Nick2Sick

iTrader: (2)

Hey everyone, glad to say after many headaches dealing with people on Craigslist...I now own my first Trans Am and sports car. I'll add some pictures and a sig when I'm not so busy with school/work.

Anyways, it has 155k on the ticker. 99, BLACK, AUTOMATIC. I plan on putting my money into maintenance before I give her more horses. Only thing the car has is a Flowmaster exhaust (sounds nice,but I've heard it SUCKS for flow). I also already ordered an SLP lid and plan to put that on this weekend.

The engine has a slight squeal when starting up...already bought a new serpentine belt and plan to check the pulleys when I replace the belt to see what I may need to replace.

A small amount of smoke came out of the oil dipstick area when I checked the oil...heard this might be from the PCV system so I'm going to check this as well.

ANYWAYS my question for you guys is, what would you recommend replacing to make sure everything runs well? Things I had in mind:
-Iridium Spark Plugs
-Coolant system flush
-Seafoam???
-Full Synthetic Oil change
-Replacing hoses and seals (not sure where to start, or what to replace on this one. Help would be GREATLY appreciated)
-EGR! (not a fan of dirtying the inside of my engine)
-Auto tranny fluid flush (heard mixed things about this one, some say high mileage cars need to keep the same fluid, some say flush the system and you can put a product in to revive the seals but I'm nervous about having to replace my tranny so soon after buying)

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Happy as hell to have an F-body. I've wanted one for the past year and I finally saved up enough to have one.

ironmikektm525

Congrats on your ls1! I'll give you my thoughts . NGK tr55 plugs/coolant flush(any name brand coolant/no seafoam/mobile 1 5w-30/synthetic oil filter/replace pcv valve and install a catch can. My t/a had 118k on when I had tranny flush done. Have had no problems. I used OEM fluid and added a can of BG tranny conditioner. As far as hoses check them over for signs of dry cracking/leaking ext. I would check your air filter and clean your TB also. Make sure yout m.a.s. screen is clean. Check rear end fluid and change if dirty? I use mobile 1 brand for that also. That will be a good start!!!!

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Agree with the above with a couple caveats. How does the ATF look on the dipstick? If it is still bright red or only slightly orange, I wouldn't do a flush, just a tranny service. If it really dirty, you'll want to do the service anyway to change the filter, but you should probably do a flush and add conditioner.

For full synthetic, I wouldn't use Mobil 1 5-30, but 0-40, or (German) Castrol 0-30. Personally I stick to dino after having used synthetics; I just don't think they're worth the extra coin.

For the PCV valve, use the updated truck valve with the small hole and no pintle. I think you need to get it from GM. Last time I looked, the parts stores only had the old design.

AronZ28

iTrader: (2)

Automatic transmission, if the fluid is pink and smells sweet, just drop the pan and replace the filter. Repeat every 30k miles, I think that's what the manual calls for a service interval.

If its brown/smells burnt/funny, I'd do the same thing, just drop the pan and replace the filter. I'd do the same thing in about 2000 miles, then again in another 2-3k miles when you change the oil(I use synthetic oil and change it every 5k). I've heard that doing a complete flush on a high mile/never maintained automatic actually does more harm than good, in that you might flush away part of the friction material on the bands as well as the gunky fluid.

Fry_

I agree don't flush the transmission just change the fluid and filter, I'd also use a quart of Lucas transmission stop slip in place of one quart of ATF. Also be sure to use Dex 3 ATF and not Dex 4 or 5, they claim to be backwards compatible but I like to use what my transmission was designed for and is used to. I also like to Seafoam high mileage cars of unknown background just read this first, https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...-your-car.html.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I'll repeat what I said above; unless the fluid is burnt or filthy, just do a service (drop pan, replace filter, fill).

But when the fluid is really bad, a flush can help. For example, we completely neglected my wife's Montana's ATF until the tranny developed a shudder. It was completely black and people told me to just leave it.

I decided to do a flush because of the poor performance. We added a bottle of Lucas conditioner. Honestly, I wasn't sure the car would move when I put it into gear. Well, move it did, and a friend has it now and it's been working right and going strong for two years.

Nick2Sick

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the replies, guys.
I'm going to go with all of your suggestions but I need to check the ATF when I have the car jacked up on Sunday.
I'll be installing the SLP lid I ordered then. I checked the MAF screen and that thing is DIRTY! I see people talk about removing it but I wouldn't want that crap in my engine...and this is on the stock lid and I think the original paper filter.

Are there specific brands or names for the pcv valve that was suggested? If I know what exactly to search for I can go ahead and order it.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Exactly. On two of the three LS1 cars I've owned, the screen was filthly when I bought it. There's an "airflow straightener" piece that you can use to replace the screen. I have them on both my current cars. Supposedly smooths the airflow for more accurate MAF readings. Search the External engine forum if you're interested ... I don't remember the exact name of the product.

The "truck" PCV valve is GM part # is 12572717