...okay...where to start...This is pretty long, but im trying to be as detailed as possible.

I bought a 97 SS SLP from this guy about 7-8 months ago. I knew from the start that she wasnt in Pefect condition, but she has a TON of potential and she ran like the wind! I was in LOVE at first site.

The guy said that he got the car with a salvage title. When he got the car it had been in a minor accident. The drivers side front fender and front bumper had been replaced (still primer). He said that he got the car because he had the same car, but his son totaled it but the engine was still good so he just needed a body for it. So he took the engine out of his old camaro. A 97 Camaro Z28 (still sitting in his backyard) and dropped it in mine.

I had been looking for a 97 Camaro SS FOREVER! I did not want one that was "tip-top" because i wanted a "Driving Project" something that I could work on and make it my own on the weekends and still be able to drive it daily. I bought it for $3200.

I took it to an emissions station, and it failed b/c the the SES light will not come on when in ASSRY mode. The tech said that the car wasnt throwing any codes. Since i am driving the car in an area where emissions are not required, i wasnt really concerned about it b/c it was running GREAT! TONS of POWER and tranny is perfect. NO leaks, but did notice it was running RICH!

Everything was GREAT with her for 6-7 months. NO problems at all...until...one day (being STUPID), I ran out of gas. I made it to the gas station driveway...but not quite to the pump. I put gas in it and nothing. I burned the Fuel pump up. I knew it right away.

Took the car to a local shop and put in a new pump. Tech there said the pump was on its was out anyway. AGAIN everything was fine. She was running now with even MORE POWER and better response....until...a couple of weeks later. leaving work...stopped at a traffic light, she felt like she was just gonna cut off. RPM dropped CRAZY low. When i took off from the light, there was SEVERE hesitation. I made it home. The net day she was fine. kinda forgot about the incident. Then it happened again a couple weeks later and started to happen more frequently. I noticed that if i turned the car off and turn back on it would "snap" her out of it and she would be fine AGAIN.

One day she was doing it again. i turned her off as i went into a store (5 min) came back out and tried to start her. she was turning over but would not start. sounded like she was flooded. i sat and waited about 30mins. she finally started and hesitated ALL the way home, but didnt stall. That was my LAST real ride.

I took her to the shop again. they said that it was the opti. they quoted me a price of $2300 just for labor!!! Thinking they were OUT OF THEIR MINDS, i drove her home and decided to do it myself. She reached a point where she would not start at ALL. I would try over and over and nothing, just kept turning over but not catching (starting).

Went to AutoZone and purchased a Cardone Optispark, water pump, serpentine belt.

Took her apart. Got to the water pump and it was clearly leaking fliuid. trails going straight to opti, so I was confident that was the problem. Replaced the opti, WP, serpentine belt. (REUSED old ECT)

Put her back together and she started RIGHT up. Only took her around the corner that night since i didnt put coolant in, and it was 2am. I tought my baby was back...NOT. The net day i put coolant in and took her for a real ride. Ran for about a half mile. She started to backfire as i was slowing down (she was doing this Just before she put me down) WTF!

Took her back home and was baffled. She would start up and idle fine until closed loop mode...then she started stumbling and jerking and would eventually stall after about 10-15 mins.

Bought the $60 pocket scanner from AZ. the first time i hooked it up it gave me 11 codes. couple for MAF, couple for O2 sensors, and a cylinder 7 misfire, and the same ones "pending".

So...I replaced MAF sensor. Took her out and she was running FINE again...for 5 miles. I was approaching railroad crossing and slowed down and she died. got her to the side of the road and let her sit for a min,but this time there was no restart. She would turn over but not crank. i tried and tried, then i see white smoke coming outta the hood. Pop the hood and the smoke is coming from my air filter (SLP Blackwing Cold Air Intake). Figured it had to be coming out of the air intake. Towed her home.

Started right up in the morning. Ran for 10 min and stalled AGAIN! Would not start again. Took blackwing off to see intake. got smoke again out of the throttle body. Held the TB doors open to let smoke out. She Started right up and stalled again after few mins.

Scanned again and got codes for O2 sensor (bank 1, sen 1), and post cat O2 sensor (not concerned its not on there anyway) and codes for random misfire. Changed B1, S1 O2 sensor...NO CHANGE. Still codes for random misfire.

I changed spark plugs (WHAT A BITCH) took me like 10 hours, 7 of 'em on #2. DID NOT CHANGE WIRES, they looked fine. Plugs were bad. some were black and wet, others looked not TOO bad. Started her up...and this time it was worse than ever. She only ran for maybe 5 min. Once closed loop hit, she started hesitating AGAIN and stalled. This time she sounded like she was fighting to stay on but she lost the battle...stalled and sounded like she was gonna blow up...lots of jerking before completely stalling.

Im only getting codes PO141 (post cat O2 lft bank), PO161 (post cat O2 rt bank), PO300 (random misfire).

IM AT A COMPLETE LOSS. I dont want to FAIL at my first do-it-yourself project!! The scanner is showing that the EGR test is "incomlete" Could THAT be the culprit?? Is it my ECM sine the SES light wont ever come on (the scanner says that it should be on). and i know for a fact its not the match to the engine, but its been out b/c its zip tied in. Is the opti a piece of crap??

I DID NOT purchase a new wiring harness for the opti...Could THAT be it???

OH...and my "low coolant level" light is on...but i dont see any leaks...and my "check gages" light comes on before i start her up!???

PLEASE SOMONE ANYBODY HELP MY BABY! ANY help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!! SUPER eager to get back on the road!!

1997 Camaro SS SLP
M6,
Flowmaster Cat back
SLP Blackwing Cold Air Intake
T-tops

 

It looks at the O2 sensors in closed loop - if they are shot or fouled for some reason, that could do it. If it was running better, you could switch banks with the sensors and see of the prob follows one of the sensors.

 

If the SES light bulb is burned out, or the wiring is faulty, you should be pulling a code for that - P1661. Check to make sure someone hasn't put a piece of tape over the back of the instrument panel, behind the SES light symbol.

Now... another quirk of the SES light code. The PCM will not run the SES light circuit diagnostic if codes P0117 or P0118 are active. Those codes are for the coolant temp (ECT) sensor in the water pump housing. If the ECT sensor is telling the PCM the engine is cold, and not telling it when the engine warms up, it could cause the engine to run extremely rich when it warms up.

Another possibility - Have you checked the fuel pressure since you had the pump replaced? Turn the key to on, without starting the engine, and watch the fuel pressure as the fuel pump primes and then shuts down. If the pump primes to 40+psi, is should hold there for a while. If the pressure drops rapidly, it may be due to a badly leaking injector or injectors? Have you had the injectors checked or cleaned? Might explain the rich condition and smoke (fuel vapor) coming back up into the intake manifold/throttle body.

Otherwise, you need to run a data log on the PCM software like AutoTap. That would allow you to see how all the sensors are working, and how the PCM is responding to them.