My GTA has been acting strange recently, but the thing that has me worried the most is this......sometimes when i hit the gas from a dead stop, the car goes about 5 feet, then the RPM's drop, and the car almost stalls, then it speeds back up, almost like the car is gasping for air and then takes a deep breath......anyone have an explanation for this??

thanks

Chris
'88 Trans Am GTA
"Why's my engine light always one?"

 

how's the idle on the car, and have you changed/checked any of the "regular maintenance" items (spark plugs, etc?).

I remember when I first got my car, it was almost always stall at idle. Of course, at the time, I knew NOTHING about cars. Later on, after pulling out the plugs, my friend pointed out that my #8 spark plug was completely fouled and crystallized with oil. It turned out that the valve stems were leaking oil, so I changed the plugs (never stalled again) and later did the seals.

 

I would echo above post. If everything seems okay, I wonder if the fuel pump might be weak.

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H.D. Tripp-89FormulaWS6

 

yeah, i would replace the spark plugs too. how about the fuel filter, though, when was the last time that was replaced? does your car surge at idle like it is about to stall then catches itself?

 

ill check the spark plugs, but from what the guy i bought it from told me their new, which i realize means nothing......i know the fuel pump is getting tired so ill look into replacing that too. the idle sometimes does surge, but it never almost stalls at idle, just once in a while when i hit the gas.

Chris
'88 Trans Am GTA
"Why's my engine light always on?"

 

hmm.. yea, I'm guessing that it might be fuel related, cause the engine MIGHT be starving itself of fuel as it reaches higher rpms.

I remember my car ALWAYS hesitating for a brief seconds whenever I floored it. Later, I changed the fuel FILTER (don't know when the previous owner changed it), and all was fine.