Hi all, I recently bought a 1987 Trans Am GTA, with the L98. This is my first F-body car and my first fun car. I was wondering how entailed doing a tune up would be with this car. I've never worked with a distributor and I've never worked on coils. To my knowledge this car sat for a very long time, as it only has 59000 miles on it. Where should I start with getting this car running like it should? I was thinking plugs, wires, fuel/air filters, distributor cap/rotor cap and PCV. I appreciate any help you guys can give me.

 

That sounds like a good start to me what you listed.I'd change oil and filter very soon if you don't know when it was changed last also.

 

I did the oil and filter already, surprisingly no leaks, even with synthetic oil.

 

Might want to drain the fuel out with a siphon, and put good quality gas in. Drain and fill the coolant too.

Go over all hoses, vacuum lines and belt/s. Replace any that are cracked or worn.

 

Weclome. Looks like a super nice car! I was in your shoes in February. My 2¢:

1. I went all synth, no problems. If you are going to do the trans, you need to flush the trans using the pump out method that uses about 15 quarts in all. A pan drop and three quarts is a disaster waiting to happen.

2. If your car is running properly (and it sounds like it is)- DO NOT change anything you do not need and NEVER more than one thing (or as few as possible) at a time. Change the one thing and verify that the car continues to run great.

This is super important. These 30 year old powertrains are like those wood block puzzles. Take out too many pieces at one time and the whole thing can get really complex really fast.

3. There is a very real chance that if you upgrade the rear axle gears they will whine. Apparently this is because the aftermarket stuff is made differently than the OEM stuff.

 

This is great advice. unless its a "since I'm in here and its a P.I.T.A, I might as well replace this too" situation, just replace the one bad part and verify it's operating correctly before moving onto the next part.

 

I agree with tootie pang
I used to be one of those "parts swappers". Those are the people that when they have an issue, they dont diagnose, they just buy $500 of parts, put them on, and then hope the problem goes away. Not only is it a waste of money (autozone loves it when you buy a TPS when you dont need a new TPS) but you dont learn anything.
Its funny when I read post by other people this board and others that say things like "i have a rough idle, i cant figure it out, i have replaced the IAC, TPS, fuel pump, all filters, plugs, cap, rotor, distributor, all hoses, ECM...)". Lol autozone must love that guy buying parts not needed. Luckly more and more shop owners (South Main Auto) are putting their videos on youtube, actually showing you how to diagnose vehicles so you dont become a parts swapper.

 

change the ignition coil as well