Yes. I love my '87 Bonnie.

I just brought it down here to VirginiaTech from home yesterday. My mom and my uncles all kept on telling me it would break down on the way or overheat or whatnot, but i showd them! I kept on trying to convince them that highway miles are easy for all cars but they wouldn't hear it! Haha, oh well, i'm glad I keep it runnin gas best i can. And, yes my valve covers are just like those in the picture (only mine seem to be covered with an almost permanent layer of grime which i have tried to remove before but with little success. I'd have to remove them to give them a good cleaning, but then I'd have to get a new gasket for them, and then even if I did, i'm sure i'd go a little crazy with all the valves sitting right in front of me, i'm sure by the end of the day I'd be convincing my mom its a good idea for me to rebuild the heads... and once i got the heads off I'd be looking at the pistons and think... maybe replacing the rings is good preventative maintenance... and then i'd be in the market for an engine lift. Oh welll maybe this summer when school'* done with.

It is nice to see how clean my engine could look if I put some effer in it tho hehe.


Oh and yes, the tranny cooler (aka tranny fluid heater) is just as described. And I really REALLY should get an external cooler for it and probably will in a month or 2. However even with that thing they called a fluid cooler back in 87 my tranny is in 'ok' condition. I'm just having a little trouble with its torque converter clutch kicking in earlier than it should... but its not too bad. Other than that the tranny has only ever needed a new vacuum modulator. (50 bucks parts.. 50 more for labor ).

It'* a fine machine to say the least.

Mike Diaz

Trans heater is another reason I run muine at 180F. Do not understand that last about the TCC cluch engaging early, never heard of that one since is under computer control , could you describe ? Is speedo acting strange ?

I don't want to hijack the thread haha, and I have tried to find the isuse out on earlier threads (way back when, it may have been on the Bonneville Intensity forums) but I will give ya a short short description.

I'll be driving normally (it only happens once the engine is at operating temp of course, since the TCc isn't supposed to work before then) and i'll be like at 35 -40 mph and I'll feel the TCC engage and my RPMs will drop (as they are supposed to since the engine is then linked to the trans fully). However my RPMs drop to a too low 1000rpm and when I push the gas some (not enough to disengage the TCC) the engine sounds like its struggling and my car doesn't get too much more push in power. It should be noted that sometimes the thing works as it should, the RPMs drop down only to about 1300 or 1500 and giving it more gas does give the car a good amount of added push. Other than that it works perfectly (in all cases, the TCC disengages when I give it lots more gas, or when i release the gas and go at it again, or when i tap the break ever so lightly AS i hold the gas pedal down. (i.e. the breaking makes the TCC disengage as it should). All that works fine at all times, its just that sometimes the TCC seems to over do it? I dont' know its weird, i reemmber somewhere on this forum someone else had a similar problem, also never really got resolved. If someone wants to move this part of the thread over to '87 mechanical talk then feel free, i know the thread isn't for this.

Mike Diaz
1987 Vin 3 Bonnnnneville
Home made K&N Intake.

yeah I think I get the same problem (add that too the need of a minor tuneup/sensor checkup) I thought it was the trans "searching" for a gear around 30-40 mph... but I also think I have a slight stumble below like 1/4 throttle. I haven;'t had chance to see if this works but Transgo makes an inline TCC adjuster for the 4T60E ... I dunno if this will work with the 4t60 might need different connectors...

anyways back on subject... anyone know what was done Fuel system & tranny wise on this Hi Po LG3??? ... think I'm gonna start a new thread on "hi po" 4t60 ideas

I know what you're talking about. My grandma'* 87 did the same thing and could go as low as 35 mph with the torque converter enganged. That caused rapid buking, however, that engine has so much power that it could actually increase speed with the TC engaged from 40 -55mph, even up a steep grade. I wish my car could do that.

TORQUE

We have enough hills around here where we dont use OD at all. Only on interstate. At 55-60 pulls hills with less throttle in D. Wont downshift unless you give it more. Then when you let up goes back into OD. No good. Also holds back better going down so you dont need brakes in order to stay below 60. OD will get you 70/75 without brakes.

Does it affect pump or valveing off these trannys not using OD often ?

Hey whose thread is getting hyjacked here What was the topic anyhow :?

I think my '98 Altima can. Not sure though. The Altima does have nice low-end, considering it'* a bigger 2.4L 4cyl.

Our Toyota Cressida was able to stay in OD on an uphill, as well, that mother could PULL at 1900rpm @ like 40mph (2.8 DOHC inline-six, second-generation Supra engine in a luxury sedan - it cruises 100km/h at 2500rpm, FYI). The Bonny, on the other hand, kicks down - I don't know, it could just might as well be my dad'* lead foot compared to my mom


By the way, my neighbour has an '87. 105,000km - that'* only 65k miles. He recently had to change a solenoid in the tranny, and there'* surface rust and cracked taillights... but the engine is CLEAN and runs like a bat out of hell. I notice that it revs a LOT more freely than my LN3 while in park... he got it for $500 last year from my dad'* co-worker.

Yeah, I don't care much for the Altima either, and it isn't too reliable, 160,000km (100k mi) and there'* oil on sparkplug #1 I have no idea how the previous owner took care of it though, we got it a year and a half ago (about when I registered here) at 150,000km.

When my dad took the '87 LE out for a spin, he did say something about slow/hesitant kickdowns on the highway. It'* as if he has to get on the gas hard, let off, and only then will it kick down. :?

Needs the TV cable adjusted ?