Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 - Bought a '00 ws6 today, few questions

I just bought a 2000 ws6 today and im getting rid of my 5.0, and i gotta say these things are alot faster than my mustang, anyway I have a few questions, I'm not sure whats its called i think its a condenser, its the metal canister that gets wet when the a/c is on, well anyone i opened the hood after having the a/c on for a while and the whole thing was covered in frosty ice, i'm just wondering if thats normal, and another thing is the abs seems weird, i;ve never had an abs car but it seems like the pedal gets hard and then gets softer, and also when im slowing to a stop i feel the pedal pulsing but i wasnt braking hard and i was going like 5mph. thanks guys

Get the brakes checked out by a mechanic. The pulsing could be a warped rotor.

I had the same problem with the brakes, Chaotic is right... it was a warped rotor. I put new rotors on, new brakes, and no more "pulsing". Also, if it's warped, you may feel the steering wheel "pulse" like the brake pedal also. Hope that helps...

The AC Condensor is working as it should. Here in the hot & humid midwest, mine does the very same thing on occassion.

Our cars are known for brake warping. The symptoms you describe sound just like a warped rotor.

Well I took my car to the shop I work at, and cut the rotors, one was slighty warped, but it still does it, what it does is sometimes when I first use the brakes they feel very hard to push down, and then when it slows to a stop the abs kicks on very slighty, its real weird, it still stops good, also did the ws6 come with drilled and slotted rotors, mine have them and I'm just curious if they came with them. I'm thinking about taking the headunit out of my mustang and putting it in the t/a I was wondering if its a lot of work switching headunits. thanks

oh yea one more thing, I have slp loudmouth exhuast on it, and if I havent driven my car in a while and I start it up and start driving and push in the clutch to shift, the exhuast pops real loud, it goes away after a minute or two of driving.

Well I took my car to the shop I work at, and cut the rotors, one was slighty warped, but it still does it, what it does is sometimes when I first use the brakes they feel very hard to push down, and then when it slows to a stop the abs kicks on very slighty, its real weird, it still stops good, also did the ws6 come with drilled and slotted rotors, mine have them and I'm just curious if they came with them. I'm thinking about taking the headunit out of my mustang and putting it in the t/a I was wondering if its a lot of work switching headunits. thanks

This is probably best suited for the Handling & Brakes forum, but I'll still give you my thoughts. Drilled and slotted rotors weren't a factory option. From what I've read, it's a very time consuming process to properly turn drilled and slotted rotors. I went with Baer Eradispeeds on my car over three years ago because of rotor warping problems. I haven't had a single problem since.

Maybe you have some air in the brake lines or a brake that is dragging?

I'd post the radio question in the Stereo & Electronics forum.

ABS kicks in when you dive on the brakes so hard the tires would otherwise slide instead of continue rolling... from your descriptions, you're not hitting the brakes remotely hard enough to engage ABS.

You certainly have a warped rotor. Having it turned will machine off the routine wear marks but will not remove the warp. New rotors aren't that expensive- just buy a new set for the front.

I would recommend having the brake system checked out by a trusted mechanic... at a minimum have them inspected and have all four corners bled (referring to brake fluid). This shouldn't cost much either.

Many folks recommend aftermarket rotors due to the reputation these cars have for crappy OEM rotors. I've personally never had a problem with warping. The main cause of warping in my opinion is using the brakes really hard and then sitting at an intersection with the brakes depressed for a while. The uneven cooling quickly causes them to warp. If I'm in that situation, I typically either let off the brakes completely (works nicely if your on level ground and have a manual), or I'll try to leave enough room that I can creep forward and keep the pads from covering the same area long enough to contribute to warping. That seems to have done the trick for me- your results may vary.

Once your brakes are checked out and working normally, find a big emply parking lot some day when it's raining... get up to some speed, and slam the brake pedal down. The pulsing you feel pushing back against your foot is the ABS kicking in. ABS prevents the wheel from locking up meaning you still have some control over the car and can actually steer somewhat.

On the opposite side of the coin, you may have traction control which works in reverse by preventing the wheels from breaking loose when you get on the gas. The switch would be in the middle of your dash next to the fog lights if it's like the Camaro's layout. Says something like ACS on it. There is no such switch to disable ABS short of pulling a fuse.

Swapping in an aftermarket headunit will be pretty easy- there's lots of room and many kits available to mount the radio. You'll need a new harness adapter unless you're going to hardwire everything, and you'll also need a special adapter for the antenna connection. GM uses a mini-pin setup in place of the standard plug everyone else seems to use.

The popping when you get off the gas is pretty typical for a low-restriction exhaust. The Loudmouth is about as low restriction as they come (notice there's not even a muffler?). If it bothers you, you'll need to replace it with something more restrictive. If you get up to a pretty high RPM and let off the gas (coast), you'll probably hear quite a bit of popping... nothing unusual. Mine even does it a little, and I have close to a stock setup.

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

-Scott

well congrats on the new buy, yes they are faster than mustangs. enjoy the ride and my car came also with the loudmouth that popping happened to me also on start ups in the morning but i basically let the car run for 1 min. let the engine get nicely oiled up and then drive off.

yea i get the same popping with my borla...it dose it durring quick shifts too....almost like its blowing flames in a turbo car

Thanks for the replys guys, but about the brakes, I really don't think its a rotor being warped, because, it doesn't do it all the time, once and a while, and mostly when I first start driving, I will go to brake and the pedal feels very hard, and I get it to stop just before it completly stops the abs comes on slightly, its real weird, and then sometimes the brake pedal feels normal and no problems, like i said I have no experience with abs at all so I'm clueless

be sure to torque the lug nuts...