Hey all, Ive taken my 87 firebird to several mechanics around San Antonio over the years, and they either are dishonest or they dont fix it right the first time and I have to keep going back over and over. Does anyone know any honest mechanics around town that are good with firebirds? Ill even pay one of you guys to do it if you can get the job done right. Im not looking for a free ride. I just want my firebird running good.

Im probably not as mechanically inclined as most of the people on this forum, and that makes owning a 25 year old car difficult. But its the only car Ive ever owned and I want to make it last. This is one of the few communities that would understand my loyalty to a 25 year old car.

Any help you can provide, I would appreciate. Thanks

 

What are you having problems with? Maybe I can help, or recommend someone local who can help you.

 

Theres a few minor things. The most annoying one is that the RPMs fluctuate when idling. It doesn't do it once I put a load on it. For example, when I accelerate or when the AC is on it is fine. I think the last mechanic I took it too thought it was the airflow sensor. But he's tinkered with that or replaced it twice now.

 

Well that can be caused by a failing throttle position sensor,amoung other things.Any fault codes(check engine lite "on", or "service engine soon" lite?)? I can recommend some local Hi-performance people,(Alamo Performance, ask for Roy. or Leathal Performance, but thats probaly not needed. What side of town u on?

 

Check engine light doesn't come on.

Im on the NW side of town. I-10 and Huebner approximately.

 

You could check for any stored codes to try and narrow the prob down but if you just dont want to mess with it, then there's G&R Auto on Grissom rd. reputable, ethical, and competent.

 

You need to check the TPS voltage with the engine off but the key ON. I dont know if the V6 TPS sensors are adjustable, but when you look at the sensor, you will see slots by the screws if it is adjustable.

The easiest way to do this is with a scanner or an ALDL cable hooked up to a laptop. You can build a jumper harness, which is basically 3 wires. 1 wire connecting each terminal in the sensor and the corresponding spot in the harness connector. Remove a small part of the insulation on each wire of your jumper harness and probe with a digital multimeter.

You will get a ground wire, a wire with constant voltage and a signal wire that varies with voltage depending on throttle position with the key on. On a V8 TPI car with adjustable TPS, the target voltage with key on engine off, closed throttle is .54 volts.

Remove the IAC motor and look it over. Clean the IAC passage with Intake cleaner and spray the pintle (not the motor) of the IAC motor.

The other place to look is in the throttle body and look for black soot. I usually just remove the throttle body and clean it out really well with the intake cleaner and replace the throttle body gasket when putting it back on.

It sounds difficult when you first do this stuff, but the hard part is just remembering where all the cables and hoses go.

This page will give you a basic idea:
http://www.chevythunder.com/do_it_yo...ation_page.htm

 

Does anyone know a reputable repair shop on the NE side of town. My vehicle has been in a shop for almost a year and they(mechanics) still can't get it run good. I'm frustrated and need someone with experience with a third gen vehicles.

 

If you find a good shop I would like to know to. I have been to boerne and theres a shop there wv automotive I took my iroc in bc my stearing was bad they found the problem in like 10mins and it only cost like 150$ I think it was but I had taken it to like 3-4 other shop and they all said I need a new front end new stuts new every thing witch was going to cost more then 1k but this shop was nice and was just saying how cool it was to have an old iroc in the shop and found the real problem.