Hi im new here if you couldn't tell by my posts but anyways i just recently bought a 1988 Pontiac Firebird Base model with the 5.0 V8 (which i wil replace when i finish my 383 stroker) but to the point i bought the car for $900 knowing it had ALOT of problems. for starters there are a few main ticket items that need to be addressed ASAP.

• Loud Clunk under heavy acceleration possibly front end but i cant tell officially
• after a heavy load driving session where i abuse the brakes and front suspension in general it shimmys and shakes under braking
• when i do a sharp low speed corner as in pulling into a parking space or a U-turn the right Front tire snags and skips like it is dragging sideways

i bought this car to be a project car to further learn about mechanics hands on before i join the work force in the mechanic field. but my forte is engines suspension is still a little Forign to me any advice i could get on these issues and what they could possibly be would be greatly appreciated. i have looked it over and am having trouble finding anything the wheels have alot of slop but everything seems tight.

 

My car has the same issue with the sharp cornering. It sounds like something is loose and is hitting something and the tires skip. I think mine was always like that so I just try to avoid doing sharp turns even though it probably doesn't hurt the car.

 

Sounds like bad ball joints and front end parts and warped rotors. The "loud clunk" sounds like a bad transmission mount. In other words lift the front end up and check it.

 

Had the problem with the sharp turns. I could not figure it out at first. When I was making sharp turns, the tie rod was hitting the wheel, just slightly. It turned out, the spindle arm was bent. New spindle, no more problems.

 

K thanks I'll look into that when I get it up in the air.

 

I had an idea that there may be a ball joint issue but was second guessing myself. As for the clunk it didn't occur to me that the transmission mounts could be bad but it does make sense to check them out now that I am reading and thinking about this

 

Welcome to thirdgen, and maybe fill out your profile more about your car. The more info you give the better to help you with problems.