OK, I'm a neebie to the forum, and to camaros realy. I'm fixing to buy a 91 Camaro RS V8 with T-Tops. She sways it has a slow oil leak. Is this a known, problem/fix? It has 170000 miles on it. Also, any known problms with this particular model. Shes asking $1900 for it.

Welcome to the TC site, but we need more info. to help. Where does it leak? Under the engine, out the tail pipe,(black sooty in there? )
Along valve covers?
Kind of hard to to help without more info.

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I havn;t actually seen it yet, I'm going tom look at it tomorrow though. But, I think its under the engine, and she said she has to add a quart or 2 of oil every 2000 miles I think. Thats about all I know right. So, could you give a list of things to look for Like" If this looks like this then its means this, buy it or don't buy it" kinda thing smile.gif graemlins/beers.gif

St3mpy,

170,000 mile on any car is a lot!!

The best way to tell where she is leaking is take her to the car wash and rinse down the complete engine bay and even stick the water wand up under the bottom. Just be sure you have a way to dry her out and restart her if she gets wet and dies!! (Been there, done that toooo many times!)...

BTW, drive her home and stick a big piece of cardboard under her AND let her sit overnight!

Then go look and see where she is dripping by looking at the spots on the cardboard!!

Generally, it can be a front crank/timing cover seal that can be fixed with both a balancer tin-can repair kit and a new cover seal.

Next, the valve covers, like all the way around or maybe just front or rear bad gaskets. Easy to fix, but still a pain.

Finally, the rear main that shows up right at the bottom of the bellhousing/trans converter case..

Now this one takes a little more work b/c you have to pull the pan and then remove and reinstall a new main seal pair on a two piece or drop the tranny on a one piece seal.

Either way, the pan is a big hassle to pull outta the way to get at the back bottom of your motor!!

Hope this helps. pdq67

So, do you think its a a car to buy? She said that'll it will need a new paint job, its black, but kinda fadded. But asumming the oil leak isn't major, should I buy it? Not that I'll hold this against you or ayhting, just tryig to get someone elsess opinion.

Hi St3mpy,

Sounds like this is your first car deal. If so, you need to find someone that you can trust that knows a bit about cars to look the it over. That could be a friend, family member, school shop teacher or a mechanic that you pay to give the car a going over. Next realize that unless the car is worth a lot more and the person is doing you a personal favor by selling it at a good discount there is a lot of room to bargan.

Here's what I'd do, Find out what a mechanic would charge to go over the car. Engine and trans as well as brakes and anything else like suspension and steering. Don't worry about interior except maybe air bags. You can judge the condition of seatbelts and interior for the most part. When you know what the mechanic will charge to go over the car, make an offer contingent on the mechanics findings and the cost of the mechanic. As an example if it's a car you really want; lets say it's $200 for the mechanic and you offer her $1400 explaining that the offer is based on the mechanic giving the car a green light and the real cost to you is $1600. You also don't want to be out the whole $200 so if the mechanic says the car is in bad shape the two of you split the $200 cost and you don't buy the car (you can try to get her to pay for it all if you want). Who ever ends up with the car gets the mechanics report. This is just a starting point as maybe the mechanic says the car need $800 worth of work to put it into shape. You then could offer her $900 or a grand.

I know all this may sound a bit complicated but if you put everything in writing nobody gets hurt by the deal. If the seller freeks and doesn't want to let you get the car checked out, walk away. There are lots of cars out there.

leaking a quart every 2000 miles is usually easier to fix than BURNING a quart every 2000 miles. make sure you know which it is doing. if it smokes, dont buy it unless you want to do engine work.

any oil consumption worth mentioning is not a slow leak, although 1 1/2 quarts between changes may not be considered terribly bad by many standards, and may mean she is just an honest person.

her 2000 mile consumption may not be equal to your 2000 mile consumption..and if its a quart every 1000 miles, thats what we call "self changing". that's bad. still fixable.

if a mech wants to charge you $200 to look at it, find a different one. i am a mech (15 years), and i would do a general inspection for about $50. for $200 i would also check compression, and spray the motor off for you before i check for leaks. actually i'd do all that for $100, and pressure check the cooling system and cap. my price varies depending on my mood and your attitude.

you can test drive it yourself, notice the shifting, warm it up, go thru a drive thru, watch the temp. check the trans fluid (auto) for nasty burnt fluid. notice any vibrations or pulling on the highway, or while braking from various speeds in various ways.

you can get most of that stuff done at your local midas shop for free while they check the brakes (including a test drive). just be sure to tip the mechanic while he's checking it. $20 should do it. and dont be afraid to ask questions, no matter how dumb you think they are (the questions-not the mech. if he is dumb, no tip and find another). some midas' now will make you pay $20 to get a copy of the inspection form. the techs get payed based on their sales. and they wont have a pressure washer. if he cant get prices on fixing oil leaks, but can tell you whats leaking, you can get a phone quote from a full service shop.

i worked for a midas on and off for about 7 years. i have also worked in full service, and at a forklift dealer. i am currently self employed/unemployed due to health.

good luck on your ride. oh- known problems-front brake hoses collapse causing brake pull, although this was mostly on the 80's model 3rd gens. and tranny mount breakes making a loud clunk when shifting. worn out strong arms to hold up deck (and hood? i forget). none of these are major. i dont know of any others specific to 3rd gen camaros.

always check for rust, esp around windshield corners, and underneath.

Any car that has 170000 miles on it is going to require some TLC and is probably nearing the end of it's life. When you look at the car, imagine yourself fixing a lot of things. If you don't think you're up to the task, don't start. It is probably nearly ready for an overhaul, suspension parts, brake parts, transmission...the list goes on.

If you're the kind of person who pays for repairs, save yourself some grief and find a car with fewer miles on it in better condition. It's true that oil leaks are relatively easy to fix - compared to overhauling an engine. But isn't as easy as changing sparkplugs and plugs can be a bear on newer cars. Also, crank seals and the like will demand a high price from your local mechanic because of the labor involved. For example, if the rear seal is leaking, the tranny and flywheel will have to be removed.

That being said, I like the advice of cleaning the motor and letting it sit over cardboard. A can of gunk would also be helpful, but don't spray it on a hot (or even very warm engine). The results are very illuminating. :eek: Perhaps what you find after cleaning and inspecting will bring the price down to the point where you can enjoy the car a while and get rid of it once it starts to wear on you.

-dnult

ok, I saw it today. Nice looking camaro. It has white smoke oming from the exahust. She says that it only leaks oil when its moving, so, does that mean its burnming oil? She said the starters fixing to go, and the trunk motor is broken, but she'll subtract for the cost of the parts. So, need your opinion. smile.gif

Scott - where do you live and work? Your labor rates are half the $95 - $105 they are around here, maybe even less... :D I did pull the number $200 out of the air but figured it would take a decent mechanic a couple hrs to find any leaks (includes cleaning off the block) check the compression, do a leakdown, have a good look at the carb, check the timing, pull all 4 wheels and check the brakes, test drive and then provide an evaluation...

My point was and still is St3mpy sounds like he's never looked over a car before and maybe just started driving for that matter. What sticks out like a sore thumb to you may not even be visable to him...

St3mpy - The car burns oil (not unusual for 170k miles), leaking when moving means the engine and undercarrage are covered with oil but parked over night there isn't any on the ground in my book. You need to have a mechanic look at it. Your discriptions here don't give us enough to tell you to buy it or don't. Why is the gal selling it? To costly for her to keep it running? If you have buddys that already know how to work on cars you might be able to keep a car like this alive for the cost of parts. Not knowing anything about you except for what I get reading your questions, I get the impression you would need help learning about wrenching on cars. (Just my guess) Unless you have a couple friends around it will be real hard for you to learn even with all the guys here.

Had you said something like "I looked the car over and test drove it, the leak looks to be coming off the front of the block and the valve covers are covered in crud where they meet the head" and you gave more info about the test drive and the way the car ran and the conditions of when it smoked I'd feel different... This isn't a put down because we all have to start somewhere so get started. Scott and the others have put out some great advice, get the car from the seller for a day and get it checked out. From there come back and tell us what you found and if you got the car... Don't be too proud to let others around you help you out...

lol, yeah, I know I sound like a total idiot, but the only car I've worked is my 97 cherokee, and it has a L6, so it so easy to wrok on, these v things are so hard to look at cause there so cramped up, but yeah, the block/heads are covered in crud, but no knocking or anything. I did see alot of build up in the front, could'nt see the back cause the things so low to the ground. Oh, she said the cabin fan only runs at one speed, but it blows cool. But as long as the repair dson't require dropping the engine, Im up for it. Also, the t-tops, they leak aroung the doors, can I just caulk it, or do I have to get a new seal?

if the white smoke is white-white, not gray or blue, it might have a bad head gasket, blowing antifreeze out.

otherwise if it just smokes grey at startup, its valve seals and possibly clogged drain ports.

you should have new seals for the t-tops.

DjD, the going rate here is $65/hr. i am not working at a shop. i work out of my garage, and charge about $30/hr for most jobs. i just completed a head gasket on an 89 ranger, including t-belt, front main seal, and all the bells and whistles, for $150 labor. i make my customers get their own parts, and dispose of their own waste, including antifreeze and oil.
i am in raleigh, nc. when i worked at midas, i would have to do all the basic checks excluding compression/ leakdown, and timing, for free. if you didnt pay midas, midas didn't pay me. this was in illinois/ST. louis area.
where are you? maybe i could make more $$ there?
;) i was hoping you would say that compression check would be included with that $200. i saw that price and i thought-wow! this guy pays too much for repairs! the only shops around here that charge $100/hr are bmw and mercedes.

st3mpy, 170,000 miles is alot, but if it's got good compression, and she took care of it, it could last another 50,000 or more easily. if you like the car, and aren't afraid of doing your own work, AND dont expect to be able to drive it everyday till it's all fixed, and have towing insurance, buy it. we dont think you sound like an idiot. you hve to start somewhere.
i had a geo metro to drive while i was fixing my 'bird up off and on as a teen and early 20's. had to have the 'bird towed home twice. one time it needed an engine, but i only paid $750 for it, and it was a bit rusty.

dnult has some good advice about alot of stuff being worn-if not worn out. like ball joints, tierods, struts, springs.

anyway, if you like it, and think it's worth fixing, buy it. i'd try to talk her down tho'. i have almost enough in mine to buy a new car, but its spread out over many years, and i hate new cars. a car like yours in mint condition may be worth upwards of $3500, but if you have to pay someone else to fix it up to that, you'll have more in it.
i do my own labor, and am about dead even with the value of a '68 bird as far as the parts i've bought, including sheetmetal. yours is in better shape i'm sure.