sean byrd

Hey guys I've had my '02 T/A since I was 17 and drove it for about 5 years. Stock with just a catback and 79k miles. I parked it back in 2009 after I went overseas and now I plan on using it as a daily as long as there's no snow. I'll be putting new tires on it this weekend as well as changing my headlight gears since they stripped out and changing oil. Anything else I should do?

michaelhawk

I'd change ALL the fluids.

NC01TA

^^^ I agree. Every one. Why not start fresh anyway? You will be good to go for years.

sean byrd

Local chevy dealer quoted $240 to flush the tranny fluid
Hopefully dropping the pan and changing filter will suffice.

michaelhawk

Use a dealer if you must, but I'm sure you have a few good auto shops in your area to do the same quality work at the dealer, at a better price. And most the fluids can be done yourself.

JohnR

iTrader: (1)

Your car is now 14 years old. All the rubber parts are going to start failing. Consider changing the upper and lower radiator hoses. You are going to change the antifreeze anyway. While you're doing the hoses, consider removing the power steering cooler in the upper radiator hose before it fails. Just buy the 1-piece upper radiator hose for Firebirds that did not come with a cooler. I refilled the power steering reservoir with Redline Synthetic Power Steering Fluid. Turn your steering wheel from one end to the other to get out the air. Check the fluid level often until it stabilizes.

Change the Heater Hoses while the cooling system is empty.

Change your Fuel Filter. I don't know if there are any rubber fuel line hoses that should be replaced. Hopefully someone will chime in and help us both.

Check all your flexible rubber brake hoses front & rear. Flush your brake fluid with DOT4.

If your door panels are not cracked yet, then do the fix before they do crack.

I just bought back my '99 Firehawk and have been doing all these things a little at a time. I'm sure there are more rubber hoses that will eventually need to be replaced before they start leaking, or actually fail, and leave you stranded.

Welcome back,
John

70T/A400

iTrader: (2)

Definitely the brakes will need a service, get the calipers guide pins lubed up, check any oil coming out of the rear main seal, water pump and the rear end.

I would recommend new spark plugs, wires and when spring time comes and you want this to be a great daily driver, change the bushings and ball joints in the suspension. So many times, these rubber components go hard.

Good luck and thanks for keeping her on the road for others to see.

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

The fuel has gone bad. Pump that crap out and put in fresh fuel. Hopefully the pump is still ok.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Fluids should be changed, as mentioned above, some of them are due based on mileage anyway. Age is a separate factor and less of an issue for some vs. others, but with that age + mileage I would do them all.

I wouldn't be too worried about steering/suspension/brakes/bushings and such unless it was sitting in a rough [weather] environment perhaps. If it was indoor storage, there should be no major issues here unless they were already worn/marginal/failing when the car went into storage. The tires are probably shot, but you already mentioned a plan to replace them so that's accounted for.

Spark plugs don't go bad from sitting, and with a stock engine they can last for 100k miles without much deterioration in my experience. But changing them is cheap and certainly won't hurt anything. This wouldn't be a priority item just to get the car running though.

You could change the radiator hoses while you do the flush, but they should not be critical at that age and mileage. My '98 has every factory hose still in tact, none have become hard or spongy. Their lifespan can vary greatly depending on usage/storage/care conditions. I agree with the recommendation to delete the PS cooler though, they will all leak eventually if it hasn't already and the cross-contamination is a mess to deal with. Swapping to the non-PS cooler version of the hose is a great idea.

Gas is probably the biggest thing, as mentioned above. Even if you used a fuel stabilizer, seven years is a long time so the fuel will likely need to be drained. The pump may still be fine if the tank was nearly full - it seems that keeping the pump submerged, even if the fuel is bad, seems to aid a great deal in pump life for cars that are stored often or for long periods.

JosephIV

iTrader: (14)

I agree with RPM. Get rid of the gas in the tank. Run it out if you want, drain it if you can, but don't be surprised if the pump goes out shortly after you get the car out of mothballs. It happened to me with an '01 Z28 that sat for 5 years with stabalizer in the tank. The pump was a Holley 255 that had under 4k miles on it.

I'd put cheap Berryman's B12 Chemtool or more expensive BG 44K treatment in the tank when you next fill up with gas. Consider a fuel injection cleaning service if needed. The cleaner that is introduced through the fuel rails seems to work from what I've witnessed on my buddy's WRX that sat for years and didn't want to rev cleanly before the service.

Beyond that, it's the normal maintenance / fluid changes as like others mentioned.

abbas461

iTrader: (55)

totally agree with JohnR

sean byrd

this weekend was spent changing fluids and I finally changed my headlight gears to the aluminum ones I'd bought nearly a decade ago. It's been forever since I've worked in this car and even driven it. I finally got the headlight gears swapped and then had the headlights taking turns going up and down. I figured that one out but now I can't get my pass side to go down at all. Doesn't sound like it's getting power although I know it works as it was previously going up and down at a different time from the other. I've gotta get back to work tomorrow so I won't be able to mess with it until the afternoon. Frustrating to say the least. Also my tires are super loud-cheap sumitumos so I guess I shouldn't expect much.

sean byrd

A few days later now my drivers side headlight is back to doing the grinding even though I replaced it with the aluminum gear and my pass side still acts like it's not getting power. I already double checked the wiring. I'll have to dig the multi meter out later. Any ideas?

NC01TA

Ref tires, definitely time for new ones. I'm very pleased with my BFG G Force.
Ref headlight issues, check out this yellow sticky. You should be able to find your answer there.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-f...s-go-here.html

sean byrd

that sticky is 91 pages of a bunch of retards asking the same question which was addressed at the start of the thread.

sean byrd

In a fit of rage I slammed a headlight down which broke the glass. Went inside for a few to cool off and came back out and magically they both work now. I still need to order a new pair though since the plastic covers aren't sticking with the epoxy I used. For anyone who deals with this make sure you pay attention to which side the 3 bolts and nuts for the actual motor go as if will make a difference.