Pontiac Owners Club UK

Well what can i say...its a 2nd gen..but....

the handling seems worse now than its ever been.

Its wallowing on corners more than usual, and there is a vibration at around 55-70 mph. when i go over any bumps, there seems to be a rather annoying rattle coming from the front near side suspension/body or something round that area. inside the car, the rattle is reminiscent of a cardboard box full of dinner plates being shook up, but not as loud as that - i mean the actual sound produced. at low speeds there is a squeak coming from the same area when i go over a bump, and i can reproduce this if i rock the front end up and down, but with the hood open it seems to be the inner wing itself which is chaffing on something making that noise? the inner wing itself is not responsible for the clatter clatter noise at higer speeds and larger bumps.

Another issue is the cheep cheep cheep im getting from the front brakes when im not using the brakes - is this the pads which need a bit of copper slip behind them on the callipers? the noise stops if i apply the brakes.

any thoughts on these issues?

cheers in advance!

i must mention, that the steering itself is not vague - there is a bit of steering box play but no unwanted play elsewhere as far as i can tell.

have you checked the anti-roll bar links?
if these go/break it will wallow about
pads could need coppergrease, or just need tightening of the tabs
could be disc run-out too

i guess it time for a wheels off inspection and strip down of brakes!

As for the anti-roll bars, i dont think a firebird has them on the rear axle, but not sure about the front.

its a broken front link that will be most noticeable

The original ones tend to rust pretty bad ! It's cheap, so it's a good time to get a new set.

any ideas what the dinner plate noise could be?

Maybe a loose brake dust shield ?

Checked today - the anti roll bar is not broken at the front but the bushes are a bit perished.

Seems the dinner plate noise is probably the battery. It's only held down with a strap and not a threaded bar clamp. There is movement with the strap and I can replicate the noise if I bump the front up and down hard enough.

Th suspension bushes in general are looking tired at the front so maybe it's time to refresh them all. Found one of the shock absorber bolts on the front drivers side is also loose and won't tighten up so I think I may have found part of the issue.