I'm in the market for a C5 6-speed, having just come from the 4th gen Fbody world. I was curious what too look out for good or bad when out shopping. What problems affected what years of C5. recalls? service bulletins?

What are the factory rear end gear options in a C5?

any info would be appreciated. Thanks

 

These are the common problems that should've been resolved in an older C5:

Column lock failure (steering wheel locks-up): If it's an auto (A4), then the dealership should've removed the mechanism and installed a block-off plate. If it's a 6-speed (MN6), the dealer cannot do the same, so make sure the previous owner installed a Column Lock Bypass (keeps the locking pin in the retracted position).

Leaky differential gaskets: These should have been replaced, as factory seals leaked by 20,000 miles.

Door lock modules: When they fail, arming the car with the remote fails to lock one or both doors. This is a relatively simple installation, but make sure both door locks work.

Fuel gage/sender unit malfunction: Make sure the fuel gage reads accurately when the tank is below half-full. Earlier years had problems.

Oil pressure sender unit. If this fails, the oil pressure gage will show 80 psi. If so, the sender unit needs replacement.

Horn not working when the steering wheel center hub is pressed - bad ground - $30 to have fixed.

That's all I can think of right now.

The horsepower for 97-2000 is 345 with 350 lbs-ft of torque. The 01-04s have 350 HP and 375 lbs-ft (MN6) or 360 lbs-ft (A4s) of torque.

The improvements in 2001 are listed here:
http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2001/index.htm

I believe in 2000, an airbag switch was added so that you can have a kid ride in the passenger seat. Without this switch, the airbag could cause serious injury to young children. Also, at some point, active handling and HUD (heads up display) was added (maybe in 2000?).

Stock rear end on C5 coupes and verts with MN6 tranny is 3.42. A4-trannies came with either the 2.73 or the 3.15, I believe.

Dave