The owner says it has a lifter tick on cylinder 8 and a misfire has happened or is happening on 2 that might be an injector. How long would you guess it will last for? What else should I look for engine-wise? I have a '96 formula M6 so i am pretty familiar with f-bodies but not so much the LS1. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I bet you could seafoam it a few times and it'd be fine!

 

Yeah, My 99 had 169k on it and ran great, When we pulled the motor to start the turbo build I was really suprised how clean inside the engine was!

 

If it was me, I would be looking for a different car that had a lot less miles.

Thats a shitload man...normal miles (15K a year) comes out to 150,000-165,000.

 

I have been looking high and low for a 6sp LS1 in my price range. The guy is asking 5k and it comes with a WS6 hood. I have a '96 formula with 131,000 that i can probably get about 5k for do you guys think it's a smart move to sell my formula to get the T/A?

 

lifter tick? my lifters dont tick, if they did, id be furious

 

i definetely wouldnt pay 5k for a 176k mile ls1 that makes noises...you can find a better deal than that man

 

huh, i thought this was a pretty good deal. the cheapest 6spd trans am i have seen around in the last 5-6 months was $6,500 and that had ruined paint on the nose and hood. I am looking at it later today so ill know what noise he is talking about.

 

I would buy it but I would expect to have to pay to fix a few things such as clutch,rearend,probably coils, and at least a rebuilt motor. You may not have to replace those right now but be aware that this car's lifespan is probably 3/4 of the way done. The way I see it is you have a great base to start your modifications at a price you could afford. Becaus if it were me I would want a better built transmission and a LS3 block so I wouldn't want the stock stuff anyways and you already have the computer,wiring and accesories there.

 

If you plan on using that car and not replacing stuff, that is not a great deal. If you plan to buy it then change the motor, rear, and clutch around..then thats a different story. Just remember your paying $5000 for a car that WILL most likely need work down the road pretty soon!

 

i had some lifter tick in my 98 with 150k, i mean the slightest little nail hitting a table tick not some hear it in the car noise. Like everyone else said, if you plan on tearing it down who cares as long as it drives. Flush the oil, seafoam it, put some injector cleaner in it and top it off with premium. You never know it might just work itself out

 

the guy said he had the dealership recently rebuild the tranny when they were in there replacing the clutch. i am trying to weigh possible problems with that car compared to the known problems on my formula. My formula has bald front tires and the clutch starting to slip, but has 40,000 less miles.

 

The way I look at it, it MIGHT be fine and just be able to drive it.

But it also might NOT be fine and it will nickel and dime you to death. It might run for another 100k miles or it might blow up the day after you buy it. Thats just waaaay too many miles to buy a sports car with, IMO.

I think you need to save up some more money or get a loan and buy a better, lower mileage car.

 

thats a little high to me,you can find ls1's with 50-60k on them for 6-10k depending on car shape and mods in my area.were are you from?


also another thing to consider is what has actually been replaced on that car that you know of.Because with that many miles surely it has had to have a clutch,rear end or some other stuff replaced .

 

keep in mind that the car will be fine. You will have to eventually add some cash to the car but if the body looks good you can have the motor freshen up and add a fresh valve train for un 3000 bucks. then you will have less than ten grand in the car.I have done several rebuilds on ls1 cars. parts I replace is all bearings, rings, fresh cam, ls7 lifters, ported ls6 oil pump. set the motor up with close tolerances. add fresh springs to match the cam. The complete rebuild cost around 2500 bucks. Most of the cars we do make between 370 to 410hp depending on what cam and other mods you have. I say if the car look the way you want. buy the car and iinvest a little in the powertrain and enjoy

 

Ok so after looking at the car the tick is barely audible, but there a kind of loud howl form the rear end so i assume the ol' 10 bolt is about done. He thinks it is the exhaust because it has true duals, but it's definatley a rear end thing, maybe i can haggle him down because of that i don't know. He said that he recently had the tranny rebuilt and a new clutch put in by a dealership, but the pedal is super easy to push down and doesnt have much feel to it even though it seems to work fine. Is that common on LS1s or did they just not bleed it well? My dilema is after all is said and done i will have a lil over $500 to work with after i fix the rear end.

The only other problem is at like 5100 rpm right before i went to shift it hit like a rev limiter or something and im not sure what it is. Any thoughts to what that might be?

 

your rpm stutter might have something to do with the 02's i bet they are oringinal.

 

The rear is shot,more $$$.

Just like I said, theres something else already wrong with it and it going to need more money to fix...in other words, its going to nickel and dime you to death.

It needs the rear rebuilt, now it might need O2 sensors, some time soon it will probably need window motors,probably needs plugs and wires, see where im going with this...

Its your money and you do whatever you want.

 

Oh yeah i know what you mean about nickel and diming me to death. I might just put a new clutch in the formula and hope for the best until next year with a slightly bigger budget(college takes almost all my money). I have just always wanted a 98+ TA and now that there is one within reach it is hard to pass up.

 

I bought my 00 formula A4 for 3k with 180k. Converted to a TA and now complete OEM WS6. I've also replaced the entire drive line, 408, to converted t56 and 3.42 rear. So in the end I've got 15k into the body/drive train. But its all new and I did it all.

For you if you want it, get it. Just keep in mind what your goals are and plan on replacing parts as you go. Even if a car had 100k things still need to be replaced. Also true duals?? That ls1 may be beaten up a bit. Mine was BONE stock.