Hi all,

My '84 Trans Am has been stalling out on me. I was told by the last mechanic I took it to this is most likely a carburetor problem. However, that shop doesn't do carb work so I am not sure how in-depth they looked into the problem. Anyway, just a brief rundown on what the car is doing...

It starts up with no problem but has a VERY rough idle. Even once the engine is warmed up (I drove it to work and back yesterday, 40 miles roundtrip), when I hit the brakes the car wants to stall out. The shop I just took it to found that the O2 sensor was bad and they replaced that and "adjusted the carb" (I'm not sure what that entailed). The car is definitely running a little smoother now but the stalling issue is the same.

One other thing I've noticed: When I park the car and take the key out of the ignition, for a brief moment the "Choke" light comes on.

Forgive me, I'm new here and I don't have a lot of experience with car repairs. I bought this car two years ago and have been gradually bringing the car back to health as it was somewhat neglected by the previous owner.

Thanks!

Tracey

 

First make sure the tune up parts are good, fuel filter is in the front of the carb. Make sure the egr valve isn't sticking open as it could cause stalling, hook a vacuum gauge to the egr valve hose, it shouldn't have vacuum at idle. Remove the valve & make sure the valve is clean, carbon can keep it open.
Check all the vacuum hoses for cracks, make sure the carb mounting bolts are tight, I've seen them loosen up.
Do you have a vacuum pump? If so then check the choke pull off, it should hold closed w/ vacuum. You can try spraying the carb down w/ carb cleaner, do that with it running too, just be careful.
Those carbs have a mixture control solenoid that clicks, make sure you hear that.

 

Where is the egr valve located and what does it look like. 84 trans am 4bbl 600 cfm edelbrock. 350 bored thirty over.

 

csimpson1, it sounds like you have an aftermarket carb not a stock carb. chances are you dont have egr on your car. you would need to start your own thread with as much info on the problem youre having since none of these troubleshooting steps would really apply to your application.

 

We need to know exactly what's been done to the car so far as engine/carb is concerned and any work done to it. Troubleshooting the factory carb is quite a bit different than troubleshooting an Edelbrock or Holley.