well here it the problem i have a 84 trans am 305 5.0L h.o. with the quadrajet carb the other day i had a major fuel leak i evidently hit my fuel pump on something so i changed it. now my car doesnt want to idle. i have to speed up the idle manually to make the car run. but when i put it into reverse or drive it dies unless i give it gas. then if i stop it dies. i have checked all the vaccum lines and i have none off or cracked i checked the air filter for trash i have changed the fuel filter in the carb. it runs good going down the hwy but it just wont idle unless its in park or neutral. thanks in advance.

 

Humm, very curious. How did you hit your fuel pump on something? Where exactly was your leak?

Are you getting an SES light?

Something sounds screwy, but it may not be the carb that's having the problem.

 

well i havent put it on a computer yet. and as far as my fuel pump i dont know what i hit put it started leaking fuel and it was dented on the bottom of it so i changed it and the leak stopped that is when the idling problem started. the reason i think its the carb is because i can speed up the idle and make it idle it just idle fast but i still have the problem putting it into drive or reverse and making it idle regardless of how hi i set the idle.

 

I had the same problem with the '57 after doing three things: valve springs, carb spacer, and distributor w/ignition module change. Of course, the last thing I checked is the thing that caused the problem - the ignition module.

Not saying that's what's causing your problem, just that it doesn't have to be the carb.

It doesn't make a lot of sense that changing the fuel pump would cause an idle problem. Also, you didn't answer the question about SES light. If you aren't getting a light, there aren't any trouble codes being set, so it wouldn't do any good to "put it on a computer".

Is there anything else you did while changing the fuel pump? Remove spark plug wires? Anything?

 

well i feel stupid for asking this what is ESE? is that the engine light if so my engine light as been on for the past 8 months with the code o2 sensor is lean. and i havent mess with any spark plug wires or anything the only thing i can think of are the two sensors on top of the thermostat housing one of them the wire came out of the top but i dont even know which sensors they are to replace them. i just changed the igniton mod 8 months ago when i got the car along with the thermostat, radiator. time chain and sprokets and the water pump the only thing i havent changed is the o2 sensor and the carb.

 

SES = "Service Engine Soon". Some are labeled "Check Engine".

O2 sensor lean means you should at least replace the O2 sensor. That is vital for proper feedback operation of the system. It may be something else as well, but the sensor is relatively cheap and simple to replace.

The engine light being on means something is wrong. The cause should be investigated and fixed. End of lecture.

The sensor on the top of the thermostat housing with the wires is the coolant temperature sensor. It provides engine temperature data to the computer, also vital for proper operation. It is different from the sending unit that operates the in-dash temperature gage.