pitbull14218

Hi, i would like to know all/some of the common problems with the 93-02 Camaro's/Trans AM's. I am looking to try to buy one eventually, What would be a good year to get? I don't have alot of money and deffinitly probly would get one in the 93-97 year range but i am curious of what to look out for in these Cars.... But i am deffinitly getting one so... please tell me about some common problems with these vehicles.. Thank you

MyShibbyZ28

Personally I think 94-95 are the best years. 94 doesn't have the vented optispark and 95 does. 95 also has dual cats instead of the just one on 94's.

Common problems
optispark
ignition (sometimes)
transmissions (if an auto, they are weak)

there's more I just can't think of any.

pitbull14218

Thanks for that info. I want one so bad now from all those videos i just want to make sure what i am getting into... because when i go to buy one i want to know what to look for. so is there any other common problems with these cars. I might need to settle for one with higher mileage so anyone have anything else ? Thanks

Pokey

Don't forget that piece of junk water pump!

pitbull14218

Anyone in here that bought one with HIGH miles...can you tell me any problems ? How about the Rear Ends? How long does the clutch last in the manual? How many times have you had to replace a part in an amount of miles.... years? Thank you...

FastZinTennessee

I'm biased, but I like 1995 models because-

It has the vented opti-spark (distributor) which is a little more durable than the 93/94 non vented design, and it's CHEAPER when you have to replace it.

OBDI PCM that is cheaper to tune then the OBDII. And you can reflash the 94-97 LT1 PCM's whereas the 93 uses a chip.

Single catalytic converter exhaust design so if you decide that long tube headers aren't right for you, you'll get a better flowing exhaust (aftermarket headers/Y-pipe) than the dual catalytic converter setup.

ss82er

If you find a car from a place where it snows alot and the roads are salted be weary about the undercarriage!! Don't think you want to get a car and later find out that you have a rust bucket; check the undercarriage. If you go from Ebay look for good feedback and very detailed description w/plenty of pictures... I think the high mileage thing just depends on who actually owned the car and how they have cared for it, I read these cars can go over 200k easy and still run like new as long as they are cared for. There's bound to be a great deal that comes you way, be patient lol!

pitbull14218

Yea i live in Buffalo NY, so i will have to look at alot of things thats why i am conserned about what to look for... Deffinitly will look under it though. So 95 is a good year? I deffinitly will do some things with exhaust after i get one... gow strong are the Manual Trannys? I want it manual. Anything else guys? Thanks again for all this.

JonZ28SS

If you look at any with high mileage, make sure you pay attention to engine response and obvious sounds during a test drive. When I was shopping for mine, a good majority of them were beaten to death. Many of them had thick oil on the stick, and a good amount of them had strange engine noises which I stayed away from. After I purchased my SS from the original owner at 50k, before I started driving it I had the clutch replaced and the rear carrier bearings and pinion bearings/seals replaced.. although I knew it needed the work during the test drive with the nice grind at the rear.

If you want one.. don't buy one until you find the one that is just right. I must have looked at about a good 40 or so camaros in the course of about 6 months and eventually found the one that fit exactly what I wanted. Make sure you have $ to repair/upgrade the basics.

Go for the M6 - it's strong as it is, and even better if you throw in a great clutch! BTW I love my Centerforce DF!

Jeremy95TA

93-95 had single cats. 96-97 had dual cats and were rated at 285hp out of the factory instead of 275 for 93-97.

Also, 93 6-speeds came with an M-29 tranny and not a T-56 like 94-02. Just a bit of random infor for you.

pitbull14218

This is probly going to sound stupid but what is a M6, sounds like your talking about a tranny, but i thought they come with T-56? and i never owned a camaro or trans am so i wouldn't know if it didn't feel right. Anything else would be greatly appriciated...I will have to save up to get one, and i only make like 200 a week... so as you can see this will take awhile. I am going to use my tax return too... So any other buying camaros information would be great. Thanks again for all this.....keep it comin

Injuneer

95's had a single cat, except for the A4 cars with CA emissions - they had dual cats. All others are single cat.

Injuneer

Hopefully you realize that you have posted in "LT1/LT4 Engine Tech", and that limits you to the 93-97 models. The 98 and ups had the LS1 engine. Hopefully you also realize that the Formula has the same basic components as the Trans Am.

Since your question does not appear to be limited to the engine, I'm going to move this to "General F-Body Info & Tech", where you can get info about the total car, and about both the LT1 and the LS1. I also modified the topic so people can see you are interested only in the 4th Gen cars.

Z28LT1_Just_Nasty

M6 = 6 speed manual
A4 = 4 speed auto

If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have settled for the A4, but I hope to have an M6 in there one day. Another problem you have to watch out for is the t-tops leaking, I'm lucky I have around 106,000 miles on my body and the t-tops still don't leak.

resurrectedz28

My 93 has high miles, it has had some wierd stumbling/falling on its face issues sometimes, but other than that it works good. Just look at a bunch, check out ebay for price referencing and good luck.

PS. for reference the 93 is the only year with speed density which might affect your choice (it would have affected mine if I had known). 94+ cars have mass air flow (MAF).