When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Tech / General EngineIs your car making a strange sound or won't start? Thinking of adding power with a new combination? Need other technical information or engine specific advice? Don't see another board for your problem? Post it here!
bought a GTA,it was WAY cheaper than buying individual parts,problem is now i have 2 third gen firebirds in white.
do i keep both? im thinking i just might 5.0/5 speed and an L98/auto ,why not?
Yes it is!!!! And yes, a more powerful blower would be excellent.
it seems like getting a new higher cfm blower motor would be the obvious answer to increasing the output. I have been looking into this and nobody seems to agree with that. im not sure why.
bought a new heater control valve today to replace mine. its leaking and in this heat I cant afford to lose any coolant. edit- at 11pm I got stir crazy and went out and put on the heater control valve. I love a quick easy job. the vacuum line that attaches to the top of it is broken. im going to look and see how that routed and my connect the two ends with heat shrink instead of replacing it. we will see. I hope my coolant leak is now fixed. need to flush my coolant soon. its pretty nasty looking.
I have been working on my a/c. its cooling very well but it isn't blowing as hard as I feel it should. I read that a lot of these cars will get clogged with leaves and debris behind the blower motor. I hoped that was what was causing my weak cfm. I removed the blower motor to have a look and it was pretty clean in there. a couple of leaves but no way it was blocking flow. the motor appears to be factory. I decided to replace it. its working but after 27 years it has to be worn out. I bought the replacement for $35 and will install it tomorrow. I really hope this adds some flow.
I may have possibly cleaned the interior and exterior glass for the first time in over 10 years of ownership ... I can't wait to drive it in the sun and have a clear view!
Also washed her and dusted the interior; it's amazing how dirty convertible interiors get, I really need to have mine detailed. The carpet is just gross.
I installed the replacement a/c blower motor. it is a marginal improvement. maybe my expectations for the system are to high? im not sure. I just feel like it should blow harder. I may pull the dash kick panel and check for leaks under there. see if im losing pressure or something.
the runners on that tpi look massive. what
are the specs on the motor?
The motor is a 355 with; GM performance crank, powdered metal rods, Keith black 2 relief flattop pistons, lt4 hotcam, 1.6 RR, heads off from my ZZ4 with a full port job, FIRST tpi, 24lb injectors, Scott Hansen programmed prom, Edelbrock TES headers (ceramic coated myself), and 3” exhaust.
does your car still look the same as your sig? just asking
No, that was my 1990 Iroc. I sold that years ago and bought a couple of 1989 GTAs. I’m fully restoring my white one now. This is on my lift getting stripped down.
I need some help guys. I made a thread trying to get my a/c blower working better. im not getting a lot of answers. this isn't the place to ask tech questions but I would appreciate if you guys could check that thread and see if you have knowledge to drop on me. everything is working but it cant be correct.
im going to remove the top cover on the evaporator coil tomorrow and clean it as well as I can without removing it. if its totally trashed then I might remove it. I just don't want to empty my Freon that I just put in but if it has to be done than it does.
You do realize that the faster you blow air through the cold thing, that there is less time for that air to get cold.
Slower through the core will make the air cooler.
I need some help guys. I made a thread trying to get my a/c blower working better. im not getting a lot of answers. this isn't the place to ask tech questions but I would appreciate if you guys could check that thread and see if you have knowledge to drop on me. everything is working but it cant be correct.
im going to remove the top cover on the evaporator coil tomorrow and clean it as well as I can without removing it. if its totally trashed then I might remove it. I just don't want to empty my Freon that I just put in but if it has to be done than it does.
You can pull the evaporator out without unhooking it. You could have a crack in your heater box. My headers burned a hole in mine. The seal between the box and firewall could need replacing.
You do realize that the faster you blow air through the cold thing, that there is less time for that air to get cold.
Slower through the core will make the air cooler.
I get that but there is an acceptable rate at which it should travel. mine isn't making it.
bought a new heater control valve today to replace mine. its leaking and in this heat I cant afford to lose any coolant. edit- at 11pm I got stir crazy and went out and put on the heater control valve. I love a quick easy job. the vacuum line that attaches to the top of it is broken. im going to look and see how that routed and my connect the two ends with heat shrink instead of replacing it. we will see. I hope my coolant leak is now fixed. need to flush my coolant soon. its pretty nasty looking.
Did the valve fix your leak? You might need to replace the 3 heater hoses that attach to it as well. Sometimes it's a sealing issue due to hardening of the old hoses.
i got a service manual with the 88 gta i just bought(the one thats 2 inches thick,is that the one?)
either for parts or ill just keep it.im still up in the air about it.it has 2-3 small rust spots,but realistically is pretty clean.
no accident damage and two long term owners.anyway it has a set of ceramic coated headers,an aluminum drive shaft,
a set of cross-lace gta rims with ws6 center caps,L98 TPI running decently,700R4 rebuilt,complete grey cloth interior,
wrap around aero spoiler,aftermarket deck,amp,sub box.plus its loaded other than t-roofs(thank god)
i just bought this 2 weeks ago for $900.should i blow it apart or fix it?(i know the pics are crap,they were from the ad on kijiji- canadas craigslist)
Did the valve fix your leak? You might need to replace the 3 heater hoses that attach to it as well. Sometimes it's a sealing issue due to hardening of the old hoses.
so far it isn't leaking. im keeping an eye on it though.
i just bought this 2 weeks ago for $900.should i blow it apart or fix it?(i know the pics are crap,they were from the ad on kijiji- canadas craigslist)
Yes, save it. Mine is in a lot worse shape than this one.
i just bought this 2 weeks ago for $900.should i blow it apart or fix it?(i know the pics are crap,they were from the ad on kijiji- canadas craigslist)
If it’s not rotted out, restore it. It looks just like mine.
thanks,its loaded .its got surface rust on the rear end and suspension components but i only see a couple spots on the body.
the one on the rear quarter,drivers side is a scrape and not a hole at all,its actually minor.i was leaning towards blowing it apart
but its a tpi 350 loaded gta with about 150,000 km.digital dash,tilt,cruise,wheel controls,air,power mirrors,windows,dorr locks.
headliner mint,dashpad mint,spoiler mint.
ive got an 86 ta and its way cleaner underneath than this car (i wish it was the other way around tbh)
but im going to try and get a better look,i looks like a spot is rusted through right by the damned strut
tower(not a good place to weaken).a couple on the floor too but the under floor and sub frame structures
/braces look solid
i "borrowed" the wheels for my t/a.wish the GTA looked like this car.also wish i didn't live in a town house with a single garage.IN CANADA(snow will be coming in nov/dec)
ive got an 86 ta and its way cleaner underneath than this car (i wish it was the other way around tbh)
but im going to try and get a better look,i looks like a spot is rusted through right by the damned strut
tower(not a good place to weaken).a couple on the floor too but the under floor and sub frame structures
/braces look solid
You can repair the strut tower, and small rust holes. My drivers side floor board was rusted out. A replacement panel welded in and it’s good as new.
Rust bullet brushed on and seam sealed Low VOC professional bed liner. Rust cut out Sound and thermal deadener Patch panel ready to weld Carpet in
i just bought this 2 weeks ago for $900.should i blow it apart or fix it?(i know the pics are crap,they were from the ad on kijiji- canadas craigslist)
You rascal. I saw this car and wanted to scoop it, but I was too late when I reached out. How is she in person?
ive got an 86 ta and its way cleaner underneath than this car (i wish it was the other way around tbh)
but im going to try and get a better look,i looks like a spot is rusted through right by the damned strut
tower(not a good place to weaken).a couple on the floor too but the under floor and sub frame structures
/braces look solid
Ah there's my answer. Still a good car for what you payed!
if i had this much room i would get myself in trouble or have a really immaculate car after doing what you are about to do!!!
Ya I'm in the process of putting up shelves to put parts on lol. I got this 86 iroc few weeks ago. First project for a hobby. Honestly feel like I have 20 things on the go right now... interior is out, couple holes in the floor pans, t roof a little rusty, now finally these fenders will be off (bolts holding them on to the nose were seized and just spun so the nose had to come off with them lol
If i can give you one piece of good advice Ive learned the hard way,try to pick one thing you want or need to do
and do it as complete as you can BEFORE doing anything else.this way you focus on one thing and follow through with it.
also take tons of pictures when taking something apart that's got tons of different fasteners,bag and label them too if you can.
makes things really easy when you go to put it back together.i just picked up a 1988 GTA a couple weeks ago myself and
ive got a decent 1986 trans am already,the price was just too good to pass up.im not trying to tell you what to do,just a suggestion...
All suggestions and ideas are good. Yup I definitely have sandwich bags on the go for fastners. I also need to prioritize better. Thanks for the input. Nice car btw.
stay at it and it will come together!! im up to having owned 6 third gens now,i always had camaros before(4 cylinder,6 cylinder,305 v8 berlinneta and the L98 350 v8 iroc)
but now im all about the firebirds,they seem to follow me home,lol....
started removing parts to clean out the a/c evaporator. I got stuck though. I thought removing the bolts would be the hard part but I didn't have any trouble. once the top cover was loose I couldn't get it out. its a few inches under a lip on the firewall and I cant get it out. im probably going to have to remove a bunch pf crap..
Awesome intake - I am running a TPiS big mouth with siamesed runners now.... I would be interested to know how you like it after its tuned and operational. Nice Work
installed a new chip from F-body. after I ordered it I got to thinking about it and resigned myself to expect no improvement with the ship. at the moment my car is a stock 305. I was pleasantly surprised that I did notice a difference. I only drove it a couple of miles but it seemed to run up the rpms a bit quicker and had a bit more pep. I will always take some extra pep. im hoping to get some rear end gears next. really want 4.42s but I run the expressway all the time and feel like 3.23 will be a better fit for the way I drive.
installed a new chip from F-body. after I ordered it I got to thinking about it and resigned myself to expect no improvement with the ship. at the moment my car is a stock 305. I was pleasantly surprised that I did notice a difference. I only drove it a couple of miles but it seemed to run up the rpms a bit quicker and had a bit more pep. I will always take some extra pep. im hoping to get some rear end gears next. really want 4.42s but I run the expressway all the time and feel like 3.23 will be a better fit for the way I drive.
I think if you drive on the highway 3:42 is the way to go. A 4+ gear you would not be able to go above 70 and the engine will be screaming.
I installed a Hypertek chip a few years back and had the same feeling. It holds the shift points a little longer also. I bought a used one for $50 from a member here.
today I got a 3.23 posi rear end. its from a 90k mile car. the gears look great. we tested the posi with a torque wrench and it worked well, it needs new wheel studs. I will freshen it up over the next couple of weeks and get it ready to go in.