1997 J30T...Anything special to watch for maintenance wise?

[artbay]

Just bought me a 1997 J30 T with only 30K original miles. I still have a 1996 with only 67K, which I'll probably sell, but the T was too good a deal to pass up. Any special things I need to know? the 96 has treated me pretty well with only a few odd things cropping up (some kind of fuel mixture board went bad set me back a few hundred bucks), but was told that was from age and not wear and tear. So far I really like the road feel of the T, and hoping this suspension doesn't come back to bite me in the *** with expensive repairs. So for any of you folks that have the t edition let me know your experience and if there is any special maintenance I should to to keep this puppy running for a long long time

thanksartbaySan Francisco


Modified by artbay at 9:19 PM 4/26/2008

[Victor]

You say you owned both a 96 and 97 J30. The 97 is the cheapest J30 ever made with a MSRP of $33,500 compared to $39,920 for the 96. Did they lower the quality of the 97 in any way or take anything out, or did they just lower their profit margin and leave everything the same? I want to know because I have a 94 J30T with HICAS with 191,700 miles on it and was considering selling it and getting a much lower mileage later model J30 to replace it. But I am wondering if I would be getting a lower quality vehicle in the process as the 94 J30T is probably the best one ever made. Only two years had HICAS, and the 93 has timing belt issues which would leave the 94 as the cream of the crop. Do you notice any difference in ride between your 96 with regular suspension and 97 with sport suspension?

[artbay]

I don't notice much difference in build quality. In fact as far as I know they were exactly the same except in 97 they offered some different color choices. In 97 they were trying to save the line by dropping the price by about 4000 bucks. That didn't really help and so the end of the J30. Also I heard that the J30 was generally sold for considerably less than the MSRP even in the early - middle years. From engine to interior detail, I haven't noticed anything different. The suspension on the T is much improved from what I can tell so far. Corners much better and just kind of "grip the road" kind of feel. My guess is finding one that's been well maintained and in a generally mild climate, and perhaps lower mileage is more important then the year of manufacture.

[GeoFX]

Do you notice any difference in ride between your 96 with regular suspension and 97 with sport suspension?

The 95-97 T models (non-HICAS) are different from their non-T counterparts in 3 basic ways...

- stiffer rear springs- smaller diameter rear anti-sway bar (with harder bushings)- much lighter alloy wheels

The lighter wheels will probably have the most impact on overall handling though...

The difference between T and non-T suspensions in the 93-94 models is much more significant.