1997 TA WS6 Running Sluggish

[RyanB58]

In the past week my car has been running weak on the low end. Seems like the car wants to stumble at times or is weak from a punch. At about 5000 rpm the car starts pulling like normal. It has 101,000 miles on it, and I am not really sure what all has been done to it as far as maintenance goes. I bought it on Ebay about 6 months ago. It ran quite well up till now. Any ideas where to start looking things over. Again this is a 1997 TA Ram Air WS6, LT1, A4, 101,000 miles.

[Squat13]

no offense but I wouldnt be taking a 101,xxx Mile Small Block Chevy to 5000 RPM all that offen. Mine Blew at 105,XXX. But Its most likly stumbling due to a maintance issue, Dirty Injectors, Fuel Filter, Bad Plugs, OPTI!!!, or maybe just carbon buildup.

[DeWynter]

How do you guys get so many miles on your cars? I have an 89 formula with 100k Miles/160k KM. And by this I mean where do you drive too as it is obvious that to get miles on a car you have to drive...

[RyanB58]

No offense taken, I know it has high miles, but I picked it up for 4k delivered to my house. I had a friend of mine in the area it was selling check it out and he thought it was a nice car, and he has some sense about himself. Maybe I will just drive her till she quits, then I will have an excuse to upgrade !!!

[RyanB58]

Squat,
Are you saying maybe if I take her to 5000 more often she may go sooner.
Can you say Winter Project, HEHEHE

[NJSpeed]

i wouldnt say theres much problem in reving that wonderfull engine every once and a while if it was well maintained then i wouldnt worry about it. My Porsche 944 has 129k and itll still hit the top speed set from the factory (133mph) the car dosent miss a beat. Then again its a Porsche and there is no Substitute. I might be getting a 95 T/A with 118k i sure hope it dosent blow on me after a few romps to 5000 rpms

[94 formula]

If well maintained and not beaten every time it was driven you could easily have another 75000 in the engine. I just turned 110k last night and had my heads off less than 3 weeks ago and it still looks brand new inside. If you keep your car mainted going to 5k is not problem at all and don't worry about the engine it should last a while. The transmission is a whole nother issue though. The stumbling may be from a number of things. Have plugs and wires been changed? Coil? is it getting the right fuel pressure? And last but not least my guess would be the opti spark.

[Joe 1320]

no offense but I wouldnt be taking a 101,xxx Mile Small Block Chevy to 5000 RPM all that offen. Mine Blew at 105,XXX. But Its most likly stumbling due to a maintance issue, Dirty Injectors, Fuel Filter, Bad Plugs, OPTI!!!, or maybe just carbon buildup.

My 97 WS6 has 135K and runs 13.0s all night long. A friend's 94 has over 200K and it still runs mid 13s. It's all in the maintainance. I did head gaskets at roughly 103K miles and the cylinders still had the factory crosshatch hone. There was no visible wear anywhere. Mobil 1 synthetic changed every 3K miles. I bought the car brand new and it has had more dragstrip passes than Linda Vaughn. So...... that theory is a little out of date.

As far as the stumbling, a scanner would help. It will allow you to read what the sensors are doing instead of guessing.

At 100K miles, it's time for what I call a re-fresh:

1. Plugs and wires.
2. Injectors backflushed and cleaned.
3. All fluids and filters changed.
4. De-carbon the airflow portion of the engine with sea-foam.
5. Replace 02 sensors if originals are degrading.
6. (if funds allow) timing chain and valve springs.

the first three are pretty much mandatory, especially since you don't have any records. #4 is also a good idea. 5 and 6 are also a very good idea if you want many more miles of trouble free driving.

[Injuneer]

no offense but I wouldnt be taking a 101,xxx Mile Small Block Chevy to 5000 RPM all that offen. Mine Blew at 105,XXX. But Its most likly stumbling due to a maintance issue, Dirty Injectors, Fuel Filter, Bad Plugs, OPTI!!!, or maybe just carbon buildup.

Your's was the exception, or suffered from poor maintenance. On the much more active CZ28.com forum, a thread on "how many miles on your LT1?" will often turn up numerous examples with over 150,000 miles (some over 200,000 miles) that are still routinely raced and driven the way they were intended to be driven. Drive it until it shows signs of stress and then rebuild it. You might want to clarify what "blew" means... most of us are not familiar with that "technical" term.

[95TransAm]

You might want to clarify what "blew" means... most of us are not familiar with that "technical" term.

LOL

I agree with everyone on the whole over 100k theory. It's all in the maintenance. Simple things like changing the opti, plugs and wires, using good oil and changing it when you should, good filters, and maintaining your injectors can give an LT1 a long life . I spend all my extra money now maintaining my car and replacing the small little things because i know it will pay off in the end. I bought my car in april at 106,6xx miles on it. I'm now at 109,785 or so, and she runs beautifully. This winter is when i plan on digging deep, and going for an engine rebuild (and while i'm at it, if funds provide, it may give me a good excuse for a new cam, intake, heads, and a full exhaust ). I would say maybe two to three times a week I'll find a nice strip and let her rip at WOT, and i have no problems whatsoever.

It's all about the love for your f-bod

[Squat13]

Hey man, Im just sharing the story of a lot of problems I ran into because I drove my car like I stole it up until she blew. Mine blew due to a rear main seal leak ate a littel more oil than I thought, so I sucked the pan dry on one of my 150 MPH sprints across the Bucman Bridge. Now my lessons learned and all I can do is prech.

[raroZ28]

lol, your car blew up because of oil starvation, not because of high miles man.

[Squat13]

Oil starvation due to Seal Failure Cased by Engine wear.

[Squat13]

....As far as the stumbling, a scanner would help. It will allow you to read what the sensors are doing instead of guessing.

At 100K miles, it's time for what I call a re-fresh:

1. Plugs and wires.
2. Injectors backflushed and cleaned.
3. All fluids and filters changed.
4. De-carbon the airflow portion of the engine with sea-foam.
5. Replace 02 sensors if originals are degrading.
6. (if funds allow) timing chain and valve springs.

the first three are pretty much mandatory, especially since you don't have any records. #4 is also a good idea. 5 and 6 are also a very good idea if you want many more miles of trouble free driving.

Isnt that like what I just said, But I didnt number them.

[RyanB58]

Sounds good, I think I will just take some time to tune her up and do the things you guys have mentioned. Cannot hurt, plus while in the process I could add some upgrades. I did get in contact with the former owner, and he was very nice and apologetic (not that he had any reason to be). He said the last time a tune-up was done was around 60,000. He did regularly maintain the fluids. When I bought it, he honestly told me that he drove the car hard at times, but these cars are not meant to be putted around in. He never did opti, so I think I may do that along with plugs, wires, filters and injectors to see how she runs. Then I will go to the fun stuff: headers, loudmouth, cam, gears,stall and shift kit, black wheels, maybe the bottle.