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  1. #1
    Senior Member Redphoenix1998's Avatar
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    Red
    1998 Pontiac Trans Am

    Differences between the f-body years

    Some info posted a while back. Very useful info thanks to third_shift studios.

    Thanks for the info Jaison

    1998 F-Body

    1. Had different casting heads which had perimeter bolts and valve covers.
    2. Ignition coils were mounted to the valve covers one at a time.
    3. The water temp gauge actually works.
    4. 98's do have an oil life monitor, they just don't tell you anything when its time for a change. You can find it in Auto-Tap
    5. WS6s had single outlet exhaust (all others had duals)
    6. Steering wheel controls were completely different part with indentations on the buttons, and were better built
    7. Only year that Purple, Gold, and Green were available
    8. Some very early Trans Ams came with LT1 style headrests
    9. Rear hatch release was poorly designed and often caused problems releasing mechanism
    10. Early model 98 Monsoon stereos didn't have capability to control 12-disc CD changer
    11. 1998-1999 automatic transmission LS1s could be started in 1st gear even with the shifter in 2nd. Starting 2000, if you put the shifter in 2, it would start off in 2, even from a stop.
    12. 1998-1999 LS1 cars had a smaller throttle body cam, which caused the throttle to open to WOT (wide open throttle) faster than 2000+ cars
    13. 1998 cars had 28 lb fuel injectors from the factory
    14. 1998-2000 cars had a larger cam than the 01-02 cars
    15. 1998-1999 cars had more restrictive exhaust manifolds
    16. 1998-2000 cars had an LS1 intake with EGR
    17. 1998 and some early 1999 cars had blue outside rear view mirrors (Trans Am only)
    18. 1998 only LS1 blocks had a much smaller cylinder sleeve that only tolerated a .005" hone
    19. Last year F-body to use the old 15.5 gallon steel fuel tank.
    20. Only year LS1 F-body to contain a gas cap with a tether long enough to actually hang from the fuel door while open
    21. Only year LS1 F-body to not contain the famous GM black box used in the event of an accident to record up to 5 seconds of pre-crash data
    22. 1998 only cars had a different PCV system with the PCV valve located above the passenger side valve cover
    23. 1998 most cars did not have an idle adjustment screw on the throttle body. Some 98 cars do have the idle throttle stop set screws.
    24. 1998 cars have a completely different PCM from 99+ cars
    25. A production shortage of F-body cams caused the use of a C5 cam to be installed in F-body LS1s for a very short time
    26. 97-98 LS1's used a paper water pump gasket. The only gasket that isn't reuseable
    27. SSs did not ALL go to SLP starting in 98. Y2Y was the RPO code that sent them to SLP for additional options
    28. SS option did not "include" the Synthetic oil package, it was a SLP only Option




    1999 F-Body

    1. 1999-2000 cars switched to 26 lb fuel injectors
    2. Cylinder heads and valve covers redesigned to have center bolts instead of perimeter bolts. Other than that, the heads were the same.
    3. Redesigned cylinder sleeves that allowed for a small bore, up from .005" in 1998 models.
    4. Midyear model change to a cheaper steering wheel audio control button without finger indentations, and cheaper built
    5. 1999 cars continued the LS1 intake with EGR provisions
    6. 1999 cars continued more restrictive exhaust manifolds and larger cam
    7. Only year that Hugger Orange was available (Camaro only)
    8. 30th Anniversary Trans Am available with special blue and white paint package and blue clear coated WS6 wheels
    9. Switch to larger 16.8 gallon plastic fuel tank to meet new emissions requirements.
    10. Gascap tether was shorter and could no longer be used to hang on the gas door when open.
    11. Company wide change added black boxes to record up to 5 seconds of data before a crash
    12. Rear hatch release was redesigned with stiffer spring that released the hatch better
    13. Water temp gauge was redesigned to work basically as a dummy gauge and only show an overheat condition.
    14. An oil life monitor was added to all LS1s, thus changing the gauge cluster a little to show the oil life reset swtich
    15. 1999-02 cars had a different PCV system with the valve located to the side of the intake manifold
    16. Early production 1999 Trans Ams still had the blue outside mirrors, but a midyear change went to the non-tinted ones
    17. 1999 there was the color "Medium Blue Metallic" which was available on both the Camaros and Firebirds. Only one year of that color



    2000 F-Body

    1. Redesigned exhaust manifolds for new emissions standard actually flowed better and created a little more HP.
    2. 2000 continued use of LS1 Intake, EGR, smaller cam, and 26 lb fuel injectors
    3. Added rear child seat safety hooks to interior per federal requirements
    4. Very early run of WS6s had "salad shooter" style rims. A production change switched back to standard 5-spoke WS6 rims.
    5. Camaros got redesigned 10-spoke base rims, and SSs came with new 10-spoke rim design
    6. First year of Monterey Maple Metallic paint
    7. Charcoal (grayish) interior was replaced with Ebony (almost black) leather interior
    8. Cloth interior cars got new rainbow colored cloth patterns
    9. Camaros only got the Pontiac steering wheel with optional audio controls
    10. Throttle body cam was increased in size to slow the speed at which the car reaches WOT
    11. Automatic transmission cars were reprogrammed to allow a car to start off in 2nd gear from a stop when the shift lever is put into 2.
    12. The last year a WS6 Formula was offered
    13. Starting 2000 intake lids contained a seperate breather filter
    14. 2000+ Camaros came with body colored mirrors instead of black ones like 98-99



    2001 F-Body

    1. A small percentage of 2001 and 2002 LS1s actually had LS6 blocks which had a different part number and a darker metal cast
    2. Starting 2001, all LS1s came with an LS6 intake manifold without an EGR system
    3. Advertised HP output was changed from 305 to 310 on base LS1s and from 320 to 325 on WS6s and SSs
    4. 2001-02 cars have a smaller cam from the Vortec truck engines to increase low end torque
    5. 2001-02 cars had 28 lb fuel injectors like the 98 cars (albeit different part numbers)
    6. WS6 cars had a redesigned 5 spoke rim which was more wavy
    7. WS6 cars got less suspension upgrades from a base Trans Am suspension than previous years
    8. Manual transmission cars all came with the Z06 clutch




    2002 F-Body
    1. 35th Annivesary edition of the Camaro, and Collectors Edition Trans Am available
    2. 2002 LS1 head gaskets redesigned. The new ones are a pressed metal, as opposed to the graphite ones and are no longer specific to the side of the car theyre installed on
    3. 2002 cars continued with the LS6 intake, 28 lb fuel inectors and smaller truck cam
    4. 2002 continued the use of an LS6 block in some LS1 F-bodies
    5. A factory supported optional 345 HP option could be ordered from SLP
    6. Manual transmission cars continued use of the Z06 clutch
    7. Some 2002 model F-bodies came with a revised rear view mirror that had the map light buttons on the bottom, rather than the front.

  2. #2
    Member
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    Folsom,CA
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    Black
    2002 Trans am WS6

    Quote Originally Posted by Redphoenix1998 View Post
    Some info posted a while back. Very useful info thanks to third_shift studios.

    Thanks for the info Jaison

    1998 F-Body

    1. Had different casting heads which had perimeter bolts and valve covers.
    2. Ignition coils were mounted to the valve covers one at a time.
    3. The water temp gauge actually works.
    4. 98's do have an oil life monitor, they just don't tell you anything when its time for a change. You can find it in Auto-Tap
    5. WS6s had single outlet exhaust (all others had duals)
    6. Steering wheel controls were completely different part with indentations on the buttons, and were better built
    7. Only year that Purple, Gold, and Green were available
    8. Some very early Trans Ams came with LT1 style headrests
    9. Rear hatch release was poorly designed and often caused problems releasing mechanism
    10. Early model 98 Monsoon stereos didn't have capability to control 12-disc CD changer
    11. 1998-1999 automatic transmission LS1s could be started in 1st gear even with the shifter in 2nd. Starting 2000, if you put the shifter in 2, it would start off in 2, even from a stop.
    12. 1998-1999 LS1 cars had a smaller throttle body cam, which caused the throttle to open to WOT (wide open throttle) faster than 2000+ cars
    13. 1998 cars had 28 lb fuel injectors from the factory
    14. 1998-2000 cars had a larger cam than the 01-02 cars
    15. 1998-1999 cars had more restrictive exhaust manifolds
    16. 1998-2000 cars had an LS1 intake with EGR
    17. 1998 and some early 1999 cars had blue outside rear view mirrors (Trans Am only)
    18. 1998 only LS1 blocks had a much smaller cylinder sleeve that only tolerated a .005" hone
    19. Last year F-body to use the old 15.5 gallon steel fuel tank.
    20. Only year LS1 F-body to contain a gas cap with a tether long enough to actually hang from the fuel door while open
    21. Only year LS1 F-body to not contain the famous GM black box used in the event of an accident to record up to 5 seconds of pre-crash data
    22. 1998 only cars had a different PCV system with the PCV valve located above the passenger side valve cover
    23. 1998 most cars did not have an idle adjustment screw on the throttle body. Some 98 cars do have the idle throttle stop set screws.
    24. 1998 cars have a completely different PCM from 99+ cars
    25. A production shortage of F-body cams caused the use of a C5 cam to be installed in F-body LS1s for a very short time
    26. 97-98 LS1's used a paper water pump gasket. The only gasket that isn't reuseable
    27. SSs did not ALL go to SLP starting in 98. Y2Y was the RPO code that sent them to SLP for additional options
    28. SS option did not "include" the Synthetic oil package, it was a SLP only Option




    1999 F-Body

    1. 1999-2000 cars switched to 26 lb fuel injectors
    2. Cylinder heads and valve covers redesigned to have center bolts instead of perimeter bolts. Other than that, the heads were the same.
    3. Redesigned cylinder sleeves that allowed for a small bore, up from .005" in 1998 models.
    4. Midyear model change to a cheaper steering wheel audio control button without finger indentations, and cheaper built
    5. 1999 cars continued the LS1 intake with EGR provisions
    6. 1999 cars continued more restrictive exhaust manifolds and larger cam
    7. Only year that Hugger Orange was available (Camaro only)
    8. 30th Anniversary Trans Am available with special blue and white paint package and blue clear coated WS6 wheels
    9. Switch to larger 16.8 gallon plastic fuel tank to meet new emissions requirements.
    10. Gascap tether was shorter and could no longer be used to hang on the gas door when open.
    11. Company wide change added black boxes to record up to 5 seconds of data before a crash
    12. Rear hatch release was redesigned with stiffer spring that released the hatch better
    13. Water temp gauge was redesigned to work basically as a dummy gauge and only show an overheat condition.
    14. An oil life monitor was added to all LS1s, thus changing the gauge cluster a little to show the oil life reset swtich
    15. 1999-02 cars had a different PCV system with the valve located to the side of the intake manifold
    16. Early production 1999 Trans Ams still had the blue outside mirrors, but a midyear change went to the non-tinted ones
    17. 1999 there was the color "Medium Blue Metallic" which was available on both the Camaros and Firebirds. Only one year of that color



    2000 F-Body

    1. Redesigned exhaust manifolds for new emissions standard actually flowed better and created a little more HP.
    2. 2000 continued use of LS1 Intake, EGR, smaller cam, and 26 lb fuel injectors
    3. Added rear child seat safety hooks to interior per federal requirements
    4. Very early run of WS6s had "salad shooter" style rims. A production change switched back to standard 5-spoke WS6 rims.
    5. Camaros got redesigned 10-spoke base rims, and SSs came with new 10-spoke rim design
    6. First year of Monterey Maple Metallic paint
    7. Charcoal (grayish) interior was replaced with Ebony (almost black) leather interior
    8. Cloth interior cars got new rainbow colored cloth patterns
    9. Camaros only got the Pontiac steering wheel with optional audio controls
    10. Throttle body cam was increased in size to slow the speed at which the car reaches WOT
    11. Automatic transmission cars were reprogrammed to allow a car to start off in 2nd gear from a stop when the shift lever is put into 2.
    12. The last year a WS6 Formula was offered
    13. Starting 2000 intake lids contained a seperate breather filter
    14. 2000+ Camaros came with body colored mirrors instead of black ones like 98-99



    2001 F-Body

    1. A small percentage of 2001 and 2002 LS1s actually had LS6 blocks which had a different part number and a darker metal cast
    2. Starting 2001, all LS1s came with an LS6 intake manifold without an EGR system
    3. Advertised HP output was changed from 305 to 310 on base LS1s and from 320 to 325 on WS6s and SSs
    4. 2001-02 cars have a smaller cam from the Vortec truck engines to increase low end torque
    5. 2001-02 cars had 28 lb fuel injectors like the 98 cars (albeit different part numbers)
    6. WS6 cars had a redesigned 5 spoke rim which was more wavy
    7. WS6 cars got less suspension upgrades from a base Trans Am suspension than previous years
    8. Manual transmission cars all came with the Z06 clutch




    2002 F-Body
    1. 35th Annivesary edition of the Camaro, and Collectors Edition Trans Am available
    2. 2002 LS1 head gaskets redesigned. The new ones are a pressed metal, as opposed to the graphite ones and are no longer specific to the side of the car theyre installed on
    3. 2002 cars continued with the LS6 intake, 28 lb fuel inectors and smaller truck cam
    4. 2002 continued the use of an LS6 block in some LS1 F-bodies
    5. A factory supported optional 345 HP option could be ordered from SLP
    6. Manual transmission cars continued use of the Z06 clutch
    7. Some 2002 model F-bodies came with a revised rear view mirror that had the map light buttons on the bottom, rather than the front.
    There are lil minor differences also , my friend has a 01 WS6 and i have my 02 WS6 and when i press on the unlock button not only do the yellow and brake lights come on but also the fog lights and the fogs dont come on for the 01

  3. #3
    Senior Member 02z28ls1's Avatar
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    navy blue
    2002 Z-28 Camaro M6

    Thank you for the comprehensive list of changes. There are more of course -and I wanted to add to the list and add some observations from my 9 years and 2 different Camaro ownerships.
    First to the 98-
    of course the new front end treatment (reason I had to buy one in late 97)
    all cars got the 4 wheel disc brakes standard
    the position of the rear brake calipers changed to the front from the rear, and the style of the rear parking brake changed to an external applying mechanism.
    first year for the Bosch ABS/optional traction control
    I remember the gas cap had it's own holder in the fuel door.
    for the 99-
    all cars that had posi got the Torsen -Thextal torque sensing units.
    in 2002 (my present car)
    Monsoon stereo now has 500 watts compared to the 250 watts in my 98
    the rear brake caliper now has a different parking brake mechanism from the 98 set-up.
    the gas cap now has a tether that hangs the cap in the air from the fuel door hinge

    I'm not trying to be the authority on this stuff-just adding items that I remember from my own 2 cars (98 and 02) that i bought new . My 02 has the inside rearview mirror w/map lite buttons on the bottom-the fog lights flash with the parking lights when unlocking if you leave them turned on-just like my 98.If I remember any more I will add.

  4. #4
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    Black
    2002 Trans am WS6

    i will also add that the 01 wS6's come with ws6 rims and 02's come with the pontiac rims, kinda bummed cuz i wanted mine to say ws6

  5. #5
    Master Mechanic Jims455's Avatar
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    Red
    '02 WS6

    Quote Originally Posted by Ws6 Love View Post
    i will also add that the 01 wS6's come with ws6 rims and 02's come with the pontiac rims, kinda bummed cuz i wanted mine to say ws6
    I was wondering about that, I thought the shop had swapped out the WS6 rims on my '02 cause it has the "Pontiac" rims. Oh well, gonna get the ZO6 rims anyway..

  6. #6
    Senior Member greatwhiteZ28's Avatar
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    white
    2002 z28

    There are lil minor differences also , my friend has a 01 WS6 and i have my 02 WS6 and when i press on the unlock button not only do the yellow and brake lights come on but also the fog lights and the fogs dont come on for the 01

    i thought in the manual you can change the sequince of the light order, correct me if worng just what i heard

  7. #7
    Member
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    Black
    2002 Trans am WS6

    Quote Originally Posted by greatwhiteZ28 View Post
    There are lil minor differences also , my friend has a 01 WS6 and i have my 02 WS6 and when i press on the unlock button not only do the yellow and brake lights come on but also the fog lights and the fogs dont come on for the 01

    i thought in the manual you can change the sequince of the light order, correct me if worng just what i heard
    no thats what i thought too, but it was just cuz he didnt have his switch turned to the on position i think for the fogs while the car is off

  8. #8
    Senior Member greatwhiteZ28's Avatar
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    white
    2002 z28

    oic

  9. #9
    Local Bum TARZAN's Avatar
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    Cobra, Z28, GN, F250

    Nice list, thanks

    -Will

  10. #10
    2001 Pewter WS6 ws6drew's Avatar
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    Pewter
    2001 WS6 Trans Am

    Quote Originally Posted by Ws6 Love View Post
    There are lil minor differences also , my friend has a 01 WS6 and i have my 02 WS6 and when i press on the unlock button not only do the yellow and brake lights come on but also the fog lights and the fogs dont come on for the 01
    The fog light actually do come on when locking or unlocking a '01. The fog light switch just have to be in the on position. They won't "blink" with the parking lights when locking or unlocking if the switch is to the off position.

  11. #11
    BlackDevil BlackDevil's Avatar
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    Black
    Trans Am 1998

    good inormation

  12. #12
    Senior Member 02z28ls1's Avatar
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    navy blue
    2002 Z-28 Camaro M6

    Something else I remembered ( a year plus later -ha!)- There is a rear hatchback open warning light on the dash of my 2002 that I do not remember being on my 1998.
    Also wanted to add that I remember my '98 hatch opened flawlessly every time- my '02 does not work right every time.

  13. #13
    down with the lot lizards blackhawk01's Avatar
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    Red
    2001 Camaro SS A4

    so..someone swapped the heads on my car...on the valve covers they are permiter bolts...not center bolts...would the heads off of say an '01 car fit on my engine block?...is it just the valve cover bolts that are different from 98 and up years?

  14. #14
    Senior Member 02z28ls1's Avatar
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    navy blue
    2002 Z-28 Camaro M6

    try the internal engine section-this is for posting differences between the years-the discussion will be in a different section. (I think ...)

  15. #15
    Impounded
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    79 T/A -91 Firebird
    1998 Trans Am -Oynx Black

    Very Useful Info.. gotta love a 98 T/A

  16. #16
    down with the lot lizards blackhawk01's Avatar
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    Red
    2001 Camaro SS A4

    someone swapped the heads from 241 to 806 heads on my car...still has the LS6 intake...does not have an EGR...is there any way I can tell if its a different motor? Any really obvious signs that might could tell me it is NOT my original block?

  17. #17
    O U 8 1 2 Spaz's Avatar
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    []D [] []V[] []D
    1999 trans am

    Quote Originally Posted by blackhawk01 View Post
    someone swapped the heads from 241 to 806 heads on my car...still has the LS6 intake...does not have an EGR...is there any way I can tell if its a different motor? Any really obvious signs that might could tell me it is NOT my original block?
    i never heard of 806 series head...

  18. #18
    down with the lot lizards blackhawk01's Avatar
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    Red
    2001 Camaro SS A4

    Quote Originally Posted by Spaz View Post
    i never heard of 806 series head...
    they are the '98 heads w/ the perimeter head bolt....freakin SUCKS

  19. #19
    The Bandit Wesman's Avatar
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    SGM
    1998 Trans Am WS6

    Quote Originally Posted by blackhawk01 View Post
    they are the '98 heads w/ the perimeter head bolt....freakin SUCKS
    Why is that??

  20. #20
    down with the lot lizards blackhawk01's Avatar
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    Red
    2001 Camaro SS A4

    Quote Originally Posted by Wesman View Post
    Why is that??
    because it doesnt look clean and its not factory...i didnt know that when i bought the car because i wasnt into LS1's too much..but a buddy of mine showed me the heads on his car and i was like "freaking great".

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