Ok so I have been looking around on these forums and online and every picture I have found of the air baffles that are sold online look NOTHING like the one that is currently on my car. I have the 86 trans am and my air baffle is basically a piece of flat plastic that hangs straight down about 2" under the radiator mount. From everything I am seeing online it looks like the correct air baffle is more of a "scoop" and has an upper and lower piece. I know for sure mine has no upper piece of any sort. Could anyone explain the difference and which is the correct one (or better) one to use.

Also, it would be greatly appreciated if someone could take a few snapshots of the second style i mentioned. I have had cooling problems for the 5 years i've owned the problem and i'm on a mission to get it solved completely, and i think this will be a huge step in the right direction.

Thanks everybody!

 

It sounds like your talking about the air dam. Ive got a camaro, and it just hangs straight down. I dont think there was one that was more of a scoop that came stock. The air dam just funnels air up into the radiator when traveling at higher speeds.

 

As far as I´m aware, going by the only ´89 firebird I have seen in person as well as a chunk of documentation I read on the subject of airdams in thirdgens the 2" lip underneath the radiator sounds like the correct part.

In the firebird you have filler panels under the nose section of the car left and right. Under the nose assembly you should find the upper part of your airscoop. The lower part is then made up by the lip under the radiator.

That´s al there´s to it in these vehicles.
The Chilton repair manual has some pictures on that. Oddly enough the best I found on 3rd gen firebirds was in the "how to replace blinker lights" section in the camaro repair manual

Hope that helps

 

Ok, so it sounds like I am missing the parts that are up in the nose, because the only piece I have is the "flap" that hangs down under the car. I need to look into getting the upper pieces I assume then.

Thanks for the posts everybody!

 

The pieces that connect to the nose do nothing for air flow, its more of a splash guard to keep crap from getting up into the engine bay. Ive got mine sitting in my closet ever since it got ripped off while towing, and my engine doesnt get much over 190.

 

Ok then I guess the top pieces really don't make much of a difference then. I guess I'm back to trying to hunt down WHY in the world this thing has been overheating for 5 years. (overheating to my standard)

 

How hot is overheating to you? Bone stock cars normally run 210-220ish in city driving.

 

deleted....as redundant.

 

Weve established he has the air dam, he just thought there was more too it than just the 1 piece.

 

First off, my car doesn't have much left that is stock. The only things on it that are still stock are the transmission and the rear end. To me, too hot is anything over 200 on a mild day. For example, tonight (around 70 degrees with no sun) it was up to 230 just cruising at 65, and keeps rising when sitting still. The only way to get it to cool off is to take a water hose to the fins of the radiator. I work about 15 miles away and I am in rush hour traffic both ways and watching the thing rise and rise without being able to stop it scares the crap out of me because I know that it won't stop until it gets hosed off.

The reason I say this is too hot is because for a short period of time I was able to keep it at 170-180 max on a hot day, but now for some reason it has been getting worse and worse. We've been through the usual stuff already multiple times. The radiator is less than 3 years old, we've changed the thermostat more times than I can count, the coolant mixture is correct, the water pump is less than a year and a half old, the upper hose is less than 3 months old, the lower hose is only about 2 years old, the water level is full and I'm running a dual fan setup - One 15" clutch fan on the back of the radiator and a large electric fan on the front of the radiator (wired in reverse, obviously). Not only that but the carburetor is a fresh rebuild and I have calibrated it to the best of my ability, and the timing is currently set to 10 degrees initial advance.

Tomorrow we are going to flush the system, change the upper and lower hose, replace the thermostat again (just to be safe), change the plugs and wires, and I'm gonna change the oil with some thinner oil. I have been running straight 40 weight and from what I've been reading online this can cause a motor to run much warmer with the thicker oil.

I'm sure everyone here has heard these things a thousand times, and if so I apologize, but I've been fighting with it for around 5 years (maybe 6 months of it I have been able to keep it properly cool and it didn't last long) and I am ready to put it to rest once and for all. I have had no luck digging through the forums or googling things. I'm down for any suggestions at this point. Anything that anyone can suggest I will be VERY much appreciative.

Thanks for all the replies already!

Oh, and back to my original question, what is this thing...



There is nothing on my car that even looks remotely like that.

 

Never seen anything like that on a third gen. It looks like a splash guard for some vehicle though.

 

This is mine. the first pic is the peice that bolts to the nose, the second pic you can see where it goes, and the air dam.

 

Thanks for the pictures! I can see that I am missing quite a few pieces on my car from that picture. The only piece that is still on my car is the actual dam that hangs down, the pieces that are on each side of the AC condenser and the flaps that lay flat on each side of the dam I do not have. I need to look into getting these to see if they can help anything or not.

 

Those pieces dont do anything for airflow. They just keep mud/dirt/road grime/dead animals.....from getting into the engine bay while driving. Also, Ive got a camaro and Im sure your trans am is a little different under there.

 

what you have pictured are pieces that fit in the nose to channel the air thru your radiator at hi-way speeds. My bird used to run hot all the time until I installed them in my car. If you car runs hot at higher speeds that is why. If you can not find any I have a set in my garage that I could sell to you.

 

You rock! That is exactly what I was wanting to know, I kinda thought that was the case but was not certain. I will definitely look around and see if I can find one soon, if not I get in touch with you about the one you have laying around. Thanks again!

 

My IROC had both of the parts in the second set of photos. The more common air dam, as well as the splash shield. The way the shield was positioned behind the fog lights and curved up, it see as though it would help direct air upwards, but I'm no aerodynamic expert. In any event I am only running the straight down air dam now

 

Ok so last night I did the following:

Replaced the lower hose
Replaced the thermostat
Flushed the coolant system
Replaced the plugs and wires
Changed the oil and filter (Synthetic 5W30)

And the car was still running 230 degrees in 70 degree weather with no traffic, whereas a week ago it would run 180-190 in 95 degree weather. I have no idea what could be going on. Does anyone have any ideas?