Problem Problems!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok my g/f bought me a 1985 Camaro Berlinetta for gas reasons (my monte gets 6mpg) and after i got the car i realized that it got horible gas milage!! its a 2.8 mpfi so it should get like 20-26 mpg right? WELL IM GETTING 9!!!! WTF??? :banghead:

When the car starts it idles extremly high for like 2 minutes and then idles down, i know the car runs rich and i cant figure out why.(DAMN FUEL INJECTION AND COMPUTERS) The car has power a high rpms but at low rpms its a joke and 1/2. :banghead:

Im used to cars without computers and i cant really work on this one, i think it might be bad injectors, bad cat, or a bad ECM. the only reason i think its the ECM is b/c the digital dash doesnt work and that migh contribute to the bad gas milage. HELP I NEED IT BAD I NEED TO SAVE $$$$ :banghead:

have you done a tune up? new air filter, fuel filter, plugs, wires etc. start from there. you might have a bad temp sensor, that could explain the high idle and bad gas milage

and i doubt it's a bad ecm. i dont think the digital dash is part of the ecm in that year. the speed buffer is a circuit of it's own. and a high idle during warm up is normal on some years.

Ya ive done the basic tune up plugs wires etc. etc., but i noticed something really weird the other day, when i was doing and oil change (smelled really bad of gas) the cat looked like it was a used one b/c when i bought the car he said it had all new exhaust even the stickers were still one the muffler and the cat end lots and lots of rust and the tips of the pipe looked like they were blow torched off. one quick question how can a temp sensor change my gas milage that much??

Your computer uses the engine temp along with the other sensors to determain how much fuel to pump into the engine. A bad temp sensor can throw that off like any other sensor. Check all of your vacuum lines for cracks and holes. Check the map sencor too. That can cause some headaches if it's not good. Get your enjectors clean and your fuel filter should be changed as well.

well, first off, the 2.8L dosnt have power anywhere in the power band, so a lack of low end power isnt surprising at all. the gas mileage however is terrible, but seeing as you describe the cat as questionable, that may be youre problem, however normally a collapsed cat will kill top end power rather than open up when you get faster. also, have you had the car scanned for codes??? the key element thatmakes computers so much better for diagnosing cars is that they will actually tell you whats wrong with them, you dont have to guess.

whoa whoa whoa. ok i had another 85 Camaro with a 2.8 With 15x10 Cragers on the rear mounted on some huge ass rubber, it was surprising but that thing could burn those tires like it was a 350 and could keep up with a 305, and my g/fs Camaro also has a 2.8 and i couldnt belive it but i beat a 305 with that!! I was always under the impression thata 2.8 was a big peice of shit and the one in my Beretta was but with these i was so surprised we actually had a big party that night, well there always is one but tthats beside the point.........anyways i think im gonna take the car down to Birdnow Chevrolet and get it check out, but its gonna have ta wait b/c i just lost my liscense again :banghead:

Being that you had the multi port fuel injection, yeah, when the car was new, it could actually get on the highway. Much faster than my 4100 equipped 85 eldo for instance :) and they were they same weight my car maybe 200 lbs more but theres a reason why they used to call them eldogs. Wellll when I got the car It smoked black but ran ok smoking like that buuuut when I got on the highway it took forever to get to speed... HOWEVER I had busted tail lights and a cop tried to turn around and stop me but traffic blocked him, and I got on the highway... it seemed like FOR EV ER cause I knew he was right behind me, lol, I looked down and my speedo was flashing 85! and I knew I was a little faster than that cause when I slowed down it took a while to stop flashing. I got 5 mpg while doing that. I have had over 220 cars in 10 yrs, and besides my 1978 toyota carolla 22r, this was the slowest car I have ever owned. I knew the 4100's rep very well when I bought the car, however this engine sounded great except for the smoking, and thats not a sound, but a sight and smell and money drain, and a cop magnet, green house gasses, well, folks, I promise you that when I punched out that catalytic converter, and my gas milage immediately went up to 25 mpg!!! at 75 mph no less, I figure I did the environment and myself a favor! So for your camaro it very well could be the cat. the excess pressure that is built at high rpm can sometimes escape through the rest of the EGR system, like through the AIR tube going to the cat if so equipped. Had any smog pump hoses blow out? ooooohhhhhh the stories.

oooooooooooooohhhhh the old ass thread.

Hell, maybe he still has it... I just thought I would post since it seemed no one else was being free with any solid advice for him :)

I take that back... there is some solid advice :)

guess I can't argue with that.