Im not sure if this is suppose to be in the cooling topic or not... but after 40 minutes of driving on the freeway my temp was about 230, and all of a sudden when I step on the gas, It feels like no gas was coming out and I and other people in my car smell this burning smell.. I got freaked out because the car would not accelerate when I stepped on the gas instead would make this noise like "vroooouuuum vrouuuwooom wooom wooom" so I quickly turn on my emergency lights and pull over to the nearest shoulder.. We were all worried n ****.. because the car was handling well except for the 2 worn out tires in the front ... anyway I pop open the hood, get out of my car and check to see what is wrong.. and I see nothing wrong no leaks anywhere! just a hot *** engine. I then close the hood.. and go back in my car and we all decide to wait 20 minutes with the hood open to let the engine cool down some.
(I had a half tank left of gas left)

My Diagnosis: (SOMEONE CORRECT ME IF YOU SERIOUSLY THINK IM WRONG)

Maybe the tempature rise in the 305 (230) caused the fuel in the fuel lines to evaporate while it traveled to the engine, maybe one of the fuel lines is loacated near the exhaust manifold making this fuel evaporation possible, but I think in order to make the fuel evaporate there has to be a hole or a opening/vent for the evaporated fuel to travel out of..making that a dangerous problem
(fuel leak).

Please can someone help me or give me any advice?

 

Well, 230* is way too hot for highway driving, you should be lower temps than city driving while on the highway. Make sure you have an air dam. The fuel would not be evaporating in the lines, 230* isn't really that extreme of a temperature. Might want to look into replacing your fan switch and coolant temp sensor though. Other than that, you'd have to describe the problem more I think.

 

The burning smell is probably coming from you're tranny. If you're engine is revving (or as you put it, "vroom vroom", "woom woom"), but not accelerating, it's somewhere in you're drivetrain (converter).

As for the 230 degree temp, I agree with the above response.... that although it is a bit high for the highway, I wouldn't consider it to be in the danger-zone.

 

I checked the tranny fluid everything is ok shifting clean, since It has been rebuild about 4 months ago..


Air dam? I do not know what this air dam is you speak of?..... but why does it seem not to accelerate when I step on the gas?? is it the transmission? I dont think it is honestly since the transmission feels to be shifting ok and rather feels like there is no gas traveling in the injectors when I step on the gas

 

Maybe I misunderstood, as I thought you stated that the engine was revving fine while in gear... just not being transferred to the wheels.

If you mean what I now think you're meaning, then I had a similar problem with my 86-LB9 IROC. While going, let's say 50mph, I'd stomp on the gas, and nothing would happen. The engine barely revved (sounded very low). Engine speed could not keep up with vehicle speed...

Sound similar? If so, then it's you're fuel system. You'll need to check everything throughout, including, injectors, relay (including oil switch), pump, filter, fuses, etc. If possible, have someone check you're ECM, too.

Were you in overdrive when this happened? Curious, take the car for a ride, and keep it in third (drive). Stay out of fourth. Did the same thing happen?

 

Fuel won't evaporate in the lines (unless the lines are empty with droplets remaining) but it can boil and cause vapor lock. I doubt you had this problem but I wouldn't out rule it all together. When these cars get super hot they become accelerator-less pigs. They feel like they are standing still. Just to varify you should check your feed line fuel pressure and make sure that the stock pump is not on its way out. You can buy/rent a rtesting kit from autozone.

I would check the previsouly mentioned cooling system stuff as well. Look under the car and make sure that the air dam is in place and has not broken/fallen off. Without one air will not be directed up and through the radiator.

 

Just to add to what Shifty said, the air dam is just a long plastic deflector that bolts directly under the radiator. Here's some pictures of one:



(Yes, I know my car is dirty and my garage is a mess )

If you don't have one, you can get one from Hawks Third Gen Parts (board sponsor) or from GM. The GM part number for the Camaro air dams is 14083929.

 

No I dont have one of those I think it was removed when I bought the car.

 

Yes this is exactly what is hapenning.. I will try to get on this soon. Thanks for the help!

 

No I wasnt in overdrive just on reg D.

 

without this air dam, will the cars engine rise so high?

 

Yes, you found your problem. That air dam in there makes a large difference in engine operating temps. Replace it and you'll see your temps fall. See if that corrects all your problems, if not then you can revisit some other thoughts, but for now fix what needs to be.

 

And it needs to be soon.

Honestly, i'm not saying a SBC is a POS, but they don't handle high temps very well at all.

Get this done, especially since in Southern California our annual heat wave is only about..... 3 or 4 weeks away, your car will never make it through the summer.