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need help! multiple issues

Old 02-28-2012, 06:44 PM
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well i have my father in laws 99 T/A again, i work at a dealership, doing oil changes/brakes/accessories... not a full blown mechanic but i can do most anything. so i went to his house and switched him cars, he has my srt-8 300. lol i may not get it back. so anyway on my drive home i noticed a few things about the T/A... drives like a horse carriage! guessing it needs shocks all the way around. car has 155k on it. i usually go beyond what he wants me to do. im Mopar all the way. but you need shot if you don't like Trans am's....anything with an ls1. so i try and fix everything while i have it. so how bad are the shocks to do all the way around? do you have to do an alignment after wards? it needs one bad but i don't have the special tool required to do ls1 cars. also when ever you lock the car with the remote (factory remote) the headlights slam up then down and continue making a growling sound like they are trying to go further down. whats causes this? and also the driver window screwed up he said.. heard something fall into the door and now it wont roll all the way up... car sounds like a heap.. but its really a bitchn ride.. midnight blue convertible w/tan top. not a scratch on it. always waxed. i hate to see it with these problems. well imagine the radio display and volume controls are screwed up... but that all of these. thanks for any help!
Old 02-28-2012, 09:03 PM
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ok ive figured out the driver window deal... good job GM.... really? the rivets that hold the window regulator that are fastened to fiberglass ...lol... just saying that makes me slap my forehead.... were broken off and one pulled through the fiberglass inner door skin... bolted it back up.. nut and bolt... with big o washers... yes GM.. bolts... works great now. chrysler likes to use thoes hollow spin nuts. so i can't talk to much sheot.
Old 02-28-2012, 09:58 PM
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sounds like your friend should give me his car
Old 02-28-2012, 10:09 PM
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YOu need to compress the front springs to get those shocks out and back in. The rears are a breeze to do......

I would bet he needs all new bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends and end links too. Thats something I overlooked and my car was riding like ***....so bad it was funny to be in it. Put all new in...and holy ****, it was like a brand new car, solid as a rock.

The bushings and ball joints are extremely hard to swap......if you haven't done it before or watched someone do it, you probably simply cannot do it.

I bought used factory upper and lower control arms for $45.00 on this forum, they were like new. New ones from the dealer are around $900.00......pathetic.

Get him some Bilstiens from Strano Motorsports.

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Old 02-28-2012, 10:14 PM
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Originally Posted by sjsingle1
sounds like your friend should give me his car
its automatic....

and yeah.. il bet it does need a complete suspension over haul.... poop.. il have it up on the rack tomorrow well see whats up... but about the headlight issue... i read allllot of ppl talking about similar issues.. but what gets me is that when you lock the car with the remote the lights go up then back down... then the motors run on. i checked.. the motors are bolted down tight. i read something about a bump stop.. but can't find any bump stop anywhere. and when you turn the parking lights on the headlights raise up, but do not turn on... please tell me all of this is caused by worn gears.... sounds like more going on to me.
Old 02-28-2012, 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by SRT transam
its automatic....

and yeah.. il bet it does need a complete suspension over haul.... poop.. il have it up on the rack tomorrow well see whats up... but about the headlight issue... i read allllot of ppl talking about similar issues.. but what gets me is that when you lock the car with the remote the lights go up then back down... then the motors run on. i checked.. the motors are bolted down tight. i read something about a bump stop.. but can't find any bump stop anywhere. and when you turn the parking lights on the headlights raise up, but do not turn on... please tell me all of this is caused by worn gears.... sounds like more going on to me.
The plastic gear in one or both of the motors are stripped.....thats exactly what the lights will do when they get stripped.

The bump stops are small white caps. One on each side on the moving arm that attaches to each motor. On old high mileage cars they fall off.....they could be gone.

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Old 02-28-2012, 11:17 PM
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well i screwed around with the motors again.. looks like drivers side for sure.. the motor is loose... i know i just said it was not. but i rotated the top gear to relieve pressure off of the unit and the round actual motor part wiggles around... but the part with the bolts is snug as can be... i hurried up and jammed the motor with a screw driver while it was spinning on and on and on and it instantly stopped it., the the system worked correctly for 2 switch rotations.. then back to same ol... does the round cylinder part of the motor loosen up too? i would think that this should not have any kind of fastener... but should be casted into the part that does have the bolts... but you can't see much in that hole either... the part that the lever is pressed onto the motor shaft that has a nut on it.. that nut is tight as well.... well giving up for tonight.. be back tomorrow. thanks guys!


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