Here is the deal, everything started after my car died after running out of gas. It just wouldnt start. Sometimes it would start, but it would take a while. I thought maybe it was a dirty fuel filter. Changed that and yeah the filter was pretty clogged up with dark fuel coming out of it. After changing it I jump started the battery and the car turned on right away, I even drove it around a little and everything sounded better than before. A couple of hours later, tried starting it and nothing! Battery died and tried jump starting it and still doesnt work. Cranks and everything but wont start. If I press the gas pedal almost down to the floor itll kind of want to start but at that point, dark gray/black smoke spurts out from the engine from where the TBI is, the two barrels or what ever you call them. At that point I just decided to quit before I do anymore damage. Any suggestions of what the problem is? i have no idea what happened to the car as it was working perfectly before. It has always had a ticking noise coming from the engine, which one of my friends said might be a bad piston. One other thing I remember is that when I put gas in my car i always do from from a gas tank i fill up when I go to the gas station since my camaros sticker is expired. I empied the gas tank into my car and then realized that the tank MIGHT OF had a little bit of water in it. Maybe thats what caused this?

its a 1991 camaro with a 88-89 350 TBI engine that was swapped in.

 

Might be water, but I doubt it. I would start by checking your fuel pressure. These fuel pumps are electric. they are located in the tank and require fuel to stay cool. If you ran it out of gas and had the pump going for too long dry it may have burned out.

 

alright but how do I check the fuel pressure?

I found out today that the two screws that hold down the distributor cap are broken in half, so the cap isnt on tight at all

could this be the problem?

 

I would start with replacing the distributor cap and rotor too while you are there. Checking the fuel pressure is no fun task on a TBI. You have to splice into the fuel lines at some point. The easiest way to do this is to buy a special tool that you put in place of your fuel filter that you connect your pressure gauge to. The second easiest is to splice into the lines under the hood at the rubber end. Next would be right at the throttle body. This is a hard line and bends easily. Also if you are not careful and take your time you can strip things out.

I personally like using the special tool. (So many tools that I baught but only used once or twice).