Hi everyone i was fortunate enough to recieve my dad's 1987 z28 camaro during the summer as a graduation present. i was able to drive it a few times but it had been parked for about a year and it ran ok but the engine was "missing" slightly at that time but now whenever i turn it on it immediately turns right off. if i give it gas it stays on but if i let off the gas or put it in drive or reverse she immediately turns off. we can't seem to find the problem. majority of the people i have talked to have said that it could be bad gas but i was hoping maybe i could get some help from some fellow camaro drivers. so if anyone can help me or has any thoughts on what it may be, i would appreciate it very much. Thank you and God Bless.

 

If it has set up for a year or so with the same gas in it that just might be the problem, Gas turns into turpintine after a while, I know I worked for a gas dealer for a shot time. I would drain the tank replace the fuel filter, and put in new gas with a good additive. Start it up and keep your foot on the pedal for a while maybe 10 minutes or so untill all the old gas has worked it's way out of the lines and injectors .And changing the oil would be a very good idea also. That is a very cheap fix that should be done anyway. You have to start somewere. I would bet that if you pulled off the gas cap and smelled, it wont smell like gas but paint thinner or something like that.

 

Another thing to use after you get it running is sea foam. that stuff works. It will clean up the fuel system if you add half the can to the tank and then IV the rest into the engine while it is running you can use the break booster hose for that. It will smoke VERY HEAVY when you IV it into the engine, but it does stop after a little while.

 

I fully agree with this.

The only things I would do differently would be to suck it into the engine using the vapor cannister line that goes to the throttle body. This way you stand less chance of hydrolocking the engine due to using too big of a vacuum line and you also get more of the upper intake cleaned than with the brake booster line. Also, I would use a full can in the gas and then follow the directions for the amount to add to the oil. Whats left over you suck through the intake via the vacuum line. This will ensure the engine get cleaned top to bottom.
I assume you have a TPI from what I have read, so if I were you I'd take 5 minutes and check for codes in the computer before doing much else. You never know, your IAC or MAF might have pooped out on you. When you do have it running does the check engine light come on?

 

I didnt think about the MAF or IAC, nice looking out. But I figure because it has sat up for so long the fuel is bad. Maybe more info will help get him back on the road sooner rather than later.

 

actually yeah i forgot to mention that, the check engine light is on when i start it up. where exactly is the IAC and the MAF located at ?

 

yeah i have smelled the gas it and smells awful.

 

If that is the case then chances are you have 2 problems working against you: Whatever the check engine light is on about and the bad gas.
Check the computer for codes and see what pops up. There is a how-to in the haynes manual I believe if you have one or it can be found here: https://www.thirdgen.org/service-eng...ht-error-codes

Let us know what you find with the codes.

 

I would definitly get rid of that old gas, If it is alot of gas, like almost a full tank then your gunna have to syphon it out, but if you have less that like a quarter i would just dump a full can of seafoam and fill it up with 93 gas and just change the plugs and fuel filt and oil and all that good stuff.

 

Dilution is the solution to pollution!

 

I am telling you, you came to the right place for good info. And when you do pull the codes from the computer, I posted a list of what they are at another board for the local club I am in. Here is a link. I hope this helps.

http://www.nttga.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22938

 

yeah the gas that i do have in there is very little i have about a little above empty. so where can i find seafoam at ?

 

i turned her on today and the check engine light is off. should i check the codes anyway ?

 

I have had the same gas in my car for the past 5 years as I've been storing it... most likely it was either Shell Premium or 76 Premium + a can of NOS Octane Booster, I fire her up every 4-6 months and each time after getting fuel up to the carb she fires right up and idles, no problems at all... so how is it that some people have trouble with old fuel and others don't...

 

You can find it just about anywere. Walmart, autozone and oriellys I know has it.

 

Yes check them anyway it only takes a few minutes. The computer saves those codes. because you said that it did come on while you ran the car they are in there. So it cant hurt at all to see what they are. But I am going to guess that the bad gass may have tricked the O2 sensor. No way to tell untill you pull them.

 

it's going to probably be the MAF sensor... damn things I swear are bad... well at least that was the case my moms 85 camaro...

 

It just might be, but lets not get in a hurry to just start changing parts, after all it has been setting up for a long time and needs to be run, after he gets good gas in it, then lets see whats going on. Hell it could be the IAC or the O2 sensor as well.

 

i have about alittle above empty should i bother to drain that out or should i just put seaform in it and then just go from there ?

 

now for the codes can i do that at home or is there a place that does it for me ?

 

I ll check the MAF and the O2 sensors as well to see what type of shape they are in

 

Read my previous post. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...334-post8.html

You can do it at home with a paperclip.

 

Put 10 gallons of premium in it and a can of sea foam and it should be fine, but check the codes first to see if there is a reason it is not idling. In all honesty, I've had gas sit in cars, lawnmowers and so on for 2+ years and they still fired right up and ran, so I'm doubting the gas is what is keeping it from idling.

 

Just use seafoam and add gas to it. No need to empty it because it is so low, just get a couple of 5 gallon cans and add to it, get the high octane while you are at it. You are just going to dilute the bad gas, then when you get it running fill it up. As for pulling codes at home yes you can see the post link the is here and it will walk you thru it step by step. then if you get some go back to one of my earlier post and see the link I put, it has the codes listed and what they mean.

 

im thinking it could be my mass airflow sensor as well cause my dad told me that he has never replaced it since he bought it. so with these codes that pop up will they more or less tell me what i have to replace under my hood ?

 

I had a similar, but very rare, issue with my Firebird. In class we diagnosed it by isolating parts of the fuel system and found out to be bad injectors and possibly a bad cold start injector. There are a number of sensors working to figure out the correct air-fuel mixture, so you need to make sure those are correct as well as knowing whether orn ot you have proper fuel delivery too.

The codes will help you figure out where to start to logically test and eliminate possible causes until you have one or more things which you can replace. It can be as simple as being bad gas and sitting forever to a dirty MAF sensor, or in my case bad injectors. Things like dirty fuel filters and bad fuel pumps can cause starting problems as well as relays going bad.

 

yes but replace one at a time because fixing one thing can at times clear all the codes, so just because you have several codes doesnt mean you need to replace a lot of parts.

 

man i feel so much better now that i know what could be the problem or problems to my car

 

hey guys i have another problem. i started her up and when i removed the dipstick and the cap that you would remove to put oil in it, white smoke was coming out of both places and was continuing to come as i had the car on. does anyone have any idea on what it might be ? thank you and God Bless

 

White smoke is burning coolant. Could be a blown head gasket or coolant leak somewhere leaking onto the hot manifold. You said it was coming out of the dipstick? Sounds like a blown head gasket, the coolant will leak into the oil galleries.

 

yeah the smoke was coming out of the place where the dipstick goes into. so how much do you think that it would cost to fix that ?

 

That depends on how much you can do yourself. A head gasket replacement in of itself is not a complicated job, mainly it depends on the motor and how easy it is getting to the gasket. For you, you now have coolant running through your oil galleries so you would want to do an engine flush after the gasket change to get rid of all the crap.

Also, you want to inspect the block and head decks to make sure they are flat while you have the head off. Wouldn't hurt to check to see if the cylinders need reaming as well. You don't need to do either of the last two, but the check for a cylinder ridge would be beneficial in the long run of your motor and pistons, and the checking for deck flatness will help you to determine if it may have contributed to your blown gasket, or if it was just blowby.

 

Probably just vapor from the engine I wouldent worry about it quite yet let the car run. As long as the oil doesent look like a snot milk shake its most likey fine.

 

ok but just to be on the safe side ill take a look at what firebirda7x mentioned. my uncle had mentioned that the engine should be flushed (which i plan on doing) but my dad has mentioned a valve job. do you guys think that a valve job would have any effect on helping the engine ?

 

That depends on if the valves have a lot of built-up carbon and crap that are preventing them from seating properly.