Yeah, shoot me now. I've been funding overseas corporations for the past 3 years since I've been driving, but now I've made my way over to a classic, American made car.

I've got a '87 Trans AM GTA that I recently purchased and have some questions about, hopefully you guys can help.

1) The previous owner cut about half the side of the intake box out, making the engine pretty much bypass the filter for the most part. I'm just worried about it sucking in dirt, debris, etc, and I'm assuming that could cause the engine to run a bit rough as well (So I'm trying to fix this as well as perform a full tune-up). So before I began driving it, I'm going to replace the round air box and give it a full tune up as well as clean out the engine to make it run a bit smoother. Is there any place I can find a replacement one? I haven't had any luck researching for one; all I found was a RAM Air Intake that seems nice, but I'd be worried about rain and hydrolocking.

2) Emissions.. Just went to get my car inspected and it failed for emissions. Mind you, I'm from Jersey, but the numbers are probably universal (except for Cali and inspection-less states). For the TSI Idle Test, I had a HC PPM reading of 2123. Standard is 220. I also had a CO% of 7.11 while the standard is 1.20. For the High Idle readings, I produced an HC PPM of 868 where the standard is 220 as well as a CO% of 10.51 when the standard is 1.20.

What the readings mean, I have no idea. How to fix them, I'm not sure. But I think that when the guy removed the A/C he may have removed the Smog pump as well causing the emissions failure?

3) Third and final question - The previous owner installed a set of edelbrock headers. The driver side one is fine. The passenger side one is rubbing against the car frame and is VERY noticable when driving and idling. It seems that he hit the header with a hammer to try and flatten it and make it fit, but it's not that great of a fit. I guess, perhaps, this is either a common occurance, or he bought the headers for the wrong car. Are there any nice performance low profile ones, that will of course fit and eliminate these vibrations, that I can purchase? I'm not sure of exact measurements and I prefer not to buy 20 and have them all have the same issue.

Thanks guys!!

-Derek

 

Anyone have any sort of ideas to help me out? =/

 

#1: I'd look at a junkyard, or here on the classifieds board for a replacement intake hose/air box. See them there from time to time

#2: Those numbers are bad

A full tune-up will help. Does your car even have a catalytic converter installed?

#3: There are a few options out there, check out the sticky in the exhaust forum for all the info you could want on header options. If you have the $$ to spend, P.M. member Dyno Don here about his shorty headers, they're the best header & Y-pipe combination for our cars right now. They're available in versions with or without the AIR tubes (from the smog pump), and they come ceramic coated.

 

Yeah, I've bought everything to do a tune-up and to fix the other various minor issues. (Leaking Differential cover seal, leaking rear tranny seal, full engine flush, oil change, plugs, etc.) I just didn't have time to complete it last weekend due to fixing other issues with the car, heh.

The car has a cat, however the previous owner replaced the MAF sensor about a week before I purchased and I havn't taken it through emissions yet to see how or if it affects the results. It's definitely running rich though, I just gotta find out how to fix that.

I'll definitely message him about the headers. I've been reading posts about them and they sound great. As for the smog pump, I'm not even sure if it has one . The previous owner removed the A/C with an A/C delete kit after the compressor failed, and the heater core isn't even hooked up.... Multiple small issues that are a pain in the ***, but for $2,000 I don't mind. It's much better than the Civic I had

Edit: Not to mention the fan that ALWAYS runs from auxiliary to when it's started. Someone bypassed the relay so that it's always on... Ugh. Engine runs around 160 degrees which seems a bit too low.

 

Do a good tuneup. Get the car to run at 195* with a new thermostat and properly operating fans. Take it to emission testing with a hot engine. The smog pump (A.I.R>) system only helps to reduce emission in a cold engine. Unless you have a visual inspection, it's not needed for testing as long as the engine is hot.

Worst case, take it to a garage and have them tune up or repair the car so that it will pass an emission test.

 

Ah alright. Knowing that it's only useful in a cold engine makes me feel better. I bought these Bosch Platinum +4's for it... Not sure how good they are or to return them and get my $5.99/ea back for them and get basic Platinum's of Bosch or some other brand.

As for the temp and thermostat, I'm just awaiting my relay's and thermostat to be shipped Already purchased it online after reading one of the nice articles on this site. I'm just hoping there's not much cylinder wear. The engine's been swapped and supposedly rebuild with one from an '88 Vette (Numbers match with the Vette.) I was told there's approximately 3,000 miles on the swap/rebuild, but can't be certain as there's no paperwork. However, the squared tires tend to tell me it has been sitting for a while. Maybe I'll do a leak-down test and hope for the best. If worse comes to worse, 355?

Also, I'm not sure why the exhaust smells so rich. Not throwing up an SES light, but It's DEFINITELY noticable that somethings off.

 

Those Bosch +4's are a waste of money, just get some good no-frills AC Delco plugs

 

Haha alright. Well That saves me some money than. Differentials leaking pretty badly right now, gotta get a new seal sometime tomorrow.

Other than that, anyone happen to know how to fix this overly richness it's running?

I'm sure people have mentioned it before me, but I no longer like this digital dash. Ran outta gas today and it told me I had half a tank

 

A good old copper plug will work just as good as the latest "spark plug of the month". The advantage to using platinum etc plugs is that they don't wear out as quickly. With a copper plug, you should at least check the gap every couple of years. The platinum plugs should last at least 5 years. On newer cars, it's a pain to change the plugs so platinum is a better choice.

I run $3 NGK copper race plugs in my engine and they work just fine.

If you put an engine on a dyno with new copper plugs and do a pull then change to some new gimmick plugs and do a pull, you probably won't see any difference in performance. Don't believe the commercial hype about spark plugs. Just get the recommended AC Delco plugs in the proper heat range for your car.

 

Alright Alky, you're a life saver man. These spark plug locations as the sit are a big enough pain for me. I'm used to changing them through a valve cover! Now to put my head in a book, or at least a few web pages or threads to find out about these 3.27 gears my car supposedly has. Not sure if they are or not, but gotta see if it's posi, lsd, or standard. Going from FWD cars to this is a night and day difference.

 

Posi and LSD are the same thing, posi is just the GM name for it (Posi-traction)

Easiest way to check is just jack the rear tires off the ground and spin one. If the other tire turns the opposite direction, you have a standard/open rear end. If they both turn the same way, congratulations, you have a limited-slip

As for your running rich... I'm no help there, I'm a newbie when it comes to EFI. Sorry

 

Ah okay, that'll make diagnosis a bit easier . There are really too many choices for damn near everything on a car, especially lubricants. Different weights are understandable, but having damn near 100 different brands is rediculous! Haha. Oh well, I've also been a Mobil1 guy and I've never had any issues, so I'll stick with them. I just wish they'd make a 80w-90. I suppose 75w-90 would be just as good though. And if it's a Posi rear, I think I may just use GM's additive, or the additive from Red Line.

I'm thinking about swapping out my digital gauges for regular gauges... I ran out of gas today for the first time in my life when the gauge was reading just about a quarter tank. Perhaps not the digital dash issue, but something else; however, if my headlights aren't up, hitting any switch (break, turn signal, etc) will reset all my gauges and won't show the temps or the fuel level. Not to mention that with the headlights off, my speedometer and tachometer reset with every little relay or switch that engages. I checked with Painless to see if they had any dash harness available, but to no avail, they do not. I know enough about electrical that perhaps I'll just remake the harness in its' entirety and clean things up a bit while I'm at it. Maybe I'll even market them seeing as no place even offers them.