Why the **** does my car keep breaking down??? 2 days ago the altinator goes now today the starter goes. Why the **** is it so hard to change the starter on these things?!!!!!! I just spend 2 hours trying to get the starter off with no success. I first tried to get it off with out removing anything. That didn't work. Then I tried removing the flywheel shield. That didn't work either. Finally I tried to lower the exhaust but only ended up BREAKING one of the damn bolts. HOW THE **** DO YOU GET THIS THING OUT?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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1986 CAMARO Z28 ->
151,000 original miles, 43,000 on 89' vette 350 block, Holley 650 DP, Weiand intake, 1.6 rockers, 1 5/8" headers, no cat, 2 1/2" Flowmaster catback, Mallory coil, March pulleys, T5 with 3.35 1st gear and 0 miles, 90% Centerforce clutch, 3.73 posi, Eibach 1" drop springs, Spohn LCA's, Spohn adjustable panhard rod, Subframe connectors, polyurethane swaybar bushings/endlinks, 2 12" Sound Streams, 2 Infinity 6X9's, 2 Pioneer 6X9's, 800 watt Lanzar Vibe amp. ET 13.22@ 106.4MPH 3300lbs less driver and speakers Next mods-> B&M shifter, Extreme Energy 268 cam, Holley street dom intake.

1987 TRANS AM -> <---PIECE OF ****
73,000 miles, 305TPI, auto, all stock.

[This message has been edited by JDMZ28 (edited March 07, 2001).]

 

JDM,

Put down the hammer, and step away slowly. Take a deep breath, and keep reminding yourself that if you had a Ford it would only be worse.

As for the first, um, question, your car is fifteen years old, and had 151,000 miles on it. There are some things that are going to fail. According to Murphy, they will likely fail at the most inopportune time. Now that you have a new alternator, you can probably forget about that for many more thousands of miles. The starter will be the same way, and I would suspect that the water pump is probably well on it's way to failure as well. These are common wear items for a vehicle with that age and mileage. I've got an '86 TA with 46,000 miles, and have replaced the heater core once, injectors twice, ECM PROM, steering idler arm, upper strut bushings, tires, brakes, MAF twice (once was due to my negligence), and several other components that I wouldn't have expected at that mileage. Age alone can take it's toll.

As for the more direct question, the starters can be a real PITA to replace. Usually it is the exhaust that gets in the way, which is just one of the reasons I preach for the use of anti-seize compounds on fasteners. If you have the space, you might try to remove the solenoid from the starter while it's "stuck" in the exhaust bundle, then remove the pieces. The down side is that you'll have to reverse the procedure to get the new starter in place, and assembling the starter in close quarters is no picnic either.

Since you already have the exhaust loose, apply a liberal coating of anti-seize to the new fasteners that you install. This will pay off later. Install the starter, then the pipe.

And remember, at least it's not a Ford...

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
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Thanks for the reply Vader. I've finally cooled down. Looks like I'm going to have to break all the exhaust bolts to get it out. I REALLY hope the starter is the problem to begin with. By the way the trans am only has 74000 miles on it. I bought it a week ago too.

This is the most ironic story of my life. It all started a few weeks ago when my grandprix got totaled, it wasn't my fault either some idiot nearly killed me is his DODGE RAM. My dad let me use his truck, the radiator went out and i had to have it towed. Getting it back from the radiator shop they sprayed black paint over the trans cooling lines. The trans went out on that shortly, if you get my point. I pulled the camaro out of storage, days later I found this "nice" trans am. Having reliable transportation I pulled the trans out of the camaro the next day the trans am breaks down. I had to have it towed. 2 days later the starter goes out and I had to have it towed again. Just so happens I left the jack where the camaro was so I had to drive out to get it. Now this. There is many other ironic details in this story but I could write a book there is so much garbage.

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1986 CAMARO Z28 -&gt;
151,000 original miles, 43,000 on 89' vette 350 block, Holley 650 DP, Weiand intake, 1.6 rockers, 1 5/8" headers, no cat, 2 1/2" Flowmaster catback, Mallory coil, March pulleys, T5 with 3.35 1st gear and 0 miles, 90% Centerforce clutch, 3.73 posi, Eibach 1" drop springs, Spohn LCA's, Spohn adjustable panhard rod, Subframe connectors, polyurethane swaybar bushings/endlinks, 2 12" Sound Streams, 2 Infinity 6X9's, 2 Pioneer 6X9's, 800 watt Lanzar Vibe amp. ET 13.22@ 106.4MPH 3300lbs less driver and speakers Next mods-&gt; B&M shifter, Extreme Energy 268 cam, Holley street dom intake.

1987 TRANS AM -&gt;
73,000 miles, 305TPI, auto, all stock.

 

JDM,

You're right. Some days, cars suck. You could have a brand new $30,000 whatever and it could still suck. She-ot happens, and it seems to happen in streaks sometimes. Still, walking to work/school can suck even worse.

Just think what it would be like if you rode a horse - you'd have sh*t to deal with every day. But it sounds as if you've had your share recently anyway. On the bright side, if your rotten luck runs out soon, you should have clear sailing for a while. And your exhaust bolts will be easier to get out than ever before.

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Must have something to do with being a Pontiac. Last fall, picked up a '90 Bonneville SSE w/104k miles. Two weeks later, starter went out (brushes). Month later, alternator went out (diodes). Last month, starter went out again (lifetime warranty, but a pain changing it in the Sears parking lot in Great Falls, Montana, on 3" of packed snow).

Both are much easier to replace on a Bonneville than a TA, that much is for sure!

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/LB9 block, ZZ3 cam and intake, TBD heads ported & polished, Hooker headers & y-pipe, 3" Catco cat).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.

 

It's not just pontiacs. My camaro has given me hell. Two days after moving to College Station for the fall semester, my alternator went out, and I didn't know anyone to get me to the parts store. A couple days after I replaced it, the battery died. No problems until New Year's. My valvesprings busted on me in Waco. While it sat for a month, I had to ride my bike to work after school (a 30 minute ride each way). I got the car back, ran fine for a couple of days, and then it started running like crap. The choke was messed up, and the timing was off. Then, a week later, a bolt on my electric fan came off, and I had to fight with it to get it to fit right again. In the process, I broke the power wire to it. Went to get my tires balanced and rotated. Resulted in tire shake so bad, I couldn't drive over 30 mph. On the way home from the tire shop (it closed as soon as they finished my car, so I couldn't go back) I ran out of gas about 100 ft from my house. Fortunately, a gas station is nearby. After getting them rebalanced 3 more times, they finally were balanced right. Hopefully, my car won't give me any more crap this semester. I have had enough.

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82 Camaro:
350, Erson cam, ported heads, Crane Hi-6 ignition, Accel supercoil, Comp Cams 1.6:1 rocker arms, Turbo 350 tranny with 2500 stall.

 

My wife and I purchased a '98 Chrysler Sebring LXI with all the bells and whistles. after the odometer rolled past 36,000 and hit 37,000 the planetary gears in the transmission went out and shot the whole tranmission! I had to pay $2300.00 for a brand new one because the warrenty had just ran out! What a B***H! Then my friend has a '97 Dodge Ram and has replaced the Transmission twice, replaced the fuel pump, and computer. Then my Mom and Dad had a 98 Ford Explorer that they had to replace the brake pads about every two months because it was junk and noone knew what was wrong with it. They sold it thank god. My point is I feel ya! Next time you want to blow up your car just think god it's not a Chrsyler with 37,000 and having to spend $2300.00 for a new Tranmission!

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'87 Trans Am
305 TPI:
160 Degree Theremostat
Accel 300+ 8.8 Racing Wires
Accel Super Coil
Bosch Spark Plugs
Custom Ram Air with K&N
TH-R700:
Brand New

 

I always like this one... My parents saw a friend of theirs stuck on the side of the road standing next to a brand new Mustang hehehe

 

Starters are a pain to get off but I've found you can get them off without dropping the exhaust. There is one way it will slide right through fairly easily. I know the gear side has to be pointing and if you get it rotated just right it will slide right out.

 

im in the process right now of seriously toying with the idea of selling my 74 camaro simply because of the agrivation with it.. its shut off 3 times(on the lsat three occasions that i drove it) in the same place... luckily its right in front of my house, but since i live sort of back in the woods off the road, each time my dad has to get his truck to pull it up the driveway. anyways, the process of me replacing the smallest parts(like the capacitor in the distributor) and it running for a few minutes, then dying again, has been going on for months now. luckily, its not my primary driver. me being close to 19 and having tried just about everything i can think of, i've decided to take it to a guy in my neighborhood and just tell him to 'fix it' hehe.(just so you all can drool along with me, he's got a 5 car garage with a yellow '57 bel air, along with a 55 and 56 model also, a 68 challenger, 64 corvette, and a very clean dodge demon, and by the way, all these have big blocks in them. he isnt rich by any means, he just does all the work himself and has slowly progressed to this point)

 

Just don't do what I did and punch the fender! (nice dent now) Damn Accel coil drove me over the edge with starting problems.
Anyway, the starter shouldn't be that much of a *****, I remember mine came out pretty good...only after the F&(*(*( fuse links blew which blew the alternator, leaked the battery and broke all the fuseable links...grrrrrrrr

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89 GTA G92
305 TPI WC 5spd w/3.45
Accel Cap & 8mm Taylor's
Custom 4" Cold Air Induction
Jet Airfoil
K&N Airfilter
160 deg stat/fan switch TB Bypass - Steel Rad
Cat back 3" Exhaust w/Terminator Muff.
HiGh FlOw Dynomax Cat
Spohn LCA's - KYB GR-2's
Autometer Vac+Oil Temp

 

Yeah you guys are right. These cars do hold up well considering how old they are, even if they are a pain to work on. My camaro has given me hell too. The has been countless times where it has broken down for dumb little things.

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1986 CAMARO Z28 -&gt;
151,000 original miles, 43,000 on 89' vette 350 block, Holley 650 DP, Weiand intake, 1.6 rockers, 1 5/8" headers, no cat, 2 1/2" Flowmaster catback, Mallory coil, March pulleys, T5 with 3.35 1st gear and 0 miles, 90% Centerforce clutch, 3.73 posi, Eibach 1" drop springs, Spohn LCA's, Spohn adjustable panhard rod, Subframe connectors, polyurethane swaybar bushings/endlinks, 2 12" Sound Streams, 2 Infinity 6X9's, 2 Pioneer 6X9's, 800 watt Lanzar Vibe amp. ET 13.22@ 106.4MPH 3300lbs less driver and speakers Next mods-&gt; B&M shifter, Extreme Energy 268 cam, Holley street dom intake.

1987 TRANS AM -&gt;
73,000 miles, 305TPI, auto, all stock.

 

Replace the starter with a high torque, mini-starter. Easier to install, and will turn the car over in any condition! I've never had to drop the exhaust to get a starter out. It just takes some cussing, twisting and patience.
The cost of starter and alternator is better then a $400 plus new car payment!

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Rob P
89RSconvtZZ4TPI
Edelbrock Hi-Flow Intake
SLP Dual Cold Air Intake
1 5/8" Headers
Semi-Siamesed Runners
MSD6AL/relocated MAT/ AdjFPR/IROC frnt@rear swaybar/wonderbar/steeringbox/alum drvshaft/ Alston SFC/3:23posi disc rear/MAC LCA/H.Adams Panhard Rod/KYB struts/ shocks/
92Z28convt5spd
71Impala convt 402BB
BETTER DRIVING THRU SUPERIOR HORSEPOWER!

 

I drove a Tercel with a hammer dent in the quarer panel. Also on the same car a dent in the other quarter panel where someone kicked it in. Yes I did it but now I walk away when im frustated.

 

At least it was only a Toyota. If you kept it, you'll always have something to throw things at when you're frustrated (Other than money).

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

At least i'm not the only one...bought the '84 TA from a dishonest guy who had me convinced it only needed a new carb.
Turned out the tranny was fried.....$1,200. Carb finally quit--$240 and three hours stranded in the ghetto.
Two weeks later the exhaust fell apart at the left manifold and the heat-riser--$150. A month later the diff self-destructed from the tranny shifting so damn hard (I went a little overkill selecting a shiftkit) $900.
Then the radiator literally blew...$250 plus water pump.
Two months later an intermittent problem with a fusible link which shut the whole car down IN A TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR, with the windows down, during rush hour in Orlando. Four f**kin' hours to fix that damn thing.

Feeling that i'll never be bored 'cause there's always something to fix?
PRICELESS.

Oh yeah, I also had to push the '91 through a five-way intersection on a left turn when the alternator and battery simultaneously s**t the bed.

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DR Stevens
Car #1:
1984 TA L69 H.O.
750 cfm Q-Jet reman. by Holley, 700R4 /w/ Superior shiftkit, 3.42 lim.slip, 4whl disc, underdrive pulleys, Accel HEI, experimental dual snorkel /w/ hood louver, some sort of weird 3" exhaust soon to be replaced
Car #2:
'91 Firebird/Formula LO3
all stock except K&N air filter (but not for long!!)

 

Damn - and I thought I had some bad days....

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader