I just bought a 1992 firebird with a 3.1 off a guy who was the 5th owner. He did not take very good care of the car. I got it for pretty cheap and was hoping to restore it for my daughter didnt want the v8 and have her wrap it around a pole :-)
This is the list of issues I am dealing with if someone could help with one of them or all of them I would owe them big time.
1. The car has a non working speedometer. I am guessing this year is an electric and it is more than likely a bad VSS unit. Any ideas they are not that cheap didnt want to replace it if I didnt have too.
2. The car is running really rich and smells like gas almost. I am getting a code for the O2 sensor. I know its bad and I am planning on replacing it this week end. I was told this could be the cause of this problem I seem to doubt that alittle bit because I had a Grand Prix with a bad sensor and it ran fine alittle rough but fine.
3. The car builds up alot of pressure in the tank enough that its gives you a loud hiss when you unscrew the gas cap. I have no ideas there possibly a bad or backed up tank vent. Will drilling a small hole in hte gas cap fix the problem?

Thanks for the help in advance.

PS.
I am also looking to buy a headliner for this thing it has T tops in it. The guy that sold it threw the whole headliner away because it was sagging instead of just having it recovered. I am not concerned if it has materal on it I just need the mold. If anyone knows where I can get one cheap in the Pittsburgh PA area it would help alot. I called all local salvage yards so luck.

 

depends on how the sensor goes bad...i know i'll get nit picked for that statement, but if it breaks to the point it makes the car run lean...then it will be rough as you described, but if it breaks rich...it's going to run rich. Replace the O2 sensor, reset the ECU and go from there.

Drilling a hole in the gas cap will not cure the issue. The system is made to hold pressure, but someone else might be able to assist you if it is too much pressure.

As far as a headliner, a pick a part is your best bet. You can always speak with classic industries or look on their website, they offer i believe a new one, if not i do know they offer an ABS plastic back board mold with new cloth available already installed so you may be able to go that route.

 

So I finally got around to replacing the O2 sensor it seems alittle better. The guy at auto zone tried telling me that this car has 4 of them thou I didnt think that sounded right but he printed out the diagram

 

Just one O2. After the Y-pipe and before the cat.

It could also be the rich condition that caused your O2 sensor to go bad. If it was running rich enough to get a bunch of deposits built up that can make them go bad.

Check the fuel pressure. Make sure that it doesn't bleed off quickly once pressure is built up. If it does, then you have at least one injector that is just bleeding out.

Pull your plugs out. Check for deposits. They may be fuel fouled. Actually, I would probably just start by checking for spark at all cyl and maybe replacing the cap, rotor, plugs and wires as needed.

 

I did repalce the plugs and wires .... it still runs rich sometimes it even stalls it smells like gas. The pressure gets so high the gas cap hisses for like 15 seconds when I take it off. The O2 sensor didnt even seem bad I just replaced it.

Also the speedometer stopped working I think maybee a bad VSS any ideas?

 

It's in the exhaust manifold.

 

I replaced the O2 sensor it was right after the Y pipe

 

Really?

Year, model, engine, induction, modifications, etc., please.

 

92 its a 3.1 no mods all stock

 

sounds like the '90 'bird my sister bought 2 years ago.
Anyway, for the VSS, why not get under there with a 10 mm wrench and pull it out for an inspection?

 

well what was the problem a bad VSS