SerpentWarrior

Hello! This is my first post here. I have a 5.7lt, 350, TPI, etc 89 camaro I am trying to restore and I think it needs a tune-up. I was out of the country for a couple years and left my car in a wood lot in Florida. I came back and my car was naturally camouflaged in a green algae type fungus stuff and wouldn’t start. There were some dead critters in the a/c vents but I was certain that wasn't the reason my car wouldn't start. I replaced the battery and it started right up. I drove it over to the drive way, cleaned it.. inspected it.. needed a new water pump, thermostat, and some hose that burst after the new pump was put in. I also had to have a rear rotor and break pads put on because my axle shaft was bent and ate right through the old, corroded pads... which were already damaged.. anyway.. that was two years ago. It has been running fine ever since then. I brought it up to VA on a full auto trailer and it is my daily driver.

Symptoms:

• Rough idel on a cold start- especially if it is cold out. My poor lil' i-roc has been spoiled by the warm Florida sun and now when I start her up she shivers a bit till she warms up.
  
• Car smells like it is running a little rich. There is a noticeable fuel smell in the air- outside of the car.
  
• Engine light is on 99% of the time.. It has gone out a few times and _THAT_ is when I started to worry and think there was something wrong; however, the car seemed to run smoother in general- for the most part.
  

Now keep in mind my knowledge of cars is like.. nothing. I know you are supposed to put gas in them and stuff... and I do oil changes all the time with Mobil 1 and use the 93 gas ^_^

I had to take the VA emissions test and failed the first time. Tried a oil change and that didn’t really help- failed again. I had some engine work done.. new catalytic converter and o2 sensor and they passed me... but the car still had the same symptoms.

I really think I should do a tune-up.. just for the heck of it. I just had the rear end reworked (drilled & slotted rotors, new axle shaft, springs, shocks, ceramic pads, etc) and I need to paint the car.. but want to make sure the engine is ok first. Paint > tune-up. $$$


Anyway, what should I do? Well, what I want to do is buy some decent parts for the tune-up. I did that for the rear-end and just had it installed. The repair shop tends to buy crappy parts and charge me a lot. They put in a crappy starter in to my car and charged me 50% more than if I bought it at Advanced Auto Parts.. in fact it is available on the website and comes with a warning not to try and crank with below 9.. something.

So I think maybe I should get new sparkplugs.. should I get a generic one or something cooler more like the Bosch Platinum+4 ones that are a bit more expensive?

"Distributor cap" ?? Should I get a new one too? would it hurt if I did?

I have K&N filters I installed when I first got up here.

What else goes with a tune-up?? :-s

Those wire things that connect to the distributor thing?

Fuel injectors? I know they are expensive but I could be willing to buy a decent set..

I got an estimate for 350-400$ for the tune-up and of course "much less" if I bring my own parts.

I want to get some decent parts but nothing super fancy. 100$ for a spark-plug = tooooo much

Any input?

I will be creating a website and will post links to this topic there.. actually all topics I make.. and pictures and video of the restoration process. The camaro is in pretty bad shape but still runs really nice.. especially now that I fixed the rear-end.. it flys! http://camaro.liquidfaith.com will be the address.. not up yet.. still securing the space and host stuff

Thanks for the advice!!
-Serpent

Rice Killer87

Welcome to the site!

I would throw some new gas in it and fuel filter. Cap,rotor,plug wires and just AC Delco stock replacement spark plugs are fine.

If your really worried about your injectors you can buy some kind of fuel treatment from a local parts store.

Tremo

Since you say the SES light is on, read the computer codes and it will tell you a lot about what it thinks is wrong with itself.

In addition to new plugs, cap, rotor, wires, fuel, air and oil filters, fresh oil, new PCV valve, also put in a new O2 sensor. If you run it too rich for too long, you'll wipe out the cat. If you've done that, you need a new cat.

Get some carb or throttle body cleaner in the spray can. Pull off the air inlet hose on the throttle body. Hold the throttle full open by hand and spray the cleaner up inside the TB. Take a rag and wipe off both sides of the throttle blades and the inside of the TB housing just beyond the plane of the blades.

After you've done all that, let us know how it runs.

02silverz

Get a new module for the distributer as well, you can get one off of ebay for $25-30, they do go bad, and is overlooked on most tune ups!

1991l98g92

First off, get away from the term "TUNE UP"...you don't have a carb with screws that get out of adjustment, you don't have a distributor with mechanical and vacuum advances that have to be checked to see if they're working, your valves don't have any adjustments. All those were routine things to do in what used to be a tune up, along with changing worn out ignition parts. What you need is regular maintainence, and a diagnostic check to find the problem. After sitting in the weather for a long period, electrical connections can get corroded, gasoline can go bad, electrical components can stop working, parts can get stuck open or shut. First start with codes and computer diagnosis. Replacing parts can get costly especially if they're not needed. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor are all maintainence items today.

89_Irocz

Also look for vacuum lines that may be dry rotted. I had a vacuum line that was split that leads to the EGR valve, stopping the EGR valve from working, and my car was doing almost the same thing. GOODLUCK, Charles

Tremo

Yeah, they do go bad, but rather infrequently. Mine just did, the original, and it had 150k miles on it. They last a very long time. Fortunately replacing them is easy. An 89 would require an 8-pin module. I just replaced mine with a Pertronix module, runs great now.

LesPaulGoth

All of these are good suggestions, especially the vacuum lines that were mentioned previously. These are commonly overlooked, and can cause your car to run crappy. I had just one hole in one hose, and that caused my car to run way rich and I dropped to about 10mpg.

Here is a link to a Vacuum Line Diagram. Just run through and do a visual check on all of these, and if they feel brittle or are cracking, REPLACE THEM! Don't just overlook hoses if you can't easily access them. Mine was actually running under the distributor and was very hard to see. So check all of them.

Vacuum Diagram

Also, run a can of SeaFoam through the gas tank, that will wake her up some. Best $4.99 I have ever spent on my car

_Clark

PS - Dont pay a shop to do this work for you, pick up a Haynes manual for $10 dollars, and a nice Craftsman Mechanics tool set (trust me, this will come in handy) and do it all yourself. Ask questions here, we would be more than happy to help you get your car running nicely again, afterall, we are all Camaro lovers, or else we wouldnt be here

SerpentWarrior

Thanks for the replies! I have been checking daily!
I saw this kit and was thinking to buy it... but having second thoughts. Seems like over kill, haha

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductD...pe=192&ptset=A

I was thinking it might help burn up some of the gas if my car is running too rich (?!?!)... :-s

Thanks again!

LesPaulGoth

Is that kit actually two systems? If so, you dont need it. You are going to want the small cap dizzy with the external coil (the unit with the single prong sticking out), the picture is confusing me as to what you get though.)

As far as fixing your rich problem, it wont. You are going to have to find out what is causing that yourself. Check those vacuum lines like I said, and invest in a vacuum guage. You can pick one up for about 10$ at an autoparts store. You hook it up to a vacuum line and see how much vacuum you are pulling. Im think something in the area of 18 is good. A low reading will let you know that you have a busted line somewhere.

89Vert

FI running rich,
good chance its a bad O2,

if you replace only use GM parts, not cheap crap,

Anniversary-Z-man

There have been some great suggestions listed. Start with the new fuel filter (>$20), then concentrate on the elect. system, dist. cap, rotor, plugs and wires. Check the vaccuum lines and while you're at it I'd replace ALL fluids in the car...new coolant, power steering, rear end, trans (new filter while you're at it), and brake (if possible)....try to do as much yourself and learn as you go...knowledge is power! You'll get bent over and raped if you need to have everything done on the car by a mechanic....plus you'll know it was done correctly if YOU do it and follow good instructions. Cars are quite simple to work on for the most part if you have the correct tools.

good luck!
- Joel

irocalot

I'd follow the recommendations above, but pay attention to the quality of the parts you get - quite alot of tune up parts out there are cheesy, and made for lowest cost - including wires, cap and rotor. If you ask at the parts store, they'll most likely have in the back "installer grade" parts ( the cap and rotor will have brass terminals instead of pot metal, thicker plastic that won't crack or warp as easily and allow moisture inside the cap, and the wires will have a larger core and better grade insulation).

As for plugs, standard ACDelco ones are fine, and change them every 25k miles - no need to get fancy there, spend the extra bucks on a better cap, rotor, and wires above. Fuel filter, pcv valve ( both acdelco - especially the pcv valve, a bad pcv valve can empty the crankcase of oil and cause an engine failure).

SerpentWarrior

great stuff! I left work today like normal.. except I kind of just started up the car, put it in reverse, and got going... and I went a little heavy on the gas for a bit.. for fun.. anyway... looked down and noticed my engine light is now off. Yay, problem fixed! ^_^ I still went out and bought a new fuel filter, plugs and pcv valve though. I am sure the light will come back in by monday. I almost picked up that kit I linked to... but wanted to wait and read the posts here about it. Checked my hoses and all seem to be very flexable.. I was going to buy a blue colored silicone hose kit.. because I want blue accents.. but when I was "playing " (no, seriously) with all the hoses I kinda just felt overwhelmed. Anyway, I will stick the basics for now. And will bring back the parts I bought today and get the ones recomended.

done:
-Passenger rear axle shaft (and all kinds of little things they did with it)
-New rotors and brakes all around
-Rear shocks and springs
-New radiator
-Oil Change w/ Mobil oil
-Starter (was put in about 2 weeks ago)
-fixed windshield wiper container (big crack in it)
-Fixed broken radiator bracket thing (fan blade destroyed old radiator because the bracket was broken)
-Transmission fluid replaced
-New hatch struts (yay)
-Bypassed hatch release switch (safty release module thingie was giving me probs and not releasing the hatch.. so I got rid of it.. I think that was what it was)

Needed:
-Engine work- as mentioned previously. Car runs great though..
-Fuel gauge broken for like 5 years now
-Temp guage broken too (caused when my waterpump and thermostate died on me and engine was making funny sounds- about 4 years ago)
-New driver's side mirror panel
-New headliner
-Weather stripping (tops, doors, hatch are leaking a bit)
-Maybe a new carpet
-Various little interior details
-Seatbelts
-New steering wheel
-Rims+tires
-PAINT!!!
-Hood struts

That is pretty much all that is left on my car.. then she'll look all pretty ^_^ After that I might start getting performance parts.

I'll be back.. I want to post pics of the WIP
-Serp

92RS305#2

if the O2 sensor doesn't fix your rich problem the only other things that affect fuel are the fuel pressure regulator and the MAF. and if the trans has significant miles on it and the fluid hasn't been changed regularly and the trans itself hasn't been giving you any problems i'd let sleeping dogs lie. draining the fluid and then filling it back up causes a few problems. one it doesn't replace all the 12 or so quarts in the tranny and two when you put the new fluid in it debris and pieces of the friction plates can get stirred up and cause more damage than you're trying to fix. seen it a couple times in the garage i've worked on and to my buddy's 98 s-10. but otherwise you have the right idea on where you're going with getting it back up to tip-top condition.