Back to Berettas after 15+ years

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EPfiffner
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Rollin' again

Post by EPfiffner »

After ordering/returning 11 total struts I have a pair I am satisfied with and installed on Sunday.
Car is off of jack stands finally and I even gave it a quick wash (a rare occurrence).
I got to take it for a test drive! Went to my parents and had a beer with Dad, then stopped at Advance and returned the strut spring compressor.

Feels a lot different, only about 5 miles, its at the alignment shop today. I didn't want to drive it much with the camber out of whack. Hopefully the alignment goes OK, I'm worried for some reason. I put a level against the rotors to try and get it near vertical and it didn't seem like there was enough adjustment, but that's not really valid.

New tires, struts, strut bearings and upper isolators, drivers side stabilizer link, right upper and lower motor mounts, UI gaskets and pcv hose, rear shocks and mounts, pulled pass door panel and oiled everything up so the window cranks up smoothly and the power locks work, trimmed the rear wheel well flanges for tire clearance, rustproofed the rear cross member and strut perches with used oil, I'm sure there's more.
Oh, I'm in the process of adding a AUX input to the Delco stereo that was donated by my S10 Blazer (right channel is bad on the one from the Beretta).
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woody90gtz
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by woody90gtz »

11?! Wow. So what brand are those that you settled on?

ACDelco strut mounts, nice. I put Monroe on mine and one of the studs broke on the 2nd or 3rd tightening. I'm not super impressed.

I actually just put my suspension back in tonight. Gonna be strange on the ground...


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
bonecrrusher
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by bonecrrusher »

woody90gtz wrote:11?! Wow. So what brand are those that you settled on?

ACDelco strut mounts, nice. I put Monroe on mine and one of the studs broke on the 2nd or 3rd tightening. I'm not super impressed.

I actually just put my suspension back in tonight. Gonna be strange on the ground...
Makes a better Camaro parts shelf! :runsies:


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EPfiffner
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by EPfiffner »

woody90gtz wrote:11?! Wow. So what brand are those that you settled on?

ACDelco strut mounts, nice. I put Monroe on mine and one of the studs broke on the 2nd or 3rd tightening. I'm not super impressed.

I actually just put my suspension back in tonight. Gonna be strange on the ground...
Those are Monroe struts, P/N 71921 & 922.

Not my first choice, but..

Some of the 11qty were good ones I had returned so I had a matched set. I broke it down in a thread on the suspension forum.

The ACDelco mounts seem nice even though they are made in Taiwan, and the bearing had a made in India sticker..
They were on closeout so I got em cheap.

I've been following your build. That engine looks fantastic and sounds like you'll be firing er up before too long!


EPfiffner
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Re: Running great, New TPS

Post by EPfiffner »

No excitement with the Beretta, which to me is a good thing! Driving it to work most days so I've put several k on it since the weather turned nice.

With the new struts, shocks, motor mounts etc it drives like a proper '90s GM fwd car...handling nothing special, but since I went with all stock parts that's what I expected.

HUGE difference it all made though, the test drive felt like I was driving it off the showroom floor in'93! Well, maybe not quite.

The fuel economy improved a bit too, I think I'm averaging a bit over 24mpg.

The Sumitomo tires are decent for the money and my needs. I'm running 35psi in them which feels too high maybe.
I still have a vibration at around 65 mph, it's always been there so it may be due to running oversize wheels and tires, or maybe the CV shafts.

It could also be the trans mount which is original. I could not get the center Allen head bolt out, 1/2 impact, soaked in blaster, wouldn't move.

It's not too bad so I'll live with it at this point. I'd have to take that whole cradle out and maybe heat it up with a torch.

I was getting an intermittent dead spot off idle, and then eventually I got a TPS code so I found a Standard Ignition TPS on Amazon for $10.
Last weekend I thought "that'll be a quick replacement" , well I forgot that the fuel line pulsator (whatever that is) is right in the way in the 3.1. No way to get a torx bit in there.
I ended up using needle nose vice grips to get the bottom screw, I don't like doing things that way but I didn't want to break the fuel system for that.

The dead spot seems to be gone, but the idle still hunts when it's cold, and the idle is too high when it's cold, I hate slamming it in to gear when it's running at 2k rpm and I doubt the car likes it either.

I know there's that mysterious "idle relearn" procedure, I didn't disconnect the battery when I replaced the sensor so maybe I'll do that.


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GT_Indy
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Re: Running great, New TPS

Post by GT_Indy »

EPfiffner wrote:No excitement with the Beretta, which to me is a good thing! Driving it to work most days so I've put several k on it since the weather turned nice.

With the new struts, shocks, motor mounts etc it drives like a proper '90s GM fwd car...handling nothing special, but since I went with all stock parts that's what I expected.

HUGE difference it all made though, the test drive felt like I was driving it off the showroom floor in'93! Well, maybe not quite.

The fuel economy improved a bit too, I think I'm averaging a bit over 24mpg.

The Sumitomo tires are decent for the money and my needs. I'm running 35psi in them which feels too high maybe.
I still have a vibration at around 65 mph, it's always been there so it may be due to running oversize wheels and tires, or maybe the CV shafts.
I know what you mean with the vibration. I got some Kumho tires for free and they make noise and vibrate like you describe, but its more around 70 mph. I have 40 PSI in my tires.
I can overlook it till I use them up and get some good American tires back on my Z26 rims, but the water traction is horrible, they hydroplane very easily with hardly any water on the road. My Michilen tires were never this bad even when mostly used.


EPfiffner
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Re: Running great, New TPS

Post by EPfiffner »

GT_Indy wrote:
EPfiffner wrote:No excitement with the Beretta, which to me is a good thing! Driving it to work most days so I've put several k on it since the weather turned nice.

With the new struts, shocks, motor mounts etc it drives like a proper '90s GM fwd car...handling nothing special, but since I went with all stock parts that's what I expected.

HUGE difference it all made though, the test drive felt like I was driving it off the showroom floor in'93! Well, maybe not quite.

The fuel economy improved a bit too, I think I'm averaging a bit over 24mpg.

The Sumitomo tires are decent for the money and my needs. I'm running 35psi in them which feels too high maybe.
I still have a vibration at around 65 mph, it's always been there so it may be due to running oversize wheels and tires, or maybe the CV shafts.
I know what you mean with the vibration. I got some Kumho tires for free and they make noise and vibrate like you describe, but its more around 70 mph. I have 40 PSI in my tires.
I can overlook it till I use them up and get some good American tires back on my Z26 rims, but the water traction is horrible, they hydroplane very easily with hardly any water on the road. My Michilen tires were never this bad even when mostly used.
Guess that's why michelins are 2-3 times the price of other tires lol


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GT_Indy
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Re: Running great, New TPS

Post by GT_Indy »

EPfiffner wrote:
GT_Indy wrote:
EPfiffner wrote:No excitement with the Beretta, which to me is a good thing! Driving it to work most days so I've put several k on it since the weather turned nice.

With the new struts, shocks, motor mounts etc it drives like a proper '90s GM fwd car...handling nothing special, but since I went with all stock parts that's what I expected.

HUGE difference it all made though, the test drive felt like I was driving it off the showroom floor in'93! Well, maybe not quite.

The fuel economy improved a bit too, I think I'm averaging a bit over 24mpg.

The Sumitomo tires are decent for the money and my needs. I'm running 35psi in them which feels too high maybe.
I still have a vibration at around 65 mph, it's always been there so it may be due to running oversize wheels and tires, or maybe the CV shafts.
I know what you mean with the vibration. I got some Kumho tires for free and they make noise and vibrate like you describe, but its more around 70 mph. I have 40 PSI in my tires.
I can overlook it till I use them up and get some good American tires back on my Z26 rims, but the water traction is horrible, they hydroplane very easily with hardly any water on the road. My Michilen tires were never this bad even when mostly used.
Guess that's why michelins are 2-3 times the price of other tires lol
Yah it pays to get good tires.
I had goodyear advantage before this on my Z26 rims and they worked great, I also had Michelins before that I believe it was the defender series and they worked very well too.
I sometimes get cooper for the steel rims if I know I'll be doing lots of driving I'll swap them on because they cost less. lol


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woody90gtz
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by woody90gtz »

I've got a slight vibration over 70, but I doubt it's the tires. These Falkens are sweet. I'm guessing it's something with the goddam Driveshaft Shop axles that do nothing but piss me off.


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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GT_Indy
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by GT_Indy »

Yah I've been wondering about my half shaft on the passenger side as well. Over 70 and I get what feels like an out of balance tire. Do you think a worn axle joint can behave like that?
I'm reluctant to take it apart just to check because I just got a front end alignment. lol.


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woody90gtz
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by woody90gtz »

I know a worn axle can do that. (Been there, done that with my Driveshaft Shop junk). I did 2500miles the last 2 weeks and kept waiting for mine to get worse, but it didn't.


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
EPfiffner
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Ready for vacay with my vintage Hastings AF

Post by EPfiffner »

I completed my pre-flight checklist now that I have my RA closeout $1.79 Hastings Casite air filter installed.

You'd think I would avoid the closeouts after the strut debacle, but I figure an air filter is pretty safe.

Wonder how old this thing is? Made in USA so that's cool. I was a stockperson at an auto parts store in the mid '90's, we carried Hastings but they didn't look like this. Private label maybe.
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EPfiffner
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Cleaned up from the road trip

Post by EPfiffner »

Finally got a bath after our 1500 or so mile trip attending a destination wedding and then on to the beach after that.

Once we reached the wedding venue in Asheville, I thought for sure the trans was cooked.
We had just exited the freeway after 450 miles, and then the wedding venue was up this insanely steep mountain driveway.
We were creeping along trying to find the address, and the car just wouldn't move. I wasn't revving it, but it just didn't want to go.

Ended up we had passed the driveway and had to turn around and go back down the hill anyway.

When I was turning around and shifted from drive to reverse, the car didn't have the normal engine braking, and rolled forward in to someones landscaping rocks. You can see the scrapes below the turn signal, bummer.

I was worried that we would have to go home instead of continue on to the beach, but my dad said that the fluid just was boiling from being on the highway in the mountains going 80mph or more, and it would be fine.

Sure enough after it cooled down we smelled the fluid, good, nice and red, and it was fine.

Other than that the car was excellent. I think the cheapass front motor mount I just put in broke already, but not real surprised.

I swear I feel the trans either kicking in and out of lockup, or shifting at highway speeds since we have been home. It could either be the broken motor mount amplifying it, or maybe the trans is getting tired, but either way it was good on the trip and that's what really mattered.

I didn't put tire dressing on for the pic because I knew it was going to rain the next day. She sits outside unfortunately.
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GT_Indy
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by GT_Indy »

Sounds just like the way my old 88 behaved years ago before the 3T40 completly lost Reverse then several weeks after I lost Drive and then nothing worked. Then I did a used transmission swap because a rebuild wasnt worth the money for it. Then the rust got to bad and I junked it because it wasnt as safe.


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Rettax3
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Re: Back to Berettas after 15+ years

Post by Rettax3 »

EPfiffner wrote:I put a SK125 Transgo kit in the 3t40, well, just because. Aaand I won't like it and I will want a 5 speed.
Yep, time for that 5-speed swap! :wink: Glad the car got you home, sometimes I think we forget how important that is... Awfully kind of our Berettas to remind us of that once in a while. :D


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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