When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Alright! So i finally bought a trans am! I have been looking for well over a year and ended up driving 11 hours to little rock Arkansas to finally get what i wanted! The car is a 2000 non ws6 trans am with 57,9xx miles when i bought it and is at 58,010 miles now. It is in very good condition but needs a few things. it has a fairly small spot of clear coat thats missing by the right headlight, it has the typical cracked door panel on the passengers side and the drivers is starting (the dash is perfect and the rest of the interior is near perfect!). The paint shines and so do the rims! as for aftermarket parts it has-full flowmaster exhast, some kind of headers, k and n cold air intake, a edelbrock stb, a aluminum wieand john lingenfelter intake manifold, a helix thottle body spacer, it also has sub wires left from old subs, and it looks like maybe a different maf sensor? the guy i got it from said it has a hotcam also but i have no proof (the guy didn't seem to know much about the car as he didn't even tell me it had some of the mods it does)....... i got the car for 6k which i think is a pretty good deal!
Now for the questions. first off i have checked any threads i could find concerning the problems i have but not very many of the threads are exactly what im expering.
1- what oil would be best to run in this car?
2-the sail panel sub woofers that provide the bass (behind the front seats) are not working, the other speakers are working fine just not those and its driving me crazy. It is the monsoon system with the stock head unit radio. i did find that by the amp there was a "high low impedance adapter" which looks like someone wired in themselves? i have no idea what its for or what it does..... after further inspection i removed the passenger side cover for the speaker and the black covering and also the speaker itself was all tore up almost like a mouse had chewed it! but the metal was also cut a bit and i dont know if a mouse would chew the metal? the wires we all cut through and not even hooked to the speaker. would this cause the speaker on the driver side to not work also?(it looked to be in good condition). something else that was weird was after i unplugged the passenger speaker from its connector i tried to turn the car on to see if maybe undoing that, the other one might work. when i went to turn the car on after i unplugged it the battery was completely dead and not 5 mins before the battery was fine.
3- the traction control button does not seem to work? The light under the button does not even work, also it does not say the "traction off" or whatever on the dash, but traction control is off on the car (i know because we did a few short burnouts)
4-this one might concern me the most, a engine tick. I know all of you are going to say how ls1s are notorious for ticking and such and its probably no big deal but i would like to get to the bottom of it! the tick does not go away after warming up or anything like that, its there when you start the car and it will be there when it shuts off. i did notice some vibration in a plug wire and after i removed it found a loose plug, 2 or 3 of the plugs on that side were lose enough to turn by hand! after those were tightened the noise was a little more faint i think but the tick wasn't bad in the first place. i haven't been able to check the plugs on the other side yet so maybe that could be some of it.... i almost think it sounds like maybe a exhaust leak from where the headers bolt on but i dont see any black soot. any ideas on what its most likely to be?
5-what should i be at for rpms at 60? i have the door code GU5 so that indicates the 3.23s from the factory but it looks like someones had the rear end plate off... i am right about at 2000 rpms at 60, maybe a tad higher? 2020?
6-also what is a normal idle for this car with the mods it has? i almost think im idling a tad low.. in gear its at 500 and in park maybe 550 or 6.
if any of you guys have some input that could help me out i would much appreciate it! also this is my first car and dont have much money to be throwing around so whatever s cheapest is best!
any suggestions on how to touch up the clear coat and what do to about the door panels would also be much appreciated!
sorry about the long post!
here are some pictures of the car!
any idea what the holes are?... again sorry about all the pictures and long post, i just want to show exactly what the car is...thanks
I run 10W30 in mine, regular old dino oil, but stock is 5W30. No idea on the traction, previous owner might have disabled it somehow. The ticking, loose plugs, uninformed owner, and price are all big red flags to me. Sounds like you bought from a car flipper.
The ticking could be loose plugs on the other side, but I wonder why they were loose in the first place. Without hearing it, it could be anything from a rod knocking, to a lifter, to the loose plugs. I definitely wouldn't run that engine until you're for sure all of the plugs are tight, last thing you want to do is blow a plug out and ruin the thread.
2K at 60MPH sounds like the stock 3.27 gears. Idle should be 650-750 range.
I bet those holes are for a aftermarket fuse that went to the truck for a amp . Which would explain why one speaker isn't working probably was in a hurry put the stock radio back in check the wiring behind the speaker and radio hopefully its not cut up. If the previous owner was behind the dash it may also be the reason the traction control isn't working also . just a guess at that one .
From the looks of the pic there is a aftermarket intake makes me wonder if theres been other things done under the valve covers may explain the noise you hear
TCS...did you pull the TCS switch plate panel from the console to see if it was plugged in or wires missing?
The sail panel speakers will dry rot after so long and the black material turns into bits. As long as the connector is there You can find direct replacements for the sail panel speakers on amazon. I replaced mine last year for around $100.
First let me say that 6k for that car is ******* highway robbery in your favor. I would have expected double that for its condition and miles.
2ndly, you MAY have 3.42 gears swapped in. My car is bone stock with 3.23s and I'm dead on 2000 rpms at 70mph. A friend of mine has a bone stock 98 with 2.73s and hes about 1800rpm at 70.
I had a 93 Z28 with 3.73s through an Auto and it was ~2500rpm at 65.
Idling at 500rpm in gear is normal. I've had 3 other V8 F-Bodies ( 2 L98 3rd gens and an LT1 4th gen ) all 3 were automatic and idled at 500rpm just like my current car and my buddies 98.
nice T/A very clean.
the holes are exactly where i mounted my inline fuse for amp install, so above probly right.
the ticking is pretty common, but only to a degree.
mine idles at 650ish in park 550 in gear.
mine iz gu5 rear 3.23 also and runs @ 1800 doing 65.
ocala that does make sence why the holes would be there. ill have to get behind the radio and see if i can find anything like looks out of place or cut... thanks bandit! and yes i did take the switch plate off but everything looked good, no cut wires or anything and the connector was plugged in tight. i also just found the replacement speakers on amazon you talked about, that's a pretty good price for something all i would have to do is plug back in. I just want to make sure that is just the speakers and not wiring somewhere because my drivers side speaker looks fine and it doesn't work either. if both the speakers did happen to be blown would they not make any noise at all? or would they still make some kind of noise it would just be really distorted static. because right now i am getting zero sound out of both of them.....kevin lee and jdep- haa i hoped it was a good deal! thanks for both those posts! so my idle is normal and it seems like someone has put some different gears in i guess... do you think 2000, maybe 2020 rpms at 60 sounds more like 3.73s or 3.42s? i hope they changed the speedo when they did swap them out, could not changing the speedo mess up my shift points?....also jdep is yours a manual or auto doing the 1800 at 65, or does that even matter?
I suggest checking your owners manual. Asking that question on this site will get you a confusing mash-up of information. Some helpful, most not. There are lots of threads on this site on the topic. bobistheoilguy.com is also another good resource.
Originally Posted by shyboutin
2-the sail panel sub woofers that provide the bass (behind the front seats) are not working, the other speakers are working fine just not those and its driving me crazy. It is the monsoon system with the stock head unit radio. i did find that by the amp there was a "high low impedance adapter" which looks like someone wired in themselves? i have no idea what its for or what it does..... after further inspection i removed the passenger side cover for the speaker and the black covering and also the speaker itself was all tore up almost like a mouse had chewed it!
Check out the Monsoon FAQ in the Stereo & Electronics section before moving forward on this. Even a "new" GM speaker for this area will blow the minute you turn up the radio. It's a bad design and you'll need an aftermarket replacement to get good sound out of the area. We have several site sponsors who sell what you need.
Can you post a pic of your speaker? Your description sounds a little odd. Given the picture of the engine bay, I am wondering how much of your system is still in a truly stock state.
Originally Posted by shyboutin
3- the traction control button does not seem to work? The light under the button does not even work, also it does not say the "traction off" or whatever on the dash, but traction control is off on the car (i know because we did a few short burnouts)
Traction Control should default on. I'd look to see if its disabled first. The system (IMO) was garbage. I disliked it so much (and the auto-on feature) that I waited 9 extra months for delivery of my car so I could get one with out traction control. If you find that its disabled, I'd keep it that way! (You can also remove the TCS button/panel and replace it with the cubby that was installed in non-TCS/non-vert cars.
Originally Posted by shyboutin
4-this one might concern me the most, a engine tick.
Can you post a youtube video with sound? There is a faint normal tick that these engines produce.
Originally Posted by shyboutin
any suggestions on how to touch up the clear coat and what do to about the door panels would also be much appreciated!
Your panel is pretty far gone. You may find tips on replacing a fully cracked panel below:
heres a few pictures of the speaker compared to the other one, the black covering was not as bad as it is in the picture as i removed some of the excess that was all ripped up to get to the speaker.... and heres a link to a video i just took, it almost sounds louder on the video than in person.. what do you think it is? its honestly not that loud in person, my dad cant even hear it. it does sound louder on the passenger side of the car.
heres a few pictures of the speaker compared to the other one, the black covering was not as bad as it is in the picture as i removed some of the excess that was all ripped up to get to the speaker.... and heres a link to a video i just took, it almost sounds louder on the video than in person.. what do you think it is? its honestly not that loud in person, my dad cant even hear it. it does sound louder on the passenger side of the car.
That's how my car has sounded for the last 160K miles, ever since it came from the factory. I don't think its something to worry about but also don't know what causes that sound.
For some reason, your picture links aren't working for me.
Wssix- that makes me feel a little better knowing your car has done that since the factory! I still think I'm going to try to track it down just to be sure though... and sorry about the links! Are they not working for anyone else either? I'll try to get some new links up
Wssix- that makes me feel a little better knowing your car has done that since the factory! I still think I'm going to try to track it down just to be sure though... and sorry about the links! Are they not working for anyone else either? I'll try to get some new links up
Please post back if you find the component that does the ticking.
I've tried the links on multiple computers in different locations. I get an error that says I'm forbidden. I wonder if the pictures aren't open to the public?
And Kevin lee- do you know if the rpm gauge is usually low or high from the actual rpm?
I believe they're on the low side. I know with the 6 speed models that 1st gear can actually rev faster than the tach will show so you have to shift " early "
and all of your pics and videos are working fine for me.
I'd use 10W30 if your engine is a bit tired(or winter), 5W30 is for newer. My car had a tick until i did a top end tune up, i replaced the spark plugs, wires, and did a cap and rotor, Tick went away after that. Obviously the last part doesn't refer to your engine because yours is distributorless. I'd pull a plug and show us what it looks like.
I'd use 10W30 if your engine is a bit tired(or winter), 5W30 is for newer.
The OP has a 60K mile car, so I hope its not too worn out. GM also calls for 10W30 as an option in warm climates. Probably not a good idea to use this in the cold.
mine is auto to answer from way above lol. and its 1800 at 65mph, but thats on the stock 98 gauges, so cud obviously be off a few of either or both.
with that said, i dont worry too much about that, i feel how the car runs, have a scangauge reading the trans temp, water temp, intake temp, and volts.
09-22-2014, 02:36 PM
Finally got a trans am and have questions! 
I have been looking for well over a year and ended up driving 11 hours to little rock Arkansas to finally get what i wanted! The car is a 2000 non ws6 trans am with 57,9xx miles when i bought it and is at 58,010 miles now. It is in very good condition but needs a few things. it has a fairly small spot of clear coat thats missing by the right headlight, it has the typical cracked door panel on the passengers side and the drivers is starting (the dash is perfect and the rest of the interior is near perfect!). The paint shines and so do the rims! as for aftermarket parts it has-full flowmaster exhast, some kind of headers, k and n cold air intake, a edelbrock stb, a aluminum wieand john lingenfelter intake manifold, a helix thottle body spacer, it also has sub wires left from old subs, and it looks like maybe a different maf sensor? the guy i got it from said it has a hotcam also but i have no proof (the guy didn't seem to know much about the car as he didn't even tell me it had some of the mods it does)....... i got the car for 6k which i think is a pretty good deal!
