well, here is my first post. ill try, try to keep it short. found a trans am gta on craigslist, met the guy, he dropped the price to $1500. this car is spotless underneith, i couldnt find a speck of rust!!! the interior is alright, and the body needs a bit of help.. but for 1500, im pumped. the cars got a running issue... it idles fine, black smoke like its rich on startup. even revs up okay just sitting... but when you drive it, it falls flat on its face. it bogs and sputters... he has changed the TPS, computer, spark plugs, fuel filter, fuel pump, etc. the only thing he hasnt tried is the mass airflow sensor.. things i noticed... -bad exhaust leak on pass. side. -random disconnected wire on pass. side up by the headlight -transmission cable that connects to the throttle body butterfly throttle area is not connected. worthy pics... lemme know what you think! -matt

The transmission cable is called a TV Cable (Throttle Valve Cable). You MUST have that hooked up and adjusted correctly (I think there is a sticky on adjusting it properly). You will chew up the transmission real quick without it connected and properly adjusted. It's not like in the old days of automatic transmissions where it just affects full throttle downshifts- it's VERY important to ALL shifts on the 700R4 trans. From light throttle up to full throttle. If it's disconnected the transmission will not only upshift too soon (at all throttle positions) it will also cause slippage and such from lack of line pressure inside the trans. Getting that working properly again is clearly job one unless you want to risk toasting the trans.

The rest of the problems sound like typical "something ain't working quite right" kinda stuff, but all that takes a back seat the the TV cable for now. For instance, if the trans is trying to get into higher gears at only 15-20 MPH the engine is going to be working way too hard to accelerate the car. Seems like a lack of engine power issue, but it's mostly a transmission issue.

Fix the exhaust leak when you can. Not good, but not fatal, either. Maybe one of the studs that attaches the y-pipe to the exhaust manifold there is snapped off. Maybe an air-injection tube is snapped off at the manifold. Could be from a few sources, but none of them spell imminent disaster.

Wiring hanging out by the passenger side headlight could be a few things. One of the common ones is a toasted/removed secondary fan relay that's been hacked up to get the second cooling fan to run, but that's just a wild-a$$ guess without a picture of the offending wire(s).

For $1500 it looks like a nice car from the outside. Couple of replacement centercaps for the wheels, a litte touch-up paint and it'll look like a $3000 car. Get it running halfway right so you can hold your head high while driving it and lay some black stripes down at a stoplight and you'll have a really nice driver for reasonable bucks.

Personal experience: most cars like this have a few issues with them that the original owner ran out of knowlege about how to fix them. If you apply a little brain power (ask questions on boards like this where the members are knowegable and can help you) the simple fixes can often get you 80% of the way home for very little money. A few sensors, fix a few vacuum leaks, set the timing correctly, etc. DON'T modify for performance yet. DON'T assume you need new everyting to fix the basics. Get it running well in stock condition and then think about performance mods.

awesome info thanks, that transmission cable im not sure how to get it hooked up right because theres no pieces that attach anything to it, its just the looped piece of metal and the stud on the throttle body. im not new to cars or chevys at all, but i actually have never owned one until now. oh and i think you got that right on the pass. side headlight issue, cause the fans are wired manually. im excited to see how it turns out... thanks,


matt

can someone post a pic of what that transmission cable setup is supposed to look like? and how to you adjust and know when its right??

got the car home, it ran like crap though all the way back, barely able to get it to do 35+mph.... pics and video soon