I have a 99 Camaro Z28 of which has a leaking rear main seal and oil pan gasket leak. The motor has 180k miles and for the price of repairing both of those, for a bit more I could start fresh with a new long block and have a bit more peace of mind.. but there's a few things that I've been alittle skeptical about...

1. My entire suspension / front and rear needs replacing.
2. My steering rack needs replacing.
3. I may as well rebuild the transmission.
4. Headliner / Sunvisors look like a dog chewed all over them.
5. Need new sterio.
6. Other unforeseen problems will undoubtedly arise over the horizon.

Basically for the price of repairing my car, I could have a substantial down payment on a 2011 Camaro SS .. The issue with that is, I'm trying to avoid car payments for awhile as I am concentrating funds on other areas of my life.. but I also don't want to throw tons and tons of money into my 4th gen and it still doesn't turn out right... Whats your opinion? What would you do?

Fix the 4th gen and remain car note free?
Buy a 2011 Camaro SS and pay notes for another 3 years?
Think about a 05 / 07 C6 and maybe have lower payments?

 

I think if you add up the repairs to your 99 Z28 you will find that it's WAY WAY cheaper than making payments for 3 years.

New suspension.....I assume you just mean new shocks.....? That's $250.00.

4L60E rebuild should cost you no more than $400.00 including the R&R.....fix the rear main seal while it's out....$20.00

New stereo....$250

Headliner......$100.00 done professionally. Sun visors almost free at a junk yard.

Steering rack.....not sure what that costs. But do the oil pan gasket at the same time.


Hopefully you know someone that likes to do side work......don't go to a regular rip-off mechanic.

Where do you live......?

.

 

Im in Marietta GA, Atlanta Area basically... If you have any good shop recommendations I'm all ears. I have two of them that Im not touching again.

 

if u dont need a backseat, which fbod back seas are just padded storage areas, id say comprimise between the two, find a C5 for a decent price, maybe have a lot smaller payment, have a step up from the fbody.

 

with the prices he listed that was do it yourself with insider prices on parts not marked up by a reseller.

His $1020.00 will quickly turn into $3000 if your paying someone to do it and the parts are getting marked up accordingly.

 

Just curious, how difficult would it be to remove the motor and strip it to a long block / reinstall a reman long block for an average joe mechanic? I've done basic stuff, tuneups / oil changes, water pumps, pulleys, condensor, radiator and even drive shafts but I havent pulled a motor yet.

 

who can rebuild at a 4l60 for $400? and my konis cost me over $800 shipped.

i mean i guess you can cut corners but its not worth it imo.

 

yes,this i agree with.

 

Well pulling the engine is much more involved than the bolt on stuff you have been doing but if you take it out the bottom on the cradle like most people do you can swap out the rack while you have the pullout out and the front suspension would be out and easy to get at too... Do you need this car to get to work everyday ?? this is where having a beater car or even better truck comes in handy....

personally I wouldn't put a reman in it - I trust a good running unopened ( assembled by GM) engine over a reman , or at minimum a lower miles engine to put in and then do a build on yours or sell it whole or as parts. My highest mileage LS1 car currently has 241,000 miles on it and no plans to open it up any time soon so maybe I am biased but I have had unopened GM engines with well over 300k several times over the years.

Whether LS based , old school SBC , 3800 series 2 SC, all platforms I have been into over the years the common observation watching friends as well as members on forums has been if its been opened up whether rebuild or someone's build its way more likely to have an issue than something left alone but maintained well. If it aint broke don't fix it , if it breaks though when life serves lemons make lemonade