Brand new here... take it easy on me... looking at a 09 SS that's stone stock with 103k on the clock. what issues do these cars have and what should I be looking for or checking?
Thanks

 

Honestly they can be good cars if taken care of. Major issues are transmission-if it's been tuned before and ran hard they are prone to breaking 3rd gear which ruins the transmission. Pourus block is another issue with 09's in which the cylinder walls crack and coolant seeps into the motor. Can't really tell that in a test drive as most of the time it shows due to having to top off coolant overflow, until it finally gets bad enough that it makes the oil milky.
Trouble for you is you don't know how it's been driven prior. They are good little cars, but I would not get it if you don't have money set back to fix things if they go south. It's a performance car, so things can break.

 

If it's stock it will make 15psi. You need to go wide open throttle on the test drive to make sure it gets to that boost pressure. I'd even check it in a couple gears.

If you would like to test the clutch, put it in 5th gear and floor it to see if it slips. The RPMS will go up but you won't move faster.

Remember, the high pressure fuel pump ticks. It's on the right side of the motor. It's normal don't worry. Listen to the left side of the engine to see if you can hear the timing chain rattling. It should be fine at that mileage.

Besides that, make sure it drives straight, tires are good and there are no vibrations. Check oil color and and see how high on the dipstick it is. Check the coolant level.

Last but not least, run to Autozone or O'Reilly and check for pending engine codes. Never know if the owner has removed them before meeting.

 

If you do this during a test drive with the owner in the car, you will get punched in the face . If the car isnt on the factory tune, this is a recipe for roasting the clutch then and there.

 

Yeah you are probably right. Do you know of another way to test the clutch?

I would only do it for a second.

 

No im not sure, I have used your method on my last car when I thought my clutch was slipping but it only made like 120 ft-lbs of torque so I didnt worry about the stress on the trans, but a tuned turbo cobalt which are usually spikey down low will probably not be good.

At this point, I think you just know what a slipping clutch feels like vs tire spin.instead of low rpm punching it, maybe do a 65 mph 5th gear full throttle. That should be about 3000rpms. If it slips, there you go. Unless it has a big turbo and bad tires, wheel spin shouldnt be a factor.

Edit: I realize you never mentioned a starting speed. When I did that test, I would start throttling it around 2000 rpms which is why I said dont do it in a turbo cobalt with a tune.