So...

I have a 98 z28... it has 88k miles on it.. a4

About this time of the summer in 2006 the driveshaft started reverberating when i was driving to work, and the transmission tailshaft cracked and started spilling fluid...

After this I would start the car and run it from time to time.. but I dont think the car has run in about 3-4 years..

Now come monday a new ordinance about having a car with expired registration will be tagged, and towed 10 days later.. I think the car is probably still worth a few thousand dollars and I have wanted to get it running again, it was the first car I ever bought and was in college and just have not had the money to get the car running again..

Now I am out of college, and working, but money is still tight.. I am wondering if the car is worth salvaging considering the engine has not been run in a few years I dont really know what effect this has on things. I also think reverse may have burnt out but the forward gears should be good but I do not know for sure..

Im cool with no reverse but not sure if its worth getting the tail shaft replaced and drive shaft rebalanced or if i should go for a full rebuild on the tranny or even how much i should expect to spend on such a project.. that combined with the unknown of the engine.. i just dont know what to do..

any advice would be really appreciated, ive got until monday to figure something out

 

I would find a used tranny and you can get driveshafts really cheap used as well. It sounds like you could probably get it back on the road for a grand, depending on how much you pay for labor.

 

i dont really have time to find a used tranny and wait around for it to show up, then find a shop that is willing to work with parts they dont buy..

i have till monday to either let the city take it.. or get a plan in action

I also dont know what to expect from the engine? i need a new battery and the gas in the tank is like 4 years old, pretty sure its probably not any good.. on top of that i dont even know how to get the 10+ gallons of gas out of the tank and/or how to dispose of it. damn i hate this situation.. i need a

 

If you dont want to hastle with the repair, put the car up on CL or local boards for sale. You may be able to get a few grand for it, but if you let the city take it, then its either going to be auctioned off or scrapped. Either way you will loose out if the city takes it. IMO, just get what you can for it from someone that can take the time and money it needs to get it back and running. Just be forward about all that has been going on with it and sell it, dont let it go to waste, someone will want it to build it back up, or make it better.

 

Can;t you just pay the registration fee and keep it around until you know what you want to do with it?

 

i need to get it inspected too...

 

austin tx?

 

yep... parmer and 620

 

Try to sell it on CL tomorrow, if you cant, take the LS1 out and tell the city to take it. Sell the LS1 after the fact. People are still getting stupid money for used LS1s. Advice would be, contact the city and tell them you want to turn it over and they will probably take it for free, but if you wait and they tow it you will more than likely have to pay a tow fee and like a week of impound fees before the city takes control of the car. You can also in most cases ask for an exstension, and get a sticker for your windshield saying you have x amount of days to take care of it. We have these dumbass laws in my town too. Some people get a storage unit or tow it to a buddies house out of the limits. The big flag is no movement, and old colored tags. If you move it around once a week, and or even just use a paint marker to paint the tag spot the current tag color you could probably buy a few weeks too.

 

I think even better than that would be to put an ad on craigslist for someone to remove the engine for you and they can have the rest of the car for free. Something along those lines maybe

 

honestly i wish i could part it out.. its not in great shape but most of it is still good.. paint looks great on most of it.. ttops, engine, hood, deck, leather interior, all tires are new including nitto 555rs i got a week before it broke.. it breaks my heart that i have not had the time or money to get it fixed in the last few years.. i think i might just have it towed to a mechanic on monday morning and put the repairs on my credit card..

i think if i get the gas tank drained, all it will need to run again is a new battery and a new tailshaft on the tranny.. which i hope wont cost too terribly much.. im just concerned about the effects not running the engine in 3-4 years has had

 

i worked in a scrap yard for 2 years and dealt w/ plenty of cars that hadnt been started in a while. i dont see a big issue here. unless maybe u live in the ocean and have been spooning salt water into the intake manifold daily.

i once took a 350 sbc out of a car that had been sitting for a few years. stuck it in my 79 camaro and ran it for years. since then my brother has bought the car and is running it still. the guy i bought the car off of didnt do any kind of storage prep.

i honestly wouldnt worry too much about the engine. drain the tank, fill it w/ fresh gas and see if it will run. pull the plugs and check the compression on each cylinder. start the engine up and see what it does.

then either **** or get off the pot. repair the car and drive it or sell the vehicle on craigslist. if it's sat for a few years, it wouldnt seem ur too attached. have a good one.

ben

 

this is your best option imo.

 

if you want to start the engine ,pull the plugs and let the starter spin the motor until you have oil pressure.make sure you have some fresh gas in the tank.do you have a garage?or get a car trailer and move it to a place where you can store it inside.

 

If it's been sitting that long and you haven't done anything with it since it broke down, it doesn't sound like you're too attached to it. Even going to collage, you could have saved up in that amount of time to get it fixed by now. Is this your only car or do you have another for transportation?

If you can come up with the money to get it fixed, then do it. If not, sell it and at least get some money for it. Better than having it towed away.

You can always buy another F-body someday. I've owned a dozen or so from all different generations. Some I miss more than others but I was always able to buy another one.

 

For three and a half years it sat in my fathers warehouse... the last 4-5 months I have had it in the parking lot of my apartment complex.. i do have a honda accord i purchased when my fbody died on me.. it was get a car payment or somehow come up with a bunch of cash i didnt have, to fix the fbody..

 

thank you for the info.. ill do just that.

 

thanks for the info ben.. been informative.. im not so worried about the engine now.. which makes me want to keep the car! i think im gonna find a few 5 gallon buckets, and pump out the old fuel... the oil was changed shortly before the tranny broke. i dont think ill need to change that... replace the battery tomorrow.. and see if i can get it running.. if i can get it started... ill have it towed to have the tranny fixed/driveshaft rebalanced...

do i run any risks with an auto tranny of burning it up running the engine? i was thinking about letting it idle for a while in park or neutral, but dont want to damage the transmission that has very little fluid in it...

 

id change your oil if its been in there for a few yrs.

 

its a LS1, go to autozone and buy some LUCAS fuel cleaner and pour the entire bottle in there and then some fresh gas start it up and be done. Run it completly down and fill it up again you will be fine. My 98 sat for 2 years in NC while I was deployed and then needed to save up cash for a 12 bolt rear has been running great since.