I am very interested in the car I am currently looking at (1994 camaro Z28 6-speed with only 45,000 miles in excellent condition).

There is only one little thing the owner has told me and that I noticed while I was test driving, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal. While I was driving it, I noticed that in begining of first gear, it makes a little noise, a little vibration and then stops and doesn't make that noise in the other gears. Sometimes it doesn't make the noise, sometimes it's louder than other times, but I don't know what it is?

THe owner said it's been doing that for about 3 years and has no idea what it could be. When he first noticed it, he took it to a transmission place, and they told him they didn't know what it could be. At first they thought it might be a transmission bearing, but they told him that if it was something that serious that his tranny wouldn't have lasted that long. After that, he says he didn't bother fixing the problem because the car ran fine and it didn't cause him any problems.

Now I really like this car, but at the same time, I don't want to have to deal with a T56 rebuild 1 or 2 years down the road.

Anyone have any idea what the problem could be?
Thanks in advance.

 

T56 tanny's tend to make a little noise
it could be a through out bearing or clutch

 

Its probably more the car than the tranny, if the frequency of the faint sound coming from the tranny matches just right with something else in the car it will resonate with it and make it sound louder and vibrate, especially since there doesnt feel anything wrong and its lasted that long.

 

The rattling noise you describe is apparently normal on these cars. I have a 95 TA with a 6 speed, and it does the same thing. With the car in neutral and the engine running, blip the throttle. The noise will get a bit worse, then go away.

BRAD

 

That noise is pretty normal for first gear, it's a very stout trans and is a bit noisy. If it has an aftermarket shifter it will be a little noisier still, I doubt the noise is anything serious. It sounds like a very nice LT1, that's very low mileage especially for a 94. Good luck!

 

Sounds like clutch chatter, mine does the same. It's normal.

 

It's normal

 

Just another thought, that noise could be from the pilot bushing which costs about $5, well aside from any cost of pulling the trans. The stock bushing is solid, they now use a roller bearing instead. As long as it's not grinding though it should be fine but if you ever have the trans out you could try going with the new style bearing. Either way a slight rattle in first isn't a big deal.

 

Thanks everyone, great help. You've reassured me quite a bit. DO you think then that the sound could be attributed to the fact that the car still has it's original clutch (never been changed)? Maybe if I decide to change the clutch this "cluth chatter" could go away?

And actually, while we're on this topic, how long has the stock t56 clutch been known to last? 60,000 miles? I learned driving manual on imports, and it seemed to me that the friction point was always attained when I would barely lift the clutch pedal, and the further up the clutch pedal went to find the friction point, it meant that the clutch needed to be replaced. THe first time I drove a 6-speed maro, I remember that the friction point was so high compared to the imports I had driven, I thought for sure the clutch needed to be replaced, but then I was told it was normal. It took some geting used to.

So yes the car is just about mine, I've already made a contract with the current owner, and it just needs to pass one more inspection at the pontiac dealer near my house, and if the total costs of replacing/repairing parts does not exceed 1000$ (which it shouldn't) then it's mine.

THis car is PERFECT. Current owner is a 52 year-old police officer that only took the car out summer time for weekend cruising. He is a camaro nut and kept every single type of paperwork related to the car that he could get: maintenance records, parts # sheet, right down to the original window sticker of the car (which he laminated) when he bought it in '94.

 

depending on how you drive the car the stock clutch could last a very long time. Mine was still going with 107,xxx on it , with a 150 shot

 

It's possible the stock clutch could be warped a bit but more than likely it's just normal noise from the trans and noisy stock pilot bushing. I replaced my clutch at 50k, but only because the input shaft seal on the trans was leaking, getting trans fluid on the disc making it slip. I don't think it's a real common problem but I have heard of this happening to a few others. The disc wasn't even 1/2 way worn though compared to the new stock disc I installed, it looked like it could have made it to 100k.

 

Guys, I ended up buying the white 94 Z! I haven't really taken it out this month because of school and exams, but I'm going to be using it alot during the summer for work and going out. It's a beautiful car and I love it!

I just had one more question... about the tranny again.
and since you guys provided me with the best answers when I was asking about the transmission the first time, I figured I'd ask you again.

This has hapenned to me a couple (2 or 3 times - when I took my car out this month) and I don't know if I'm being paranoid or if I really could have caused serious damage to my car. OK, so what happens is, most of the time when I'm driving, the CAGS doesn't come on, so I just shift normally: 1->2, 2->3, 3->4 and that's usually just about it when I'm city driving. However, sometimes, when the cags kicks in, I find myself shifting 1->4, then I continue driving slowly, and then when I have to shift, I forget I'm in 4th (because of cags) and then I accidentally shift into 3rd (thinking I am in second)! Then the revs go up a bit, and the tranny makes the vibrating noise - the exact same one I was talking about (see above) and I realize... crap! I just shifted wrong! and I shift back into fourth and just continue driving and everything is fine...

So is this a case of nOOb new car owner paranoia or should I relly be worried?