- 4,209
- Wasilla, AK
Well, the time has finally come to deal with the things on my Sunbird that need fixing and upgrading. Thus, this thread.
Number one on the list is why it can somehow guzzle just about as much trasmission fluid as it's supposed to have capacity for, but still have a balky, difficult to shove into gear shifter that can sometimes even grind into first or reverse after the car's been sitting, and barely show any fluid on the dipstick. No visible leaks. It's like I'm dumping transmission fluid into a black hole.
Number two is to get rid of the stock exhaust full of crush bends, which is now sagging and just asking to get ripped off. I've heard a Flowmaster or Dynomax or something on a later 3.4 and it sounded nice, like a fairly generic V6 sound. But I like the sheer loudness and race-car-like nastiness of a Cherry Bomb on this car, and they're apparently not expensive, which is good here. Thing is, I'm looking for a complete exhaust upgrade. After 21 years the cat is probably past its freshness date, so assuming I can get it to sniff dirty (difficult, as Alaska no longer has any I/M programs anywhere) or find some other evidence of the cat being over the hill, who makes a good-flowing stock-type (and thus legal) cat? Beyond that, what else would I do if I was looking to open up the higher revs a bit more without giving up much low- or mid-range torque? Apparently a single exhaust with ricer Y pipe would be best on the back end, but what size and what about headers?
Number three. Intake and other engine upgrades. What would be smart (and street-legal) to do with the above-stated powerband goals? Keep in mind that 90 octane is the best you can get from a pump here, and I'm not running race gas in my daily driver.
Number four should be number two. I've got a clogged injector, or eternal condensation in the tank, or something, because this car runs incredibly inconsistently. Usually it's rough and labored, just enough so you can tell something's off, but occasionally it'll run like a champ. Then sometimes, just as occasionally now, it'll start idling really wrong, fluctuating or trying to choke out. It always hesitates, cutting out for a short moment, when you floor the throttle suddenly. What's even going on here?
Number four. Wheels and tires. Again, lots of factors at work here. I like the look of low-profile tires, but Alaska's pavement can be slightly horrible at times and I regularly traverse dirt roads (mainly because I live on one). I don't want a surprise encounter with a pothole or a large rock to mean limping home from the armpit of nowhere on a compact spare, because that would kind of not be cool. Additionally, there's the question of what would even fit - Tire Rack lists 195/65-15 and 205/55-16 fitments for a 1993 Sunbird GT (the Sunbird SE is that but with better looking wheels and without ugly hidden headlights), but also lists 215/45-17 and 225/40-18 fitments for a 1993 Cavalier Z24, which is pretty much the same car. I'm inclined to trust the Pontiac results more, because it has a photo on their site rather than a placeholder blob, indicating they've had one in to analyze, but I've heard of these cars rolling 17's and 18's before. But then I also have rubbing at full lock with 205/65-15 snow tires, so I'm not really looking forward to seeing what 225's would do to my turning circle. WHAT DO?
Suspension. The shocks on this car are completely shot, and the springs probably aren't doing to well either. With ride quality being a non-factor, what are good ones to go for? What about sway bars? Strut tower bar? Doesn't look like this car has much room to go lower, espeically with larger wheels, but it'd be nice to find out just how much room there is.
Oil. Hasn't been changed in over a year. How do you go about switching to synthetic? Who makes the best oil?
Clutch. What's a good one to use for an upgrade?
Other problems. Steering wheel shakes hard under braking, something related to the left rear wheel seems to chafe on something every 180 degrees of rotation. A mechanic friend of mine says warped brake rotors, I was insistent it was a wheel bearing. I've finally realized there's no real reason the wheel shake and scraping couldn't be too seperate problems
As for wheel bearings, is it better to replace all four at once or just deal with the one that's causing trouble? As for brakes, this seems like another excuse to upgrade - how would you go about converting this front disc/rear drum car to four-wheel disc? Any good donor cars - maybe a later Cav? What about upgrade rotors and pads? Capability and fade resistance are the priorities. Where would I get stainless steel brake lines, as well.
Gas tank got a dent in the bottom of it somehow. Worth fixing? Is it possible to make a more secure fuel cell work with the stock filler?
And how much would all this cost? I have a budget of up to $6,000, but would prefer not using all of it.
And finally (for now), where would I get one of those mirrored stickers that reads "MOVE OVER -------->" in the next guy's rear view mirror. I want it for the sentiment, not the function, since I don't have too many compunctions about passing someone on the right if they've decided to go 61 MPH in the fast lane.
Keep in mind, this car will be daily driven, and 90 octane is the best it's going to get unless I leave the state.
Number one on the list is why it can somehow guzzle just about as much trasmission fluid as it's supposed to have capacity for, but still have a balky, difficult to shove into gear shifter that can sometimes even grind into first or reverse after the car's been sitting, and barely show any fluid on the dipstick. No visible leaks. It's like I'm dumping transmission fluid into a black hole.
Number two is to get rid of the stock exhaust full of crush bends, which is now sagging and just asking to get ripped off. I've heard a Flowmaster or Dynomax or something on a later 3.4 and it sounded nice, like a fairly generic V6 sound. But I like the sheer loudness and race-car-like nastiness of a Cherry Bomb on this car, and they're apparently not expensive, which is good here. Thing is, I'm looking for a complete exhaust upgrade. After 21 years the cat is probably past its freshness date, so assuming I can get it to sniff dirty (difficult, as Alaska no longer has any I/M programs anywhere) or find some other evidence of the cat being over the hill, who makes a good-flowing stock-type (and thus legal) cat? Beyond that, what else would I do if I was looking to open up the higher revs a bit more without giving up much low- or mid-range torque? Apparently a single exhaust with ricer Y pipe would be best on the back end, but what size and what about headers?
Number three. Intake and other engine upgrades. What would be smart (and street-legal) to do with the above-stated powerband goals? Keep in mind that 90 octane is the best you can get from a pump here, and I'm not running race gas in my daily driver.
Number four should be number two. I've got a clogged injector, or eternal condensation in the tank, or something, because this car runs incredibly inconsistently. Usually it's rough and labored, just enough so you can tell something's off, but occasionally it'll run like a champ. Then sometimes, just as occasionally now, it'll start idling really wrong, fluctuating or trying to choke out. It always hesitates, cutting out for a short moment, when you floor the throttle suddenly. What's even going on here?
Number four. Wheels and tires. Again, lots of factors at work here. I like the look of low-profile tires, but Alaska's pavement can be slightly horrible at times and I regularly traverse dirt roads (mainly because I live on one). I don't want a surprise encounter with a pothole or a large rock to mean limping home from the armpit of nowhere on a compact spare, because that would kind of not be cool. Additionally, there's the question of what would even fit - Tire Rack lists 195/65-15 and 205/55-16 fitments for a 1993 Sunbird GT (the Sunbird SE is that but with better looking wheels and without ugly hidden headlights), but also lists 215/45-17 and 225/40-18 fitments for a 1993 Cavalier Z24, which is pretty much the same car. I'm inclined to trust the Pontiac results more, because it has a photo on their site rather than a placeholder blob, indicating they've had one in to analyze, but I've heard of these cars rolling 17's and 18's before. But then I also have rubbing at full lock with 205/65-15 snow tires, so I'm not really looking forward to seeing what 225's would do to my turning circle. WHAT DO?
Suspension. The shocks on this car are completely shot, and the springs probably aren't doing to well either. With ride quality being a non-factor, what are good ones to go for? What about sway bars? Strut tower bar? Doesn't look like this car has much room to go lower, espeically with larger wheels, but it'd be nice to find out just how much room there is.
Oil. Hasn't been changed in over a year. How do you go about switching to synthetic? Who makes the best oil?
Clutch. What's a good one to use for an upgrade?
Other problems. Steering wheel shakes hard under braking, something related to the left rear wheel seems to chafe on something every 180 degrees of rotation. A mechanic friend of mine says warped brake rotors, I was insistent it was a wheel bearing. I've finally realized there's no real reason the wheel shake and scraping couldn't be too seperate problems
As for wheel bearings, is it better to replace all four at once or just deal with the one that's causing trouble? As for brakes, this seems like another excuse to upgrade - how would you go about converting this front disc/rear drum car to four-wheel disc? Any good donor cars - maybe a later Cav? What about upgrade rotors and pads? Capability and fade resistance are the priorities. Where would I get stainless steel brake lines, as well.Gas tank got a dent in the bottom of it somehow. Worth fixing? Is it possible to make a more secure fuel cell work with the stock filler?
And how much would all this cost? I have a budget of up to $6,000, but would prefer not using all of it.
And finally (for now), where would I get one of those mirrored stickers that reads "MOVE OVER -------->" in the next guy's rear view mirror. I want it for the sentiment, not the function, since I don't have too many compunctions about passing someone on the right if they've decided to go 61 MPH in the fast lane.
Keep in mind, this car will be daily driven, and 90 octane is the best it's going to get unless I leave the state.
