C4 CORVETTE - Top 5 Problem Areas (And How To Fix Them)

The C four Corvette is an awesome performance bargain , but like any retro car , it has its share of issues in this video .

I'm going to cover five of the most common problems of the C four .

How much each of them cost to repair and what you can do to prevent them in the first place .

Welcome to retro cars forever where we celebrate cars of the eighties nineties and two thousands .

My name is Brad and I'm the proud owner of a car that defined a lot of that era .

The C four Corvette and I say four Gen Corvettes are reasonably reliable for a retro car , especially if you look at the later model years , like my 1996 collector edition big ticket items like the engine and transmission are pretty stout and after all , it is just a Chevy , nothing too exotic , but there are a number of little things that can add up to a potential money pit and some of them are pretty surprising .

So let's get started with common issue .

Number one , the tires , you might not think anything can go wrong with tires beyond usual treadwear , but you'd be dead wrong .

That's because age can eat up your tires just as much as mileage .

Think about a rubber band .

They're nice and pliable when new .

But as they get old , they become cracked and frail tires are the same way , they'll start to get old and cracked after just six years and by 10 years , tires are downright deadly .

Paul Walker lost his life because of this issue .

The car that he crashed in had tires that blew apart because they were nine years old on most cars .

Tire age is a moot point because they just get driven enough miles where tread ware is what's going to make tire replacement necessary .

But most Corvettes aren't driven that often and unfortunately many owners are oblivious to this danger and keep old tires on their cars years after they should have been replaced .

So make sure to check the date your tires are manufactured using the dot code on the side wall .

Typically the last two digits on the phone .

Old dot code represent the last two digits of the year that the tire was made .

My tires , for example , were made in 2019 .

So there's still plenty fresh if you need new tires installed in your corvette , expect to pay between 400 to $1300 for a set of four , depending on the brand , not only are new tires safer , they'll also ride softer and rip the road a lot better .

Common issue .

Number two the headlight motors .

Now , I freaking love pop up headlights , but pop ups have a downside because at some point they won't like popping up anymore .

I found that nearly half of all C four s out there have headlight motors and need some sort of attention .

Even if the lights seem to be working , you'll know the writings on the wall when they start making a clunking or grinding sound after the lights come up or down like this , the typical culprit can be found inside the headlight motor assembly .

Chevrolet used soft nylon gears that over time get ground to dust .

Thankfully , this is an issue that can be resolved by anyone who's moderately handy .

The fix involves removing the headlight motor assembly , opening it up and swapping up the ground gears for new ones , either with O E M style nylon gears or sturdier brass .

Aftermarket upgrades , do it yourself and the parts will cost you between 15 to 100 bucks .

If you don't feel like tearing into the headlight motor and replacing the gears , you can just buy yourself a new or remanufactured headlight motor , which will cost between 153 $100 each .

Add a few 100 for labor if you want the work done by pros , super common problem , but thankfully an easy fix and come on so worth it .

Issue .

Number three , the weather stripping these pieces of rubber that run along the windshield doors and rear hatch area are notorious for degrading in the sun .

My car was parked in doors for most of its life .

So thankfully , the rubber is still soft and pliable like it should be .

But if the car is seen a lot of sunlight , these will break apart , allowing wind and water to leak in .

There are several aftermarket companies that supply new weather stripping kits and relatively easy to replace yourself .

You can get each piece individually but a full kit will cost you between 357 $150 factor in another 100 to $200 to have a shop , install it for you .

Now , if you're lucky enough to have a car that doesn't need any weather stripping , do yourself a favor and pick up some $15 rubber protectant to keep it that way .

Applying this every so often keeps the rubber fresh and helps protect it against U V rays so you can drive without sweating it .

Common issue .

Number four interior electrics .

There are so many little things that go wrong in here that I'm just grouping them all together as one issue .

There are a ton of schmancy , power operated gizmos and dude ads in here that are wonderful when they work but can all easily go wrong with age .

Let's start with the gauge cluster .

Later cars like mine are a mix of analog and digital gauges whereas the earlier cars have full digital displays which are super rad .

Either way it's super common for the digital displays to fade or burn out over time .

Luckily , there are entire websites dedicated to fixing this issue .

Batty dot com comes highly recommended by many C four owners .

They offer a service where you mail in your cluster for them to refurbish .

Removing the gauge cluster yourself isn't too hard if you're handy as it's bunch of easily accessed bolts and screws .

This service cost around 250 to 500 bucks with shipping depending on what needs done .

Add another 100 to 300 for labor to have someone else remove it and install it for you .

Another thing that will fail often are the power seats .

Just days after buying mine , the driver side had issues going up or down and started making this sound .

That noise tells you that the power seat rack will need replacing with either a new one or a remanufactured one , which is what I went with .

This repair cost me 250 bucks to do myself , which wasn't too difficult to do .

This would have cost about a grand for a shop to fix , but like any old car with a bunch of power access , everything in here can be problematic if you're checking out a corvette that you want to buy .

My advice is to take your time and test every single button and switch , think of them as guilty until proven innocent unless you witness it operating correctly .

You have to assume that it doesn't .

Here's a quick bonus issue , the wobbly steering column .

That's a bonus issue because I already covered this in another video about how to get in and out of the sea for corvette .

It goes over this super common and costly issue and how to prevent it .

So check that out next , if you haven't already common issue number five is the opti spark .

Now , I've been trying to cover issues in this video that are relevant to all C four Corvettes .

But this one is so prevalent with the L T one and LT four engines like mine that it has to be mentioned because almost all C fours with those engines will have this fail on them around 100,000 miles or so .

Ok .

So what the heck is an opti spark ?

Well , that is the name of the Corvette's fancy optical distributor .

Most cars of this era like my old 1991 Ford escort GT you see here , for example , have distributors mounted near the top of the engine bay where the electrical components inside can stay high and dry .

But the advanced design of the opti spark distributor meant it was mounted low at the front of the engine way down here and guess what's mounted directly above the opti spark , the water pump .

So if your water pump starts to leak and all water pumps will eventually leak , it'll drip coin right onto the opti spark and once moisture builds up inside the Opti spark distributor , it'll short it out and your engine will miss stall or not run .

Now , here's some good news when the OPI spark fails , it's not like it destroys the entire engine or anything dramatic like that .

I mean , after all , what is this ?

A Porsche ?

Hey .

Yeah , you heard me ?

I said it , I'd say it again .

Once the opti spark is replaced on your Corvette , your engine will run good is new .

But the bad news is it's quite a job to replace it .

In fact , the Opie spark is so buried .

Can't even see it without moving a bunch of this stuff out of the way that includes the water pump that's right above it .

So you definitely want to replace that while you're at it .

Some owners will even rig up a little diverter in the we pole of their new water pump so that any future leaks will drip away from the Opti instead of right onto it , changing the Opie spark and the water pump will cost you around 400 to 900 bucks in parts if you want to take on the job yourself and 200 to 2000 bucks to get it done professionally , whatever you do do not cheap out on your opti spark replacement .

Too many horror stories from owners that found a great deal on some off brand Chinese made unit only to have it fail weeks later .

So they had to do the entire job over again for my research .

The best brand for a new opti that got the most recommendations was Pere Enterprises , Petrie Petrice .

Well , hope I saying it right .

Anyways , if you want to go for a rebuilt Opie Spark instead , Opti Spark solutions one on ebay has gotten a lot of praise from owners as well .

Now , there are some things you can do to prolong the life of your opti spark to start .

You could get a 1995 or 1996 C four because those last few years have an improved vented design that helps with the moisture problem .

Beyond that , minimize the amount of water that gets into your engine bay , automatic car washes that spray water from underneath are huge dangers .

Even hosing off your engine bay to clean it could easily sort out the opti in a corvette to be safe .

I personally use some engine cleaner and rags to clean my engine bay looks just as good and keeps the car running great .

Now , I know all these issues might sound scary , but overall , the C four is a pretty reliable car that can be a joy to own and a blast to drive if you remember to look out for these common problems .

And there are a few bonuses that I mentioned .

Rust isn't usually an issue as most of the C four is made out of either aluminum or fiberglass and there's plenty of aftermarket support with several dedicated Corvette part sites to choose from if anything does happen to pop up on you .

So that's my list .

But now I want to hear from you if you're familiar with C four S , were there any issues you've seen that I didn't cover .

And if you do own one , how reliable has your car been ?

Let us know in the comments below and be sure to subscribe and hit the bell notification icon for more retro cars forever coming to you real soon .

Thank you for watching .

We'll see you next time .