Katies95Camaro

The EGR is failing intermittently. Car is smoking with gas dripping out the tailpipe intermittently as well.
Got it out of shop today & its still not right. It was constant before it went in & they said it was fixed.
I followed it in another car and saw it would smoke/drip 3 to 4 times with a 1 mile distance.

Last Feb '05 they put in new O2 senser, spark plugs & PCV, rebuilt the top end, tune up & pressure cleaned injection system - $2400.00.
Its had this problem ever since then, reaked of gas so bad I hated to drive it with the convertible top down.
They blew me off 5X this last year trying to convince me there was nothing wrong until I recently had the catalitic converter & muffler replaced.
Gas was spraying out of the tailpipe up to a foot away when engine was revved.
I suppose they weren't trying too hard to fix it since they weren't getting paid, just did adjustments. It needs repairing before it ruins the new cat conv.


Could the EGR cause this gas loss or something else?

MyShibbyZ28

It might smell like gas coming from the exhaust, but I highly doubt unburnt gas is making it through the engine unless it is miss firing completely. In any case it wouldn't run right then. The "gas" coming out the pipes might just be water coming from the cat. If the cat is working right it is normal to see water coming out the exhaust.

Has your milage gone down a ton?

GALIATHON

have you ever changed your VAPOR CANISTER??

crasher88

yes you can but they are expensive as hell.

But back to the topic at hand. There is no way that I can think of raw unburnt gas could be shooting out of the tail pipe let alone a whole foot out of the tail pipe. Are you absolutly 100% sure its gas. I think what you are smelling is a car running extreamly rich and the "gas" you are seeing is water from the cat doing its job properly and that is totaly normal. Take it to a different shop one that is ASE and tech net certified and have them hook up the scaner to it and take a look at your long term fuel trims for each bank and see what they look like. They should be at about 128 counts. Is the check engine light on? Does the check engine light even come on during the bulb check when you turn the key to the "ON" position.

Katies95Camaro

The mechanic saw the exhaust said it was gas, I assumed he meant it litterally. Sure smells like it. Why he wont fix it or try to find out whats causing it- I dont know. The engine light comes on after it runs a minute or two & stays on. I'm so glad you said its only water, it only drips when its smoking. Its only gets 15 mpg, not too good for a V6. My V8 in my Trans Am get 24!

The Camaro poured black smoke right after the muffler shop installed the new cat, it looked like the car was on fire. They told me to get it fixed ASAP or it will ruin the cat. At least it doesn't burn oil.

I'm wondering if the EGR may be clogged since its not constant.
Why he wouldn't look at it after he knew it was failing... ???
I'll try to find a ASE Tech when I figure out where to online.
So far no luck BUT THANKS for the advice and relief!

crasher88

well 15 mpg is pretty bad on a 3.4 IMO. I do heavy city driving with a lead foot and getting nearly 18 mpg. But first smoke is bad very very bad. Black means its running way too rich. White with a sweet smell to it is coolant. And a bluish white smoke that smells like burning rubber is oil. First I would get it scaned and see what codes the computer is throwing to make the check engine light comming on. The EGR is used to controle NOx emmisions by allowing exhaust gases to be sucked into the fresh air going into the engine to lower the combustion chamber temps. Under a certant load, temp, speed, and throttle position the EGR opens a certant ammount and the computer takes away just a tiny bit of fuel out of incoming air but nothing like you are discribing. You have a problem wether it be a leaking injector or a FPR or some input sensor going bad. YOu need it looked at or get a hold of a scanner and see what the computer is seeing.

And about tech net here is a link to a store locator.
http://technet.know-where.com/technet/

Katies95Camaro

I dont drive it hard & its getting 15 mpg freeway & 12 mpg street.
Since the mechanic fixed it yesterday the smoke is light grey but blows dark puffs now & then.
They had checked the injectors when they took the system apart & cleaned it.
He hooked up to what I think was a scanner & it said "no historical codes * EGR solenoid * antitheft"

I think AAA might have some info on ASE cert techs also.
I really dont want anything else to go wrong. The car was hideous when I got it.
Now its looks pretty good, I wish it would run right! Could be worse.
5 times my 89 GTA 5.7 L has sat at a light & suddenly floored its own gas peddle. Now that's freaky!

MyShibbyZ28

Is its name Christine?

A blocked EGR/AIR should not do much. People do that to LT1's all the time without getting them programmed out and nothing happens. I would say O2 sensors, but you said those were changed. I'd say check them again since it's been a whole year. That is really one of the only things I can think of that would cause such horrible gas milage, other than very leaky injectors.

crasher88

check to make sure you getting good cam and crank position signal to the computer. If either one of them go out the computer defaults to MPFI insteas of SPFI.

Katies95Camaro

You'd think the GTA's name was Christine huh!
Its either tired (240K+ miles) & trying to kill me so I wont drive it anymore or jealous of the 02 Trans Am.
A headlight sticks sometimes - winking at me like its thinking "Go ahead - get in- make my day!"

You'd think they would have found bad injectors on the Camaro when they checked them.
A O2 may might be it. They said only 1 was bad & it's been running this way since the day they did the tune up.
Now they say they don't know why. I gotta find smarter mechanics!

RealDealZ28

You nailed it right there. Go find somebody that will quit screwing around and will actually fix it. My best friend got into a similar situation with his '95 3.8. He took it to a transmission shop, and over the course of 3 1/2 MONTHS and spending $1700 dollars, all they did was break the dash into a million pieces and cut the wiring harness.

gunsnroses67

I had a similar problem, so maybe i can help. I have a '94 3.4 v6. My car was doing the same thing as yours, I believe. When I floored the gas pedal liquid gas vapor would pour out of the tailpipe. It was gas, I put my hand over the pipe and then smelled it. Wasn't just exhaust. So I got to poking around under the hood. There was a tube on the EGR that had burned/rusted through and was letting exhaust escape. You could hear it on heavy throttle leaking exhaust out this hole. Also, I was having some problem with a vaccum line that went into the top of the engine at the same time. The combo could have been the problem. Anyway, this has been along time ago, so if memory serves I went to a junkyard and picked up a new EGR valve and put it in place of my old one. Started working just fine after that. No gas out the tailpipe, fuel mileage went from 12 mpg highway to around 20. Now, this may not be the same as your problem, but look around your EGR for a leak and if you find one proceed from there. I'm not the biggest gearhead, so if anyone wants to disagree or add to this, please do. I'd rather help and be corrected than to give bad advice.