My 89 Tuned Port Firebird has been giving me nothing but problems since I've owned it. It has only 75k miles on it. I've only driven it 9k miles and in that time it's eaten 2 MAF sensors, MAF burnout relay, exhaust leaks, power steering bracket randomly broke on start up, smashing the alternator and causing quite a problem finding the part. Granted it's an older car and things are bound to fail. But this car was garage kept and very well maintained by both me and the previous 1 owner. I seldom drove it hard(it never ran long enough for me to lol). I thought I finally had it running great and it was going good for a couple thousand miles. I planned on selling it and getting something newer. Then the ECM took a dump on me. That was the last straw for me. I've owned 13 various cars and trucks many of them older with higher miles that never gave me this kind of grief. Even had a fox body Mustang that was a much better car even though I usually don't care for Fords. The build quality of this car is also poor as well. I'm not surprised I don't see many in great shape or selling for much. I'm already contemplating just parting out the entire car and taking what's left to the scrapyard. Is this par for the course for these cars with the Tuned Port? Is anyone else having these kinds of issues with their cars? I don't even feel comfortable selling it as a whole car anymore and risk giving someone else a junk car.

 

Sounds like you need a honda.

I don't see how you think spending $500 on an old car within a year is horrible.
Relay is $10. If you bought the maf new $300, replacements with a warranty shouldn't be a problem. Exhaust leaks...any performance car has them. Power steering bracket breaking out of the blue on a start up....never heard that before, but the alternator can take a beating and be fine, but a new bracket cant be more than $50 on here with all the part outs this place has. New ECM is $120.

You got to love these cars to justify them.

 

Pretty much. I own an '88. Makes it 22 years old. That in itself tells me that things will need replacing.

At this moment, It's @ my buddies shop sittin' getting ready for drive-train and suspension upgrade/mods. Parts alone for this one go round is a grand.

When I drove it cross country it had been sitting for months before the trek. Only issue was the heat. It got a little hot.(There's a surprise!) I swapped in a LS1 dual set-up and voila! All done.

I've drivin' it hard on a number of occasions. It's a fun car and fun should be had. The only nagging issue I had is when I blew out the tranny mount. However it was an excuse for me to begin my mods I have goin' in now. Lol!

I've owned numerous 3rd gens. And I have never had these issues you speak off. Hey, sometimes things just don't go according to plans or expectations. Then again, when speaking about 20+ year old cars. Unexpected occurrences actually should be expected...

Good luck!

 

My 88 formula had 100K miles on it when I bought it 7 years ago and I have put 100K miles on it myself.

Only things that broke were the rear brake lines, TPS, hatch motor assembly, and alternator.
Also the Headlight bushings went out.

 

Guys that have rebuilt most of thier car still have problems. The PS bracket isn't one of the things I would put on the normal wear and tear list, but the others are. I wouldn't get rid of a car because of that though, if it needed an engine and the trannys about to go, I would, but your car looks solid and most anyone here would be proud to have it. I've replaced the engine 2x (1junkyard), tranny 3x, rebuilt stock tranny 2x (the guy didn't get it right the 1st time!!!), I've had to drop the tank about 5x (2 bad walbro pumps and other things), got hit on drivers side (almost a t-bone), which could have totaled the car and alot of other things. I guess I'm trying to say is, even with all thats happened with my car, I still wouldn't let it go. You may not want to work on it, but your going to need to, its all part of what having a sports car is all about. There were times when I would have loved to see the car burn to the ground though lol!

 

I'm aware it is an older car and I expected it not to run like a Honda or Toyota pickup and it would need repairs now and then. Maybe I just got 'that one'. The parts alone were not that expensive. I could live with a few electronics needing replacement. But it also costs time to address these issues. The bracket was out of left field. It simply fatigued and caved. The alternator broke from the serpentine belt pulling it down and breaking the housing on it so it was 2 repairs at once. It only totaled about $260 for both, but it happened at time when it was my only transportation as I just moved to a new town and a new state far from home because of my job. I wasn't familiar with any wreckers in the area so it was a mad dash to find one, specifically, one that would carry that specific bracket for that tuned port. I got lucky with that. After that experience, I took the step of buying a commuter S10 to avoid being stranded again. Had I not when the computer went, I'd have been screwed. I didn't have my tools shipped yet or been completely moved into my new house so I was forced to take it to a mechanic to find the problem. Had this happened at any time during the 2,000 mile trip to get here, I would be up s**t creek without a paddle. Not the kind of car I want to take a gamble on. I like the styling of the 3rd gens, but I also like a car that is somewhat reliable even if it is a sports car. An antique Porsche would be understandable, but not a SBC. I don't 'love' it enough to justify keeping it around which is why I decided to get rid of it.

 

You were brave to use it as a DD on such a life changing situation. You think you would've built a bond between man and machine. Not so much, eh? HAHAHA. Put in on Craigslist and the classifieds on here for a fair price and it will be gone. Good thing you got a daily driver.

 

500 bucks? I think I spent that the 1st week

 

In a word? No.
Am I surprised? No.

I personally would not recommend a thirdgen to someone wanting a reliable car.

 

why not? I drive my 88 every day. It's very reliable. Hasn't left me stranded yet. Some crap did break and some stuff needed to be repaired/replaced but it has remained drivable.

 

Why not?

Mine have never been reliable. I've had a lot of them.
I go on 'cruises' periodically. It never fails, always at least one breaks.

I hear the stories all the time like yours, honestly the logic fails.

 

I have 4, 2 of them are 100% reliable, the other 2 are project cars. I go over stuff every now and take care of the cars. They are 100% dependable.

 

Yeah, I love my Camaro's but I honestly have to say they aren't that reliable. I have an S-10 with over 320,000 miles on it that I've never had to throw a single part at except a temp sender, but it seems like I'm replacing or fixing things on the maro all the time.

In fact my power steering pump bracket broke just yesterday, so don't feel so bad.

 

So you've never replaced a starter, alternator, water pump, fuel pump, TPS, etc?

 

you have a PM

 

I cant think of many cars that have as much info and parts available for cheap than the 3rd gens. Anything you own that old is gonna require some money to fix it up. I always found them pretty easy to work on. You are actually in a perfect position to keep it now since you have a truck to take over the dd duties.

 

All I know is I use my 91 Z as my daily driver. I drive 45 miles a day 6 days a week not much and I never have problems... (knock on wood) lol. When I first bought my car it was a one owner and sat for quite a while. I also had a sh*t load of problems in the beginning because of it sitting for so long, but after fixing those the car is great. Sounds like to me your car just probably sat too long without being used like mine did.

 

Me being one of them. 88k miles...
New engine at 69k
Tranny 80k
Rear 20k

At this point I need another new engine and rear... grr... I have redone my whole interior too.

 

I still love how they look and when it is on the road, it is enjoyable to drive. I have no doubt the S10 will last for a long time. New paint, great interior and a new engine with less than 10k on it for $1650 cash ain't a bad deal. Had 3 S10s before it in the past and they're pretty 'dummy proof' when it comes to keeping that trusty TBI going. Will I get another F body? I dunno. If I did it would be an LS1. Seen enough of them running 12s with just bolt-ons and still hold together to get my attention. For now I have the Lexus SC300 with twin turbo Supra swap converted to single waiting to be finished. Just need to sell the Firebird so I can swap in a stronger trans and rear before they grenade.

 

Hello All!!

Talk about a surprise, I broke my power steering pump bracket, tightening up the belt by hand!!

Back in 1989 I was replacing a v-belt on my Camaro, and as I was tensioning the power steering belt, the upper pivot point on the power steering pump bracket broke off!!

Things do break due to time, heat, cold, fatigue, etc........and Firebird89ws6, this is what makes them what they are, ours, getting to know your 3rd gen intimately, is what keeps the interest alive!!!

 

305 or 350? Where is the car located? PM me if you are close to VA and still want to sell...