I'm very very confused...

Recently I swapped a caprice 350 (brand new) into my 92 camaro. I took the 5.slow out. I figured just upgrading from the 305 to the 350 would be a good kick in the pants difference.. unfortunately I haven't felt any difference. I attributed this to the exhaust manifolds which were the same ones from the 305. Well just the other day I completed putting my headers on the 350. The car sounds beautiful.. It runs well too.. BUT when I mash the gas the car takes it's sweet time accelerating. I've got a 3.23 rear gears in the car so it shouldn't be too slow (much faster than the 2.79 or something like that that was in there before).

I don't understand why replacing the cat with a highflow cat, adding headers, having an open element, and putting in a 350 isn't making the car go any faster.. Infact I got out accelerated by some toyota pos earlier today. This shouldn't be happening out of a 350...

Now I'm curious, my motor seems to (when I first start the car) idle surge. It bounces between say 700 and 1000 until the car warms up. Could this at all be affecting it? I adjusted the throttle body to have the plates opened more which helped the car stop idle surging quite as badly and shortened the "warm up" time period. Now the car doesn't feel like it's going to stall out when it's idle searching. After say about a minute it completely stops doing it. Any guesses?

Also another question I have is, is it possible that the engine is working just fine and the transmission isn't? could it be that somehow the tranny isn't using the power the engine is giving it correctly to accelerate? I'm wondering this because the engine sounds darn good and it sounds like the car should just be flying and it doesn't. my 0-60 time is rediculous (like 7 seconds if I get REALLY lucky but usually I sit above 9 seconds). Today when I hit the gas too my car went into the redline like halfway through it and then finally shifted as I took my foot off the gas.. why?

I'm so confused but all I can say is I did all this stuff to the car because the 5.0 sucked.. and now I seem to be running a less efficient 5.0....

Should I take the car to the dealer and get the tranny checked out since it's still under warranty from the dealership (my old one died a year ago).

Is the torque converter a possibility???

I know I've just asked a ton of questions but anyone that could assit would be MOST appreciated.. Because right now I'm stumped.

 

Did you replace the knock sensor and module with 350 ones? Also, you are going to want to get bigger 350 injectors either 55pph or the 65pph injectors. You also need to get a new prom burned for the 350 and the new injectors; if you can't burn it yourself check out www.tbichips.com they'll get you one to make it run decent for like 30 bucks.

 

been there and done all that and it still isn't good. I'm wondering if I should look into a better prom. The one I have is supposedly a chip for that engine for camaro's.. perhaps I'll check out that website.

I have replaced teh knock sensor, and the injectors, and everything. The engine sounds powerful, it just doesn't translate into any go.

if I floor it, the rpm's jump (as it should) into basically a "passing gear" well when that happens the engine is screaming but the mph isn't going up all that fast. from 50 to 60 is slow.

ahhh it's driving me nuts..

 

sounds like a problem I had. It's either the timing or a vacuum problem.

Check to make sure all vacuum lines are connected and you don't hear any hissing. Hissing usually means a line fell off and the connection is sucking raw air. This can also make your engine hotter because of bad signals. The main vacuum line to check is the one that connects to the back of the plenum (the big metal thingie that the throttle body connects to) on the passenger side. You should also check the PCV valve (on the drivers side valve cover. It just pops right out) and probably replace it because that also effects idle alot too. After doing this you should reset the ECM (by disconnecting the negative battery cable for 30 seconds and reconnect it) and run it for awhile. In the books for 3rd gen camaros, they really don't say how the learning mode works, but for the 4th gen LT1's they do. Anyways it says to run in park for like 10 mins, then in drive at a stop for another 10 mins. If your Idle is still off check the timing:

My idle was surging and to set the timing you loosen the distributor hold down screw (you have to go to autozone or a car place and get a distributor wrench to get at this screw. It's cheap) right behind the EGR solenoid (one or 2 easy screws hold it in place) and you can set the timing. However, there is a wire (I am not sure which one it is, but it's close to the distributor) that powers the auto retard feature and you should (but don't have to) disable it before setting the timing. To set the timing, just advance it (by turning the dist. counterclockwise I think) and give it a quick rev (don't let it get too high in the rpms so you don't damage your engine, just fully open the trottle for like half a second or so with your hand on the TB unit) and listen for it to knock. Do it a few times if you are not sure you heard it or not. Set it right before you hear it knock and you should get some of the best performace out of it. Then take it for a test drive. See if it pings at all. Make sure you are running the best octane so you don't hear pinging because of poor gas. Drive it kinda hard so it will be more noticable if there is a ping and turn it clockwise to retard it if it does and make note of the timing after you find the best spot (with a timing light duh).

One other thing that the books says to check or replace is the IAC sensor/regulator (It's something the only effects idle quality), but that should set off a code if it isn't working properly. You might also try and check for error codes and write them all down BEFORE you clear the ECM so if some come up after you clear it, maybe some of the other codes can help you better diagnose the problem if it is electrical related.

 

Also, one thing I forgot about the vacuum system is that the EVAP canister can also be a problem because if the Purge Control Solenoid (It's called either that or something close to it) isn't working right it'll do that. That also happened to me, but for some reason I have a seperatly connected electronic, 2-wire, purge control solenoid

 

oh yea, one mroe thing. You should get an inexpensive fuel pressure tester to test the line pressure because your fuel pump could also be going out if it's stock and if you are running highend injecters, you need a better pump to keep up with it. It could also be the Fuel Pressure Regulator. I'll post some more if I think of any more, but for now I am going to sleep.

 

Yeah I'd also say hook up a fuel pressure gauge that you can see while driving and check to see if the pressure drops as you hit the gas or go into WOT. If the pressure drops you most likely need a new fuel pump; the TBI cars got really weak fuel pumps and many guys that swap in 350's have problems keeping pressure up.

 

But when I hit WOT the car seems like it's trying VERY VERY hard, would it still do this if the fuel pump isn't giving enough fuel?? (by very very hard I mean the engine is screaming). If it does end up seeming like the fuel pump perhaps I'll go buy a bigger one and in the process fix the fuel gauge bob I got stuck in the up position so my car no longer reads only full..

 

Putting all your other problems aside, you have to remenber that the 350
Caprice engine is NOT a screaming performance upgrade. Not to knock it, but the Heads and Cam are NOT for performance. So if everything was/or is running right with the TBI you may be making about (est) 180/190 hp @ flywheel. So may be it is running right and you just expect to much out of it.

 

you know it could be the torque converter, you should call some of the tranny specialists and ask them if that could be what is doing it.

You shouldn't have put it in yet, there are a few things for power you could do to turn your camaro into a real beast. Like getting your intake ported and a good cam with new pushrods/hydraulic lifters (they provide better lubrication over mechanical ones if this is not going to be a race only car)/maybe new valve springs/stems. Should get the bronze inserts if you get the heads ported for added protection. Also getting higher ration roller rockers (like 1.6 or maybe even 1.7 but make sure that they aren't going to touch the pistons otherwise you are going to have to scrap that engine) would help alot and you would really only need to replace the springs and stems (plus the reluctors and whatever for the spring assembly) so you don't get coil binding or anything like that. That should add up to about ~$1500 or less. That's if you want to get some REAL performance out of it. like over 500HP+ if you do it right. But maybe if you are going to go that far you should get forged aluminum pistons and get the rest of the engine balanced and blueprinted to make sure it all lasts and you don't through a rod or something with all that power. Also have the block, if it's over 90k miles cleaned and rebored. It's alot of work, but you will basically have a NEW high performance engine. You could go even further and get a positraction differential like auburn or eaton that accepts 28 spline axles and I can't remember which ones they were, but they were like nitride hardened and made with an alloy that made them 35% stronger than most axles like it. You could also put a high end 700r4 on it with an aluminum driveshaft (there was some post on another board that the steel one can cause shaking at higher speeds whcih is annoying).I've seen positraction units sell for like $300-$400 and the high end trannys for liek $900. Remember there is shipping on this stuff unless you can buy it locally.

That's basically what I am looking to do with an LT1 for my car

 

Yup that's a good point and one of the things I too was thinking about.. I guess the goal is to wait out the waranty and then get some heads and a cam in a bit. Then I can essentially get high performance engine when I didn't pay that much of a bill. I was originally looking at an LT1 but the corvette yard I was to get it from never called me back and then the add for the caprice 350 came up and I thought it'd be a good starting block.. Guess it's time to start saving money and looking for heads and a cam eventually.. are vortech aluminums good? I'm looking for something fairly good in performance but not a terrible terrible gas guzzler.. I've heard good things about them, but I know they are more expensive.. what do you guys recomend?

 

I would go with cast iron. Don't get me wrong, Aluminum heads are fine, but cast iron can handle more power and don't tend to get as damaged (if at all) in the case that your engine overheats. Aftermarket heads like AFR and dart cost around $1000 for a pair, but they flow really well and have a huge potential for power. You could just buy some newer revised chevy heads used for cheap and have them fully ported which might cost a few hundred less and you might be able to get the same flow rates.

 

I would highly suggest getting the tranny looked at. Right before my tranny was about to go out it would also make the engine seem like it was trying real hard to go. It would rev up real high and scream like you were drag racing or something. I had the tranny rebuilt and the engine rebuilt so I'm not exactly sure which cured it.

 

Maybe have a look at the tranny fluid see if it's gone dark and/or smells bad. Are the shifts firm - could be slipping a bit.

 

man thats sad i would be so mad if i was u all that work and all u got was dissapointment, i no the feeling oh to well. i hope it all works out for u man, but get that tranny looked at while u still got warrenty. good luck