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**Christopherrr** · 03-10-2009, 09:46 PM

Hehe...never seen C6 wheels on a TA before. I like it!

Originally posted by 99TRANSBOY

1. How many miles should I have before changing the rear differential fluid?

I change mine every 50K.

Originally posted by 99TRANSBOY

2. Suspension/Rear end problems. Is there any way I can stop this rub?

F-bodies tend to be lower on the passenger side. Find where that rubbing is coming from. If it's like mine, the passenger side brake shim was rubbing against the rotor on left turns. Have you replaced the brakes recently?

Originally posted by 99TRANSBOY

3. Reverse gear My reverse gear is also really hard to get into.

Is it grinding? I would try changing out the fluids...Syncromesh!

Originally posted by 99TRANSBOY

4. Stupid Tailight problem.... I am sure many of you know all about this one...driver side tailight, the reflective material is faded. Where is the best place to get a replacement? How much will this cost?

LOL! I have the same issue as well as many others. The reflective portion isn't faded...condensation took over and when it dried out left a film that cuts into the reflective part and lens itself. I replaced mine once due to the same issue and it happened again! So I won't replace it again...instead I will do a write up on how to disassemble, clean, assemble and seal. I believe the cause is tighening the wing nuts too tight...but for whatever reason, usually it's the left side that has the issue. The stealership sells em for $345. You can find used ones at www.tacreationsusa.com

Sweet ride btw...looks like mine, minus the C6s.

**Injuneer** · 03-10-2009, 09:51 PM

Originally posted by 99TRANSBOY

1. How many miles should I have before changing the rear differential fluid?
I just purchased my bird and she has 45,000 miles. Not sure if the previous owner ever changed the rear differential fluid, is this something I Need to do?

Check your Owner's Manual. There are two tables of maintenance recommendations.... on for severe duty (conditions are defined in the table) and one for normal duty. If your manual is similar to the one for my 94, it recommends that the diff lubricant be changed after the first 7,500 miles, and not again. If you feel uneasy with that recommendation, I'd say 50,000 miles is a reasonable interval. You need to use the correct lubricant (80W-90 GL-5) and be sure to add the recommended GM limited slip differential additive. If you don't have the owner's manual, Shoebox has a link to them online:

http://shbox.com/pdf/manuals.html

2. Suspension/Rear end problems I recently purchased some 18" c6 vette wheels to put on my ride. After installing them I noticed that I have a tire rub on what I think is the right rear. When turning left I experience body roll that then causes a rub somewhere. This only happens when turning left. I checked the tire and I cannot see any visible wear from the rub. I have a speaker box and some pretty heavy 12 inch speakers in the back. I took them out thinking it might adjust the ride height enough to stop the rub, however it still rubs even without the added weight of the subs. Is there any way I can stop this rub? Is there any adjustment I can make? I noticed I have some kind of edelbrock arm that connects to each side of the rear end, on one side of this arm I think it is adjustable. Does anyone have any advice?

Are they real GM C6 wheels or replicas? What is the width of the wheels and the offset? Many Corvette wheels have a large positive offset, that puts the inside surface of the tire too close to the inner fender liner in a 4th Gen F-Body. If that's where its rubbing, you may need spacers to move the wheels/tires outward slightly, or you may need to hammer the inner fender liners.

If the tire only hits on one side, the panhard rod may be damaged or not adjusted correctly. If that is the Edelbrock arm you are asking about (connects the bracket on the driver's side of the axle assembly to a large arm welded to the chassis on the passenger side), it may need to be adjusted to re-center the rear of the chassis over the axle assembly.

If you can provide the specific details of the wheels - width and offset - plus the exact tire size (e.g. 285/35-18) it will be easier to help you.

The panhard rod is black nearly horizontal bar, right behind the rear axle, in this picture - is that what you are talking about?

3. Reverse gear My reverse gear is also really hard to get into. I mean its not impossible but its getting hard to put it into reverse. Is this normal for the Trans Am or is my gear going bad? She also feels really jumpy and shaky when riding in lower gears through town ( 2nd and 3rd gear). Just wondering if a tranny problem is in my near future?

Basic question - manual or automatic tranny? If it a manual, what part of shifting into reverse is difficult - moving the lever to the right to get it into the "gate" (indicates a problem with the reverse lockout solenoid), or putting the lever in reverse after its in the gate (internal fork or synchro problem)?

When you says its "jumpy" in 2nd and 3rd, what exactly do you mean? forward/backward slop in the drivetrain, clunking under the car from a faulty tranny mount, whatever?

4. Stupid Tailight problem.... I am sure many of you know all about this one...driver side tailight, the reflective material is faded. Where is the best place to get a replacement? How much will this cost?

The East wood Company makes a bright silver paint that is supposed to restore the reflective properties of the tail lamp reflectors. I haven't tried it, but most of their stuff does what it says it will.

http://www.eastwood.com/

(Ignore the weird red x's.... the language fiilter software on this site is seriously screwed up).

**99TRANSBOY** · 03-10-2009, 10:59 PM

INJUNEER,

Yes the panhard rod is exaclty what I am talking about. Thank you for helping me with the terminology here lol. Here is the information on the wheels and tires.

Rear wheels 18X10.5

Tires 275 40 18

They are replica rims and I do think it is the inside of the fender where it is rubbing. About the panhard rod, I noticed that it seems as if the left wheel sticks out from the fender a little bit more than the right side. That is why I was wondering if this rod was able to adjust that?

About the tranny, its the six speed. Moving into the reverse gate is a little rough, but the biggest problem is going into reverse from the gate. About it being "jumpy" There seems to be a little slop when I let off the gas, and a clunk sound sometimes. It is not too bad right now, its just my fear that its going to get worse. It seems a little harder then it should be to get the perfect shift in lower gears (1-3), just a bit "jumpy" and rough.

I feel like I am a driver giving my crew information lol. Seriously though thanks for your help. Any other help you can give would be great. Thanks so much!!

**Injuneer** · 03-11-2009, 05:15 AM

The data I have on some 18x10.5" replica 2000 Corvette wheels indicates they have a 58mm offset. That gives them a backspace that is a little over 8.0". That's too much, and puts the inside of the tire against the inner fender liner, particularly if you have a wide tire. A 275 isn't that wide though. It's sort of a narrow tire for that wheel. I run a 17x11 50mm offset wheel, with a 50mm offset. Backspace is 7.93", and I had to hammer the inner fender liners, cut the projecting edge off the jounce bumper bracket, and recenter the body over the axle (get the the wheels so they stick out the same on both sides) with the adjustable panhard rod shown in the photo.

If your panhard bar has threads where the "ends" mount to the bolts, it is adjustable. If it has two sets of threads, it is "double adjustable" and can be adjusted on the car. Lenghtening the bar moves the body toward the passenger side, shortening it toward the driver's side. If there is only one end threaded, its "single adjustable" and you need to unhook one end of the bar to allow you to turn the "end" and adjust the length, making the adjustment more of a trial-and-error procedure.

Here's a link to another site where I have an instruction on modifying things for really wide tires:

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312442

Scroll down to the thread on 17x11 wheels..... that's my setup.

As far as the tranny is concerned, you can try changing the fluid. My recommendation would be the exact fluid specified by GM, which is Dexron-III ATF. Incompatible fluids may damage the blocker rings and make it even worse.

As far as the slop in the driveline, check 1) the tranmission mount to make sure the rubber part isn't cracked. That will allow the tailshaft/driveshaft to move around too mush. 2) grab the driveshaft and try and turn it. Watch for excessive play in the U-joints, or at the pinion shaft of the differential. Rule out slop in those locations first.

**99TRANSBOY** · 03-16-2009, 05:45 PM

Thank You!!

Thanks for your help guys!! I have not had much time to work on the car yet, but the info that you provided will be key when I go to fix it. Thanks so much for your help.

**Joshu** · 03-17-2009, 11:55 AM

Dude your sig is huge!

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1999 Trans Am Questions and slight problems

1999 Trans Am Questions and slight problems

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