What did you do with your Trans Am today?

[Whamhammer]

Guys,

Thanks for the advice.. I thought about the spare and the antenna.. retightened all that. Also the torque arm is a BMR item and that has a new front bush and I tightened the axle end bolts to 110 ft/lbs.
New BMR LCA's with rubber bushes as opposed to poly ..all really tight to spec. Viking shocks, top mount/bottom tightened to spec. The list goes on! LCA relocation brackets tightened to spec.
PHB is new also and all bolts tightened to spec.

But still I get this niggly little rattle/clunk going over small cracks and bumps but not on bigger things like speed bumps (yes we have them here too !)
I am running a 35 profile tire on a 19" rim so there is less "suspension" softness than with the stock wheel combo due to less sidewall flex and it must give the axle a harder time hence my comment about the axles literally rattling back and forth. I think this is common on the "little" 10 bolt on these cars as is common on all c clip axles. They will physically move in and out a little with the car on stands so could they make a similar noise when the car on the pavement ?? Strange one this is ..

Have you considered the possibility of a wayward circus midget, stowing in the fuel tank?

I got nuthin' at this point.

[c0brakiller]

did you check the rear sway bar links

[weslp00]

Have you considered the possibility of a wayward circus midget, stowing in the fuel tank?

I got nuthin' at this point.

Well that could be the problem ... or it could be a few clowns hiding in there as we have a few of them about at the moment over here trying to get elected to run the country and none of them seem to be talking a good job. In fact we have just had the election and none of the clowns won !!

I think I will go and buy a ton of Dynmat and glue that in there on the passenger side !!

Its all tight and safe under there so will just have to go with it !

[SMWS6TA]

Well that could be the problem ... or it could be a few clowns hiding in there as we have a few of them about at the moment over here trying to get elected to run the country and none of them seem to be talking a good job. In fact we have just had the election and none of the clowns won !!

I think I will go and buy a ton of Dynmat and glue that in there on the passenger side !!

Its all tight and safe under there so will just have to go with it !

Look up Rattle Trap Fatmat, it's what I used in my car. 1/2 the cost of Dynomat and just as good. I did my entire interior when I installed new carpet.

[weslp00]

Look up Rattle Trap Fatmat, it's what I used in my car. 1/2 the cost of Dynomat and just as good. I did my entire interior when I installed new carpet.

Yes that Dynomat is so exspensive..what is made of then.. gold dust ! Its also really heavy by all accounts.
That looks really professional and I bet you can hear a pin drop in there.
SMWS6TA, did you do a write up on the job.. it looks really difficult to get all the interior pieces out ?

[weslp00]

Yes that Dynomat is so exspensive..what is made of then.. gold dust ! Its also really heavy by all accounts.
That looks really professional and I bet you can hear a pin drop in there.
SMWS6TA, did you do a write up on the job.. it looks really difficult to get all the interior pieces out ?

I had a good chat with Trevor of SpeedyWS6 fame last night. I am sure you all know him. He is the other guy in the UK with a Trans am..
I even bought my car off of him and we were trying to work out last night how long ago it was !
Between us I think I have worked out this is not going away and it a product of lowering the car with stiffer BMR springs etc. I have the rubber spring isolators in and it sounds like it is coming from there. Maybe the stiffer springs are giving them a pounding over smaller bumps which is what you'd expect to hear. Kind of less annoying now I appreciate what it could be.

I went out in the car just now and to prove the point I got a big pile of dust sheets that I use for decorating (clean of course) and piled them on top of the back seat interior where the spring/shocks are underneath and the noise was far less noticeable.

That brings me nicely onto my next project ..Sound deadening!!!! When I recovered all the seats I noticed there is virtually NO sound deadening on these cars and I would like a "Roll Royce" ride and I ain't gonna get it in my ride with just carpet.

SMWS6TA... that looks like a good job as I said above. AND I can get rattle trap here in London village AND it is cheaper than Dyno mat. What sort of noise were you getting and how much did it cut it down by ????

[SMWS6TA]

Yes that Dynomat is so exspensive..what is made of then.. gold dust ! Its also really heavy by all accounts.
That looks really professional and I bet you can hear a pin drop in there.
SMWS6TA, did you do a write up on the job.. it looks really difficult to get all the interior pieces out ?

No write up, it's very easy to remove the pieces. The rear seats a couple of bolts and the front each as 4 bolts. Center consul too. Headliner you got to be careful, it can be destroyed easy because of the age of the material. Only reason I pulled mine was because I needed to recover it in black. Removing the old carpet was easy but at the top of the front foot wells the carpet is held in place by some thick rubber stuff that overlaps the carpet and sticks to the body.

I took me a day to remove and install the FatMat and 1/2 a day to install and adjust the carpet. Once it was in place and I was satisfied, putting the pieces back in was an hour to do.

Road noise is surprisingly lowered when the windows are up. Also no rattle when speakers are turned up. I put some of the FatMat in the speaker pockets and also on the inside of the doors as well.

I ordered 75sq ft to do it all.

[SMWS6TA]

It took a like dremil work on the hinges to enlarged the holes but I finally got the hood aligned straight.




I still need to adjust the headlight covers and I'm going to sand down the edge along the drivers side of the hood to get the gap spacing a little closer to what it should be.


I'm fabing a bracket also for the hood pins to mount to.

[Naaman]

I had a good chat with Trevor of SpeedyWS6 fame last night. I am sure you all know him. He is the other guy in the UK with a Trans am..
I even bought my car off of him and we were trying to work out last night how long ago it was !
Between us I think I have worked out this is not going away and it a product of lowering the car with stiffer BMR springs etc. I have the rubber spring isolators in and it sounds like it is coming from there. Maybe the stiffer springs are giving them a pounding over smaller bumps which is what you'd expect to hear. Kind of less annoying now I appreciate what it could be.

I went out in the car just now and to prove the point I got a big pile of dust sheets that I use for decorating (clean of course) and piled them on top of the back seat interior where the spring/shocks are underneath and the noise was far less noticeable.

That brings me nicely onto my next project ..Sound deadening!!!! When I recovered all the seats I noticed there is virtually NO sound deadening on these cars and I would like a "Roll Royce" ride and I ain't gonna get it in my ride with just carpet.

SMWS6TA... that looks like a good job as I said above. AND I can get rattle trap here in London village AND it is cheaper than Dyno mat. What sort of noise were you getting and how much did it cut it down by ????

I'm going to bet than unless you have poly/poly LCAs, then the LCAs are your culprit. I had rod-end LCAs and they clunked ONLY on the little bumps and cracks. When I switched to poly/roto joint, the noise changed (a bit quieter/muffled, but still very noticeable), but still happens in the same contexts.

[Whamhammer]

I'm going to bet than unless you have poly/poly LCAs, then the LCAs are your culprit. I had rod-end LCAs and they clunked ONLY on the little bumps and cracks. When I switched to poly/roto joint, the noise changed (a bit quieter/muffled, but still very noticeable), but still happens in the same contexts.

Hey, if he's got lower control arm rod-end noise, I have the fix! I'll sell him the front lower a-arms I took off that had crappy rod-ends on them, he won't hear the noise from the back for sure!

[hardtrailz]

It took a like dremil work on the hinges to enlarged the holes but I finally got the hood aligned straight.




I still need to adjust the headlight covers and I'm going to sand down the edge along the drivers side of the hood to get the gap spacing a little closer to what it should be.


I'm fabing a bracket also for the hood pins to mount to.

Nice! I can't wait for my Smoothie to be finished. Hoping it won't be too much of a paint to fit n finish so i can get the car painted.

Also, I picked up a set of factory wheels for $100 to try and save.


A bit of water and 5 minutes with a microfiber did wonders. Can't wait til I get the time to really work on them and see if they will be saved.

[TransAmTerry]

Changed my oil yesterday evening - I have been using a synthetic blend but decided this time to go full synthetic. I hope after 111,000 miles, it's ok to do that ?!? I also recently ordered new wheels and tires. Moving up to 18's. Going with American Racing VN425 TT SL and Mich. Pilot SS. I was hoping to have the wheels for the GM Carlisle event but I might've waited to long as they are custom made. I'm going to put some Falken Azenis' RT615's on the stock wheels and Auto-cross it when I can this year. Maybe I'll have them on for Carlisle and participate in their Auto-X shoot-out. That was a hoot last year !!

[Y2KArcticSS]

Gotta get to a tuning shop as soon as money will allow, and I find a reputable shop around Tulsa (I don't think Ed Wright is doing it anymore )
Something just isn't right with the car. It has some Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde moments. It can be running fine all day, then you start it up, throw it into reverse, and it dies immediately.
Sometimes this will happen 2-3 times, then it will start up and run fine like nothing happened. Like the computer freaks out...then unfreaks out.
Aside from that, it definitely is running rich even when she's minding her manners. Hopefully I'll be able to get some answers within the next month, I have to get front tires for the SS first since it's my daily.

[Y2KArcticSS]

Changed my oil yesterday evening - I have been using a synthetic blend but decided this time to go full synthetic. I hope after 111,000 miles, it's ok to do that ?!? I also recently ordered new wheels and tires. Moving up to 18's. Going with American Racing VN425 TT SL and Mich. Pilot SS. I was hoping to have the wheels for the GM Carlisle event but I might've waited to long as they are custom made. I'm going to put some Falken Azenis' RT615's on the stock wheels and Auto-cross it when I can this year. Maybe I'll have them on for Carlisle and participate in their Auto-X shoot-out. That was a hoot last year !!

Should be fine. I switched to Amsoil full synthetic on my old SS after it had been running blend most of it's life, at about 90k. She was at 232k when I sold her, and 0 issues internally.

I think it's when you go from synthetic back to conventional/blend that you have problems.

[weslp00]

No write up, it's very easy to remove the pieces. The rear seats a couple of bolts and the front each as 4 bolts. Center consul too. Headliner you got to be careful, it can be destroyed easy because of the age of the material. Only reason I pulled mine was because I needed to recover it in black. Removing the old carpet was easy but at the top of the front foot wells the carpet is held in place by some thick rubber stuff that overlaps the carpet and sticks to the body.

I took me a day to remove and install the FatMat and 1/2 a day to install and adjust the carpet. Once it was in place and I was satisfied, putting the pieces back in was an hour to do.

Road noise is surprisingly lowered when the windows are up. Also no rattle when speakers are turned up. I put some of the FatMat in the speaker pockets and also on the inside of the doors as well.

I ordered 75sq ft to do it all.

Wow SMWS6TA... got all my interior out in half a day.. it was a snip !
I took down the head liner too, the only casualty being the plastic button that holds it up between the T roofs. Must be able to find one over here.
Found loads of small change under the carpet too.. but not enough to pay for the fatmat!

Thanks for the inspiration to do this job..its gotta be worth it !

[SMWS6TA]

I took care and the extra time in getting the new carpet right. But so far I can say the liner has made a difference in sound and now that it's getting hotter I'll see just how much it will help there. Not too much I think because of all the glass our cars have. But my wife has confirmed that there is by far much less heat coming from the floor board on the passenger side. That was one of her chief complaints.

[TransAmTerry]

Should be fine. I switched to Amsoil full synthetic on my old SS after it had been running blend most of it's life, at about 90k. She was at 232k when I sold her, and 0 issues internally.

I think it's when you go from synthetic back to conventional/blend that you have problems.

Thanks for the input ! Good to know for the subsequent times i'll be changing it.

[Whamhammer]

Changed my oil yesterday evening - I have been using a synthetic blend but decided this time to go full synthetic. I hope after 111,000 miles, it's ok to do that ?!? I also recently ordered new wheels and tires. Moving up to 18's. Going with American Racing VN425 TT SL and Mich. Pilot SS. I was hoping to have the wheels for the GM Carlisle event but I might've waited to long as they are custom made. I'm going to put some Falken Azenis' RT615's on the stock wheels and Auto-cross it when I can this year. Maybe I'll have them on for Carlisle and participate in their Auto-X shoot-out. That was a hoot last year !!

How exactly does one sign up for the autocross at Carlisle? Are they requiring helmets?

[weslp00]

Hey, if he's got lower control arm rod-end noise, I have the fix! I'll sell him the front lower a-arms I took off that had crappy rod-ends on them, he won't hear the noise from the back for sure!

No thanks .. its enough of a head ache without more nooooooise !

[weslp00]

I took care and the extra time in getting the new carpet right. But so far I can say the liner has made a difference in sound and now that it's getting hotter I'll see just how much it will help there. Not too much I think because of all the glass our cars have. But my wife has confirmed that there is by far much less heat coming from the floor board on the passenger side. That was one of her chief complaints.

Was there a noticeable drop in the road noise and around the rear of the interior??