I noticed some oil leaks on the garage floor coming from the middle of the car.
Upon inspection, I noticed a small drip coming from the back of the transmission.
Here you will fine a growing collection of Corvette pics and information. Your contributions are welcome!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Transmission leak...
I noticed some oil leaks on the garage floor coming from the middle of the car. Upon inspection, I noticed a small drip coming from the back of the transmission.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Clutch throw out bearing (release bearing) noise
The sound of a dying release bearing is akin to running over a full grown chupacabra and her pups (don't ask me how I know what running over a chupacabra sounds like.. it's noisy, a mess, and smells like an old mink farm). Intermittent and extremely frightening to little old Lady's driving along side, the noise only gets worse, louder and more embarrassing.
If you are young and single, driving a ZR-1 in this condition will not attract girls any more than driving a convertible Sibring. If you are old and single, good hell don't drive it! You are screwed in so many other ways you don't need to add this to the list. If you are married, well that's another story.
After a few weeks enduring the "shrieking" throw out bearing I finally coughed up the money to get it fixed.
Not wanting to cough really hard, I let the mechanic re-surface the old dual mass fly wheel by hand. My mechanic Rich, did an exceptional job of doing what most say can't be done. Using a long board, he sanded off the high spots, put in a new Spec clutch along with a new release bearing (not the bushing that comes with the clutch) and put it back together. Although a bit jerky initially, after about 200 miles the clutch settled down and is now quite drivable. Spec clutches do make some engagement chatter but that has calmed down a bit too.
In hind-sight I would have just put in a new bearing and called it good. My ZR-1 only has about 28k on it and the old clutch was only about half gone. That would have lasted for at least another15k miles. When this clutch fails (probably prematurely) I will step into the world of a single mass flywheel. Probably aluminum and weighing only 10 pounds. I will then put on a sprung clutch to help the idle chatter that is sure to appear.
In conclusion, ZR-1's are magnificent cars, albeit a bit spendy to fix.
D
If you are young and single, driving a ZR-1 in this condition will not attract girls any more than driving a convertible Sibring. If you are old and single, good hell don't drive it! You are screwed in so many other ways you don't need to add this to the list. If you are married, well that's another story.
After a few weeks enduring the "shrieking" throw out bearing I finally coughed up the money to get it fixed.
Not wanting to cough really hard, I let the mechanic re-surface the old dual mass fly wheel by hand. My mechanic Rich, did an exceptional job of doing what most say can't be done. Using a long board, he sanded off the high spots, put in a new Spec clutch along with a new release bearing (not the bushing that comes with the clutch) and put it back together. Although a bit jerky initially, after about 200 miles the clutch settled down and is now quite drivable. Spec clutches do make some engagement chatter but that has calmed down a bit too.
In hind-sight I would have just put in a new bearing and called it good. My ZR-1 only has about 28k on it and the old clutch was only about half gone. That would have lasted for at least another15k miles. When this clutch fails (probably prematurely) I will step into the world of a single mass flywheel. Probably aluminum and weighing only 10 pounds. I will then put on a sprung clutch to help the idle chatter that is sure to appear.
In conclusion, ZR-1's are magnificent cars, albeit a bit spendy to fix.
D
Monday, January 16, 2012
Oil Cooler Hose Failure
What started out as a drip is now a stream! The nefarious oil cooler hoses have now failed fully as evidenced by the pools of fresh oil adorning the garage floor, driveway and various parking lots! I have ordered the new hose ensemble from Jerrys Gaskets. The cost with shipping was $179.00. The hoses were shipped very quickly and arrived today. Four days from OK to ID, not bad! The hose assembly fit perfectly and is designed very close to original. I give Jerry's Gaskets an A+. They also have a growing LT5 parts catalog. As our C4 ZR1's get a little more broken in, it's good to have parts!
For more information on Jerry's ZR-1/ LT-5 parts you can contact:
For more information on Jerry's ZR-1/ LT-5 parts you can contact:
Jerrys Gaskets
3900 Sea Ray Channel
Edmond OK 73013-8762
The replacement of the oil cooling hoses is very simple and takes about 20 minutes to complete.After you are done, run the engine for a few minutes to make sure there are no leaks.I had a minor leak from the bottom hose but torqued it a bit more and that fixed the problem.
Old oil cooling hose assembly removed.
The replacement of the oil cooling hoses is very simple and takes about 20 minutes to complete.After you are done, run the engine for a few minutes to make sure there are no leaks.I had a minor leak from the bottom hose but torqued it a bit more and that fixed the problem.
Old oil cooling hose assembly removed.
Attempted fix with rubber tape and hose clamps.
This meager atempt to salvage bad hoses does not work, at all.
And I am embarrassed to even show it... I've always tried
to get every second of service life out of parts.
Sometimes not a good idea however.
Radiator side of hoses. The new assembly comes with new O-rings.
Take care when attaching the radiator side to make sure the O-rings
stay in place. You don't want a new leak with a new hose!
Note: This is the old hose assembly.
One bolt holds the assembly to the radiator. Place a shop rag underneath
the fitting when removing the bolt because oil will leak once removed.
Of course it is not under pressure so the leak will stop quickly, unless
you kept the engine running...
When removing the old hoses from the engine. place a shop rag underneath
the hoses to soak up the oil that leaks out. Avoid getting oil
on the belt which is in close proximity to the hose attachments.
When attaching the engine side hoses, you will need to install the
bottom first because there is not enough room to fit the wrench with
the top hose attached. Yes I know, that's pretty obvious.... :)
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