I'm looking to test drive a 97 ta w/ a m6...i've driven couple auto lt1 s, but never a m6...Car has 120k...Anything special to look for? Appreciate the input!

 

Do a couple of powershifts!

 

Make sure to throw it in a high gear (4th - 5th) at a slower speed so your RPMs are really low (~1500) then floor it. If your RPMs jump up fast and the car doesn't respond the clutch is slipping. If the car stutters a little then starts to slowly pick up speed the clutch is fine.

A little throwout bearing noise is fairly normal. Make sure it shifts into every gear good, etc.

 

If it stutters TOO much though it could be an ignition problem so watch out for that. It will be a bucking feeling if there is a plug/plug wire issue. Opti could be a cutout at any rpm. plug wires if less than 2000 rpms.

Check if 3rd gear has grinding issues too.

 

Look for smooth gear changes. Trouble getting into 1st gear from neutral can be caused by clutch dragging. Stiff shifting gear to gear can mean the wrong fluid is in the tranny which can tell you tons about how the car was maintained. Grinding when selecting any gear, once your moving, indicates syncronizer issues. 5th gear is a common synchro failure point so make sure you shift into 5th a few times at low highway speeds.

Be advised that the car might still have the skip shift active. That will prevent you from shifting from 1st to 2nd at low speeds. Just go for more revs before shifting and you'll deactivate it.

As mentioned, the throw out bearings are known to rattle. If you park next to a building, pop it in neutral and listen you'll certainly hear it. What you shouldn't hear is any sort of a squeal. If there is a squeal you'll have it apart in a short time.

I wouldn't actually let any of these problems stop me from buying the car if it's exactly what you want. Clutches can be replaced, trannys can be rebuilt. With the factory manual, you can rebuild the tranny yourself with a few gear pullers and retaining ring pliers.

 

Can definitely effect the purchase price though. Figure a parts for a new clutch is $200+, and a transmission rebuild is $600+