tchernobog

I've got a '91 camaro with a TPI 305. On Friday I drove home from school, about 200 miles and the car ran like a top.

Took it out for about 150 miles today, ran like a top, until the last 5 miles or so.

My exhaust became incredibly rich, and the car would surge by as much as 5-700 RPM if I gave it gas, and would not accelerate.

That problem seems to have just up and gone, however now the car idles BAD when it's in gear, and has no power. It sounds almost as if 2 plug wires got switched up (they didn't). However, when it's in park or neutral, it sounds perfectly fine. No surging, nothing.

During the initial problem, it threw a code, EGR and MAP. Cleared them, ran the car for a few miles to see if any codes came back up. Of course the PITA to fix EGR code came up. What bothers me about assuming the EGR is bad/dirty is that ever since I bought the car the EGR code would randomly pop up and the car would run perfectly fine. I've ruled out the MAP, as neither the code, nor the problems when it initially showed up, have happened again.

This piece of garbage needs to take me 200 miles back to school tomorrow, and I have no idea what's wrong with it. Ignition module and coil are both brand new, installed less than a week ago, distro cap about 10 days ago. Fuel pressure is good.

I don't want to rule out a bad plug/wire, but if one was bad, I'd think the problem would be pretty constant, regardless of what gear the car is in.

It would seem to me, provided the plugs/wires check out, the next step would be pulling the EGR, which I would, at all costs, like to avoid because of how big a pain it is, but I'm out of ideas here.

camaro1122

iTrader: (1)

I am having the same problem with my 91 305. My car had a stalling problem where when i was at a light it would shut off and i found the problem that 3 injectors were bad. After replacing them the car ran fine all day up until i pulled in the driveway. The car has a thumpy pickup and the car feels like it has no pickup at all. It only is like that when im in gear and N or P the idle is smooth. The idle in gear is a crazy shake, and i took the car back to my mechanic and he said the EGR valve was bad. I havent replaced it yet but my friend that knows a lot about cars told me it could be 3 things. 1. maybe bad injectors 2. EGR valve 3. bad spark plug wires. I recently replaced the spark plugs after the stalling and they were white which means the car was running lean, but it does sound like the engine is flooding. When you hit the gas hard is it a thumpy ride up until high RPM's?

camaro1122

iTrader: (1)

Also i forgot he said it could be an ECU problem, try unplugging it for 20 minutes then plug it back it and take it for a hard drive and see how it drives.

tchernobog

I just went through a fuel problem, so I know for a fact my injectors are good. My only concern if it's the EGR is...I have no tools here, outside of absolutely necessary hand-tools in my toolkit I keep in my trunk. The rest of my stuff is in my garage at school. I'm quite concerned that pinging may damage my engine, but I don't know if 200 miles is enough to even worry about it. Obviously it's 99% highway, so the car will run cool.

To answer your question, yes the car is very shaky and thumpy, the thing sounds like an angry diesel truck haha, I tell ya, I wish it sounded like this when it was working correctly, cause it's pretty mean.

camaro1122

iTrader: (1)

Yea im in the process of finding the same problem. Tuned port i will say is a big pain, but yea the sound is like a nice cam in the car. I will say that my car doesnt shut off when driving but it sounds like it wants to so the ride back should be fine. Once i look intothe problem further ill let you know if i cured it. If you find the problem please let me know because ive just spent 500 dollars to get the car running and now this lol.

tchernobog

I know how you feel. In the past month I've had my starter die, starter enable relay, ignition coil, ignition module, distributor cap, FPR, CTS and now this. If this isn't cheap to fix, this thing is going to be gone.

camaro1122

iTrader: (1)

I hear you, im ordering my EGR valve today so by wensday ill let you know if i have any improvements. Also does your car backfire alot when you on highway doing 70 then let off the gas? Mine was shooting missiles out the back, ive never heard that loud of a backfire.

tchernobog

Yep. That's a bad EGR alright haha.

I didn't do anything to my car, and now it runs better than ever. My gas mileage improved, I have more power, my brakes are tighter and my transmission shifts higher in the power band.

I give up on trying to figure this thing out haha.

Also, I'd suggest cleaning the EGR before you order a new one. Yours should be mechanical, so a good soak in carb cleaner and a fresh gasket might fix it, and save you a lot of money.

camaro1122

iTrader: (1)

Thanks ill try cleaning it although i bought one already. I hope this solves my problem lol, good luck on your car in the future.