Pontiac FireBirds?

[MarauderBZ]

Hello All, I recently came into a 1998 Pontiac FireBird with a V6 Engine of some sorts. I am totally unfamiliar with these vehicles. I was wondering if anyone might have some experience with these, i.e. problems, maintenance, etc. It has no manual and my local Pontiac Dealer has been less than helpful. Thanks in Advance!

[Dr Caleb]

TooManyTransAms - calling TooManyTransAms!! :lol:

[lshultz]

Marauderbz,

I have owned a TransAm Convertible since 95' (bought new) and to this day I have yet to have a major problem with it...It doesn't have the V-6 in it but if yours is the 3.8l non supercharged variety, that is a pretty good engine..had one in a pontiac 6000 and you couldnt do much to it with normal driving...I think the 3.8 in 1998 had 200 HP, could be wrong about the year...fairly peppy and with normal upkeep it should do quite well...:) :)

[TripleTransAm]

I agree about the pep... I rented 2 white convertible 1999 Firebirds (V6 only, damn you Hertz!! ;) ) for the bridal party when I got married. My brother (best man) helped me out by taking one home and I brought the other home after tucking the GTA safely into the garage. Had a chance to drive it around the next day, top down, with my new bride and I was amazed. There seems to have been some strengthening of the chassis for '98+ Birds because that was the tightest 'vert I had ever driven!

The engine is a honey. A little soft on the bottom end (like, we're not all already familiar with this syndrome?) but at midrange it leaves nothing to my GTA. Top end is a bit weak (so is my GTA). So overall I found it to be a great little cruiser, that 3800. Nice torque at midrange gives it that healthy 200 hp. And there are some upgrades available from the aftermarket, not many but they do exist.

No problems that I know of, 3800 specific. But do keep an eye on the headlight door motors. The '93-'02 motors are crap, and will strip the gear drive, causing it to buzz madly for 4-5 seconds either after popping up or closing. If this happens, PM me and I'll give you a procedure that might save you having to get a new headlamp door motor.

Also, keep an eye on the window motors. Some report failure and laziness.

That's all I can think of right now.
Good luck with the car.

Sucks about your local dealer. Let me try to find a contact as to where to get the manual, there is a lot of good info in there like how to program the factory alarm, radio codes, etc.

[RCSignals]

The only thing I've heard of is some fuel injector/fuel delivery problems that can cause the engine to just quit and not restart. (anytime, anywhere)
A friend had that problem with the V6 in a Buick, and I think it's basically the same engine.

[Tazio]

what a coincidence. I drive a '94 firebird to work. I bought it with a blown v6 for 900 bucks (94K on it) and put a boneyard motor in it. Honestly, I have driven it 30K miles and have had no trouble. Oh, the low oil light is on, and the antilock light is on. I don't care. I've had 4 stangs (still have 88gt under wraps) and honestly for commuting to work the bird works just fine (I know, blasphemy!) and I really do get 26 miles per gallon on that V6.

[RCSignals]

Tazio
That's not really blasphemy, better that Pontiac risk parking lot dings or getting bumped in traffic than one of your Mustangs :)

[MarauderBZ]

Thanks all for the info. I drove around in it quite a bit the past 2 days and have taken to it quite well. Mileage doesn't seem that bad and everything runs great so far, not sure how big the gas tank is though. I went over it thoroughly yesterday and the body is in mint condition with minor wear on the inside. Has exactly 32,455 miles on it as of today. The engine is marked "3800 Series II". Another question for you guys, I have a button on the consol, under the climate control system that is labeled "2nd" its a grey button with an indicator light on it. Functions as an on/off I believe but I have no clue what the heck its supposed to turn on or off. Any ideas? Also, is it required to run premium gas, or will the basic do fine? Again, I appreciate your time and help!

[TripleTransAm]

Tank should be 15.5 gallons. They upped it a bit in 1999 when they went with a plastic tank. The 1998's fuel level gage is the only year they managed to make it read properly (ie. it doesn't read slowly until the 1/4 mark then plummets to Empty within 10 miles). Unfortunately, after getting it right in 1998, the redesign involving the plastic tank left the F-crowd with an inaccurate fuel level gage yet AGAIN *sigh*.

The button is for a 2nd gear start, apparently available only on V6 equipped cars. Otherwise, the 4L60-E transmission, as equipped on F-cars, will start in 1st and upshift to 2nd and stay there when the selector is in '2'. The button allows it to start in 2nd gear,

Regular unleaded should be fine. If I find out differently, I'll let you know.


DO NOT run the tank dry. The fuel pumps on these cars are liquid cooled. If you run the tank dry, the fuel pump will fry itself VERY quickly.

[MarauderBZ]

Cool, thanks again for the info. Just curious, what is the point of starting it in second gear? Is it more beneficial to do so in certain conditions? I'm grateful for the info, the dealer I asked told me it was a traction control button like in the Grand Am.

[TripleTransAm]

The 2nd gear start helps in poor traction conditions because it limits the torque multiplication you're subjected to when starting from a stop.

First gear on 4L60E's are 3.06:1 if I recall correctly. 2nd gear is 1.63:1 . The torque converter has a multiplication factor at full stall of between 2:1 and 2.5:1 (I think the GenMotors TCs have greater stall multiplication than Fords, but I'm not sure). Let's choose 2:1 for simplicity.

Let's say you give it gas from a stop to the point where the engine is developing 200 lb-ft at torque converter stall, moments before the car should start moving. In 1st gear, the differential would receive 200 x 3.06 lb-ft at that moment or 612 lb-ft. In 2nd gear, the differential would receive 1.63 x 200 = 326 lb-ft instead. Much less chance of blowing away the tires on slick surfaces.

So, yes, it's kind of like a traction control, but your dealer doesn't really inspire a feeling of great confidence within me. Why can't dealer personnel ever take the time to read up and learn about what it is they are selling, anyway???