The Red '96 Z26 (78K Miles)

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Anyone have any idea why my odometer is not working? It was when we got it, we put 42 Miles on it sense we got it on monday. It started at 60,000 even, and is now at 60042, between the 4 and 5 tenths. We reset the trip meter when we got it, and the trip matches up with the 42.4/5. We are getting a bit annoyed, and we feel we may have been screwed a bit here.
Any ideas? I will be having it looked over this coming week. Also all the other gauges are working. We also found when it does that weird idle thing, the lights dim, and get brighter.

Ok, from the top.

1. The "vroom, vroom" idle is an air leak. USUALLY IAC related, but can also result from leaking intake or TB gaskets. Considering the 3100's history of bad LIMG's, I'd bet on Lower Intake Manifold Gaskets.

2. Your lights should NEVER flicker "in beat to your idle", EVER. Period. You may notice in some cars the lights get slightly dimmer at idle, but an ideally functioning alternator should not allow that to happen either. Get the Alt tested. I'm betting it's weak which could also have an impact on issue number 1 above. Remember your battery doesn't mean jack crap after the car is started. The car runs off of electrical charge powered by the alternator after startup.

3. Odometer quitting could either be a bad VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor), a bad cluster , or a shorted wire. Or the guy lied and swapped clusters to make the car LOOK low mileage, but I doubt it especially if you came back with a clean CarFax.

4. Power steering being very hard at idle or stopped is almost CERTAINLY a bad pump , possibly a weak steering rack.

I always caution people against buying "uber low mileage" older cars unless they're prepared to do the repairs that generally come with those cars due to decay from sitting. They think the car won't need crap when the reality is , as you're currently experiencing, seals dry out (PS Pump) sensors get corroded, bearings get weak (Alternator), etc,etc. You're always FAR more likely to have mechanical issues with a car that spent more time sitting than running. It's just a fact of life.

Good luck and still a nice car.

[2.2H8TA]

Thanks alot SGR and ace. I'm gonna get these issuse addressed this coming week. I sure hope that guy didn't swap clusters in it. We didn't get a carfax. I'm gonna look into that tho. After just looking at the alt, it may just be the problem, as it appears to possibly be the orig. one. I'll keep this updated. We are keeping the driving to a minimum till we can get it checked out.

[2.2H8TA]

Ok, so heres my damage...
I had it completly looked over this morning, and sgr, you are correct, it is an air leak. A peice of vacuum hose or whatever, was broke, the line sits drectly on top of the engine. The part is being shipped, and should be fixed Monday or Tuesday. I also had a them scan it, and it came up with nothing, seems all is good and well electonicly, and there are no bad sensors. The odometer, and trip meter don't work because the cluster is bad. Still confident it is a true 60k Mi. car, even without a carfax. Now heres where the questions start again. I have to replace the cluster, the guy at the shop, and also someone from a local GM dealer, both tell me that the dash needs to be removed, along with the cluster, they get some # or #'s off the back of the cluster, and report it to AC/Delco, I belive is what they said. Then they put all your old crap back in your car, so you can still drive it, and then you wait on them to make a new cluster, with matching mileage on it. Is this all true, I'm not doubting it, but I just wanna be sure, before I shell out $300+ for a new, stock cluster. More below...

[2.2H8TA]

Now we go on to the body...
I seen underneath for the first time today, and all I can say is **** **** ****** ******!
The whole front of the car underneath appears to be clean as a whistle. The back is a slightly diffrent story however. The rear subframe has some surface rust starting on it. I guess this is what I get for not lookin' under it before buying, but I could care less about that, considering how clean the rest of it is... All I can say is mud flaps! They save underbodys, I don't care what anyone says, there are flaps on the front, hense the clean rockers, and front part of the underbody. None on the rear though, of course, I contribute the rust in the rear to that. Anyone got any advice, I'm open to it all. I mainly need info on this cluster thing first though, for now. Such as possible aftermarket options? Or anything that may be cheeper than the new stock cluster. Thanks in advance for the advice and feedback everyone. Hopfully things get better from here, as I don't think anything can get worse, unless it just blows up!

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Bullshit on the cluster. ABSOLUTE bullshit. All you have to do is pull the trim around the cluster, unscrew it and pull it out of the dash. Now if you want a "matching mileage" cluster, yes, you'll pay BIG bucks for it. I would just go to the JY and pull one myself. You can tear these clusters down and change the odometer mileage. Yes, it's possible, but time consuming and a royal PITA.

They're trying to rob you , per usual stealership policy....

Make sure you don't have a bad VSS FIRST!!! This will cause the trip/odometer and speedometer to ALL stop working if it's shot. Make sure they're not lying to get in your wallet , PLEASE! A new VSS is about $30 or $40 at most!

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Also, dude, do yourself a favor and drop a $20 bill on a CarFax. This car is starting to sound MIGHTY suspicious. I'd try to start getting some facts from an UNBIASED source, starting with CarFax.

[2.2H8TA]

Ok, just to attempt to clear some of this up. I did not take it to a dealer. I will be getting a second opinion on all of this sometime next week, when the mechanic we always use, can look at. They're shop is short handed at the moment, due to a couple of guys, who we also trust, quitting. Today I just took it down the road to the nearest shop, because it was pissin' me off, I just had to know. I personally seen the mechanic hook the car up for a complete diagnostics check. It came back with absolutly nothing. If the VSS is bad, it would send a code back, correct? Also, all the gauges work, ONLY the odometer and trip meter is aren't workin'. That is why the cluster is said to be bad. When he told me he had to pull the dash out, I cringed a little, and really didn't see why it is needed. As of now, nothing has been touched. The air leak, is the first thing to get done. When I take it down there on Monday or Tuesday to get that done, thats when the specifics of this cluster thing will be discussed more. From what I'm hearing from both the mechanic, and the GM dealers, If the cluster is not replaced properly, the vehicle will not be inspectable, and belive me, many things have run through my mind about this, I just don't wanna go on a rant right now. As for the carfax, that is something my fathers gonna have to address, as it is acctually his car. I honestly can't do anything about it at the moment, I'm the one dumping the money in to the driveability of this thing. I really do appreciate your honesty SGR, I wish all mechanics, and dealers, and just car people in general were like that. It's you guys that make someone like me who just drives em, more confident when it comes to fixing things that go wrong.
And, I know... I know... CarFax!

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Ok, there are SEVERAL sensors that will NOT throw a code on a "scanner". VERY rarely if ever when they've gone bad. Here's a short list.

CTS (Coolant Temp Sensor, NOT sender although it won't throw a code either)
CTS (Coolant Temp SENDER , feeds the gauge)
VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor)
02 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor)

Trust me on this... A bad gauge pod where ONLY the odometer and speedometer went out? Again, not likely. POSSIBLE, but VERY unlikely.... The reason I think VSS and NOT a bad cluster is BECAUSE only the speedo and odometer quit working and it was "all of a sudden".

And again, you DO NOT NEED TO REMOVE THE DASH to remove the gauge pod. PERIOD. It's simply NOT true man.

You "personally saw him hook up the diagnostics". Well, here's the thing... He probably hooked up a code scanner. So guess what? No code, no problem, right? WRONG.

[2.2H8TA]

ALL THE GAGUES WORK! Only the odometer and trip meter stoped.

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Ok. I missed the obvious. I thought you said the speedo quit too...

[2.2H8TA]

Idle problem fixed! Was a broken PVC tube. Car runs much better now, no longer jumps from 1st to 2nd gear, it's nice and smooth now. Cluster will be replaced, with the help of rettagurls 96' 68k mi. cluster. The last 3 digits will pretty much match up, when it gets in there. Good enough for me, now I'm not spendin' $350 on a new cluster. Still some things we will have to do to get our dream Beretta PERFECT, just need to address the rust now. New pics in the coming days. Maybe even a video, of how it's running. Things are really lookin' up now!
Thanks to all who have chimed in so far.

[3X00-Modified]

If your coming to Indy I'll correct the cluster for you if you still believe that the mileage is correct. Either way if the ODO stopped working then you have no idea how long its been driven around like that.

They are not a royal pita to change btw... they are quite easy actually.

[Trevor]

Hahah! I had the same deck in my 93' Beretta Gtz when I got it, but I put in a Kenwood now .

[2.2H8TA]

The odometer stoped after we got the car, so it's only been like this for a little over a week or so. I'm not gonna make it to indy, I will most likely be at NE though. And yeah Trevor, this alpine deck is a POS.

[3X00-Modified]

I have an alpine deck and i love it.