New Owner - Page 5 - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

| 1990 ZR-1 | · 03-05-2011

So She's finally here! I had a chance to go through the car and overall she's in a great condition especially the paint, the interior, and under the hood. The engine and tranny are great as well. I didn't find any vacuum leaks. I did however hear an exhaust leak, and it was one of the rubber hoses on the drivers side header. It was completely deteriorated, so fixed it and she sounds great now. The car has aftermarket headers, smaller hi-flow cats, and the catback flowmaster exhaust. I will need to change the oil, the brake fluid (it's black), and the coolant it seems gunky in the overflow bottle. The brakes feel weird, it takes a lot of effort to bring the car to a stop, but the break pedal feels fine. The suspension also doesn't seem right, going over small bumps, the rear end feels like it's slightly hopping from side to side. As I mentioned an earlier post,the previous owner swapped out the FX3 stock shocks with a fixed cheap set. I got a part # off of the shock, and it's 5892ST which when I google it, it comes up as Monroe Sensa Trac shock. They are $25 each, so I'm hoping when i put a set of FX3's, the ride quality will improve.

I have two immidiate questions regarding suspension and breaks:

1) All four actuators are there and seem to be in good condition with the rubber seals intacted. Is there a way to check if they are in working condition prior to installing the FX3 shocks? Also, when i order the shocks, is there anything else I would need to be able to mount the actuator to the top of the shock? Or does it just plug in?

2) As I mentioned earlier, the brakes feel week and the break fluid seems like it was never changed. Not sure if changing the brake fluid will improve the stoping power. If not, I would also want to swap out all four rotors and get a set of new pads. Is there a brand for rotors and pads that you guys would recomend with the stock calipers? I will not be tracking the car so new stock set up should be fine for me, but I do want it to stop when I need it too

Thanks in advance guys!!

-Gary

Aurora40 · 03-05-2011

I would highly recommend Hawk HPS brake pads on a stock car.

PhillipsLT5 · 03-05-2011

Nice car, you stole it, drive it that way now
Be careful on the oil change & coolant change
This is not a regular small block chevy
http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20W...%20Coolant.pdf
Get the correct coolant, no dex cool

http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20W...5%20Engine.pdf
http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20W...r%20Review.pdf
Oil will be aprox 8.5 qt with filter

03-05-2011	#41
\| 1990 ZR-1 \| Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Medford, NJ Posts: 77	Re: New Owner So She's finally here! I had a chance to go through the car and overall she's in a great condition especially the paint, the interior, and under the hood. The engine and tranny are great as well. I didn't find any vacuum leaks. I did however hear an exhaust leak, and it was one of the rubber hoses on the drivers side header. It was completely deteriorated, so fixed it and she sounds great now. The car has aftermarket headers, smaller hi-flow cats, and the catback flowmaster exhaust. I will need to change the oil, the brake fluid (it's black), and the coolant it seems gunky in the overflow bottle. The brakes feel weird, it takes a lot of effort to bring the car to a stop, but the break pedal feels fine. The suspension also doesn't seem right, going over small bumps, the rear end feels like it's slightly hopping from side to side. As I mentioned an earlier post,the previous owner swapped out the FX3 stock shocks with a fixed cheap set. I got a part # off of the shock, and it's 5892ST which when I google it, it comes up as Monroe Sensa Trac shock. They are $25 each, so I'm hoping when i put a set of FX3's, the ride quality will improve. I have two immidiate questions regarding suspension and breaks: 1) All four actuators are there and seem to be in good condition with the rubber seals intacted. Is there a way to check if they are in working condition prior to installing the FX3 shocks? Also, when i order the shocks, is there anything else I would need to be able to mount the actuator to the top of the shock? Or does it just plug in? 2) As I mentioned earlier, the brakes feel week and the break fluid seems like it was never changed. Not sure if changing the brake fluid will improve the stoping power. If not, I would also want to swap out all four rotors and get a set of new pads. Is there a brand for rotors and pads that you guys would recomend with the stock calipers? I will not be tracking the car so new stock set up should be fine for me, but I do want it to stop when I need it too Thanks in advance guys!! -Gary Last edited by \| 1990 ZR-1 \|; 03-05-2011 at 02:16 PM.

03-05-2011	#42
Aurora40 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Leesburg, VA Posts: 2,713	Re: New Owner I would highly recommend Hawk HPS brake pads on a stock car. __________________ Bob Saveland Former owner of #2517 [IMG]http://a.random-image.net/aurora40/vette.jpg[/img]

03-05-2011	#43
PhillipsLT5 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 2,450	Re: New Owner Nice car, you stole it, drive it that way now Be careful on the oil change & coolant change This is not a regular small block chevy http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20W...%20Coolant.pdf Get the correct coolant, no dex cool http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20W...5%20Engine.pdf http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20W...r%20Review.pdf Oil will be aprox 8.5 qt with filter