Need a little help... I have had a repair shop diagnose my 3.1L V6 (92') as having a bad injector or two, and in need of replacing the 02 sensor. They want a lot of money to replace. Can I do both of these items my-self? If so what special tools do I need and what is the process in a nutshell.

Thanks!

 

Cant tell you about the injectors, but I CAN say...DO THE O2 SENSOR YOURSELF. I'm one of those people that avoids doing things themselves cause I dont have that much knowledge or equipment, but honestly, the O2 sensor is one of the easiest repairs you'll ever have. Pick up a Bosch OEM one at Autozone..$20.. Jack the front of the car up. Look on the Y pipe..it's a film canister looking thing sticking out, with a little wire running up. Feel up the wire until you feel the clip..that's the hookup clip....it should have a little slide-over, like all other sensor connections..unclip it. Use a wrench or something, whatever you can get a real nice grip with, and turn the sucker out. You're supposed to run the engine a little, not to hot, but just until it warms up a little to warm the Y pipe and make removing it easier, but I didnt. Screw the old one out CAREFULLY...and CAREFULLY screw the new one in (these things are real sensitive) until it's snug, and hook it back up. Reset the car's computer by either pulling the ECM pigtail or the ECM fuse for 30 seconds or so...or by disconnecting the negative battery terminal for 30 secs....but this will kill your radio presets obviously. (You only have to reset the computer because oftentimes, the computer gets confused with the new sensor because it's giving such a different signal, and it goes kinda crazy and makes you throw SES codes that don't make sense..) You should see a marked improvement in gas mileage if your sensor is shot...bad O2 sensors typically send a lean signal to your engine, making it dump more unnecessary fuel in, which makes you run rich.. Hope that helps.

 

You can get a set of 6 injectors from a junkyard for cheap... pull them from another 3.1 MPFI motor, either an f-body, or something like a Chevy Beretta. Then send them to http://www.cruizinperformance.com for a cleaning & flowtesting, and you'll have good-as-new injectors. And yeah you can replace them yourself. You can replace anything on the car yourself, too. But fuel injectors aren't hard. For the procedure, go buy a Haynes 82-92 Firebird (or Camaro) manual, for $15, you get the procedures. For the procedure "in a nutshell", you take apart the top of the engine, remove the old injectors, install the cleaned ones, and put the top of the engine back together.

 

Is it really that easy TomP? Do you have to disconnect a fuel line or anything? It seems like the haynes and chiltons manuals tell you stuff like that. Remove brake pads, put new ones on. You just changed your brakes! J/k! I think I want to do the injector thing, I have a feeling mine might be going.

 

Elevario, I have a Hayne's manual and honestly, half of the things I've read through have those kind of instructions..it tells you what to do, but not always how to do it..it's made more for a mechanic than a broke do it yourselfer.

 

Thanks guys!

I have the Chilton's Manual - I will get the injectors off of e-Bay and give it a whirl - can't be worse than the heater core I replaced last month.

 

Haha, no, it's not "that easy", but he wanted the procedure in a nutshell. An engine swap is the same way; disconnect engine, remove engine, install new engine.

But you're really just removing everything to get to the injectors, then removing the fuel rail, and changing the injectors. You don't need to break any fuel line connections, either. There are metal clips that hold the fuel lines to the engine. Undo those two clips, using a 10mm socket (they each have one bolt). Then after prying the fuel rail up and out of the intake manifold (the injectors hold it tight), you swing the fuel rail over the front of the car. We can do this because of the rubber fuel line hoses; they act as a hinge. I laid a drain pan down over my hood latch and changed my injectors right there.

85-89 2.8's will need to disconnect one line, the cold start injector's fuel line, from the top of the rail. Be careful threading it back in, it strips out easily (steel fitting into aluminum threads).

Tip- blow the top of your engine off with compressed air before you start working so no dirt falls into the injector holes of the intake manifold. Tip #2, when the upper plenum's off, lay a rag over the plenum openings so you don't drop a socket into the motor.

 

Oh and seriously, you guys should really get the GM manual. It'll shed light on things like you wouldn't believe!! http://www.helminc.com I bought mine about 2 months after I bought my car... before I ever knew about the Haynes. It just made sense to me... buy a car, then buy the "real" shop manual for it. I'm surprised more of you don't have it! I think you can even find 'em on eBay every now and then.

Here's one, 87 Firebird: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1868326099

Another, 85 Firebird (holy sht what a good deal!!) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1868483855

Another 82 Firebird: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1869054440

A 92 Firebird (another hot deal!) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...item=724640622

83 Firebird (another great deal) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1868610113

86 Camaro (great deal again) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1867652713

An 85 Camaro: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1867729685

An 82 Camaro: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1867770727

If I had an '86 Camaro I'd buy this right away, never heard of this, but looks damn good: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1867794234

same for this 82 Camaro: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1868048309

Another '86 Camaro: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1868482083

An '88 Camaro: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1869350261

Okay I'm not going thru the rest of the 6 pages on Camaros, but at these prices, how can you guys not get one? Go do a search, I looked for "Firebird manual" and "Camaro manual" on eBay.

 

Tomp, do they have wiring diagrams in them, and if so, how good??

I'm looking at this engine swap, its almost all wiring, I want some better crap then hanyes n chiltons put out

 

My 85 Camaro manual has sooooo many diagrams in it.

 

Man, the last time I tried getting a manual for a 92 camaro it went up to 100 dollars! They always do for the 92 camaros. I've been trying to get one for a while! So for now haynes and chiltons will do fine.

 

LOL, dude, they're the best you'll ever see!

Elevario, save up that coin, it's worth it.

[edit] Bummer, you missed out on this one from October 4th: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1864208751

[edit 2] In fact, the Haynes/Chiltons/etc suck for diagnostics. The only reason I push the Haynes manual is because it's a great beginners guide. You won't find the GM Service Manual telling you how to remove a spark plug! The Haynes is also good for giving certain procedures like rebuilding a caliper, replacing a fuel pump (dropping the tank), replacing transmissions, swapping rear axles, etc. But I wouldn't recommend those manuals for diagnosing anything. 'Sides, where do you think I've gotten the code 34 chart (in <a href="https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/showthread.php?threadid=61033" target="_blank">this message</a> of mine) from? Imagine seeing that chart for every possible error code- that's what's in the GM book, besides every possible wire, besides every other part in the car!

 

Cool, I looked at their site, and the one I need (for my engine swap) is 100 bux, then the one for my s10 is 130 I have the true dodge one already, from dodge..
I need to rob a bank

 

Before I take off the plenium I thought I might (1) replace the 02 sensor then see how she runs. if that does not fix it I will (2) then put some injector cleaner in my gas.

My question is, is it a good idea to try the injector cleaner? Will it hurt my car?

Thanks!

 

You have a 3.1 which is equipped with Multec injectors. I would not add any "off the shelf" cleaner as GM does not recommend those chemicals for the 3.1 injectors. Maybe having a shop do the injector cleaning procedure that costs around 70-80 bucks would be better.

 

I'm not convinced that any of the processes that clean injectors on the car work worth a crap...go to a Pull-A-Part type yard, get the injectors, send them to Cruizn Performance, and install them. You'll have clean and flow matched injectors for not much more than a cleaning cost at a shop.

Neither job is that hard; I can have the upper off of Redraif's car in about 10 minutes!

Get the Helm (factory) manual, its well worth the price.

 

I agree, worth every penny. My only bitch is that sometimes it's hard to find something again; there's no cumulative index in the back. So many times I've remembered reading something a long time ago, then I go back, and can't find it.

I'm going to email Rich this weekend about the Multec's and the off-the-shelf cleaners. I've got a set of '90 3.1 injectors I've gotta send him.

 

Plus too I just realized that most of the messages in our board aren't about more power, or people having problems installing a performance part, or people giving results of a performance part. Most of the messages are about "how do I fix my headlight/idle/stalling/fuel pump/etc". And most-- actually, ALL-- of them can be solved by the GM service manual.

 

Yeah but we won't tell everyone that... then what would we do?

 

 

OMG, ROFLMAO. That was two funny :sillylol: :sillylol: :sillylol:

 

 

Would it be okay to buy the 92 firebird service manual for my 91? I would assume so, but wanted to check before i start bidding. THanks guys:lala:

 

I would think it would be "close enough", if the price is right.

 

When I go to the Helm website I need a dealership number or something? Why is this?

Nevermind, I was clicking the wrong thing. I went ahead and ordered one!!! SCORE!!

 

I cannot get the O2 sensor out. I have used "break free" a solvent with no luck. Should I use a special solvent or a special wrench? I have the pipe hot so it should go??

Thoughts


Thanks,

 

They do make a special tool, but I found on ones that are real tight, it "expands" and slips. For them I PRAY that I can get a box end wrench on them (think its 7/8?) And sometimes a cheater bar. You CAN get a box end wrench on a 91 camaros. I am assuming 88-92 or so they would be in the same spot.