1998 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 from North America - Comments

Rotors constantly warped. After GM turned and replaced rotors as they felt fit, I replaced with cross drilled rotors, not to race, but to prevent warpage.

Pinion seal leak. Fixed twice at dealer, still leaks. Dealer replaced stock differential finally, made a mistake and replaced with the high performance differential, since it was an option I did not complain. The differential is making odd noises now, figure it is low fluid.

Power steering fluid is on low, no leaks noticed, have not diagnosed this.

Crap Goodyear tires made me wipe out a few times, replaced with Michelin Pilot Sport, night and day difference.

Drivers side mirror shakes since it was replaced by dealer, it was initially replaced as it stopped working (power mirror)

Replaced battery.

Belts squeal badly in high humidity.

I went camping and since this time, seem to have the "dead body" look. This is seen normally on older Camaros where the back sits so much lower than the front - as if you had a dead body in the trunk.

Dealer oil change produced a garage full of oil since they did not tighten the filter.

Something went wrong behind the radio with a connection to the headlights. The battery went dead, the headlight switch melted itself. It was night and I had no lights. I figured the part that was behind the radio was the auto-sensor (detects if it is dark out) which shorted somehow the headlight switch, once this melted, the whole car was without lights. No fuses blew though! Replaced under warranty, no problem since.

I forgot to lock down T-Roof, a $600 mistake.

Both front calipers have seized, replaced.

Front pads replaced twice.

All in all a good car. It still drives like it is brand new. Pending the constant rotor and rear differential problems. As with any GM cars, replacing with OEM equipment just leads to the same problems over, I suggest upgrading to racing equipment.

I drive this car year round, on winter tires and rims, have slid off the road and been winched out by tow trucks twice. The body still has no rust, and the car is no worse for wear having been thrown off the road in ice. With winter tires on, I have no problems driving around in most conditions, the icy days get me still.

I have high mileage on the car, and for that, I figure I have gotten a lot of mileage out of the car. The main problem has always been with the dealer. One charging me $1000+ for a new roof, another one (Pontiac) charged me $500 (+ taxes), it was easy to install myself. Dealers do make a big difference!

Most of your problems are isolated incidents, I drive my LS1 like I stole it, and at all times I have at LEAST one pedal on the floor be it the gas clutch or brake. I have had no problems with my brakes, and as far as losing one of the t-tops, that's your own fault. I can understand complaining about the melted switch, but it's a 5 year old daily driver that's been ditched twice what can you expect. As far as I'm concerned American muscle is the ONLY way to go.

I drive a 2001 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 with the LS1 V8. The odometer just rolled 40,000 miles and this car continues to shine like a diamond. I drive it like my right foot is glued to the floor, and the engine still performs like a brand new machine. I bought it brand new with 400 miles on the clock, and have never had any problems with it whatsoever... not even the common rear end pinion seal leak. I can't stress enough how dependable this car is, it puts everything else I've owned to utter shame. I attend the local F-body gatherings on Friday night as often as I can, and there are a couple high mileage (80-100k) LS1s that also attend. These cars are driven very hard, and are equipped with superchargers to boot. Aside from the common shortcomings (brake rotors warping and squeaky pulleys) these engines run like champs. I'd go as far as saying the LS1 is one of the most durable and dependable engines that the General has ever produced.

As for the rotors warping that is due to not correctly torquing the lugs equally they will not warp if this is done. The pinion seals do leak after you power shift 2nd and 3rd gear many times and this is just due to the stress of a high horsepower engine connected to a 6 speed tranny and tiny 10 bolt rearend. Many streetracer upgrade to a 12 bolt. Many people put these cars through hell and back and yet they still perform great, at the time it was the biggest bang for your buck and that is why I purschased mine. Yes the doors clank when you shut them not like a mbz, but will eat a sl-600 all day long.

Update to this car. Just replaced the automatic transmission (160,000KMs), no forward gears.

Another new set of tires, some Firestone SZ50 (had these too at one point) replacements (Discontinued the SZ50s, now these http://www.thefuzionzone.com/ made by Firestone, but VERY cheap to buy).

Still happy, cross drilled rotors holding up very well.

Replaced rear pads (normal wear)

My 98 Camaro SS is driven year round in Canada, 160KM. Many problems; cruise control no longer works, air conditioning no longer works, GM rotors warped - do not get them machined ever, waste of time and money - just replace and note the lug nut torque described in a previous post. Front sway bar bracket bolts came loose; there was only one bold holding to the frame on the one side which caused significant cracks in the frame rail. Codes are forever coming on for the engine - EGR, O2 sensors, cat. Having problems tracking down the problem (s) causing those. Clutch needs replacement, but that's understandable considering how I launch it sometimes. The worst problem and most concerning is the steering, with those wide front tires, the thing is all over the road. I just replaced the tie rod ends and got a wheel alignment, but it is still is all over the road. It will change lanes on you in a heartbeat if you're not paying attention. Steering pump whines loudly too - has fluid. Found this info at another site - beware of GM Rack and Pinion... http://www.yfiles.com/NHTSA-1998-GM-Steering-compliants.htm. All that said, still love the car - it's a blast to drive.

I've had my Camaro since 98 and I've had to replace both axles and bearings and drive line seal, but the engine has 90k on it and it still drives like brand new, I've upgraded my suspension with a strut bar and it handles 100 times better now, along with adding a SLP highflow airlid and smooth bellows with a descreened MAF and its performing even better. My rotors warped too as well and I bought R1 Concept Drilled/Diamond Slot Rotors and have yet to see and signs of warp... I love my camaro and have new ZR1 17x9.5's comming in a few weeks and all I can say is 10/10 for the price you can't beat it and it can still take over 75% of the cars on the road today :) good day from a 98 Camaro Z28 owner.