Unhappy camper here. I charged the battery, and when I got home from work, I started the car.

I immediately noticed a high-pitched whine. It almost sounded as if I had a blower on my engine. When I stepped on the clutch, the sound disappeared. As careful as I was, and as long as it took, I am mad at myself, thinking I probably missed something. I ran the car for a while, and it seemed as if the noise got a little quieter, but I am not sure.

I sent an e-mail to Bob Hanlon, hoping he might be able to tell me what I did wrong.

I've already searched the tranny board, and the only guy whose problem seemed to be the same turned out to have loose trans to bellhousing bolts. I will get under the car tonight and check that... I fear I shall have to remove the trans (ugh).

 

bump

 

Sorry to hear that! I hope it works out for you easily.

 

Well, thanks. I am just going to wait for Bob to answer me back, and of course, I'll check all the bolts to make sure nothing's loose.

 

You know you're getting old when... you get the job done to the point where you can test drive the car, and you're too pooped to take it down off the jacks and drive it.

I made significant progress today. The whining noise has quieted down a lot. I laid under the car with the engine running, and it seems to be coming from the bellhousing area as opposed to the trans itself. I am guessing that either I used just a pinch too much preload on the input shaft bearing, or it's the pilot bushing. It doesn't make sense for it to be the pilot bushing, because the noise goes away when I depress the clutch.

Anyway, I decided to try and drive it this way and see what happens.

My front end seems to be tight now that I have secured the steering box. I changed the oil and filter again, and now the oil on the dipstick is nice and clean. I'll keep an eye on it.

I got my steering wheel all properly installed, with the GTA radio controls. Now all I need is a radio. Actually, I found one in the car that might work. I still have to install the lower shift boot and the console, but that can wait until after the test drive. After a little cussing and swearing, in 103* heat, I got the driver's seat installed, and she's ready to come down off the jacks. Just not today.

 

Good to hear about the progress; any pictures of the swap?

 

That sure sounds familiar from a couple years ago, and it hasn't gotten any better. "Done. Now where's my couch & the air conditioning......

 

awesome progress on the car! I had no idea that this thread even existed until now...another great write up just like your sons car! I need to see your GTA at some point!

 

I haven't done a whole lot of pictures... at least not yet. I know that pix make a thread lots more interesting.

I'll take some no later than Saturday... that's when she's coming down off the jacks.

Justin, I'll be sure to post when I get the car registered. I'll be driving her to work when I do. My next challenge is AC. I don't think I'll be going this far in this heat without it.

 

Today she comes down off the jacks for a test drive...

I will take some pix and post later tonight.

BTW, those of you who are following "Nellie"... I had dropped her off at a body shop that is one of my advertising clients.

She's been sitting in his lot patiently waiting to get her frame pulled straight. He called me because he needed hinge pins for the doors so he could align them for me after pulling the frame.

So, yesterday, I drove over to his shop, and they had her on the frame machine. I had never seen anything like this. They have slotted steel channels embedded in the concrete floor, and a big steel frame above it. They actually clamp the car to the floor, and then attach pulling devices to other slotted rails and they have these calibrated gauges that they position on the car to tell them if the car is straight.

I watched them do one pull (BTW, the fenders and hood were removed to do this) and after they were done, the one guy reported "OK, that got us 3 more millimeters".

I'm guessing this car probably never had it so good. I'm starting a new thread for her:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...ml#post4627069

 

IT'S ALIVE!

I dropped her off the jack stands this morning, and went for a ride. SCHWEEEET.

Once on the ground, the noise is even quieter, and driving the car you can't really hear it. It seemed to quiet down some more, so I am calling it OK

I'M BANGIN' FIVE AND LOVIN' IT.

This car drives so much nicer with the T5. BTW, the torque of the 305 is just fine for me, thank you, and light years ahead of my son's V6 (DUH).

Here are some pix of the car outside, after my test drive. Don't mind the fingerprints; I am going to get her ready for state inspection tomorrow, and clean her up. For now, no paint job is in the works; I have to focus on "Nellie" when she comes home.

 

BTW, the yellowish stain on the hood is from oil that dripped from my new electric hoist. I'll have to deal with that somehow.

You'll notice in the pix my GTA steering wheel is in place and working, and also you can see the hole that I cut for the shifter needs to be finished off. Then I'll install the lower boot, console, etc. I will probably just use the auto shifter plate for now until I can find a nice 5-speed plate.

That will all be done (hopefully) by tomorrow's end, and I'll register the car and get it inspected. This could be fun.

 

congrats! If I see you driving around I'll wave! If im not in my firebird I'm in a Purple FJ Cruiser with a white roof!

 

At this point, other than reassembly of the interior portion of the swap, all the car needs is a turn signal flasher to pass inspection.

My second oil change resulted in nice, clean oil, even after running and driving the car. I am pleased. It means that except for sitting for a few years, the car must have been well cared for.

The antifreeze leak seems to be coming from the overflow, as once it is empty the leak stops and the radiator is always full to the top.

Today will be devoted to getting her ready to drive daily, with final interior reassembly, and a thorough cleaning.

 

After setting the Guiness World Record for longest T5 swap, I decided to take it nice and easy today.

I cleaned around the hole that I cut for the shifter, and painted it with rattle can primer. While that dried, I started gluing the sides of my console back together.

Then I sprayed it with some beige rattle can paint I had in the workshop, and installed my MR GASKET shifter boot. It was barely large enough for the hole, so I drilled a few extra holes a little further outboard than the ones it came with. It is now in place and seems to be sealing nicely. This quieted down the noise inside the car, but I still need to get a 1 1/2" plug for the hole that the shifter cable used to go through. I used it for the reverse light switch wiring, but I want to get a plug to make it nice and tight.

In between, I polished and cleaned some body panels, and also started cleaning the dash and the door panels. This will likely be done a few minutes at a time here and there, and of course it can be done as I drive the car from day to day.

I started installing the console, but did not finish before the Queen asked me to grill some steaks for supper... so I'll finish the rest some time during the week. I will also get the car registered and insured, so I can drive it.

 

Got plates and insurance today... inspection tomorrow!

 

OHHHH baby, I am driving my GTA! Got her inspected today, and other than fog/driving lights not working and no high beams, she passed. This allowed me to get a 15-day sticker to allow me to drive her while I fix those problems.

So I took her out on the road, and aired her out a little. The first thing that I noticed was that after a little bit of driving, the whining noise in the trans is all but gone.

The next thing I noticed was that this car drives and handles like a dream. What a difference the WS6 suspension seems to make! Ride and handling are superior to the other thirdgens I've driven.

Do I have to talk about performance? This car pulls through the five gears very nicely; it seems to have plenty of mid-range torque.

I went to Advance, and all the guys were excited. They've been hearing about this car for almost a year now, and they had been asking to see it. Naturally, I bought about 50 Bucks worth of cleaning supplies while I was there.

All in all it was a great day today.

 

Very nice! You're making me itch to replace the stock slush box in my car with a T5 or T56!

 

While I would dearly love to play with the T56, I find that T5 works very well as long as you aren't into street racing and general beating on your car.

That said, in a perfect world, I'd be playing with an LSX T56 swap. Of course, I wouldn't do it unless I was doing a major repair or resto job. My setup runs very nicely for my purposes.

 

Great day today! The other day I realized that my high beams were not working because my swapped-in steering column is missing that little piece behind the multi-function switch (wiper switch). I got it cheap, so no complaints.

I took a black Zip tie and squeezed everything in tight. High beams work great now. Fog lamps were a different story. The connectors on the back of the lamp assemblies were dirty. I cleaned them, and also replaced the lamps, and now they work fine.

Today I did some cleaning and detailing. First, I hooked up a vacuum pump to the AC and set it up on 20 PSI vacuum. Then I left it, and my daughter (11yrs old) helped me as we started the cleaning. She is more excited about this car than I am... but she's not getting it. She has her eye on "Nellie", and by the time she's licensed, I'll have her nice and shiny and ready.

After about a half hour, we still had 20 PSI vacuum, so I installed the retrofit kit, and charged her up with R-134+ oil.

On MAX AC, she'll blast you out of the car just sitting at idle. I am pleased. We'll be driving the car to church this evening.

 

I know how you feel about the WS6 suspension package, my Trans Am has it and honestly its made me hate my Camaro. The maro squeaks and slams and the Trans Am with its original suspension drives like its on air with no squeaks or anything to speak of.

You got lucky on the AC. Every third gen I've ever bought has had the AC torn out of it except one. And I have 5 third gens. Its kinda ridiculous.

 

Easier to yank out the problem than fix it I guess lol. I tore mine out since it didn't work but I'm considering reinstalling it.

 

OK I decided to clean up the engine compartment, door jambs, etc and then clean the outside thoroughly, buff it out, and then wash and wax it. It came out OK

 

All three of mine had AC... "Nellie" had been babied by her previous owner. Apparently, so has this one. Other than the butcher job on the steering column, this car was complete and intact.

The '87 was half disassembled when we bought it, and some of the AC components were missing. I have since bought the parts, but now I have to wrestle the car away from my son in order to get it working.

 

Car looks good! You can probably get away with just painting the nose since the rest of the paint looks solid.

 

Well, the spoiler is shot and I am looking into replacing it with a fiberglass one. I am considering a 90-92, or one from a 4th gen. I am desperately trying to avoid plunking down $400 for the aftermarket one.

There are a few spots where the paint is chipped and there's a spot of rust, and also a couple of dings. I'm probably going to sand the nose down and repaint it, and then when I find a spoiler I'll paint that too and install it. Then I'll just live with the body until after "Nellie" is finished.

 

good job on the progress!

If you want to see the aftermarket Hawks spoiler in person, let me know. I have one!

 

Subscribing, Love reading your story!!

 

If you go with a 4th gen one (i ditched my fiberglass repop 87 GTA wing for one), get a LT1 wing.....93-97. While the LS1/98-02 wings look the same, they aren't. The bottoms are shaped differently. They'll go on, but if you look close? It is pretty obvious they aren't right. I got a '02 wing & will change it out, some day.

 

OK, thanks Stephen... I'm talking to a guy right now who has a 90-92 wing in pretty good shape.

 

subscribing

 

Now, I can go to bed soundly knowing another GTA has been saved. Good work!

 

I finally got the inspection sticker today, so now I can relax and enjoy my GTA. Naturally, she still needs some interior work, and I have to strip and repaint the front bumper cover.

I just bought a 91-92 fiberglass spoiler, which I will install in place of the existing 4000 pound rubber one, which is all warped and cracked. I'll probably paint the spoiler and the bumper cover at the same time.

Now I need to find a 5-speed shifter plate. The auto plate is a little bit tight for the 5-speed pattern, and I am not going to be happy until I have the correct plate in there.

Also, a weird problem has developed: She needs to crank a few seconds now before she will start. The odd thing is that I sometimes hear the fuel pump prime, and yet I have to crank a few seconds before it fires. Sometimes I don't hear the pump, so I am wondering what it all means. I guess for the price of a fuel pump relay I should just change it and see what happens.

 

Just got a new power mirror switch in the mail from thewizard... power mirrors now work perfectly!

 

Well, I picked up a fuel pump relay since they are cheap enough. As I had feared, it did not solve the problem. She is still hard starting, although I haven't run the car enough to see if the fuel pump is priming all the time.

So, from what I have read elsewhere on this board, the most likely suspect is injectors. Crap. When I first got the car running, I didn't have this problem. Then it slowly developed.

I may run a can of Seafoam through the gas tank just to see if it helps.

 

I really don't wanna be the bearer of bad news but that's what happened to my LB9. When I just got the car (sat for a while at the PO's house before, kinda like yours) it ran decently, but then the same problem gradually happened to me... hard starts to the point it would barely run if I'd be lucky enough for it to start. Turns out my car needed new injectors. But now she purrs and drives me around daily without a problem. Try the electrical resistance check. I don't remember what the numbers are supposed to be but I'm sure someone here will know.

 

The numbers have been posted a number of times... I'll do a search.

BTW, last night when I drove the car, she started normally once.

 

injectors going bad are becoming pretty common with the age of these cars now. Best deal I've found is getting yours rebuilt and tested by southbay on this board. good luck!

 

A lot of guys are giving really favorable reports to fuelinjectorconnection.com... I checked them out, and I can get a set of injectors that have been cleaned, rebuilt, tested and flow-matched for an outstanding price.

I went ahead and bought a fuel pressure meter so that I can confirm the diagnosis. With three fuel-injected thirdgens and two other injected vehicles in my stable, it seemed a worthwhile purchase. In the meantime, the car runs well enough to drive it. So I am. To paraphrase Charlton Heston: "They'll have to pry this car out of my cold, dead hands!"

 

I saw your car today! You were pulling into the radio station parking lot...it was right before that horrible rain. I was going to stop and shoot the bull but I was running in typical Justin fashion.....late! lol Car looked good from what I saw!

 

Yeah, that was me. I didn't make it in time -- sat in the car until it went from monsoon to just torrential...

Got absolutely soaked on my way in to the station.

 

I ended up with a 91-92 spoiler that I bought from another thirdgenner... it is in great shape. All I need to do is sand it down and paint it. From what I have been told, I'll have to drill 2 extra holes and modify the side clips in order to install it.

I'll post pix after I get it completely unpacked.

 

I just went out to the garage and hooked up my new fuel injection pressure test meter. I have a solid 40 lbs of pressure after priming, but it bleeds down within 10-15 seconds. I will check my fuel pressure regulator for leaks, but from what everyone tells me, I probably need injectors.

I checked out SouthBay, and they have a great deal also... plus they have a nice deal on the Bosch III's, which seem to be a nice upgrade. Unless I find a leaky regulator, I'll probably get the 'adapted' Bosch III's from SouthBay.

 

OK, as they say: Experience is the best teacher... (ie there is no substitute for experience).

I went out to check the fp regulator. The gauge read 0 psi. I turned the key. The pump primed. The engine lit right off.

I have puzzlement. Then I went to check the regulator, and noticed some wet fuel. A quick check revealed that I had not fully tightened the connector on the test meter's hose.


I figure that since the hose for the test meter had bled off the pressure within a few seconds, there had been no opportunity for the injectors to bleed down.

Now, the engine had started right up this morning, because the car had not been run since Thursday. So now I realized that the problem has not been getting worse. It has only been that the car has had plenty of rest between starting attempts.

My next attempt at a test revealed the injectors holding pressure a lot longer, but eventually bleeding down to about 10psi after 15 minutes. I then attempted to start the engine, and it cranked a little bit before firing, but not as bad as usual.

So now I am leaving it to bleed all the way down. In the meantime, I pulled the vacuum hose off the regulator, and it is dry. Therefore, I am concluding that it is the injectors bleeding down.

IMHO, that's probably a good thing, because after researching the Bosch III injectors, it seems as though they are a significant improvement over the stock injectors. They would have to be an all-around performance/economy upgrade.

 

OK, so I let the system bleed down to 0 psi. It took a little more than a half hour. I would venture to guess that would be an indication of normal function, but my lack of experience tells me to avoid jumping to that conclusion.

Once again, I turned the key. She did not fire off immediately, but did not seem unusually hard to start. After 2 or 3 seconds, she fired off and ran well.

My next step is to let her sit for an hour or more before trying again. I should note here that had I put a bottle of Lucas fuel injector cleaner in the tank when I filled up last, and the tank is about 1/3 full now. I'm not sure if that is throwing anything off here.

I watched the videos from fuelinjectorconnection.com, and it seems clear that I would benefit from replacing what I have with Bosch III's, even if my injectors are OK.

One thing that I learned from the vids is that while the injectors might be OK when relatively cold, they tend to break down after they get hot. So maybe things look a lot better right now since the injectors have not been run for more than a few minutes since Thursday (today being Saturday). That seems to fit with the car not being particularly hard to start until I started driving it every day.

I am also noticing that FIC and southbay both have their fans... Southbay seems to have exactly what I want, which is the 19 lb injector for the 305 in the Bosch III... I only see 22 lb and up at FIC. Since I got my edjumication from FIC, I would be inclined to use them... but southbay has what I want and is offering a thirdgen discount. It appears that they use the same equipment and procedures. Suggestions, anyone?

 

from what I remember...try this:


1. Pressurize system, vice grip the return line and feed line on front of motor. If it leaks down, you have a bad regulator or injectors. You'll know if its the regulator if gas dribbles out when you take off the vacuum hose.

2. Pressurize system, vice grip the feed line. If it bleeds down, the fuel pump is bad.

This is going by memory from what I did on my car like 4 years ago. Turned out that I pinched an injector wire under my valve cover and it grounded out the right bank of injectors and flooded my motor so bad it wouldnt even crank over : DUH:

 

I am as sure as I can be that the pump is OK. I just replaced it, and it brings me up to pressure instantly and keeps me there. Once the car is running, it is fine, although after it gets hot sometimes it stalls at idle.

The main reason why I even bothered to check into this was because the car was hard starting, and then the stalling at idle thing developed, although it only happens on occasion.

I got my eyes opened after I started to read up on the fuel injectors. Apparently, the ones that originally came with these cars, even when working properly, are inferior to the Bosch III injectors. The originals kind of squirt fuel, and they are much more prone to failure, whereas the Bosch III's atomize the fuel in a fine spray pattern, and are more reliable. I would expect that to result in better performance and fuel economy.

So, it would seem that an upgrade to the newer injectors is a good move in any case, and after what I have seen with my car, will most likely solve my problem.

 

Now that the car is back in daily use, the starting problem has returned. I have ordered a set of Bosch III's from southbay. They have a special thirdgen discount, and I got a screamin' deal.

I chose southbay because they had the 19 lb injectors, since I am bone stock with no plans to mod. They also offer a special discount to thirdgen folks: code TG11. I got my injectors and a gasket set for $167.00 SHIPPED.

I will post results after they are installed. (Knowing me as you may, you can probably count on a blow-by-blow of the installation procedure as well).

 

$167?! Good deal! I paid over $200 for mine about a year ago.

 

Yeah, well, I'm glad I found out about the discount code... I would have paid more than that just for the injectors anywhere else.