Cascade Crew

[turkjina95]

Howdy all

My name is Isaac and i recently purchased a 1989 pontiac trans am GTA
with all the options. The car as about 82000 miles on it. what would your guys guess be on the value?

First can anyone recommend a local mechanic or shop on the Eastside who could go over the entire vehicle with me to determine the condition of the various systems.

There are various small fault with the vehicle, it needs things like new locks, left t-top, turns signal knob, antennae, steering wheel, the hatch needs to be remounted.

on to the more expensive end of things
Also the wheel bearings should be replaced and the gear box grinds when making hard turns. also the transmission slips when down shifting into 1st.
also it burns some oil and has a very small oil leak.

So if anyone could give me some advice about where to get the more expensive things taken care of or a kindly local member who could give me a hand fixing the lesser issues? I would supply parts/beers

my email is turkjina95@yahoo.com if you want to email me your response

[Sellmanb]

Welcome to the crew!

If you were closer to Portland I'd say bring it by my work and I'd do a little wrenchin' for yah. Grinding gear box? Have you check the power steering fluid? Your oil leak could be a PS fluid leak as well? Burning oil on start up is normal, if you're burning oil after startup that's not normal. How does the transmission fluid look? A trans fluid flush may help a little, or atleast extend the life of the transmission a little until it inevitably blows.

[turkjina95]

i have family down there. if nothing comes together could make a weekend of it and bang out an bunch of stuff.

yeah it only burns oil on start up i think. small dark circles on pavement =oil right?
I do get an odd "burnt rubber smell" some times though

the tranny was supposedly rebuilt at 79k miles so i would think the fluid would still be good from then right? I will look at the ps fluid tomorrow morning. thanks for that tip.

[Schultzy89GTA]

Welcome to the crew Isaac!

I am sure some of our members up north will be chiming in with some recommendations. We are always happy to have more firebirds here - especially 89 GTAs

Post up some pics of the car and tell us a little about yourself and the plans you have for your car.

-Schultzy

[turkjina95]

plans for the car.

first things first
1.i want to get everything in good mechanical shape and everything.
2. correct the minor faults i listed in the above post.

upgrades by system/order obviously i have ideas for each of these more detail towards the earlier ones. Ultimately i want a car that looks clean and in near show condition, with a respectable amount of HP but is still drivable. I could eventually see myself doing major engine modifications. and i have a crazy idea of rigging up a twincharger with a remotely located turbo and a super charger under a cowl hood/a mini/superam.

1. suspension/chassis
subframe connectors
lower control arms
panhard rods
Polyurethane Bushings
Wonder bar
Strut tower Brace

2.electrical
Rotor
Ignition wires
Dist Caps
MSD ignition amplifier
Spark Plugs
Electronic Coil
battery relocation kit

3. intake/llight engine mods
Air filter / CAI
Fuel filter
TPS voltage
IAC vlave
Royal Purple
Throttle Body Airfoil
MAF sensor Mod
Mod air cleaner housing
AFPR
Underdrive pulley

4. wheel/tires/brakes
5. rear end build up/
6. car computer/proms

7 new interior
8 new paint (original trans am package blue and white)
9.stereo/ interior lighting

[aaron_sK]

Will the trans slip if you hold it in first, or only on the downshift? Might be a TV problem, or low fluid.

As for the rebuild, that doesn't mean a whole lot unless it came from a good shop, and was adjusted properly. I've got a nice "rebuilt" tranny sitting in by backyard that blew third and fourth after I'd guess about 10K.

[turkjina95]

its an auto so when i decelerate from 2nd to 1st it slips for maybe 1 sec and then re-engages.
How would i test your idea

[aaron_sK]

Shift into first, let it wind up and see if it slips. Shift to second, then shift back down again manually.

[Xophertony]

Isaac, sounds like you have been around fbodys before. is this your first? how long have you been a member of the third gen community? is this your first GTA? i think Schultzy89GTA and i are the only two regular posters with GTA Trans Ams. there are a few more int the crew, but the owners don't post often.

so how did you find out about the crew? did you see us on TGO or did you hear about us by word of mouth?

since this thread is in the "garage" on to the tech:
wheel bearings are not a major issue, it might seem a bit daunting, especially if you have never done much mechanical work on a car, but wheel bearings are very straight forward on a rear wheel drive car. a seasoned mechanic with a lift and everything could probably bust the job out in 45 minutes. i think i have managed it an hour or two. you will need a socket set, a pair of needle nose pliers, a floor jack two jack stands. and a torque wrench (i feel wheel lugs should be torqued). and of course new parts, don't forget the cotter pins.

locks are easy enough once the door panels are off.

the turn signal knob is a five second swap. 10 minutes if you have cruise control, that wire takes forever to feed through the column.

the hatch is a physically difficult task by yourself, but with help it's fine. why does it need to be remounted? does it sit too far back or forward? is it the glass or just the deck lid? the deck lid is capable of moving on the glass, and most people find adjusting it is enough to make it look like it should, that said i have never actually done this one myself, though i have removed and resealed a hatch or two.

steering wheels are easy as well, if you have a wheel puller. are you planning on ditching the radio control wheel? i myself opted to keep the stock appearance and put on the 1987 GTA wheel, it has a "GTA" logo on the horn button. in 1987 they did not offer radio controls.


sorry for the small size of the picture, it's hosted on the GTA source page and the administrator likes to keep his images small. you should check out that page for a bit of GTA info. www.gtasourcepage.com very interesting article on the brainstorming of the GTA. good stuff. perhaps even submit your car for the monthly spotlight feature.

anyway, welcome to the crew.

[pathology knight]

welcome to the GTA Club!
mines an '89 too!

sounds like you've got a good car to work with.
i love my car, even though it likes to throw lil problems at me every now and then.

what are your plans for the interior?

[Xophertony]

thats right, pathology night. i forgot you man, i'm sorry.... can you.. can you ever forgive me? :single tear:

[pathology knight]

water under the bridge.....


but you're right, i don't post very often.
my knowledge is very limited so i don't have a lot to contribute sometimes...but i jump in when i can.

[Xophertony]

i was more talking about the members who post 2-3 times a year, or the ones that you will hear the long-timers refer to that i as a "newbie" (member since late 05) have never met.

[turkjina95]

This is my first f body. this car is only 6 years younger then me. I haven't really done anything yet to the car.
I have been reading about Pontiac f-bodies for about 5 years. This is my first GTA as well then. I learned about this page from the third gen online website.

Which repair manual do you guys recommend? Haynes? Chilton?

the hatch sticks out about 1/2 an inch from the end of the car.

my wheel looks like trash, and some one swapped the stereo so the controls are useless. Actually i don't even have a radio antennae so thats another small thing to fix. I figure just get one of those 3 spoke ones, like in your pic.

tony i hear your good at doing photo shop work to give me a goal i can actually see. Could i commission some work?

also any recommendations on a shop to look the vehicle over?
oil should be shiny if it leaves a spot on the pavement. I don't have any shine to the spots i am seeing. My PS fluid (brown stuff in a small tub over the steering column right) is full to the max, but my coolant is low would a coolant leak stain the pavement?

isaac

[Xophertony]

well, i don't know how good at photo shop i am. i make all my own signature images, and have done so for others, but it's nothing fancy. i could try to fix up your paint a little, i did that for a guy on TGO with a yellow iroc once. email me some pictures and i'll see what i can do.

Xophertony "at" comcast "dot" net.

as for the radio antenna, leave it off. you can mount a factory one under the dash pad or get a "marine antenna" from a stereo shoppe and put that under the dash.

it sounds like your brown powersteering fluid is leaking, could be oil too. you should probably flush out all of your old fluids first thing. it kind of gos with a full tune up. http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/v6/162251-repost-how-do-major.html
there is a realy good guide on the v6 boards on TGO. it all prety much applies to v8s too.

as far as manuals go i am going to say it's a toss up. i like the way the hynes is organized better, but the chiltons seems to have more torque specs. BOTH are missing some Torque specs... and of course there is no comparison when it comes to electrical diagrams, you need a helm factory service manual.

[aaron_sK]

Between the two, get the Haynes. It has some basic wiring diagrams; nothing like the service manual, but it's something. If you're planning on doing serious work to the car, scrounge eBay or TGO for a GM service manual for your year and car. Worth it's weight in gold.

If you're not sure what's leaking, throw a big flattened cardboard box under the car overnight. Should be pretty obvious if it's tranny fluid, or oil.

[STEEL]

I have Chilton's and Haynes for my camaro