1829

I know the 99s and later have bigger fuel tanks and the 01-02s have a few more ponies amongst other changes. Did the '98s have any specific negative issues that the 99s and later didn't?

Trying to keep my options open as my search continues. I prefer the Firebirds but a Camaro would be okay too and I'm only looking at a 6 speed.


Thanks!

Mike Morris

iTrader: (55)

1998 F-Body

1. Had different casting heads which had perimeter bolts and valve covers.
2. Ignition coils were mounted to the valve covers one at a time.
3. The water temp gauge actually works.
4. 98's do have an oil life monitor, they just don't tell you anything when its time for a change. You can find it in Auto-Tap
5. WS6s had single outlet exhaust (all others had duals)
6. Steering wheel controls were completely different part with indentations on the buttons, and were better built
7. Only year that Purple, Gold, and Green were available
8. Some very early Trans Ams came with LT1 style headrests
9. Rear hatch release was poorly designed and often caused problems releasing mechanism
10. Early model 98 Monsoon stereos didn't have capability to control 12-disc CD changer
11. 1998-1999 automatic transmission LS1s could be started in 1st gear even with the shifter in 2nd. Starting 2000, if you put the shifter in 2, it would start off in 2, even from a stop.
12. 1998-1999 LS1 cars had a smaller throttle body cam, which caused the throttle to open to WOT (wide open throttle) faster than 2000+ cars
13. 1998 cars had 28 lb fuel injectors from the factory
14. 1998-2000 cars had a larger cam than the 01-02 cars
15. 1998-1999 cars had more restrictive exhaust manifolds
16. 1998-2000 cars had an LS1 intake with EGR
17. 1998 and some early 1999 cars had blue outside rear view mirrors (Trans Am only)
18. 1998 only LS1 blocks had a much smaller cylinder sleeve that only tolerated a .005" hone
19. Last year F-body to use the old 15.5 gallon steel fuel tank.
20. Only year LS1 F-body to contain a gas cap with a tether long enough to actually hang from the fuel door while open
21. Only year LS1 F-body to not contain the famous GM black box used in the event of an accident to record up to 5 seconds of pre-crash data
22. 1998 only cars had a different PCV system with the PCV valve located above the passenger side valve cover
23. 1998 most cars did not have an idle adjustment screw on the throttle body. Some 98 cars do have the idle throttle stop set screws.
24. 1998 cars have a completely different PCM from 99+ cars
25. A production shortage of F-body cams caused the use of a C5 cam to be installed in F-body LS1s for a very short time
26. 97-98 LS1's used a paper water pump gasket. The only gasket that isn't reuseable
27. SSs did not ALL go to SLP starting in 98. Y2Y was the RPO code that sent them to SLP for additional options
28. SS option did not "include" the Synthetic oil package, it was a SLP only Option

TransAmWS.6

I would take some time to read through this, should tell you everything you need to know about 98-02 F-Body differences and similarities

https://ls1tech.com/forums/1740880-post2.html

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Check out the FAQ sticky in the Newbie Tech section, the link is posted above.