'92 RS engine problems... HELP!

hey everyone. this past October, my starter died and was replaced. after this my idle began to become a little rough, slowly getting worse and worse over about a month until my car would stall 2 or 3 times even on short trips, and eventually couldn't even make it down the road. i had it towed into the shop, they replaced every fuel component known to man, including new pump, filter, strainer and relay, telling me that it was fixed... they lied. the car went back in a couple more times and about $800 later it wouldn'teven start! anyway, i've been screwing around with it trying to get it going so i can sell it-- it turns over, the starter is brand new and it is getting both fuel and good spark. finally, after having jacked up one side it seemed to start by complete coincidence. but when it was running, the idle sounded high-pitched and there was smoke literally pouring out of the cat. first of all, could jacking the car up have something to do with why it started? also, could an exhaust problem be the reason the car hasn't been running properly (and starting)? finally, could any of this be related in any way to the new starter? thanks!

As a coincidence, the exhaust collector (y-pipe) ussually requires a little "finessing" when changing the starter.

hey guys i got an 88 camaro that runs great whens the motor is cold but as soon as it warms up it starts to choke and then stalls its the fuel injected 2.8 and i was wonder if it was be easy to put a 350 in it someone told me all i will have to worry about it a power and the ground and that i wouldnt have to get a trans or new real end let me know

it is alot of work, post a new thread about it.

so they replaced the injectors too? also you said you are getting good spark, did u run a spark test on it? check for burnt plug wires? see if the plugs were fouled? you said it turns over, does it sound like its about to start or does it just spin?

Ive herd cases where the inside of a muffler collapsed and obstructed the flow of exhaust and reading your post reminded me about it...though Ive never heard of it happening in a camaro. That might explain why it started when you jacked up the car(created a small opening) and why the idle sounded high pitched.
Id say check the spark plugs and check for a possible obstruction in exhaust flow.

if you had smoke coming out of the exhaust, that means there is a liquid/substance being burnt in the combustion chamber that should not be in there. this is probably antifreeze. Sounds like a leaking head gasket to me. you need to do a compression check.

what compelled them to change all of the fuel system equipment? what did they find that made them think that was the problem?

was the smoke only comin out of the cat or was it coming out of the muffler too?

Have you checked the Y-pipe yet back to the converter to make sure it didn't get smashed???