82 Trans Am.

Air conditioning. Power steering.

305. Carbureted.

Am assuming it is not only original engine, but everything on it is the same as when the lads at Van Nuys assembled it.

After fixing numerous "easy" things elsewhere on the automobile, am going to see if it can be made mobile once again.

Was told, take out the spark plugs, spray some WD-40, let it sit for a few days, then turn it without any fuel in there.

So, went to look at the spark plugs.

Knew there may be some difficulty, could not see even one of them.

Really, not one of them.

Have taken spark plugs out of things before, lawn mowers, naval helicopters, chainsaws, but not a Pontiac and nothing recently.

Have read everything on here. Watched a couple of videos, that never really show it all. Have three manuals, not a lot of help. Haynes says, "they may or may not be easily accessible for removal". Not a guess, the answer is "not".


Is any of the following the correct thing to do?

Jack the vehicle up, will use the nice pictures and advice on this site for the location under the front. Have a garage jack to use. In park, with park brake on, back wheels with wood chocks to stop movement.

A chap down the street offered a couple of jack stands. They go somewhere, on the frame? Again, do have some pictures from this site that will help with this.

According to the 1AAuto video on youtube, and the advice on here, everything is easier to get to from below. As was said, can't even see anything from above, very crowded in the engine bay. They also say just spark plug socket and ratchet is needed. Some people here mention things like wobble ratchet extensions, other special tools.. The manuals mention rubber hoses. Is there any special tool that will make it a lot easier?

Any advice for getting to the spark plugs, anything else? Label all the wires when they are removed?

Is a spark plug wire puller important to have?

Did see a bunch of blue wires. So do have some idea where some of the spark plugs may be.

Assuming it goes to plan, then spray in the lubricant. It is then best to lower the vehicle? After a few days, and buying a battery, turn it over with the fuel line taken off? Unsafe to turn the engine over while on the stands?

Or, turn it by hand first, then with the starter after that?

After that, lift it back up, the same spark plugs or new spark plugs in? If there is one thing those repair manuals have is pictures of spark plugs, so will wait and see what they look like.

During this step, what other intelligent things should be done? With the car up, access underneath? Nothing too complicated. An oil filter?

Will have taken out the old fuel. Last time it ran, maybe a decade ago when it was driven a few blocks. Possibly two decades since it was going around the streets.

Fresh fuel. Turn the key, it goes?

From the Vice Grip Garage fellow, also pour some additive thing into the tank which will help clean out the engine?


Before anyone suggests getting the local garage to do it all, don't really live where any other Pontiacs are, or people who have worked on them. It is also important to learn about the vehicle, and save money. Might cost a few hundred dollars to get it towed to a garage. Any special, Trans Am-specific tools, would also have to be ordered online. But there are some tool stores in the area, might be able to find equivalent items.

There must be some Pontiacs around, but in recent years only ever saw one Pontiac on the road, a 1968 Firebird. Very strange, have been seeing 1960s Mustangs around a lot. Even saw a Countach today. It sounded strange, probably not designed to go so slow along bad roads.


Will assume the vehicle is much better than you think. Am hoping it is. Horn works. Windows work. Lights go up and down. Took out a dipstick, seemed to have the liquid in the correct segment on it. So there is hope the engine will happily start right up. Has been under cover for the past decade, in the garage. Air cleaner has been sitting on the engine, and it was all covered with a car cover. The engine was covered, not the car.

Thank you for any help and tips. I don't know what I am doing, but am doing it.

 

Hey, that's what this site is for. Sounds like with some love this will be a good car to get going again. That said, yes, getting it up in the air makes things so much easier, (even working above if your tall). Definitely want to use a pair of good jack stands, not the recalled Harbor Freight ones that were recalled for the ratchet system failing, lol. Best way that I have found to place them, is putting the saddle of them on the A-arms and lowering the weight to rest on them with the jack placed in the center (right in front of the oil pan) to jack and lower. throw down some cardboard, a creeper, or what have you and your set. You definitely want to change your fluids: gas, oil, flush the radiator. Of coarse use your new plugs and I would suggest getting a set of new wires too, your already there, and that's one less thing to remove from the list of probabilities of it not running. You can also try turning the engine by hand before you do anything. This will allow you to see if anything is binding/stuck before you even start if you have a tool for it (you don't REALLY want to turn on the crank bolt by hand, even though most of have probably done at some point in time, lol) it can be nasty if it gets messed up breaks, etc. Since your carb'd I not to sure of what you would want to put in the FRESH fuel to clean things out, but I'm sure it would be easy to ask for at the auto parts store or online, or someone will chime in. This is a good way to start learning about how to work on your car, your half way there with the willingness to jump in and learn. And finally, use a KNOWN good battery when you are ready for it, a weak or good enough one can cause other problems that you don't need, when your trying to get things ironed out. Good luck, and keep us updated.

 

Thank you for that.

Am writing down the important points to follow. Which seems to be all of it. Off to the store on the weekend for supplies, then lifting it up and trying to do it.

Probably should have thought of this before, while there are few spark plug videos around explaining the underneath of the vehicle, there are more for the oil stuff. That then led to a "how to install an adjustable Panhard/Track bar" video with some jack stand instructions. That then had a link back to here with the jack stand diagram, https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ints-rear.html

 

I've never had a problem getting all of the spark plugs out from the top.

a spark plug wrench should have a hex head on the socket end that can be used with the appropriately sized open end wrench to loosen them.

If the wires/cap/rotor are of suspect age and condition, this is the time to replace them too.

I would change the oil and try to turn it over. If it spins, try to start it with fresh fuel. Wouldn't pull the plugs just yet unless it doesn't turn.

 

An update. Just a small update.

One out. Actually, an accomplishment.

Wanted to make sure the tools fit and worked.

Front one on the left side. Spark plug out after 30 minutes, from the top.

Maybe half that time was figuring out arm angles, as there was a little pipe or cable in the way for many attempts.

Spark plug was very black, although apart from that it didn't look as bad as what might have been expected.

So new ones will be going in.


Will try a bit more, on the left side, to remove spark plugs from the top. Then underneath on the weekend.