Bad problems. . .

well. . . this is my first post in the "camaro" section. Im almost 18 and i got a 1982 Camaro Sport Coupe 2.8l V6 Carb., i got it when i was 15/16 for a couple hundred bucks. . .

a little history:
bought the car, owner said it had a bad knock. . . bad connecting rod i think, got that fixed. . . rebuilt the engine

the car is acting very random now that the engine has been rebuilt, somedays it starts up fine, other days not so good, or at all. . .

originally thought it was the carburator pouring too much gas in the intake; now im thinking its the choke or the gasket between the carb./intake is bad. . . when i take off the air filter lid i can hear a hissing sound, kinda like something is sucking something. . .

when i start the car up, it runs kinda rough and quite a bit of black smoke comes out the exhaust, but when i rev it up(if it doesnt stall) the smoke eventually goes away. . .

im almost at the end of my rope!! and have run out of ideas of what the problem could be, nothing makes sense. . .

PLEASE help me before i sell my Camaro!!

The hissing sound s/b a vacuum leak.

well. . . ive looked throughtout the whole car and didnt see any bad hoses or anything, i hear the hissing sound from the carb, a pic is located at bottom, but the car is still running too rich, i guess getting the codes for you would help.

any recomendations you might have on how to get the codes from the car? i have never done it.

btw. . . the car has NO power, you gotta practically floor it to get it up my driveway. . . and i really need help. . .

Top view-Carb.

^Back of car^
|----|
|( )|<----The choke
| ( ) |<----The hole i hear the hissing from
|----|
v Front of car v

You said the engine has been rebuilt? This problem showed up right after? Ignition time is set? All other basic ends covered? If so, you can check the baseplate gasket out by spraying carb cleaner around it and see if hte motor smooths out.

ya, everything LOOKS normal. . . this is the third carb. ive installed, and the one that runs the best. ignition timing is about perfect. . . about the baseplate gasket, thats the gasket directly under the carb right? that was the next step i was gonna replace the gasket to see if it helped. . . so i should spray IN the carb or around the gasket?

thanks for all your help wrightz28 :D
ill keep my results posted. . .

If you have a vacuum leak past the gasket, carb cleaner should smooth things our for sec.

Where are these carbs coming form? Stock replacements? Ready to run?

No prob for the 'help', just wanna hear another one come back from the dead story, we'll get it.

i got my carbs from AutoZone. . .

when i took it to the shop to get the engine rebuilt. . . the guy said there were two types of carbs. for the 2.8 and one would dump to much gas, im guessing i got the wrong carb. . . but first ill check the gasket. . .

here she is where i bought her.
http://img280.echo.cx/img280/1887/mycamarosunset8ee.jpg

hmm, I see what you mean about the carb, there's about 5 choice options to go through before you get to a listing.

A thought occured to me: don't take it the wrong way, but, are you sure the filter is in properly?

You've adjusted the curb idle and that fun stuff? Those aren't ready to run out of the box.

the air filter just kinda sits there snug, i can take the whole air filter assembly off the carb and not notice any difference. . . i havent adjusted anything except the timing, the guy who rebuilt the engine didnt tighten the distributer to the engine. . . . as i said everything looks normal and somedays the car can run PERFECT until i cut it off and try to start it again. . .

will adjusting the idle and the other "fun stuff" have anything to do with it running like crap most of the time and running perfect on rare occasions?

i havent been able to check the gasket yet, as its been cold and rainy here. . .

anyways. . . totally clueless

-Mike

the air filter just kinda sits there snug, i can take the whole air filter assembly off the carb and not notice any difference. . . i havent adjusted anything except the timing, the guy who rebuilt the engine didnt tighten the distributer to the engine. . . . as i said everything looks normal and somedays the car can run PERFECT until i cut it off and try to start it again. . .

will adjusting the idle and the other "fun stuff" have anything to do with it running like crap most of the time and running perfect on rare occasions?

i havent been able to check the gasket yet, as its been cold and rainy here. . .

anyways. . . totally clueless

-Mike


Well, like I said, they're usually not going to run right strainght out of the box, so yes, adjusting the curb idle and choke is going to make a world of difference and probably the answer to your problem.

By filter, I meant fuel filter.

well, i havent looked at the fuel filter yet, and i guess ill adjust the "stuff". . . i got a Hayne's and Chilton's manuel for the car, the correct adjustments should be in there right?

thanks again for your help :)

How and what to adjust should have come with the carb, but yes a manual should also be of use, but exact specifications (idle set speed ) are best found on the engine decal on the hood (hopefully still for the correct motor)

replaced the gasket seal under the carb yesterday. . . didnt seem to help at all.

looks like the plugs have gone bad again. . . gotta clean those today :(

about the "idling setting": if the car idles fine (when it does) do i still have to change the idle speed and other stuff?

Make sure the choke is operating correctly, s/b shut on a stone cold engine, then slowly open up when warned up.

choke is working correctly, supposed to have between 12-15v and has like 13v, and is fully shut when cold. . . i cant get the car to run longenough to get the choke to warm up :(

. . . cleaned the plugs. . . took the computer out so i can replace it.

the car seems to be getting worse!

This is one of those situations where the answer is right there staring at you in the face, but the mind insists that's it's something more complex.

Let's back up here, the motor was rebuilt, and after so, it was ran, and ran well? Have you gone over the installation sheet for the carb? All the fine print is covored? Something little is being overlooked, if you're smoking (black) @ startup, it's too rich, or the timing is too advaced.

lol, ok. . . ill back up.

when i bought the car, the owner had it sitting in a field, as seen in the pic, he said it had a bad knock. . . b/c the orig. owner ran it out of oil and blew the connecting rod. im guessing the carb was dumping to much gas and dilluted the oil which, in turn, blew the rod -> got it fixed. . . lack of power -> replaced the cat. conv. . . fixed 'power issue' somewhat. . .

so im guessing that the car was running too rich before i bought it.

i checked the timing and its as close to perfect as its gonna get. . .

but then again, something little probably is being overlooked, i just dont know what that something is!

me and my dad pulled the computer and gonna get a new one for bout $100. . . i got a decent job so 100 bucks is nothing. . .

i should really just send it to the shop. . .

*Severely Annoyed*

so to answer your question. . . the car ran OK for not even a day. . . but it did run. . . and we followed the installation sheet somewhat, we chocked the tires, put in neutral, pumped the gas like 5 times or so, and turned the engine over and thats when we replaced the carb again. . .

but as of today, the car decides not to turn over! !@#@!#$!!

anymore ideas?? lol

ruptured pump diaphragm?

Sorry man, I'm at a loss here without hearing smelling and seeing, really a stumper.

But it did run after the rebuild, just like crap tho?

ya, after the rebuild it ran like crap. . . so we replaced the carb. . . it was our first instinct. . .

i gave up!. . .

i sent it to the shop. . .

ill keep ya posted when its gets back. . .

Bummer, definatley let me know, did you ever get to checking the ignition timing out?

ya, i checked the ignition, almost perfect. . .. as close as i could get it

i called the shop, said they were busy and my camaro was next in line :D

well, a little bit of good new :)

the shop called this morning and said they ordered a new computer, put it in, and was sooo close to running good. . . . well, they had no idea why, so they got the "big-boss man" over and he said the computer was fine, the car was fine. . . but the problem was the computer chip, says it's not supposed to be in there (???) anyway, i got to find a chip (or PROM as they call it or ar the Chip and Prom completly different?) and this is what i found so far. . .

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9679/marochip4lh.jpghttp://img166.imageshack.us/img166/2046/marochip29ko.jpg

I would have imagined a new prom chip would have come with the new ecm?

I would have imagined a new prom chip would have come with the new ecm?

it would kinda make sense, eh? unfortunately, when you get a new ecm you do have to reuse the old prom

it would kinda make sense, eh? unfortunately, when you get a new ecm you do have to reuse the old prom

well damn, that's cheap. guess it's kinda like job securty.

still in the shop. . . .waiting to get the chip from the junkyard. . . ARGG!!!!

damn!

your car has been in a shop for a month! you are a patient man.

well, i bought the chip. . .could be here in 2 days or the 23rd. . . soo ya. . . almost ready

expected to arrive the 22nd. . . !!!!

ITS HERE!!! ITS FINNALY HERE!!!

lol, but. . . the UPS guy dropped it off at 6:00pm and the shop where my car is closes at 6:00pm. . . GROWL!!!

so, i wait til monday. . .

i was reading the paperwork that came with the chip and it said that i need to use 93octane gas with it. . . and the way gas prices are, thats gonna hurt. . .

ya, so. . . til monday!

MOTHER !@#$%$

still not fixed. . . the mechanics working on my car gave up and handing the car over to the "big boss-man" supposed to be working on it today, hes supposed to be the best there so i cant wait! about 3months in the shop now? JESUS!!! might as well sell it, thinking bout getting a 4th gen z28. . . What a great 18th B-day (today is my B-day) present this would be, huh?

Happy b-day, here's a brick, the one I would thrown through their window a long ass time ago.

today is the day. . . They finally called and said it was ready. . . OMG, its been waaayyyy to long. Drove it back to the house and all seems well. . . got the new chip in it. . . dont see much improvement, its a little quicker. . . .Not nearly enough torque as i hoped for, but it will do. The chip "requires" 93 octane gas, and i can fill the tank up with $20 on 93oct. which is pretty cool. . .

Anyway, im soo excited i dont know what to do next. . . gotta redo the headliner, redid it once and didnt last 2 days :(

YAY!!!

Use 3m super 77.

Make sure it gets tacky first ,about 7-8 min, then apply the fabric.