1995 camaro z28

My car has been running hot, changed the radiator, condensor,flushed the whole system, and it still ran hot, so yesterday I decided to change the water pump.

While I was in there, the Secondary Air Injection pump or AIR was pissing me off so while I was waiting on my wife to bring the new pump, I decided to take the thing off and get it out of the way,

I plugged the manifolds, took the pump off and all of the lines and hoses that ran to the pump.

Now there is a pigtail that isn't plugged in that went to the AIR pump,

I got the new water pump on, filled it, and cranked the car up,

It idled fine for about 5 to 10 seconds then it went it to so rough of An idle it cut off,

I have tuner cats, and I Am not sure if I have to tune something out for it. I don't think I got the opti wet, I half-*** had a plastic trash bag covering it and most of the water drained out of the radiator and hoses.

Any ideas??

 

If you hacked the pipe connectors to the exhaust manifolds and air is getting in there, it can throw off the O2 sensors and make the car run like crap, especially if it is dumping fuel to correct what it thinks is a lean condition. Maybe it is something unrelated like a big vacuum leak. That stiff hose that goes to the throttle body from the valve cover likes to crack and let in a bunch of air which would make it run lean, at least until it tried to correct itself. I'd also look at the optispark connectors at the distributor and at the pigtail on the pass. side of the intake manifold and make sure those are not corroded.

 

The AIR system does not affect the way the engine runs - unless you failed to properly block it off as Kevin notes. In OBD-1, as long as the is a good fuse on the AIR pump relay system, you won't even get a code. Nothing to tune out. I'd sure look for coolant dribbles on the Opti, even if you had a plastic bag on it.

 

I'm off today, I'll check those out. And when I cranked it up, I didn't get any codes. But it does run like it has a major vacuum leak. I did not
Mess with egr yet, all I did was plug the exhaust, take the AIR pump off, and the metal lines that run to the exhaust along with the hoses.

I am fixing to go try to get it back to running today.

And good lord I hope it's not the Opti. It runs like it's got a huge vacuum leak.

What throws me off is that the darn thing ran perfect for quite a few seconds when I first cranked it.

I'll check those out and get back with you,

Thanks,
Chance

 

These are what came off.

It cranked up, ran okay as it got warmer, it idled it self off.

All of my connections are right except the air pump itself is not plugged in.
The fuse is not blown and the ses light came on.

The car was running like a champ before I did this. so many people have. What did I take off that messed it up?

Since it's running fine sometimes, I wouldn't see how it would be the opti.
It's gotta be some kind of sensor or it's getting too much air or no vacuum somewhere.

Those little black lines are for vacuum, but I thought it was all parts that come off for the AIR.

 

If the SES light is on, you have to scan it for codes.

Did you plug all the vacuum line connections? Did you plug the AIR pump supply nipple on the air intake duct (between the air filter box and MAF)? Are you sure the AIR connections on the manifolds are sealed tight? Did you plug everything back in correctly - coolant temp sensor, inlet air temp sensor, MAF sensor? Is the MAF sensor facing in the correct direction?

Did you check the Opti for coolant including the harness connector and plug and coil wire ends?

 

SES light is off now.

I do <NOT> have the plugs for the hoses. and vacuums that came loose.

I figured that since the pump wasn't pulling anymore then It would bother it in the mean time of me getting the caps for them...


since im smelling gas now<<,

I DID use the original Nuts that came off the manifolds, I cut them off, pinched the lines and brazed them shut so I would still have the flared line on the bottom.

Since I smell gas, I wonder if the flares didn't seal, like the o2s ARE getting too much air and its flooding itself out.... that makes sense...

would the plugs make a better seal than the originals? I know the plugs wouldn't have the Flare like the factory ones.

 

When it first starts up, it doesn't look at the O2 sensors right away - some time has to go by and it needs to warm up a bit, then it goes into closed loop and looks at the sensors. So it runs well off the maps in the PCM for a while. Since that sounds like what it is doing, then I'd make another effort to check the exhaust for air leaks that are fooling the PCM.

 

Depending on whether your car had the AIR pump recall done, you may have an open vacuum port on the intake manifold. That would explain the rough idle.

Look at this diagram from Shoebox's site:

http://shbox.com/1/air_pump_recall.jpg

On the lower right corner is a diagram showing the vacuum line that runs frmo the vacuum solenoid to a vacuum nipple on the driver's side of the intkae manifold. That would appear to be the hose in your photo (top center/right). If that vacuum nipple is open, you have to get a "vaccum cap" from your auto parts tore and plug it up.

You also have to get a 5/8" vacuum cap for the nipple on the air inlet duct. That won't cause it to run rough, but it is allowing dirty, unfiltered air to enter your engine, bypassing the air filter.

Based on your description of pinching and brazing the lines that screw into the exhaust manifold, you mkay have an exhaust leak (or two) that is causing the engine to run excessively rich, as you already seem to have figured out, and Kevin has pointed out. You can block the manifold connections with 22mm-1.5 oil drain plugs. This also could cause rought idle and a gas smell.

 

GOT IT, well I pulled the plug loose on the passenger side of the opti, and it was a little wet, I took the plugs out of the manifolds and tigged the holes up, either of those two was it.
Sorry guys. Thanks for the help,

AS SOON as it cranked up, my engine man called me, starting my 383 this week! As much as I'd love to go with the 200cc setup from AI, he wants to use some 195s from AFR or Trickflow. Idk, I told him if I don't get a motor that lifts the front end off the ground them I'm pulling it back out. Just as fast as He can get it is as fast as I'll give him the Benjamins.
My goal is a 10.2 . Fixing to throw some more suspension mods to it in the mean time.


So if anyone wants some stock heads and intake, let me know.

Thanks guys,
Chance Harris

 

Well, let us know when you get there.