New in Lansing

[Solar]

Hi all,

Just moved to Lansing from AZ a couple months ago and came across this site while trying to find a good mechanic.

I have an '89 Formula TPI 5.0 with a 5 speed and the dual cat package--which, if Car and Driver is to be believed, is only one of fifty-ish made for that year.

So yeah, if anyone can suggest a good shop in the Lansing area (or beyond!), I'll be forever grateful, especially if they can tell me what's wrong with my bird. I can do a lot of work and diagnostics myself, but I'm running out of ideas at this point. Also, said recommended mechanic can't be afraid of high mileage cars... I've had a few shops turn me away when they saw my odometer!

Nice meeting you all.

-Solar

[nascarnate326]

Welcome, I am 30 min south in Olivet. Good to see you here!!


As for shops, Shaheen is decent. Ive always worked with Sundance, even though many people dislike them.

Of all of the shops though, I would recommend taking it to Berger if you want to have a dealership do the work. They are in grand rapids so its a bit of a hike, but they are fbody experts.

Depending on whats wrong with it, we may be able to help you out here

Got any pics?

[quick86]

Welcome! I'm from Lansing myself. What side of town are you on? I'd give you a hand checking out your car. For shops - what specifically is wrong with your car? I know most every shop in town and am a manager at a local Chevy Body Shop....

Got any pics of the bird? What's wrong with her? Before I got in to customer service and management I was a mechanic myself, so who knows what I can offer ya

[OIF1VET]

Welcome to the site!

[MORNINGSTAR2101]

hi, and welcome!

[Old Fart]

Greetings from Allegan.

[ktl711]

Granted, I've been gone from Lansing for 16 years now, but when I lived there I used Ken's Automotive extensively, which has now moved to Grand Ledge. For transmissions, Lansing Transmission on Larch was the place to go. And for alignments and light service you couldn't beat Liskey's. also on Larch.

As far as dealerships go, I think Lansing had a lot of good ones. I would use Shaheen amd Bud Kouts occasionally. Shaheen did the bodywork on my 1985 IROC-Z after a sideswipe accident, and they did an OK production job - their one weakness at the time was paint, but both the people and the technology are undoubtedly quite a bit different now. If you want a dealer with a unique performance pedigree though, you'd have to take it to Berger about an hour away. It's usually an easy drive to GR - much better than driving to Detroit. It only gets congested when you exit onto 28th Street. I don't have any personal experience with Berger, but they have a heritage, they are long-time and current supporters of the Western Michigan Camaro Club, and they have many fans on the site, so it'd be worth a shot if no one in Lansing wants to touch your 'Bird.

What exactly is the trouble you're having with the car? I hope you can keep that Arizona body off of our salt-infested roads in the winter!

Welcome to the site! Post often, and make plans to join us at the Meet & Greet in June!

[Solar]

Wow, thanks for the welcomes, everyone. I'm in East Lansing specifically, right near 127 and Lake Lansing.

No pics of the Bird just yet... the exterior is pretty ragged (as is the interior) as I haven't had the time or the money. It's a California production car, unfortunately, so the clear coat is falling off in sheets. God, the salted roads! I had no idea how insane that got! Fortunately, I didn't have to drive it too much, but definitely won't take it out next year at all, if I can avoid it.

As for what's wrong.... Literally over night, a couple years ago, I lost five miles to the gallon and probably forty horse power. Was driving just great the day before, and next morning it was a dog. Since then, I've replaced: plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor; injectors, fuel pump, filter, and pressure regulator; EGR valve and solenoid; O2 sensor, cat and muffler; air filter (regularly), MAF, TPS (adjusted properly), and IAC; and fixed a few vacuum leaks. Compression test appears to be okay (160-165 on all cylinders, but I won't vouch for my numbers). And of course, there's no SES... that would be easy!

The frustrating thing is the performance problems vary. Some days it feels like a four banger, some days it ain't so bad, and extremely rarely, it runs like greased lightning and gets 25 mpg again. But it really just seems to depend on what kind of mood it's in.

The emission numbers from my last test:
HC Idle: 129 HC Loaded: 56
CO Idle: .35 CO Loaded: .46

But, I've fixed a couple vacuum leaks and replaced a faulty MAF since then, so those may not be strictly accurate now.

Anyway, thanks for the shop recommendations, and if anyone has ideas, I'm all ears.

[Lucky SOB]

Welcome!

[BP_Z28]

Welcome

[squareandcompass]

Hello... Welcome. Its nice to see the F Body Gods directed you here There is a lot of good folks here. Enjoy your stay!

[MP81]

Welcome to the site!

[meissen]

Yikes - don't know what it could be so I'm no help but welcome to the site and good luck getting the car fixed!

[2EVUL4U]

Welcome

[quick86]

Is it an automatic or a 5spd car?