’ll be 40 before u get any benefits lol.
Lewis Anderson yep I’m on fort Dix haha and I plan on staying in a while. I don’t have the Vette anymore unfortunately which is why I haven’t posted any videos. All I have is a beat up srt4 and a 2018 ram now.
Air Force Vette wow. Yea we lived on ft dix then moved to browns mills and then back on fir street. They had just built the pool pretty much right across the street. I was a fuels guy. I do miss it. Unfortunately got med discharge. But that ashame about the vette. What happen? Decided to go all mopar? Lol
Lewis Anderson no, just needed to have something practical for the time being. The neon I’ve had for a really long time. I’ll get another c5 eventually! Next time it will be a z06 though.
Air Force Vette they were designed to be the cheaper Corvette and never caught on. Where they were only made for a few years I do feel that the FRC will make a good C5 Collector Corvette. I have searched all of Canada and none are for sale here. “Summer is coming”
I don’t think you’ve done a balancer yet 😂😂 it’s a pain in the ass on the c5 because you have to remove the steering rack 😂 definitely not as easy as you make it out to be
C5 is last vette I Would buy...c6 is nice , but the headlights are horrible looking...love the hidden headlights...it a shame because i really want a 7.0L
You really, really missed allot of things commonly wrong with these cars but then if you're going just off yours you may have not experienced them yet...for example they love to developed vacume leaks on the air and on the secondary air pump, they also have a huge door actuator problem with relrays. And let's not forget the traction control failure codes that will follow you like the plague
He didn't touch the AC compressor at all. When it goes, it is expensive to replace. Also, you should replace the water pump at the same time, since you have to take so much off to get to the compressor. Very labor intensive. He should mention ballpark prices to do some of these things, as a potential buyer is told "it just needs a charge" and really it needs a compressor and $2000 later, your AC is working again.
MY C5 LOOKED JUST LIKE THAT ONE AND IT WAS LITERALLY PLAGUED WITH ALL KINDS OF SHIT, FIXING IT ALL WOULD HAVE EQUIVALENT TO BUYING THE CAR 3 TIMES...ADIOS! NEVER AGAIN!!
Last corvette GM didn't want anything more to do with the vettes So engineers stole lied anything they could build the C5 And honestly I own one and what this fine gentleman is saying isn't true The transmission are bulletproof there strong The master cylinder is made by GM no issues the only issue someone may run into is the ignition solenoid it can break and your vette security system will not allow you to start the car I've had mine ten yrs except for tires and oil changes....no issues
The trans itself is strong, it’s the way it’s mounted that breaks it. Usually where the diff and trans meet or on the trans case itself. I never had problems with my master cylinder, although the fluid can get sediment in it and cause failure which is somewhat common.
