Alright guys, the time has finally come for me to buy a SS/SC, and im super excited to finally buy one. What's some common issues and things that i should look for when buying one? The ones im looking at are 100k+ mileage, so whats some common problems around there? Obviously i know clutch and things are going to need replaced soon if they havent already been, and probably supercharger belt, but what else?

Thanks for any feedback

 

Nice man congrats, isn't something with the tensioner bolt or something like that common to come loose

 

Make sure the pump works for the coolent. U can open the cap and see its its moving around in the neck when the car is on.

 

Fuel pump lines get cracked and dry rotted. Depending on year I think there's a warranty for that.

 

Thanks for the input guys

 

How often should the supercharger belt be replaced? If the car is at like 110k and the belt has never been replaced, should i just go ahead and change it out? And how hard is it to change? Also, may be a stupid question, but i've never owned a boosted car before, is there any kind of special maintenance i need to do for the supercharger or anything like that?

 

There is oil in the supercharger and it'll help to change that out.

 

Helpful tip: take apart the intake manifold and clean the laminovas if you can. The one on mine was disgusting. Leaves and dirt and general **** insides the laminova fins. While you have it apart you may as well do dual pass lol. Many of the LSJs I've seen have never had the supercharger oil changed and the intercooler pump doesn't work and they don't even care.

 

Wow, how hard is it to change the oil in the supercharger, and what kind of oil do i use? Just full synthetic 5W30? And how would i know if the intercooler pump isn't working?

 

There is a drain plug in the snout of the supercharger. You can find an oil change kit on ZZP's website. It'll make things easier. The oil is NOT conventional oil, it's supercharger oil. It also smells f****** terrible. So buy the ZZP kit with the pump thingy.

As mentioned above take the neck off the intercooler filler neck with the car on and make sure the fluid is moving.

 

Oh ok, thanks for the input How much is the kit usually and is it important i do it as soon as i get the car, or can it wait?

 

I'm sure it can wait but the faster you service everything you won't have to worry about it later

 

Good point, also, couldn't find the kit, just the oil itself, which is alot cheaper then i would have thought. http://zzperformance.com/ecotec/supe...arger-oil.html

 

I like peace of mind lol I know what's on my car and I don't have to guess what the other owner did or didn't do

 

Jesse makes a good point about the laminova cores. When I swapped my head I went ahead and did a dual pass and took those things out, they were dirty as hell but they are right in the intake passageways. Float them in some simple green and be very careful with the fins. Also replace that pcv filter thing too if your heading down that pathway and the intake gasket.

 

Is that something that can wait? Sounds like something i probably wont want to do immediately

 

Do cobalts usually have any kind of valve/lifter tick after 100k miles? Just wondering what kind of noises are normal

 

no.... if your hearing a tick it's probably an exhaust leak or needs a timing chain/tensioner

 

Flex pipe on the downpipe is probably what you are hearing. Think thats a lifetime warranty free repair at gm

Spark plugs - go original ngk at .28ish gap

Do some googling on that blower oil change to be sure of exactly what you gotta do. And if you do, while the blowers off and see how the rotor packs look

As mentioned before i.c. pump...

Most suspension will need replacing - struts, sway bar endlinks, control arm bushings for sure, if they havent already.

Otherwise most everything should be good to roll if the car was kept up with and not beaten senseless its whole life haha.

If you feel like the clutch slips try driving it and shifting at 4000+ rpms for a while and see if it stops slipping

 

Thanks for the input guys, i still havent sold my tC yet, was just wondering what kind of things i shouldnt be worries about. The tC's have valve tick from the variable valve timing, so i wasnt sure if that was normal on anything else

 

I dont think anyone mentioned this yet. If the supercharger sounds like its throwing rocks, you will need to take it apart and replace the coupler.

 

Like i said im a noob and have never owned a boosted car, what do you mean by sounds like its throwing rocks?

 

What ever you do... do not follow ZZP's recommended fill amount.

They will tell you 6 oz. For the M62 on the SS/SC it is 3.4 oz.

Wayyyy to small.

For a stock car go with 0.035" gap.

For your basic modded SS/SC 0.032" works.

OP, remember you want the largest gap possible w/o spark blow out, so play around with which gap works best for your car. The gaps I provided are guidelines.

 

It will sound like there are rocks banging around by the snout.

 

Thanks for the advice!


I figured thats what you ment, but i wanted to be sure