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ConvertiblesDiscussed here are problems and solutions to convertible specific questions, including difficult to find part numbers and other convertible tech help.
While cleaning up stuff in the trunk area with the panels off, I noticed this little wire and clip. Anybody know what it goes to? I suspect that it is the clip for the pad that tells the car the rear hatch is closed on the regular coupes. Am I right?
There's also this wire that is attached to the panel itself as well.
I'm still finding oddball wires and things on this car that a previous owner had done to it or some of the stuff done by ASC during the conversion to a convertible.
Well, crap. Noticed a faint smell of coolant on the drive home from work last week. Nothing leaking under the hood or dripping underneath the car. Long story short: Heater core is leaking. Joy. Grabbed a good used one from eBay because I don't want to use one of those cheap aluminum ones they sell at the parts stores.
Installed the new heater core a couple weeks ago. That was fun! (heavy sarcasm) Been driving it around before I put all those panels back on. While I was at it, since the coolant was drained, I replaced the Coolant Temp Sensor as well. I had a super small leak coming from around the area of the CTS so I swapped it out just to be safe. So far no leaks.
Last edited by blacksunshine'91; 02-12-2018 at 07:31 PM.
Hadn't realized its been so long since I'd given any updates on my (slow) progress. Probably because I hadn't really done as much as I wanted to. Some of the updates:
-Installed Dynomat throughout the the entire trunk area, to include the spare tire area and the same area on the driver's side. This took me a lot longer than I thought it would.
-Installed a 5-channel Kenwood amp and connected the front four speakers to it along with the sub.
-Installed a JL 10" sub in the trunk.
-Installed an MSD 6A (utilizing the TPI harness adapter).
-Installed a set of Flip Rods purchased from Lon at TDS. I'm still learning some of the nuances of owning a convertible. Didn't know I was even missing them until recently.
-Replaced the tires early in the Summer with a set of BFGoodrich Comp T/A A/S. The tires on the car when I bought it looked great with lots of tread. But in Apr/May timeframe I had to lock up the brakes on the highway. I instantly skidded all the way across the highway. Felt like I was on ice. The car probably sat on those tires for a while before the car was sold. I wasn't taking any chances since my kids ride in that car with me.
I was gone for a large portion of the summer so I couldn't do as much as I wanted to. Still need to get those SFCs installed. I have a set of the Alstons, and a set of the Spohn SFCs (#502 for verts).
A few new issues to deal with:
-Brakes make a weird sound when stopping, but only when cold. This problem persists with different pads and rotors. Car stops fine, just noisy. Once the breaks are nice and warm, they are quiet. Will perform a proper bleeding before I press on with it.
-Passenger side window motor has almost given up. I bought a replacement motor. Just not looking forward to that project. Really need to get on it though because it takes about two or three tries to get the window to go more than a half inch or so at a time before the relay cuts out.
-Has a very small coolant leak up front. Not sure if it is the intake base leaking. It is very faint leak around the front of the block near the coolant sensor, but not at the sensor itself.
-There is an oil leak somewhere in the back of the block. I cannot see where it is coming from. Only that it will have a small drip after driving that can be seen dripping from the torque converter cover. Its not the oil sending unit (I already replaced it). There isn't any leaks from the valve covers. I don't see it coming from the back of the manifold from what I can see, but that has not been completely confirmed.
Although not working on it, I have continued to stockpile parts for it. Managed to get a set of SLP runners that are in great shape along with the bolts and gaskets with it. Then I was able to score an insane deal for an Edelbrock TPI manifold. After all the dust settled, I basically ended up paying about $60 for the manifold and it was brand new (still in the original box with all the correct gaskets/instructions/etc.). Going to buy some new D3 injectors from Southbay here soon.
Oh, and while changing the oil recently, discovered that it is starting to get the infamous steering box frame rail crack. Its not bad, but it has started. I already have a TDS wonderbar installed.
Last edited by blacksunshine'91; 09-22-2018 at 07:00 PM.
Been a long time since I've actually done many improvements to the car outside the routine oil change (mostly due to the time required to remove, rebuild, and reinstall the steering gearbox and pump on my GTA), but I did manage do get some stuff done and learn more about this car.
First, my odometer finally stopped working. Used to only stop working for a few miles after I pressed the trip reset. Then the odo quit working altogether. That, coupled with the issue of a slight bounce in the speedometer needle helped me decide to just swap it. I'd grabbed a gauge cluster out of a car in the junkyards a couple years ago. It looked good and only had a couple thousand more miles than mine. Given how my odo would already stop working intermittently since I bought the car, I figured there were probably a few thousand undocumented miles on the car already. New gauge cluster works great and the needle bounce is pretty much gone. There is a slight bounce, but not near what it was and the speedo seems to be more accurate.
In the process of the gauge swap, I learned that the airbag is not connected. Noticed an empty yellow plug at the base of the steering column. Dug deeper and it appears that the circular air bag coil behind the steering wheel is gone along with the yellow wire that goes down the inside of the column. Removed the air bag to check, and sure enough, there are no connections to the air bag, nor are the horn buttons present. Sucks that I got rid of the horn buttons from my GTA years ago. Could use them now.
I noticed that while I was changing the oil that it looks like my pinion seal is leaking again. Torque arm has a lot of fluid on it and the floorpan has a lot of stuff slung up all over that area. So frustrating. I'll have to look closer and see what is going on with that.
So far, I've been able to gather up an Edelbrock TPI base, SLP runners, and some Bosch D3 injectors for a great price (big thanks goes out to Southbay for helping me out). That's all going to go on eventually, but will probably have to wait until after the early summer when I retire from the Navy.
On the bright side, I FINALLY got my subframe connectors installed. I got the inner Alston's and the outer Spohn SFCs installed. Got it down at the shop that 1992 Trans Am recommended. A few obligatory pics:
That's all I can think of right now. Any help or suggestions is always welcome.
Last edited by blacksunshine'91; 03-21-2019 at 10:33 PM.
Oh, forgot to mention the driver side seat belt. One day, went to leave work and the shoulder belt felt super loose. Come to find out the spring inside the retractor mechanism broke. So now I'm trying to find the spring & the plastic housing it comes in instead of buying a whole new seat belt assembly (if I buy one, it will be an NOS assy which would necessitate buying the other side to match and possibly the two rears which equals way more than I want to spend on seat belts). Here are a couple pics of the spring in question:
Piece of spring that broke. That white line is where it broke
They turned out so clean Blacksunshine! Very clean install. I really noticed a major difference when I had my setup welded in. I do have the correct set of front and 92 only rear NOS seatbelt assemblies of it does turn out that you need those. What color are your belts?
"Blacksunshine" First off, Thank You for your service! Subframe connectors look clean, indeed! Will they interfere w/ service of repair work? There are ebay vendors that "reweb" seatbelts, perhaps they might have the spring you need. I'd bet GM never supplied only the spring. Was your SRS light on? Or did they remove the bulb, when they disabled the airbag? UNCONSCIONABLE!
I'd like to hear more details how installing subframe connectors, changed your F-Body.
"Blacksunshine" First off, Thank You for your service! Subframe connectors look clean, indeed! Will they interfere w/ service of repair work? There are ebay vendors that "reweb" seatbelts, perhaps they might have the spring you need. I'd bet GM never supplied only the spring. Was your SRS light on? Or did they remove the bulb, when they disabled the airbag? UNCONSCIONABLE!
I'd like to hear more details how installing subframe connectors, changed your F-Body.
The SFCs do not interfere with any maintenance on the car at all. They improve the feel of the car immensely. For anyone that doesn't have them, they are the first modification that you should do to the car. They impact everything else on the car in a positive way.
One of the previous owners must have removed the bulb. The original cluster never had a light come on. As soon as I put the new one in the light came on. Yes, the guy I bought the car from is a less than honorable person. Don't know if he was the culprit or not, but given his character I wouldn't put it past him.
Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this thread. Didn't think it had been that long. As previously mentioned, I retired from the Navy last summer. Along with the retirement, I bought a house and moved right after I retired, started a new job and continued to get settled (one of the first things I did at the new house was epoxy the garage floor). In lieu of a shadow box, my friend and I built a sea chest. Here's the obligatory pic:
As for the car, it got regular upkeep, but not much in the way of anything special. Finally got around to investigating that leak (while I was under there I replaced the torque arm bushing with a new ES poly bushing). Good news: it wasn't the pinion seal. The leak came from up around the engine area. Apparently, whatever it was ran down the torque arm until it hit the pinion yoke and sprayed everywhere. The pinion nut itself was bone dry. I did a lot of cleaning up the underside of the car, and will continue to monitor to find the origin. There is a couple of potential areas that I suspect. The power steering pump had a lot of build up on/around it (so I bought a new hi-pres line and pump seal kit) and there might be a coolant leak around the water pump (I have a new Edelbrock water pump NIB waiting to be installed). So I'll get on those soon. Couldn't do it last week because I had to get the car ready for a smog check.
Went to take the car to smog it, and the car wouldn't start. Did some troubleshooting and as soon as I removed the distributor cap I saw this:
Luckily I happened to have bought a dizzy from articwhiteZ here on TGO a couple months ago. Dropped it in and the car started right up and passed smog.
Thaks for the SFC personal experience. I am restoring my 1989 IROC Z Vert, and am considering having Spohn SFC's welded in. Not for "Racing" but just to increase torsional rigidity, improve road feel, handling and reduce squaks/rattles.
Been using the first few months of this Covid quarantine period on knocking out a ton of projects around the house. Still got more to do, but I decided to start tearing into the T/A again. ...And down the rabbit hole we go:
I had an issue where it would stumble whenever I would leave a red light/stop sign. Couldn't find any obvious vacuum leaks and TunedPerformance took a look at my data logs and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
-For the last couple of years I've been slowly stockpiling parts, so I figured since I had to work on the car anyway I might as well jump into it head first.
-Over the weekend I removed everything down to the intake manifold (runners are currently for sale in the sale section) as well as the water pump. Just to make things a little easier, I went ahead and removed the alternator/water pump bracket. Since they're off, I am going to replace the alternator cable (a previous owner spliced in a different connector that is a smaller gauge and is probably the reason for my voltage fluctuation when my lights or any heavy loads are on it), and I am going to rebuild my steering pump since there appears to be build up around the lines so I'll just replace the seals for good measure.
-I have an unused NIB Edelbrock 3860 manifold, SLP runners, NIB Edelbrock aluminum water pump, and some new Bosch D3 injectors waiting on the shelf to be installed. That'll all go on as soon as I get the manifold off.
-While I got everything off I'm going to really clean off the engine.
Obligatory pic:
-I recently acquired some L98 exhaust manifolds for a good price (thanks Tealman92) and still have most of the 3" exhaust that came off my GTA, so after I get the engine all back together, I just might upgrade my exhaust a bit budget permitting.
Last edited by blacksunshine'91; 08-10-2020 at 10:34 PM.
In the meantime I've been working on getting the new parts decorated while I work on minor stuff on the car (and replacing the entire A/C system in my GTA). I'm going to replace the starter and the whole battery cable while I got everything open.
Made some progress this last weekend. Got the intake manifold and water pump on. The water pump required some grinding on the mounting point because of interference with the A/C bracket. Had to take about 1/16" off the side.
Went ahead and mocked up the intake and stuff to make sure I didn't have any more fitment issues. The t-stat housing needed some adjustment, but other than that everything seemed to fit up nicely. Yes, I realized after the fact that the runners were on the wrong side but they'll still fit fine.
Went ahead and mocked up the intake and stuff to make sure I didn't have any more fitment issues. The t-stat housing needed some adjustment, but other than that everything seemed to fit up nicely. Yes, I realized after the fact that the runners were on the wrong side but they'll still fit fine.
Getting closer. Bought a new battery cable from Innovative Wiring (Gary Clarke). That thing is beefy and he did a really good job with it. While I was down there, I went ahead and replaced the starter with an LT1 starter off ebay. Got the fuel rails all connected and pressure checked them. Held steady at 35 psi with no leak down. Replaced nearly all the vacuum lines and reconnected the air/coolant hoses. Went to fill up the radiator and suddenly I had coolant running down the passenger side of the intake. Long story short; the lower runner bolt hole on the intake manifold must have been drilled to deep. Coolant was pouring out of it. So when I install the runners, I guess I'll have to put some sealant on that bolt to keep it from leaking.
Went ahead and dropped in the dizzy, and then replaced the spark plugs and tranny filter as well.
Here's exactly what you've been hoping for, not on the market yet, but available to pre-order. Might be the best headlight yet. Specs are bright enough to guide SpaceX, so with your new battery cables, they might provide a beacon that reaches beyond the Delta Quadrant. So unless you're looking for a close encounter, then I'd suggest you stay away from Devil's Tower late at night with these headlights. It's the Sealed4 from Morimoto, a Bi-LED/dual-beam 4x6 headlight; looks like a combo of projector low beams and reflector high beams:
Available from both, The Retrofit Source and Headlight Revolution. Individually, each company is awesome. But they've merged and are one BIG operation now, but each still retains its own identity. HR has always been my go-to source, but with whichever your allegiance might lie, you won't go wrong: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/tr...ing?quantity=1 https://www.headlightrevolution.com/...g_2?quantity=1
I noticed HR's link is mislabeled and says it's for the Sealed5, which is Morimoto's similar 5x7 Bi-LED that should fit 82-90 Firebirds, but the link does go to the Sealed4, not the Sealed5. So for any 82-90 Firebird owners who might see this, yes, that means there will be one for you, too.
Thanks for the heads up. Those look pretty interesting. Am I correct in that they look like a plug & play? The plug looks like it is, but its hard to tell from the angle of the picture.
The description says it fits all 4x6 housings. And one of the images shows all of its dimensions, with which you should be able to confirm fitment. And they have a standard H4 plug, so they'd require an adapter, making them about as plug-n-play as a 4666-style replacement can be. https://www.ebay.com/itm/H4666-4x6-S...sAAOSwxIRZ8NAy
I may give those headlights a try once I get the car set to do more driving. I haven't driven the car at night in a long time but from what I remember, they were dim and could not see very far ahead. If you end up trying them out, let me know what you think of them.
I may give those headlights a try once I get the car set to do more driving. I haven't driven the car at night in a long time but from what I remember, they were dim and could not see very far ahead. If you end up trying them out, let me know what you think of them.
Yeah, the headlights on the '91-92's really suck. When compared to modern cars they are downright terrible!
On a brighter side (yup, that was a pun), I have the engine back together finally. Got it all done a couple weeks ago, but it wouldn't start. Had a couple minor issues related to reassembly and me being a bonehead. Got them sorted out. Now I just have to get the timing right and it should start soon hopefully.
Got the car started and the timing dialed in. Had a small leak at the thermostat housing related to the mating surface of the Edelbrock intake. The thermostat housing has the pointed area around the bolt hole that was making contact with the manifold. This prevented the gasket from making a good seal. Visually it looked fine, but there was some minor pooling of coolant around it. So I took the housing off and hit the edge of the housing with an angle grinder for a few seconds. Just long enough to take a bit off the edge of the housing. It's sealed up nicely now. No leaks to be found. Just need to find the time to take it for a drive to get some data logs.
Here's exactly what you've been hoping for, not on the market yet, but available to pre-order. Might be the best headlight yet. Specs are bright enough to guide SpaceX, so with your new battery cables, they might provide a beacon that reaches beyond the Delta Quadrant. So unless you're looking for a close encounter, then I'd suggest you stay away from Devil's Tower late at night with these headlights. It's the Sealed4 from Morimoto, a Bi-LED/dual-beam 4x6 headlight; looks like a combo of projector low beams and reflector high beams:
Available from both, The Retrofit Source and Headlight Revolution. Individually, each company is awesome. But they've merged and are one BIG operation now, but each still retains its own identity. HR has always been my go-to source, but with whichever your allegiance might lie, you won't go wrong: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/tr...ing?quantity=1 https://www.headlightrevolution.com/...g_2?quantity=1
I noticed HR's link is mislabeled and says it's for the Sealed5, which is Morimoto's similar 5x7 Bi-LED that should fit 82-90 Firebirds, but the link does go to the Sealed4, not the Sealed5. So for any 82-90 Firebird owners who might see this, yes, that means there will be one for you, too.
Wow , those look bright ! You try them and happy with them ? Thx Don
Well, been having issues and haven't done much with it lately. Took it for a few drives. Had an issue where it just didn't want to accelerate much at all. Once I got it up to cruising speed it was ok, but not great. Finally got frustrated enough that I took it to a mechanic. The said the fuel pressure was all over the place, so they replaced the fuel pump. That fixed the fuel pressure issue and they said it drives better, but the car still isn't driving great. So I'm going to drop off my spare ECM and a chip with a different tune and see how that goes. Very frustrating! I was hoping to get this car running great so that it could be my daily driver and my other cars could be driven less.
Well, it's been almost a year since I updated this. The time/money spent with the mechanic got me nowhere. Still having issues. Idled fine, but when put into drive it just didn't want to go anywhere and would stall if the pedal was floored. Had the injectors flow checked and ohm'd by Southbay and reinstalled. No progress. After I reinstalled the injectors, I hooked up the fuel pressure gauge again, and the needle was bouncing rapidly between 20-40 psi. The needle on the gauge was almost a blur it was moving so fast. At this point I'm pretty much troubleshooting by wallet. I am stumped. I just bought a set of new Delphi injectors to replace the Bosch 3's hoping that maybe it was just that the car didn't like the Bosch's (So if anyone wants a set of Bosch 3 19# injectors for a good price, shoot me a PM). In the process of installing the new injectors I took a chunk out of the upper o-ring, so now I'm waiting on a new one to get to me. That's where I'm at right now with the car.
During the downtime, I did manage to replace the front seat belts with a set of OEM belts I found on ebay. So I got that done with is nice. Minor Victories.
Oh, and I did manage to pick up another car, but not a thirdgen. My wife got me this as a retirement gift from when I retired from the Navy.
Last edited by blacksunshine'91; 01-13-2022 at 11:14 AM.
Try swapping the ECU. This happened to my 92 GTA and swapping the ECU did the trick. Not sure what failed internally, I was just glad the issue was gone.
EDIT: NM, I saw you already did that.
I'm guessing you tried another MAP sensor already?
You know, I don't know if I did or not. Might be an easy and inexpensive swap. Would a bad MAP really impact the fuel pressure that way though?
The MAP sensor wouldn't affect the fuel pressure, but it could cause the non-acceleration you mention. Do you have an aftermarket AFPR? Maybe the spring in it or the stock FPR spring or the black rubber diaphragm is going out?
Give the ECU swap a try for sure. My local parts store could get them and I did a quick swap. If it hadn't worked, I would have been able to return it.
I'd swapped the ECM with a used one previously last year when I was first troubleshooting the issue after I got it running.
Yes, I have a new AFPR. It was installed when I was putting the engine back together last year. The spring & diaphram looked good, but I might take a peak since I have the plenum off.
Well, it's been almost a year since I updated this. The time/money spent with the mechanic got me nowhere. Still having issues. Idled fine, but when put into drive it just didn't want to go anywhere and would stall if the pedal was floored. Had the injectors flow checked and ohm'd by Southbay and reinstalled. No progress. After I reinstalled the injectors, I hooked up the fuel pressure gauge again, and the needle was bouncing rapidly between 20-40 psi. The needle on the gauge was almost a blur it was moving so fast. At this point I'm pretty much troubleshooting by wallet. I am stumped. I just bought a set of new Delphi injectors to replace the Bosch 3's hoping that maybe it was just that the car didn't like the Bosch's (So if anyone wants a set of Bosch 3 19# injectors for a good price, shoot me a PM). In the process of installing the new injectors I took a chunk out of the upper o-ring, so now I'm waiting on a new one to get to me. That's where I'm at right now with the car.
During the downtime, I did manage to replace the front seat belts with a set of OEM belts I found on ebay. So I got that done with is nice. Minor Victories.
Oh, and I did manage to pick up another car, but not a thirdgen. My wife got me this as a retirement gift from when I retired from the Navy.
My son has been bugging me a lot lately to get the convertible running so I started tinkering with it again. I could get it started but it didn't run very smoothly. Played with the timing, but this time I just used my ear instead of watching the timing light. Got it to idle a little smoother. Looking with the timing light, the mark is about an inch or so beyond the timing marker tab. When I would rev the engine up with my hand via the TB, it would rev up and then the RPMs would go right back down even though I hadn't released the TB. Checked fuel pressure and it would prime to slightly above 20 psi, even after starting the pressure wouldn't go up much even with me adjusting the bolt on top of the AFPR. Installed a new fuel pressure diaphragm and replaced the fuel filter for good measure. Now it idles great, and when I hold the TB open the RPMs stay up. Sounds very good...until I put it in drive. Then it doesn't want to accelerate, and runs a little crappy. So, we'll see. I'll keep plucking away. Definitely open to any suggestions.
But on the bright side, I replaced the passenger door window motor which had completely died, so at least that is done.
Over the weekend, I got the car all warmed up and took it for a drive around the block. Ran OK, but still didn't want to accelerate much. I'd have to floor it to get it to accelerate. Grabbed the laptop and recorded the drive around the block and up the main road and back. The data showed that the car was running real lean still. Hooked up the fuel pressure gauge and couldn't get the fuel pressure over 25 psi no matter what I did to the AFPR. Everything I read pointed to the fuel pump. Last night I took a look at the paperwork from when the fuel pump was replaced. The fuel pump was replaced by an AC Delco unit, but the part number was EP386. That's a pump for TBI cars, not TPI. No wonder I couldn't get enough fuel pressure. Going to stop by the shop tomorrow.
Talked to the shop that installed the pump. He wasn't too happy with what I told him. He tried to insist that he installed the correct pump, so I told him that NAPA doesn't differentiate between TBI and TPI when you select the 5.0. He had his doubts until he called and verified it. He was upset, but knew he screwed up. He's low on manpower right now because some of his guys are on vacation, which is fine because I'm super busy at work this month anyway. So we agreed to bring the car in the first part of August for a new pump to get installed on his dime. Hope that is the last issue to get the car back on the road.
The mechanic replaced the fuel pump the first part of August with a Delphi CFE0110 pump. When I picked up the car, it started right up. Was able to drive it home without any issues. Runs fairly well now. Set the timing and checked fuel pressure. They both look good. However, it still isn't 100% done. Still doesn't want to accelerate off the line very hard and doesn't want to go above 2200 RPMs until you absolutely smash the peddle. But it does get up to speed and drives decently enough.
Just for fun, here are a couple pics of the engine after the detailing.
Finally took it to get smog checked last week. Failed. HC was on the mark (but not above which means it passed HC), but the NOx was pretty high (above 1300), which was not surprising because on the way to the smog station I got a CEL which I found out later was a code 32. Checked my solenoid with a 9v battery, and I can hear it clicking. So I cleaned the connectors with some Deox. Then I checked the EGR valve with a vacuum pump and it would not hold any pressure. Parts store didn't have any in stock so I ordered a new one. What is it with these EGR valves? Seems like I have to replace them every other smog check.
In the meantime, I took a good look at my vacuum hoses. The one connecting the charcoal cannister to the TB looked crappy so I replaced it. While taking a look inside the old one, I noticed something inside of it. Cut it open to find a ball bearing wedged down inside. When I bought the car, the cannister wasn't connected properly (if at all, I can't remember). So I'm guessing the previous owner put that in there to stop any vacuum leaks.
At the behest/instance of my son, I got another TB cover plate and painted it the reverse colors I had before. I like them both ways, but I will admit it does look good this way.
Since my NOx was high, I swapped out the EGR valve and decided to replace the catalytic converter. That part was an easy decision because I had a complete 3" exhaust system with a Magnaflow cat and y-pipe sitting on the side of my house. Some of the cat back portion came off my GTA when I removed the Edelbrock muffler and it got the GMMG installed. I also have a set of manifolds from an L98 that will help as well.
Take a look at the exhaust I removed sitting next to the pieces going on. Think it will flow any better? Lol.
Oh, and I paid my dues to the car gods. While getting the last bolt off the flange on the rear of the cat, the bolt didn't want to let go...until it did suddenly. Exhaust pipe popped me pretty good right in the eyebrow. Bled pretty good for a while.
09-30-2017, 08:49 PM
I'm dammed impressed it even ran lol 
