I have a 1988 Chevrolet Camaro (8 Cylinders E 5.0L TBI OHV 305 CID) that is running rough and rich. This is a daughter/father project that we are working on and we are stumped as to what is causing my Camaro to run rough.
I started it this weekend with the air filter cover off. When I looked, one injector was wet and the other one was dry. I am not sure if the fuel injectors are bad or if they are causing issues. I am not sure where to find the mass air flow sensor to clean. All the videos I see don't match what I see under the hood.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

Sounds like one injector is either stuck or otherwise not working. Does it get better when you bottle feed it?

Also, buy a factory service manual. It will help you find things and has diagnostic flowcharts.

 

If the fuel system is TBI, there is no mass airflow sensor.

The injectors should produce a fuel spray from the bottom only, and not have any fuel visible on their surfaces. If one of the two injectors in the throttle body is visibly wet, there could be leakage at the injector pod gasketed joint.

 

The injector pods in that system are EXTREMELY eeeeeeezzzzzy to "rebuild". There are very few parts, and they disassemble and reassemble with very little trouble. All you have to do is, take them apart, soak the metal parts in lacquer thinner for a few hours, and put them back together with a new paper & rubber kit, which is only like $12. You don't even really have to take the unit off of the engine to clean up the injectors this way.

That said, the coolant temp sensor can fail or be disconnected, in which case the ECM will think that the engine is at about -100°F; and consequently will dump in MASSIVE amounts of fuel to make up for the cold. Usually this will set a code: the ECM expects the engine to come up to some reasonable temp after running for some reasonable length of time (say, 120° within 5 minutes, or some such reasonable warming-up), and if it doesn't, then then ECM recognizes this as a faulty CTS. Does the Check Engine light come on when starting the car, then go off and stay off? If so, it's working, and you don't have any trouble codes, including that one. If the light never comes on, then replace the bulb, and see if it's on; then check the codes with a paper clip.

The TBI system "looks" rather like a carb. If what you're finding diagrams of looks like a horizontal log up on top with runners going down toward the heads, that's TPI, and is a whole other system. TBI is MUCH simpler in every way.

 

Please forgive my ignorance but what do you mean by bottle feed?

 

Thank you for the diagram. That is helpful.

 

Great info in the posts, because I am still learning, I will take some time this weekend and look at what my IROC has.
No, the check engine light is not on. Because it is running so rough and rich, I have not taken it out on the road in fear it will stall on me.

 

Poke a hole in the top of a plastic bottle filled with gasoline and squirt it in.

Not really necessary but it'll tell you if you're not getting enough sauce.

 

Not trying to be a smartazz here, , , butt, , I am curious how adding more fuel to a car that's already running too rich is gonna help her pinpoint the problem of it running rich
(I have a 1988 Chevrolet Camaro (8 Cylinders E 5.0L TBI OHV 305 CID) that is running rough and rich.)

This here tells me an injector (the wet one) is leaking.....

(I started it this weekend with the air filter cover off. When I looked, one injector was wet and the other one was dry.)

 

I thought wet = spraying, dry = not spraying and it was going lean. If one is leaking and they're both spraying, yes adding fuel is a bad idea.

 

Thank you all for your suggestions, advice and guidance. I am a daughter working with her father on my IROC as a project. My father is in his late 80's and this project gives me time to learn from him and spend time with him.
I am trying to learn so all the replies are greatly appreciated, and I will go through each one this weekend.

But I guarantee you I will be back with more question

 

If would probably be a VERY good idea to remove the air cleaner cover and apply some penetrating oil (like PB Blaster or similar) to the injector pod, being sure to soak the fasteners. There is a good chance that 35 years have allowed the screws to fuse to the aluminum casting, and applying something early will allow time for it to soak in and help with removal. Breaking off a screw in the injector pod could be the beginning of a very difficult day. The penetrating oil will not harm anything in the intake of fuel system,