Hey Guys,

I'm new around here. The name is Mike. Nice to meet you all. My current hobby is my 97 Wrangler that I rock crawl. I'm looking at getting a T/A as another toy now. i won't be modding it right away but will down the road of course.

Yesterday I found a red 97 T/A which appears to be in nice condition. Unsure of the miles. Looks stock. Tag said 8500 but didn't have a build sheet or anything. Does this seem reasonable? Just curious. I'm actually looking for a 98+ because I want the LS1, but I am trying to get a feel for the pricing.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

That's too much unless it has low low miles. You can get an LS1 for 8500 or under surely. I paid more than that for my LT1, but it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Too much...

 

Thanks for the headsup. What exactly should I be looking for in a quality T/A? I'm relatively auto savvy, just curious.

 

Get an LS1 if you can!

 

That price seams fair to me, but maybe that's the best we can do up here in Indiana

Just look for normal wear & tear items. Most all of the 10 bolts leak at the pinion seal on the fourth-gen cars, so that won't be an uncommon sight. Just make sure it's not a bad leak and obviously the rear end is growling or clunking.

If you want to know if the car was driven hard and/or drag raced, you can sometimes see the telltale dimples along the tops of the rear quarters.

I've seen and heard about a few fourth-gens that have tie-rod issues. When you check for the tire wear, that'll be a good indicator of any tie-rod issues (unless the car has brand-new tires on it).

If the car has t-tops, be prepared for a leak or two. It's not uncommon for them to leak at the front outer corners (where the t-top meets the door glass). Most of the time they only leak after a hard rain, or a good car washing.

If the car has the chromed aluminum 16" wheels (ABS center caps), you might want to look them over to see if the chrome is flaking off. It's a common problem, and most of the time it starts on the inner part of the wheel. If you're going to change wheels, then obviously that wouldn't be a huge issue.

That's about all I can think of right now....I'll post up more if I think of any.

 

Thanks for the tips. What's it take to fix the leaky rear end? My Jeep has a softtop which is off April-October regardless of whether its wet or dry out, so leaking is nothing new to me. Driving through a torential downpour topless is loads of fun. Especially when there is an attractive female in the passenger seat.

 

I did notice that my passenger window doesn't go up all the way with t tops. is that common?