8526 production

Alright so I posted previously that I bought the car with a blown head gasket and had been sitting so long it was seized. Well got all that straightened out and fixed and then ran into the issue of oil filter gasket being pushed out and leaking oil like mad (obviously shut it off immediately) then read about the spring getting stuck in oil pump. Well I lifted the motor and pulled the pan and pump off and sure enough it was caked bad and spring completely seized. Cleaned and replaced both and all is good after deleting the oil cooler as well.

it had a slight miss and would cut off after wot. Checked fuel pump and all seemed well but went ahead and drained all old gas out from the trap access from previous owner and changed fuel filter and it ran like a scalded dog and was super happy.

Well I’ll then I noticed the old (I believe original Opti 128k miles) ceramic coil connector was broke and spark arching. Replaced the Opti and it was all well again.

Problem I am running into now is that it’s almost like fuel filter is clogged again or an issue with the fueling. Reason I say this is because I checked the charcoal canister and all of those lines were screwed up and barely connected and i straightened them out.

now for the love of everything I can not figure out why in reverse or drive it stumbles under its own load but if I apply any throttle it will straighten out and go but does not feel like it did previously in anyway, power, throttle, and when bringing it back in the driveway after test runs it will idle down low and just cut off.

Ive checked all vacuum and it seems fine (soap water / spray bottle)

has slight exhaust leak at manifold near number 4 but usually clears up after a few min

pass motor mount needs replacing (cracked bushing on outside of mount)

seems to be running rich a little more then expected without having a cat as it was crushed when I got it and I straight piped it. But I thought I was going crazy but pretty sure I was getting gas in the oil and no the sending unit wasn’t wet with gas which leaves me to believe it’s either injector or fuel related.

Plus and wires replaced with gm wires and ngk plugs (what a pain on the pass plug wiring)

opti is indexed correctly as I had a spare that was in fact bad and then replaced with a gm unit.

Its just something small that I am missing and just looking for a word of advice and no there are no codes and the only time I ever saw a check engine light come on was for a split second in reverse the other day but went away almost as fast as it came on and didn’t store anything.

Sorry for the long post but more of a rant and a cry for help as this has been quite a long 2.5 weeks.

things done
new heads
new head gaskets
plugs
wires
oil pump
water pump
both coolant sensors (head and water pump)
vacuum lines
wix filters after all like 8 oil changes I did before running down the pressure regulator spring issue
cat delete


I’m thinking the injectors may be going bad but since it’s Easter I’m not messing with it today. I do have a whole other set from a complete swap I picked up (tons of parts if anyone needs anything)


thanks for any advice

and while none of the work has been difficult accessing it on the other hand you all know is a diff story and I have documented EVERYTHING on video so if anyone is thinking about rebuilding one of these just please god know when people say it’s a pain........believe them

ill attach the latest video clips I have it will help

8526 production

The videos I have I can’t get to load on here but I’ll figure that out and yes this thing has been brought back from a dark and dirty grave

Injuneer

An exhaust leak before the O2 sensor (I.e. manifold) can cause it to run rich on that bank. Deleting the cat would not make it run rich. Still have the original O2 sensors, could be screwing things up. The EVAP system has little to do with running rich, unless the canister is fully saturated with wet fuel. Wouldn't affect idle, but the EVAP system operates frequently when the car is being driven. Simply pull the vacuum line off the throttle body, put a vacuum cap on the TB nipple, and see if anything changes.

Check the fuel pressure with the engine under load to see if there is any evidence of the filter being clogged.

Would strongly recommend you download Scan9495 and pick up a cable. A decent PCM data log should be very useful in tracking down the issues you are having.

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/com...95-lt1-874306/

Is the engine basically stock, or has it been modified?

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/lt1...nature-879835/

8526 production

Absolutely bone stock minus the flow master exhaust but it was already on there, but manifolds and all are still original. And thanks for helping out, without you knowing it you’ve answered a million questions from previous post I read, just being nosy but how exactly did you become so knowledgeable on all things Camaro

8526 production

Just wanted to update this as per Injuneer advice I unplugged both 02 sensors and it is back running a million times better, crazy how much those little sensors can make it go crazy. I’ll get a new cat for it eventually but man it felt great to be able to see all that hard work pay off (fingers crossed) again thank you very very much

Injuneer

You need to replace the O2 sensors. They are required to insure the A/F ratio is correct.

8526 production

Will do,only question I have about this is a cat required or will I be able to run a straight pipe and not have to worry about 02 sensors going crazy

Injuneer

You can delete the catalytic converter without affecting how the engine runs, the O2 sensors, etc..