Ok I have a 1984 Camaro Z28 with an electronic quadrajet. When I got the car from my cousin, it would idle ok until it got warm. Keep in mind that the car basically sat for 6-7 years. Every year or so they'd start it and drive it around the block, but when I got it, 3/4 tires were flat and it hadnt been started for a year and a half.

When we got it home, my moms retard b/f tried to "fix" it because he said vacuum lines were off, etc. He messed with it, and basically just made it worse. True, a couple vacuum lines were off, but I saw that the (ECU?) on the firewall had a plugin for a 3 prong connector, and the connector wasnt plugged in and was half burnt/melted down below. Couple days go by, he mess's with it more. I replaced the spark plugs and air cleaner in it. I go by the junkyard, find a good connector, connect and electrical tape the wires and connect it, with the wires up out of reach from the exhaust manifold.

The problem is, sometimes it idles ok until warm, sometimes it idles shakily till warm, but usually when it gets warm it gets worse. I havnt had a chance to let it get warm since i plugged that connector back in, but I hope/have a feeling that it will help with the warm part, because doesnt your ECU monitor the mixture based on temperature?

Like I said im really knew, being only 17 and never working with carbs before. I was wondering what possible causes could be. I dont have too much money at the moment, but my list to do is:

Replace the O2 Sensor
Replace Spark Plug Wires
Replace PCV Valve
Have someone rebuild carb, and replace fuel filter.

Any other ideas?

 

the way it sounds, it is always going to have some problems running with all the things that have been messed with on it

do you hvae emissions inspecting or testing over there in NE ?

if it were mine id have removed the distributor and carb and put on non ECM controleld ones by now, but thats just me and we dont have inspections or anything here,

others here may be able ot help you more, but i dont know how much more without pics of specific items that need recconected or swapped, etc, and plus we dont know if your carb is not junk by now with it being as old as it is now, and tampered with

good luck and welcome to third gen

 

Welcome to thirdgen.org from a fellow Husker!

When it warms up, does the SES light come on? If so, it may tell you what is making it unhappy. When the SES light comes on, the computer stores a "trouble code", which can be retrieved and may tell you what to go look for.

 

You may want to pick up a manual for your ride, too. It can walk you through the operation of the computer controlled carb and simple tests/adjustments. Once you get some of the basic stuff done don't hesitate to come back here if you have questions.

Oh and you can rebuild the carb yourself. Even if you screw up you're only out the $20 or so for the rebuild kit. There's a thread here somewhere with a step by step walk through. Try this link:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/carb...qjet-need.html

 

Thanks guys, ill take some pictures of it all tomorrow to post so you guys can look.

Quick question, would my 84 camaro have an electric fan or clutch fan? because i work at o reillys and matt said they all had electric fans and some1 put a fan clutch on mine.

And the fan shroud is too big, explaining why i cant latch myhood without forcing it, and explaining why it sounds weird with it latched, because the fan is rubbing.

 

Yours probably had the clutch fan, if originally LG4. They went all electric in later years. You'll have to post a picture of the shroud then I can tell if it's original or not.

 

yes its an LG4. I'm going to take quite a few pictures of it right now.

 

notice the wires, and plugged off hose, can any1 give me the names of these?



My carb, you can see the plugins


dunno where that goes, its on the passenger side of the firewall

 

is it that hard to do that? no we dont have emissions testing whatsoever in nebraska. But my dad used to be a mechanic and has rebuilt hundreds of carbs, and he said i could send it to him and he'd rebuild it for my bday, which is cool because places charge about 350 to do it. after i replace that weird wire, im getting it checked out by a mechanic friend to see what else is wrong. I suspect vacuum leaks, and from reading about other cars, i know this can REALLY mess w/ the carburetor.

 

Why not work with what you've got and save the money you'd spend on new (or used) carb and dist for other things?

1. The two wire plug on the thermostat housing is the coolant temperature sensor. The ecm looks at this to tell when to come out of warm-up mode. Are both wires still connected?
2. Plugged vaccuum line for your charcoal canister. I can send you a vaccuum diagram for these lines.
3. By the firewall is the diagnostic lead for the mixture control solenoid (MCS). A dwell meter can be connected here to measure the cycling of the MCS within the carb.

The MCS is under the two-wire connector on top of your carb and should start clicking when the key is turned on (and when the engine is running). The three-wire connector on the carb goes to the throttle position sensor (TPS). It's inside the carb as well, under the plunger.

 

Is your choke fully disengaging? Your upper primary butterfly should be open all the way and your lower should be closed at idle. Make sure the linkage in front of the choke housing with the letter stamped on it is all the way down when warmed up. If its not push it down with your finger and see if the car smooths out. If you would like to know how to read your o2 sensor for correct mixture locate a multimeter and i will send directions on request. Good luck!

 

I always wondered what the clicking was lol, this helps me alot

 

 

You haven't armor-alled and waxed everything under there yet? Everything looks good. Nothing that is really out of place. Do your basic tune up stuff and let us know how it goes. I'll send you a vaccuum diagram tomorrow for that line but as long as all of your lines are connected at the carb it shouldn't effect anything.

Get a chance find a dwell meter (about $30 at the parts store) and we'll run you through some basic diagnostics and get that q-jet working properly.

 

is that the stock fan shroud? if so, it still hits my hood when i try to close it.. so idk whats up with that, and also my fan is rubbing on the bottom of the shroud, thats FOR SURE.

BUT, I was just out thier, replaced both vacuum lines on the bottom of the air cleaner thing, put it back on, etc. I started it to look at the fan, but then noticed it was idling fine? Just with my hand on the front feeling the vibrations from the car it felt rough, but when i got in it to shut it off, the rpms were very steady. This happened before when I hadnt started the car for 2 days. Itd been 3 before I just went out and started it.. thoughts?

 

Looks to be the stock shroud, but I don't have a camaro with clutch fan to compare it to right now. If it's rubbing, it could be out of place or loose. Check all of the mounting points and bolts.

Runs rough when you start it after a few days then smooths out as it warms up? Sounds normal. Driving it yet?

 

no no completely opposite, runs smooth when i start it up after a few days, then gets rough as it warms up

 

When it first starts it runs in full-rich mode until the CTS tells the ECM that it's at operating temp. Then it begins looking at manifold pressure (MAP sensor), O2 readings (O2 sensor in driver's side exhaust manifold) and throttle position (TPS sensor). Something in this system is likely bad or out of adjustment. To check, next time it is warmed up and starts running rough, pull the plug connector out of the CTS. This will confuse the ECM into thinking it's still in warm-up mode. If it smooths out we can go from there.

I wouldn't drive it much with the CTS disconnected, it will run crappy and get crappy mileage. Have you replaced the O2 sensor?

 

lol no not yet, working on it, waiting for my paycheck.

Btw i figured out why my hood wont latch and my fan rubs :-\
My moms b/f told me to jack it up on the crossmember while changing my plugs, well i was dumb, didnt know where that was, jacked it up on the radiator support, and pushed the shroud and radiator up a bit. WOW IM DUMB.
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Also, I hear a light ticking in teh passenger side valve cover, spring? rocker?

 

Light ticking could be a rocker, wouldn't hurt to pull the cover and check them while it's running..could also be an exhaust leak at the manifold. If it goes away when the engine warms I wouldn't worry about it too much yet.

 

so I got the report from the shop, it needs:

Ball Joints*
Idle Arm
Struts
Shocks
Tires*
Rebuilt Carb*
Radiator Support Back Down*

* = Serious

 

You can replace all of that yourself. Just have to get it aligned after the ball joints, idler arm and struts. Autozone or one of the equivalents will loan you the tools you need, if you're up to it. Did they give you a quote?

Easiest to hardest:
shocks
idler arm (need a pickle fork)
struts (need a spring compressor and a big wrench)
ball joints (need an installer/remover tool-do while the struts are out)
Carb

Don't go crazy with the parts you choose and everything should come in under $250 plus 49.95 for an alignment.

 

Don't need a Spring Compressor. You can just have the car jacked up enough so you can let the A-Arm down until the strut will go in the tower.

 

You're right, but it's safer with a spring compressor, costs no extra money and may save a limb, especially for a first timer.

 

Since I work at O' Reillys, I looked it all up, $106 with OK ball joints, $136 with good ones. Thats just struts, idle arm, and ball joints.

 

Plus $30 for rear shocks, $20 for a carb rebuild kit and $30 for a dwell meter (for carb tuning). Did the shop check your strut mounts? They can go bad over time.

You haven't started yet? There was a recent post on front end rebuild that was very descriptive. Just make sure you mount the idler arm at the same height as the pitman arm. That's missed a lot.