1. Weird metal sound outside of car when I am driving. Like a metal type of squeak/chirp. Sounds like it's coming from the rear wheels but it may also be from the front wheels. Happens mostly when I turn or drive over smooth roads. Stops when I press the brake pedal.

2. Serious hesitation, especially when cold. I will press the gas pedal and there is nothing for 1-2 seconds, then my car either stalls out or jumps from a sudden power surge. What the hell can that be, it's really annoying me. It seems to go away when car is driven more.

Thanks,

Steve

 

Need more info about your set up.

:hail:IROC-Z

 

I have an 83 Trans Am with a 305. I have a Holley 4 barrel (600 cfm), edelbrock performer intake, Accel coil (p.o.s.), rebuilt 700r4, 4.10 gears. Need to know anything else?

Steve

 

d@mn dude, 4.10's? lol... neway.... I'm not a kickazz mechanic, but have u tried basic tune up stuff? fuel filter maybe, sounds like it's certainly possible... helped mine alot, but there was dirt in the gas tank too, had to get it cleaned out.

 

Yeah, 4.10's lol. Thanks to the previous owner. I haven't tried a fuel filter yet but I did just replace the plugs and wires.

Steve

 

Tune that carb up. Sounds like your idle mixture isn't right. Get a vacuum gauge and hook it up to your vacuum advance port. Turn the screws until you get the highest reading ( maybe around 19 inches or so depending)This should be done at about 650 rpm idle. Idle mixture determines the air/fuel circuit at idle and off idle part throttle. How did your old plugs look?? This could determine whether more or less jetting for the carb is required.

Now for the squeek. How often does it happen? Does it have a repetition? Does it sound relative to the wheel spin? Wheel bearings possibly. Or maybe the metal rotor shield is scraping? More info.

 

the squeaking is probably the backing plates for your front discs. Put the car on a lift/stands/ramp and make sure the backin plate isn't in contact with the disc at some spot. It's not uncommon. I did it once after a brake job and need to do it again for some unknown reason. The backing plates are very flimsy.

 

I do have a vacuum gauge. It reads 20-25 at idle, although my idle is around 1000 rpm (because I've had stalling problems in the past with too low idle). My old plugs were Bosch Platinum 2's and when they came out they were pretty charred after only 3 months. Does that help?

I figured the noise had something to do with the wheels because it seems to happen only when the wheels are rotating and/or turning. I'll have to check that out. I need to do a brake job anyway.

Thanks!

Steve

P.S. Any tips on tuning my carb? I've had the worst luck with it. I start messing with the idle screw and the rich/lean mixture and everything starts going to hell.

 

The squealing sound could also be the wear indicators on the brake pads/shoes.

 

If you aren't that familiar with carbs, it can be a bitch to get the mixture right. It sounds like you have too much gas to the ratio of air. When you raise the idle RPMs to keep it fron stalling, you still aren't getting to the root of the problem. You need to lower them to normal idle RPM and then work with the fuel mixture screw(s) and possibly advance your timing too. If it's too retarded, it will cause hesitation. The most important thing I think, is to write down what and how much you do when tweaking for the right combination of air/fuel and timing. If it is written down, you can make an educated decision on how far to tweak things from your previous adjustment. Good luck.


:hail:IROC-Z