Looking into buying a 4th gen T/A , has oil leak at the valve covers. Opinions? (Page 6/6)
nitroheadz28 AUG 25, 12:01 PM
So here is the mod list as of now

*LS1 steering shaft. Going to do the mod to swap with the LT1 rag joint, more header clearance and will surely fix my loose steering.

*Brakemotive cheapie drilled/slotted rotor set with pads. I was very hesitant about going cheap, but over 50 pages of good reviews on this setup on the forum- why not try it and add some bling for just $165?

*J&M weld in SFCs, I'm curious to see how much this will get rid of certain rattles in the interior and stiffen up the car.

*(Not sure if I need it but: ) J&M front strut tower brace.


Yesterday I took a drive down to the beach, I had the damn shuddering happen again. I think it may have something to do with the SES code as it loses power when this happens and bogs for a few seconds- as if it had traction control but the drivetrain shudders violently. (It doesn't have TC). Very excited to get the LS1 shaft done so I can finally steer with confidence and not worry about my steamroller tires wandering all over the road.

[This message has been edited by nitroheadz28 (edited 08-25-2012).]

slims00ls1z28 AUG 25, 10:40 PM
I've had my Z for about 11 years now and am quite versed in it but mine is an auto not a stick. My GTO is a manual though and it's always made noises. I loved my exhaust, true duals with flowmaster 1 chambers turned down at the axle but it was loud as sin. But man oh man with the headers and big camshaft it was pure bliss. Headers lid and tune are by far the most recommended mods, they really wake the beast up.
nitroheadz28 AUG 25, 11:23 PM
This car has a fenderwell intake (which today I found out the filter was off and laying on the bumper cover), headers, and a mail order tune. I feel like it should have more balls.
nitroheadz28 SEP 07, 07:07 PM
I figured I should update this. I had a boo boo 2 weeks ago, it was drizzling and I had a guy shoot out of a side street into my lane. Naturally I swerved to avoid him instead of rear ending his ass, and a huge dip in the road made things much worse. I corrected but hit a rough patch of asphalt which just sent the car into a slide, I hit a steel post next to a fire hydrant.

Damage is: Door, fender, windshield, rocker, and the pillar twisted inwards. I got a door last week, found a fender today. I was supposed to take it to the body shop to have it straightened this morning, but it wouldn't start. I think the starter is gone, but we tried getting it up to speed and clutch starting a few times- it wouldn't run.

So $400 to straighten and align all panels+ install the door/ fender. Luckily the door is white, and the fender I want to get tomorrow is also white- so no paint for now. Add $300 for a windshield, and $200 for the door and fender. I plan on repainting the entire car this fall if I'm lucky, spring time if I don't find the opportunity.

Of course the guy who caused this left, I essentially drifted around him because he stopped right after getting in my lane- I thought I was going to reel the car without a problem but hit that monster dip in the road and it just shot me off to the side.









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nitroheadz28 SEP 16, 10:36 PM
Another update. Was supposed to take it in to the shop friday a week ago, but the starter clicked and nada.

I bought a used reman starter off a forum member, and a BBK 58mm throttle body while I was at it. Tomorrow I'm going to attempt swapping it- and also an LS1 steering shaft, I heard it was a major pain in the ass with the y-pipe blocking the removal, but I've read of a trick or two.

I just want to drive her again, this whole situation has been so depressing.

On top of that, something in my daily just let go this past week. It bogs down horribly on boost, boost gauge is stuck at 2psi and never moves. It idles high at 900 like its got a vacuum leak. SES light came on yesterday when I had to use it, need to get it scanned asap. So the trans am definitely needs to get road worthy, I'm thinking that I'll tear down the top end of the grand prix and throw in a cam and go over the valvetrain as its making noise loud now, almost loud enough to assume its a light knock.
nitroheadz28 OCT 07, 02:05 PM
Another update, this and my grand prix have been such drama queens this month!!! Worst month of car ownership imaginable. My GP blew up in spectacular fashion on my way home from school. The Trans Am was such a pain with electrical, and even when I finally got power to it- it had a hard time starting. Took a good 30 seconds of cranking (not continuously of course) before it fired.

This time when I got it running to take it to the shop, it idled/ drove fine. The car is in the shop now, they started pulling the frame and they'll be done on tuesday. I opted to leave my cracked fender on, I will keep my eye out for a white one and repaint the entire car next year.

When I swapped starters, I also upgraded to the LS1 steering shaft. The LT1 shaft has a rag joint in it which wears out from years of use and heat from the headers. When I drove the car to the shop, the steering slop seemed to be gone- very reassuring after driving it 500+ miles with almost 2" of slack in the wheel.

I have cross drilled/ slotted rotors+ ceramic pads waiting to go on, also replacement rear brake calipers off a forum member since the e-brake provision is broken on mine.

I think I'll get a new brake master cylinder and SS brake lines as preventative maintenance while I'm doing brakes.

Apart from that, I have subframe connectors waiting to go on. I think I'll sell the 58mm TB I bought because I don't want to upgrade the engine at this point. (Not to mention I don't have enough mods to see any restriction from the stock TB). It runs strong enough to be fun now and gets good mileage, later on I'd like to go LS and do heads/ cam.

Will also be needing a new windshield asap, safelite wants $300 in my area. It seems that prices vary greatly by region, on the forums it seems that in some areas they do it for as low as $150-200, strange.