Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Two Issues

L

LARGE

Guest
Good Morning,
I am new to this group and I would appreciate any help you may give me. I have a 99 C-5 and I love it. It had 300 miles on it when I bought it and its everything and more that I ve wanted for 30 years.
My concern/problems are as follows:
#1-I have this almost rattle whe I start from a stop in 1st gear.It doesn't ever make that noise except when Im at a complete stop and start out. I went to the dealer and I was told it was "gear rattle" --nothing to worry about.But see
#2 and you willunderstand why Im worried.

#2 I am losing 1 quart of oil at 1800 miles. It is very steady.I have no drip,My garage is dry. I don't know what I should do next.
I would appreciate any help anyone might suggest to me.

Thanks,
Bernie Grossman AKA-Large
 
LARGE said:
Good Morning,
I am new to this group and I would appreciate any help you may give me. I have a 99 C-5 and I love it. . . ..
#2 I am losing 1 quart of oil at 1800 miles. It is very steady.I have no drip,My garage is dry. I don't know what I should do next.
I would appreciate any help anyone might suggest to me.
Thanks,
Bernie Grossman AKA-Large

Bernie~I don't know about the rattle noise, but I have several friends that have C5's and their experience is the same or worse than yours for oil consumption. I think that is fairly normal oil usage for the C5. I won't profess to know all the engineering reasons for it, but I do remember ready an article about it.

I was on a run through Yosemite last spring and one of the C5's used a quart of oil about every 900~1100 miles, and they use the synthetic $$$ oil too. If I find that article I'll post it for you to read.. Hey it may of even been in one of Robs articles here on the Corvette Action Center.. hmmmmm I'll look around later today when I have more time..
Good Luck, Good having ya onboard :)
BudD
:w
 
New Car Break In

Bernie: I'm assuming that you meant that you have 3000 miles on the car. A new motor will natuarally use some oil until the piston rings seat. A quart in 1800 miles is not unusual. I always make my first oil & filter change early (1000 - 1500 miles) because metal particle wear is being caught in the filter and impurities contanimate the oil. If you continue to use oil and it's not leaking check the inside of your tailpipes they should be a light brown color. If they are dark or black or wet then oil is getting past the rings & they have not seated properly. Another check is to run the engine at high speed and shut down immediately without slow speed or idle. Remove each spark plug and compare to each other, they should be a light toasty tan color, if one is dark brown or wet that cylinder's rings have not seated properly. As far as trans rattle, it could be a number of diferent things such as clutch, throwout bearing, linkage or in the transmission itself, need more information. Best way to isolate problem is to do a process of elimination of logical causes. If you know a good mechanic, ask for help.

Al
 
Rattle

Al,

I've ridden with LARGE on numerous ocassions. The "rattle" is only audible when he starts out from a standing start at "very" low rpm. I've haven't heard it when the start begins with higher rev's. No rattle in neutral with clutch out (i.e. maybe eliminates throw-out bearing noise). It is definitely not engine noise. We have a buddy that has a Z28 with the same engine/trans set up and he doesn't have the rattle. This one is going to be tough to find.

This car was pristine when purchased but as with any "previously owned" vehicle, you have no idea of its past owners driving habits.

..... Nut
 
A slight rattle from the transmission and/or the clutch just as you release the clutch when starting in first gear is normal.

As for the oil consumption, it was unclear to me in reading the thread-opening post if this car has been driven 1800 total miles and has used on quart of oil during that time or the car is currently using oil at a rate of 1qt./1800 miles and has been driven an as-yet unstated number of miles.

If the mileage is 1800 total, I'd wait until it gets about 5000 miles on it before I'd go to GM and complain. In the meantime, I'd put the car on a careful oil checking program. Check the oil every 500 miles and make sure the engine has not run for at least two hours before doing it. Record the oil level you observe and the amount of oil added.

If the car has more than 5000 miles on it and is using a qt. every 1800 miles, I'd say that's high oil consumption, but not extreme. My guess is, it may be difficult, but not impossible, to convince GM to take action.

You might try changing oil grades from 5W30 to 10W30. Either Mobil 1 or Red Line are the best choices and both market a 10W30.
 
Hi Large:
Purchased a 97 brand new and had the 1st gear rattle from day one. No dealer or mechanic has given me a satisfactory explanation yet. The rattle starts around 500 RPM and disappears at 1500. They all tell me its normal but with many standard Trans. driven I've never heard this before.
This fall I attended The Bragg Smith Driving school in NV.
(it was fantastic :s) When I got in the new 2001 Vette there was that damn rattle. (at least I felt better about my car) Other cars did the same but not all of them. NONE of the Z 06's had a rattle. I am left to conclude that something is wrong with the basic design of the B/W transmission. It does perform well but it shouldn't rattle! As for your oil it sound excessive :( My car uses about 1/2 qt in 5000 miles.
 
The rattle is mentioned in your owner's video tape as being inherent to the front engine/rear transmission/torque tube design.

My '99 had it, my '01 has it.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom