Hello -

I have a '89 Camaro RS (auto) that my teenage son has been driving. He's did some extensive damage to the tranny that cost me $1,100. The mechanic's siad it was the torque converter. The car lost 3rd and 4th gear. That was 5 months ago. Then 2 months ago the heater regulator broke. Had that fixed fo $60.00. Last month I had a tune up done on the car and it was determined that the mass airflow (whatever it's called) was going out. Had that fixed $500.00 The a few weeks ago we had almost 100 degree wheather and when I drove the car less then a mile down the road I noticed the temp. gauge was way past 300 degrees!! So I turned around and went straight home. The raidiator was full and the fan was working. (BTW, the temp gauge is now stuck at 300 degress) I decided that the car was going no where untol aI got the mecahnic to llok at it. Well my kid took the car on a 200 mile trip. He made it where he was going with no problems then coming home the radiator over heated so he parked the car and called a friend to pick him up, the next morning he went back to the car.. DID NOT check the water in the radiator and drove it the 15 miles on the freeway to get home. Aghhh!! Bleeping kid! K, now you know a bit of the history of the car.. QUESTION: The car still starts (it hesitates now instead of turning over.. When you drive it, it's very loud and the whole car shakes from the motor. (I just drove it a short block to see what it was doing) What do you think has happened? Warped head? Gasket? Do I need to spend a few thousand bucks to get a new engine? Or can it MAYBE be fixed.. Gimme an idea.. Thanks!

 

$500 for a MAF? Don't go back to that mechanic, that's all I can say..

I think a leakdown test might show a warped head. You can check the oil.. if there's coolant in the oil then the head gasket's blown. Also if there's white smoke coming from the exhaust, that means a head gasket's blown (steam from the coolant), but that might only be on -bad- gaskets.

Personally I'd think your thermostat was stuck closed... does the motor get hot FAST? If it takes a while then maybe the air dam under the front of the car is damaged or missing, and that redirects air up and over the radiator- altho the fan would keep it from overheating. Hey maybe there's a plastic bag in front of the radiator

If it makes you feel better, my torque convertor had cracked where it went into the trans fluid pump, and it blocked the fluid pump, starving the trans for lubrication. The guy that rebuilt the motor said his TC supplier said it was common...

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.v6fbody.com mailbags

 

First of all, don't blame your son. The car is pretty old. Second of all... Your mechanic is ripping you off, find an honest one. All of the things you described sound like pretty common repairs...except for the trany.

Good luck

-Erik W. '86 Firebird 2.8L MPFI

 

Thanks for the advice Actually the car never had any problems with the engine before they put the Mass Air Flow thing in. What actually happened was I took the car in for a simple tune-up, the mechanic called me up and told me that the MAF needed to be replaced, I asked how much and he estimated $175.00 I said Fine fix it. (I was stupid to give him my credit card # in advance) THEN he called me up and said the car was ready, but that they had to fix a few other things... (rusted carb. cap,.. etc..) When I went to pick the car up the car stalled in their parking lot. I went in and asked them what they did to my car. They came out and checked and determinded that the MAF they put in was defected,.. "bring it back in the morning". So I took it back teh next day and this time I watched what they did to the car. When they were "testing" the car they blew a fuse (Dome light, cig ligher, trunk lock) This car NEVER has blown a fuse. They said it was from the testing.. The car continues to blow the same fuse now. Basically, in my opinion they messed something up. (they denied this) Days after this was when the temp guage jammed at 300 degrees. The car NEVER had any over heating problems until after they worked on it.

SO now if the problem is a warped head.. how much am I looking at to get it fixed? The same mechanic that worked on the MAF told me around $800.00 Does that sound about right? I'm leary of taking the car back to him because I know he'll jack the price. AND I dunno if he knows what he's doing
Thanks!
Originally posted by TomP:
$500 for a MAF? Don't go back to that mechanic, that's all I can say..

I think a leakdown test might show a warped head. You can check the oil.. if there's coolant in the oil then the head gasket's blown. Also if there's white smoke coming from the exhaust, that means a head gasket's blown (steam from the coolant), but that might only be on -bad- gaskets.

Personally I'd think your thermostat was stuck closed... does the motor get hot FAST? If it takes a while then maybe the air dam under the front of the car is damaged or missing, and that redirects air up and over the radiator- altho the fan would keep it from overheating. Hey maybe there's a plastic bag in front of the radiator

If it makes you feel better, my torque convertor had cracked where it went into the trans fluid pump, and it blocked the fluid pump, starving the trans for lubrication. The guy that rebuilt the motor said his TC supplier said it was common...

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.v6fbody.com mailbags[/QUOTE]

[This message has been edited by Karen (edited July 29, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Karen (edited July 29, 2000).]

 

OK, I agree the car is old... But my son hot rods the car all the time
The car was in perfect condition in and out, until he stared driving it. Nonetheless, I think the mechanic messed something up
Originally posted by niu2001:
First of all, don't blame your son. The car is pretty old. Second of all... Your mechanic is ripping you off, find an honest one. All of the things you described sound like pretty common repairs...except for the trany.

Good luck

-Erik W. '86 Firebird 2.8L MPFI [/QUOTE]

 

First off if the car is a 89 it does not have a carb, it most likely has a throttle body (spelling) Which does not have a mass air flow sensor, the tpi motors have a maf sensor but you most likely don't have this motor. I would not bring the car back to him, I would have another place fix the problem. He should fix what he broke, but then again he proably would not fix it right. Now if your son is beating on the car take it away if it is yours, for his saftey and others saftey. Plus you are spending alot of money if it is his fault.

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Ooops... I meant distributor cap.. I've already taken the car away from my son
Originally posted by BLACK Z:
First off if the car is a 89 it does not have a carb, it most likely has a throttle body (spelling) Which does not have a mass air flow sensor, the tpi motors have a maf sensor but you most likely don't have this motor. I would not bring the car back to him, I would have another place fix the problem. He should fix what he broke, but then again he proably would not fix it right. Now if your son is beating on the car take it away if it is yours, for his saftey and others saftey. Plus you are spending alot of money if it is his fault.

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OK, did some checknig and yes the car does have a mass air flow sensor, that is what is on the mechanics invoice. Also, when I was watching him work on the car the second time I did ask him some questions about the computer testing and he did say that he could not do it on this car because of something to do with the codes weren't right. I had no idea what he was talking about at that time, so I said "OH" LOL! Now that I have been doing some research I think the guy was unqualified to work on this engine. He is a certified mechanic, but that really doesn't mean he knows everything. Now I need to find someone that can check this car out and put it back to normal. Anyone wanna loan me a bunch of money :0 (joking)
Thanks for the help guys!
Originally posted by Karen:
Ooops... I meant distributor cap.. I've already taken the car away from my son
Originally posted by BLACK Z:
First off if the car is a 89 it does not have a carb, it most likely has a throttle body (spelling) Which does not have a mass air flow sensor, the tpi motors have a maf sensor but you most likely don't have this motor. I would not bring the car back to him, I would have another place fix the problem. He should fix what he broke, but then again he proably would not fix it right. Now if your son is beating on the car take it away if it is yours, for his saftey and others saftey. Plus you are spending alot of money if it is his fault.

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Camaro RS's DID NOT COME WITH A MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If he sold you one, he ripped you off royaly. Your car either has the 3.1L V6 Multi-Port or the 5.0L V8 Throttle body injected, either way, they are both "Speed Density" wich means they use a Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor (MAP sensor). If they sold you a MAF sensor, and other things that the car did not need (or you didn't authorize) call the Better Buisness Beauru (spelling?). Anyway, don't let these crooks get away with it. I wouldn't take the car back, because they don't have a clue what they are doing, and will only make the situation worse. I would write an official statement, make copies of the reciepts, and send them to the BBB.

As for the overheating, you may have blown a head gasket. I would take it to a REPUTABLE shop and have it PROFESSIONALY diagnosed. I think I would also sue the idiots that worked on it last.

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Yep, it's a V6 - Hmm, right here on the invoice he says that he installed a remanufactured mass air flow sensor (217861) R+R [b] exc Nova, Spectrum, Sprint...(whatever all that means)
Hmm, If the car doesn't have this I wonder where he put it. I guess I should ask him about it.

Thanks for the info. I would of had no clue without your help and if I would of taken the car back to him as planned... I can imagine what would happen
Originally posted by GMTech:
Camaro RS's DID NOT COME WITH A MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If he sold you one, he ripped you off royaly. Your car either has the 3.1L V6 Multi-Port or the 5.0L V8 Throttle body injected, either way, they are both "Speed Density" wich means they use a Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor (MAP sensor). If they sold you a MAF sensor, and other things that the car did not need (or you didn't authorize) call the Better Buisness Beauru (spelling?). Anyway, don't let these crooks get away with it. I wouldn't take the car back, because they don't have a clue what they are doing, and will only make the situation worse. I would write an official statement, make copies of the reciepts, and send them to the BBB.

As for the overheating, you may have blown a head gasket. I would take it to a REPUTABLE shop and have it PROFESSIONALY diagnosed. I think I would also sue the idiots that worked on it last.

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