New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

[Firebird Phoenix]

Hi(I hope this is the right section) guys. Glad to be here, as this seems like the one stop shop for V6 Firebird info :tup:

Anywho a little background about myself. My first two cars were Firebirds(89' formula, then a 89' coupe). My dream car was a 4th generation Firebird(particulary 98-02 trans am style, but i'm happy to learn you can convert 93-97 to it). My 3rd car was a Fiero, deal went bad with that and I had to trade it back, I got another Fiero. I bought another one for parts and sold it. The 2nd Fiero I drove for a while till about less than 2 months ago the engine got rod knock. The cost of having another 2.5 put in was rediculous(no one wanted to do different engine swaps) so I started looking for another Fiero. Well I just so happened to stumble across a 4th generation Firebird. After talking them down to a suitable price range I could afford I bought a 4th gen firebird!! I couldn't believe I essentially had my dream car. I made a cardomain site http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2440156 but just incase the link doesn't work some info on it

1995 Firebird Coupe
V6 3.4
5-Speed Manual(my first manual car....so fun and I learned easily)
Nice black exterior, nice overall interior. Crack on the dash(any idea how to repair that?)
140K miles

A few things I was surprised by, how far the engine was mounted "under" the dash. Plus the power, I mean I know its not "fast" but if you compare it to my fastest car i've owned(either one of my v8 305 auto firebirds) this is crazy for me. I love that it is a manual.

Bad news......a week after I purchased it(purchased 8/24/06) on 8/31/06 on my way home from college this punk rammed into the back of my firebird :rant: Thank god the damage was only cosmetic(was inspected underneath to make sure no damage) on the rear bumper but it still sucked. He was at fault so he has to pay for everything (etc etc etc).

Anyways sorry i'm dragging this post along lol. I'm just glad to find a nice forum with a lot of information like the Fiero forum I frequent.(PFF). Since i'm a college student money is low, but the first "upgrade" I plan on doing is buying SLP bolt on sub-frame connectors. I also plan on doing a very nice tune because of the mileage. Seafoam, oil change(can anyone recommend a good brand?), spark plugs & wires, and.....I think that is about it? Also I have the problem of my drivers side headlight motor making HORRIBLE noise when turned off which as I read is the gear teeth are gone and I need a new one. But I did not see a link or w/e to purchase a new one?? I really need to familiarize myself with the Firebird, with Fieros I didn't even need a haynes manual as I knew a lot of the bolt and so on sizes and location of things. So could you guys point me to online guides, and recommend a good hard copy book on firebird repairs. Plus any good online stores?

Ok i'll go ahead and end this extremely drawn out post now and ask any other questions at another time lol. Glad to be here (forum and ownership of a 4th gen).

~josh~

edit: Sorry to talk more lol, but I forgot. Can you guys give me all "stock" info for my Firebird(95, v6 3.4, 5 speed). As in quarter mile time, horsepower, torque, and so on. Thank you

[Chevy16]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

looks pretty clean man, let the modding begin!

[RadRacer]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

Welcome man. Here's a link to some stock engine specs: http://engine.firebirdv6.com/


Car looks good, have fun with it, don't kill yourself with it, and take care of it.

[UDLOSE98]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

Everything sounds good, dont think I would start with sub frame's but its all about personal prefrence.

[Firebird Phoenix]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

Thanks for the welcome guys, and for that link Radracer

Also something I forgot to post, my right turn signal when I turn it on is "solid" as in it does not blink?? How can I fix that, cause flipping the turn signal switch constantly gets annoying quick.

As for the sub-frame connectors first? Idk I just like to strengthen the chassis(I read it can also improve straight line performance) and doing suspension modifications first. Modifications will probably have to wait a while as I only work part time due to going to college full time unless they are relatively cheap. When I get time I need to throughly search the site for information on cheap modifications on the engine(like CAI and so on) but for now i'm just going to maintain it very well.

[BLLDOGG]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

it stays solid cause either the front or back bulb on that side is out. :)

[Firebird Phoenix]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

So all I need is a new bulb is what your saying for front or back one(whichever is out) on that side? What tools do I need to remove the turn signal light? Man I feel like such a noob lol.....if this was Fieros it would be nothing. Btw I really appreciate the quick and nice responses guys

[RadRacer]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

So all I need is a new bulb is what your saying for front or back one(whichever is out) on that side? What tools do I need to remove the turn signal light? Man I feel like such a noob lol.....if this was Fieros it would be nothing. Btw I really appreciate the quick and nice responses guys

The turn signal has 2 bulbs in it. If one goes out, the signal stays on. As for getting to the bulb, I'm clueless. I looked into switching my signals with blacked-out ones, and I didn't know where to start as far as taking them off. But, if you search for "clear corner install" I'm sure it'll show you how to take the signal off, so you can then replace the bulb. I believe the screws are torque heads.

And NP on the quick replies :)

[vanbibber]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

check the rear signals first. my 3.4 always burned up bulbs in the taillights, drove me crazy.lol

[Silver 98]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

yeah hopefully its the back ones. the front ones are kinda a pain to get to, but the back ones are real easy. also, if all the bulbs are good, it might be your clicker thingy, which is kinda under the steering wheel/ behind the center console area. mines going out so the signals are reeeeeeeeealy slow.

and get used to the quick replys. people are real good about that on here. not that it takes getting used to though. anyways, good luck.

[nascar24jd]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

Welcome. :wavey:

Check all of the bulbs, if not replace the flasher. Nice ride, I just bought one too.

[this is america bytch]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

props, I have a 95 convertible so I know how they look, awesome, mine was a auto though :(

beware of ****ty rear drum brakes leading to accidents, caused me two with that car, my 98 camaro was no prob, they found out about this and 4 wheel disc brakes were added

[Firebird Phoenix]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

props, I have a 95 convertible so I know how they look, awesome, mine was a auto though :(

beware of ****ty rear drum brakes leading to accidents, caused me two with that car, my 98 camaro was no prob, they found out about this and 4 wheel disc brakes were added

It's funny you mention the rear drum brakes thing. I was thinking about that today and making a post about it lol.

So what would it cost(link(s) or part #'s) roughly to convert from rear drums to disc brakes? Plus how would you rate how hard such a conversion be for the regular car amatuer?

Also I want to go to the track for the first time(in this car and myself) to get a "base" time down to see what I progress to as time goes on before I even do basic stuff of a tune up to modifications. So what can I expect? What is the official 95' firebird coupe 3.4 v6 1/4 time? Also what would be the best rpm to launch from?

Also something odd I just realized the other night when leaving work. I've only used the headlights a few times, but if you recall my first post I noted my drivers side headlight makes a horrible noise when turned off(gear needs replaced). Which I plan on addressing soon.......but when I went to turn my headlights on my drivers side only came on?? I then turned off my headlights (insert annoying noise of drivers side headlight) and turned them back on and the passenger side came up perfectly????? I tried the headlights a few more times in the past couple days and it seems to only do this sometimes. Any clue what is up? Doesn't seem like it would be the gear as no hint of even a little noise can be heard typical of that. So...yeah??

Also just checked the turn signal situation, it indeed is a bulb out. Passenger rear, the one on the left(if you are looking at it). So can this bulb be bought at autozone? Also can someone tell me in step by step form how to replace the bulb.

Sorry for asking so many questions and some that may seem so easy but i'm such a "noob" to this car that its not funny lol. Thanks in advance!

~josh~

[Fbody3400]

Re: New to the forum and bought my first 4th gen firebird

The headlights have a life of their own. Sometimes i'll turn the knob and nothing will happen, then i'll turn it again two seconds later and their fine.

Yes the bulb can be bought at autozone or a similar store. To replace it, pop your hatch. Pull the carpeting from the back and you'll see 5 wing nuts. Four in visible sight and one near the inside of the quarter panel. Untwist those and then you'll be able to pull the taillight out. Its very simple, not hard at all

as for 1/4 times, bone stock you should be in the 16s. Don't be discouraged with that though, i had a 3.4 and loved every minute of it.