i have an 86 camaro, 305 v8, that when it runs, runs baddly and then when doesnt want to turn sometimes it doesnt even turn over like something is catching it. after a few times of this, the car then sounds like it has a low battery and wont start. i have no idea. thought it was electrical but changed plugs, distributor cap, ignition module, the rotor and the coil and its still not running right. could i still have an electrical problem? or could there be something else wrong witht he car. i dont have enough money to get a better car so i have to make do with what i have. can you help meout

sounds a lot like the problems we had on our 86 z28. It ended up being the distributor. We had changed everything you named, but nothing fixed it. We put an entirely new distributor in it and that fixed it. Runs like a top now. Also, I assume it is carbed?? If so, what kind of condition is the carb in?

the carburetor on the car is a 1406 e-brock carb due to the fact that the q-jet was a q-junk

update. turned out i had spark plug wire 2 disconnected, causing car to run horribly. fixed yay but now this is really upsetting. my car is running rich i would guess because the car smokes a little on idle but when im going im fine. another problem is that when the car is cool it runs like no biggy duh duh duh but when it gets hot, the cars rpms drop RADICALLY. the ideal is set high too. 2000 rpms or even 2500 on idle, but after its warm and if left in drive or reverse, the cars rpms will drop to the point of stalling out and this is an automatic transmission. i have no idea what that is all about. can anyone help me with that

i really need help with this car. its my only car and i am really thinking of selling this car for a parts car or something but i want to avoid that when the car might still be a working car

have you checked the catalytic convertor? Hear any rattle sounds from under the car at idle? Get under the car and ping the cat lightly with a hammer, if it rattles, then it is clogged, it can cause those sort of problems. Is your service engine soon light on? If it is, then check the codes, its simple to do, and free. Just search the forum for the correct way to do it, and what the codes mean.

we removed a few things (smog system completely gone and egr) so the service engine soon light is constantly on. i dont hear a rattle when i idle but i hear a knocking noise when it starts that goes away after a little bit. someone told me that was nothing but i keep wondering.

If it rattles or knocks I would investigate before more surprises show up.

I dont know what your skill set is, but do you think you could do a compression test on it? Is the smoke coming from the exhaust? What kind of smoke is it?(color, smell)Has the car been overheated while you have had it? Sounds alot like a clogged cat, but it may have already been removed. Just look for the cat under the car, should be somewhere around the underside of the passenger floor board. It will look kinda like a miniature muffler. You really need to pull the codes for the ses light, you should be able to eliminate the codes associated with the smog system etc...And CHECK YOUR OIL!

(shermanwizard) i think its the oil pressure building up. thats my what i told

(AkitaMan) the oil is not milky, yes it has overheated before bad one time but seemed to not change anything on the car, what sound should i hear if the cat is clogged and how do i eliminate the codes?

The SES light is on because the qjet carb the computer is trying to control, isn't there. Probably amongst several other miscues, would be my guess. Pulling codes would be a waste of time.

Do you have a vacuum advance distributor? If you remove a computer controlled carb, you need to remove the computer controlled distributor.

what do you mean vacuum advance distributor? the only thing that hooks up to the distributor are wires. unless one of them is it, idk

ok. checked the cat. no rattling from what i heard. trying to do the compression test but the battery died on me so i couldnt do it long. whats the psi i should be looking for. i got a 135 of the cylinder i could do. and is it normal for gas to be flooding the cylinders? to me seemed like alot of gas in the cylinders. spark plugs were nice and blackend, probably usual indication of it running rich, right?

to do a compression test properly you must remove all 8 spark plugs first. And 135 is too low, but you get low readings from a run down battery. You also need to change your distributor to one with vacuum advance.

why change to a vacuum advance distributor?

because without the correct carburetor and emissiond devices, the computer has gone into "limp home mode" and is giving you a flat 20 degrees of advance at all times. This is not what any engine wants, and your engine will never run right with this distributor unless you reinstall all of the original emissions devices including the carburetor. Since you're not about to do that anytime soon, get a distributor that will give your engine what it wants.

what should be the compression be at?

The closer to 200, the better, though I expect you'll be between 150 and 180.

Be sure to hold the throttle wide open when doing the compressing test.

throttle wide open? why do that if im removing all spark plugs?

Because, that's how it's done. Try it and see the difference in your readings. You can't have anything restricting the air going into the engine or your readings will be way low.