1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350

TheRookie · Post by **TheRookie** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:24 pm

From looking around, some says it's possible to pull with a seal pick or screwdriver and tap in. But the experts say to use a special "shaft level seal" remove and installer tool that's about $30 or stop by/call the local tranny shop - supposedly cheap.

http://www.700r4l60e.com/store/product. ... ductid=306

No experience, just trying to help out in the only way I know how (googling).

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:53 pm

I had a productive day today. I spliced all the wires for the radio connector and got the radio working. It turns out that the power antenna is verschmeckled so I disconnected the connector to it and manually pulled it up.
Now the radio and center console are all installed. It's starting to look like the old days now. As I was installing the console, I saw the label inside the glovebox that has all the factory option codes. I'm sure Matt will want to spend some time figuring out what he got for his money.

I also installed the RH door handle today. The job is not as straightforward and easy as one would expect, but now she has both new door handles. They should last for a while.

I guess the next thing on the todo list is to fix the leaking tranny seal. I haven't decided whether to do it myself or farm it out. I'll call some tranny places on Monday.

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:24 pm

I dropped the Firebird off this afternoon to have the shifter seal replaced. It should be ready tomorrow. During the drive to the shop, it poured down rain. The defrosters worked well (due to a functioning AC) and there was no hint of water in the cabin. So far so good.

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:12 am

I brought the Firebird back from the shop yesterday and parked it in the garage. This morning the drip pan was dry. $70 well spent. She just keeps getting better.

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:57 pm

It surely is nice to see a clean and dry garage floor for the second day. I don't like leaky cars.

I analyzed the LH headlight problem today and concluded that the headlight controller module was bad. I couldn't find one locally, either used or new. The Pontiac dealer can order one for $289.

Anyway, I opened this one and saw a burned up relay. I tried to repair it, but couldn't get it to work. Matt can put this item on his todo list.

I repaired the cargo security cover with a part I got at the junk yard. I also fixed the windshield washers. There was a broken hose inside the cowl.

After I go everything buttoned back up, I took her out for a spin on I 540. I noticed a shimmy at about 70 mph and decided to have the wheels balanced before heading for Cleveland. The problem seemed to go away after a while, but I'm still going to get them balanced.

All in all, I'm very pleased with how this car has come along. I have no qualms at all about driving her to Cleveland.

Post by **TireSmoker** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:59 pm

When are you planning on coming up, Walt? Maybe we should try to pick a night where we can all head out to Thompson.

-Dave

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:33 pm

Randi and I are leaving for Cleveland on Tuesday morning. Not sure how long it will take us to get there. We will be staying at Fred's until Friday morning. Fred is in charge of activities while we are there.

Fred32v · Post by **Fred32v** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:00 pm

It's going to be a warm night for any good numbers at TRP and there is some concern about racing TheRookie's Firebird w/o him. I thought maybe a bench racing session at my place Wednesday evening, say around 7:30pm until whenever. WXO has invested much time in creating a "2007 Corvettes at Carlisle" DVD. We will be showing that to re-live the experience. If you weren't there you will have some idea of what it was like being there with 10,000 Corvettes. If everyone brings their Hot Rod we will take a group picture of some the TireSmoke rides.
Open for other ideas?

Fred32v · Post by **Fred32v** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:47 am

OK, weather permitting, the Drags are on, since Randi would like the experience.
So Fred32v and WXO will be their Wednesday evening (07/23), anyone else?

Post by **TireSmoker** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:07 am

I'll be there -- not sure if I'll have the Chevelle or the bike, though.

-Dave

TheRookie · Post by **TheRookie** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:39 am

I'm really bummed I'll be out of town. Does it make any sense to drop off that performance chip with Fred? I can put it in his mailbox this weekend.

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:37 pm

You can drop off the chip and we can install it. But, I'm not going to race your car unless you are there and force me to do it.
Hope you can make it, Rookie.

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:29 pm

OK, we are getting down to crunch time here. The wheels have been balanced and the ride is now smooth. They found a screw in the right front and I plugged it. It's nice that it was discovered here and not on the road.

I was testing her this evening and got on it on the interstate to see if there were any gremlins lurking at the higher speeds. Indeed there were. As I rounded 90, all the sudden there was all kinds of banging and carrying on. You can't imagine what ran through my mind at that time. Once I glanced at the gauges and saw that everything looked normal I was somewhat relieved. It turned out that the right front mud flap ripped halfway off and caused all the commotion. Whew!

She just keeps getting better. Cleveland here we come.

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:44 pm

OK, we are getting down to crunch time here. The wheels have been balanced and the ride is now smooth. They found a screw in the right front and I plugged it. It's nice that it was discovered here and not on the road.

I was testing her this evening and got on it on the interstate to see if there were any gremlins lurking at the higher speeds. Indeed there were. As I rounded 90, all the sudden there was all kinds of banging and carrying on. You can't imagine what ran through my mind at that time. Once I glanced at the gauges and saw that everything looked normal I was somewhat relieved. It turned out that the right front mud flap ripped halfway off and caused all the commotion. Whew!

She just keeps getting better. Cleveland here we come.

wxo · Post by **wxo** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:57 pm

We made it to Mineral Wells, West Virginia today but not without some drama and excitement. The ol' gal ran flawlessly for seven hours but about an hour before our stop, the Firebird started bucking and the engine would shut down for seconds at a time. It was quite intermittent at first, but the frequency increased as time went on. I also noticed that the speedometer would jump toward the high side when this would occur. In addition, the problem would sometimes occur when I hit a bump in the road. This was good evidence that this was an electrical problem. As we got closer and closer to our scheduled stop for the night, the problem got worse. In between episodes, I would speed up as fast as possible to get to our destination faster. I was counting down the miles and finally we made it. Randi was quite disturbed by all this. We had Walkie talkies and she was trying to diagnose the problem from her following position.

Once at the hotel, we had some dinner while I thought about the problem. After the car cooled down, I took a look around the ignition wiring and to make a long story short, I found a connector that had fallen against a hot engine and melted to the point of probably grounding out the ignition. We are now about 3 hours from Fred's place. We will know tomorrow whether the problem is fixed or not.

TireSmoke.org

1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350

Maybe some Bench Racing

TDR is on!