hello everybody, i just bought my first car. A 1993 camaro z28 and i abslutely love driving it, when it works that is. About a week after i bought the car i had to put a new cat on it 800$ and because it had a new cat it was really really alot louder than it was before so i had to get a muffler and because it was all welded they had to cut and replace pipes 450$ so i have had to spend a lot of money after i bout the car and yet another thing is wrong. when i hit the gas it either goes to about 1700 rpm before it goes up and even if it does my car hardly accelerates, but if i roll on to the gas it takes a little while to get above 2000 rpm and shakes a lot at 1900rpm but once i get to 3000rpm it has good power until 4000rpm and then i don't have any more power hardly at all. sorry it takes so long to explain but i'm just not sure whats wrong. Maybe a dirty air filter or spark plug gaps or maybe something in the distributor. If i could fix it myself that would be great becuase i don't have a ton of money right now, any replys would be greatly apreciated. Thankyou. oh yah and both the windows are off the rivets so i have to get those replaced to.

 

wow...you've wasted a TON of money.

a new cat is about $150 give or take. and you can buy an entirely new high performance exhaust for about $300.

as for the acceleration problem, it's hard to say with your description. could be bad plugs, filters or the optispark.

is it throwing any codes.

 

well at first but after i got the new cat the ses light went off and the only other thing is abs inop which i don't car about so no.

 

Is the SES light on?

Yes? Go to autozone or w/e and get a OBD 1 scanner and have it ran. Post the codes it is throwing.

No? Start cheap, check the airfilter. If its a K&N go ahead and clean it. If it looks dirty, replace it. After that maybe put a fuel pressure gauge on the Shrader valve. Post the fuel pressure. Maybe a fuel filter? Might take a plug out and see what kinda shape it is in. If you do, do it on the drivers side the pass side is a lot harder to get to Plugs and wires can be a PITA.

 

well i have good news and maybe some bad news, i took the airfilter out and it was dirty as hell, i ran w/o the airfilter and took my car up and down the block, the low end is considerably better, bad news is the top end is still sluggish but that maybe becuase i am getting too much air. theoretically if i am getting to much air in the top end it would cause my gas/air ratio to be off and i would lose power right? well i hope so anyways. Any replys would be great thanks.

 

Don't drive without a filter. If you suck up a rock and it goes through your cylinder something might seriously destroy your engine.

Also, NEVER GET THE ENGINE BAY WET!!! If you didn't already know, the distributor, called the optispark, is very very very very sensitive to moisture and 90% of the time dies when it gets wet. That's an expensive piece to buy and replace.

Do what some other people have said. Take a spark plug out, if it is black or white, that is bad. You want it to be tan. Black = running rich. White = running lean. Then take a fuel pressure gauge and measure the pressure, it should sit around 42-45 primed, could be 38 at idle, and jump to 50 at wide open throttle. It should also hold the pressure for a good hour or more after the car is turned off. It might go down some, but it shouldn't drop to 20 within an hour.

Getting too much air in high rpm's is not really possible on a stock LT1. I say your plugs are fouled like something mad. Not all the gas is being burned, so it is going into the exhaust and that might be what plugged up the cat in the first place.

Start with cheap stuff, air filter, spark plugs, fuel filter.

Last thing, you spent 800 on a cat???? And 450 for cutting and replacing pipes? Not to be insulting, but someone really took you for a ride.

 

if it's breakin up in the upper rpm it could very well be your coil...or coil wire.

if it isn't providing enough spark to ignite the a/f at upper rpms, you'll never run right.

step one is to go through and change the plugs and wires, should include the coil wire.
and i think you can get a good aftermarket coil for less than $50. it would be very worth while

 

thanks for all the replies, i just put the new air filter on and i haven't taken the car out for a spin yet so i'm not sure how it's gonna run, tommorow i am having my friend look at my plugs n wires to help me determine whether thats affecting it or not. He did the tune up for is 93 formula so he knows what hes doing and yes i know i got ripped, the thing is i don't know why. I have gone to that mechanic for 15 years well my dad has i am only 18 but he has always been very fair with us so i'm not sure if he is just having bad buisness or just missed his estimate big time but i am going to by the parts myself and just have them put them on so i don't get screwed. I would rather do the work for myself rather than have a mechanic do it. problem is i don't have hardly any mechanical experience so i don't know what to do. I bought auto repairs for dummies and i have learned a lot but there is still a lot to learn. What is the best way to learn how to do repairs? thanks for the replies.

 

well good news and bad news. I put the new airfilter in and my low end is great until 3500 rpms then it falls off. So i'm thinkin it's gotta be plugs, fuel pressure optispark(god i hope not) or maybe gaps. any other replys would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Replace the fuel filter.

 

you sure? Not that i don't believe you but that is the one good thing i could have hoped for. I have a spare that he gave me with the car. i'm not sure how to do it. is it something a not very mechanically experienced person could do? thanks for the reply. on a side note, the concept camaro made the evening news!!!! flippin awsome!!!!! do they have an idea of price new?

 

First hand. Do them yourself, nothing teaches better than making your own mistakes. Reading is one thing, and you can learn a lot, but it's a whole different world when you do it with your hands. (don't feel bad either, I sprayed my engine bay with a hose the first day I got it , WHICH YOU SHOULD NEVER DO!)

As for replacing the fuel filter, I really doubt that is it, but since they are cheap and you have a spare one, do it anyways. The fuel filter is on the drivers side, and a little bit infront of the back tire. It's a silver cannister, can't miss it. One end unscrews, and the other end snaps off the line from the pump. Just make sure when you are unscrewing the one end, that you are NOT bending the fuel lines. The snapping end is rubber so who cares. Gas obviously comes spraying out for a second when you snap it off, but it's not major. Put the new one in, screw it on, snap it on, prime the car a few times, then start it up. Might have a hard time starting first few times since the filter needs to fill with gas.

Good luck with your car. I seriously think it is the plugs, coil, or opti. And I would check them in that order, since they go from cheapest to most expensive. My money is on plugs.

 

you can spray down the engine bay, just be very aware of the opti spark.............you people who say dont do it, how the hell do you expect to clean your motor???

i mean wtf do you think happens when u drivein the rain??? water freakin toasts the opti spark, yet it still functions........just be aware of where it is so u dont have a constant stream of water on it

 

Water doesn't really get to the opti in the rain or when washing the car. If it does it isn't that much. When I said I took a hose to it, I mean I basically pressure washed the whole thing. Also, take some pride in your car and scrub it down by hand

 

(don't feel bad either, I sprayed my engine bay with a hose the first day I got it , WHICH YOU SHOULD NEVER DO!)




^^i was just responding t0 what u said ^^

im not the one who messed up their opti the first day they bought the car

and if you meant pressure washing the engine bay you should have said it!!! Is someone contradicting themselves??

So, all i did was respond to what you said.........and i do scrub mine by hand, but there are some things that are stupid to do (simple green and the water hose cleans great.........i polish everything else)