Hey guys i am new to this forum, i just got an 89 trans am yesterday for the excellent price of free. This is after many many years of wanting a transam, now i finally have my car, but it runs like a$$. It has a 5.7 litre engine in it with tuned port injection. Now the proble mis that it does start and idle somewhat, but when you give it gas it wants to die. If you gently feather the throttle you can get it to rev up but very slowly. It sounds like it is choking out. If you let off the throttle it will go back to idle. The idle is a little choppy but it will idle. I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on this for me. Also stupid question but what is the easiest way to get the plugs out on these cars. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I want to get my dream car going.

 

have you checked all the fluids ? what did they look like? it was free has it been sitting for a while is the gas bad? take out a plug see what it looks like check the plug wires for cracks or anything like that take off the distributor cap check the inside of the cap and the rotor for corrosion

 

The fluids all look good, as does the air filter, the car has been sitting for 2 years. As far as the gas goes it isnt the greatest but i added some fresh gas. another question, what size plug wrench do you need to pull the plugs?

 

After two years a little service would be good.
Cap,rotor,plugs,wires,air filter,fuel filter,oil filter and oil is a start.
The pcv valve might be gooed up,and check all vac lines.

 

Throw some carb/fuel injector cleaner in there... see if you can get all the crap out. check timing also

 

i believe you use a 5/8 plug sucket

 

3/8 socket no really ez way to get at em. I use a tool I picked up at AutoZone... it is very flexible spark plug tool.

 

Thanks to all who replied, i was just out working on it but ran out of daylight. I will continue working on it tomorro when i get some more light and hopefully post pics.

 

Best way to get to the plugs is from underneath, pull the car up on some ramps.

 

I got her running with just a basic tune up, she still has a minor stumble but nothing that a little minor tweaking cant fix. It ran so good that i got the cops called on me for driving up and down my street ( my bad). One trip wasnt enough for me i just had to push it, oh well. Any ways i am sure i will have more questions in the future and i will get some pics of the car up.

 

What did your basic tune up consist of? My car is running the same, only with a clicking noise coming from the engine that increases and decreases with RPMs. I recently changed the oil and filter and am going to replace the valve stem seals, spark plugs, and any questionable hoses tomorrow, along with cleaning the carb. Anyone know what might cause that noise when the car is running rough? How does one check and adjust timing?

 

Once it's running well, perhaps your "fixing up" should consist of a little diagnostic check out. Check fuel pressure, go over the timing, things like that. Make sure all the systems are good.

Timing is checked by disconnecting the EST wire(4-wire weatherpack connector off the rear of the distributor, if it's still a CC-dizzy), hooking up a timing light (preferably the kind that can check a systems advance), pointing it at the timing tab/damper and pulling the trigger and watching the etch in the dampers outer ring in correspondance to the timing tab. If you need to adjust it, loosen the distributor hold down bolt and rotate the distributor a little bit. As far as a clicking, try resetting the valve lash.

 

make sure the noise isnt misadjusted valves if it is you might want to check all the pushrods and make sure there not bent