I got my camaro about a year ago. its a totally stock 1987 LT camaro (2.8l automatic). The car runs great. it goes pretty fast for what it is and seems to be healthy. The issue i am having is that after i calculated the gas mileage the last couple of times, i got 13mpg and 16mpg. I know that i should be getting more than this as when i first got the car i was getting around 22-24mpg. What should i try to do to figure out whats up?

PS: I am not a TOTAL newb when it comes to cars, but im still a newb. I am not afraid to turn a wrench i just need someones advice before i do so. I am learning how to work on cars with this one (even though it doesnt really need much work as of yet)

PSS: eventually ill be throwing a 327 engine that i have into my car. I am just gonna wait until my 2.8l dies on me (wont be soon seeing that the engine has 24,000 miles on it after it was rebuilt). I am working on the 327 now (needs to be rebuilt and needs new heads). until then, i might as well TRY to take advantage of the better gas mileage out of the 2.8l

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thanks in advance

I am going to go through toms tuneup thing for starters, but i have a feeling none of that is an issue. would still be nice to rule out any tune up possibilities

 

you most likely need an egr valve. are their any engine codes?

 

well i guess i shoulda mentioned that i recently changed the exhaust manifold cuz it had a crack in it. no leakage at all, but the check engine light is still on. i need to head on down to advanced auto or something to get a computer hooked up to it. When we first put the new manifold on, it wasnt on right, hence the light. got it perfect the 8th time around lol (no lift on a gravel driveway, fun stuff).

when i bought the car, the engine was rebuilt. looked like the morons that did the rebuilding tried to lift the engine from the manifold and cracked it. had that white stuff around it to keep it from leaking. was getting 24 mpg when i got the car. before changing the manifold, i was getting 13-16, which im still getting. im gonna head on down to advanced auto right now and hook up a computer to my car, hopefully resetting that check engine light. ill post back the engine codes.

that is how i figure out what codes i have, if any, right?

 

all you have to do is stick a paper clip into the thing under the dash, the top right two, turn the key forward, i will be like morse code. the light will flash 3 times like this. X XX (pause) X XX (pause) X XX and that means its in diagnostic mode. X XX is 12. XXX XX would be 32. just count the flashes untill it flashes 12 again 3 times.

GL its easy

 

haha yeah im postin this at work right now. when i went to advance auto they gave me a paper clip and i checked the error codes. i got a 33, MAF sensor. That could very easily cause my bad gas mileage right? also, my car likes to to idle a little wierd like its going to stall some times (usually happens at night, when its colder) and the lights dim at the same time. could this be the main culprit to my bad gas mileage? im going to change the sensor on thursday, how hard is it to change?

thanks for your help guys

 

i changed mine last weekend. it takes 5 minutes. you can figure it out.

 

yeah i just took a look at it... mad easy to change. im gonna be putting a new one in on thurs or friday. hopefully thats whats causing my horrible mpg. i am a BIG fan of easy fixes (my old car, a 1993 saturn sl1 was just ridiculous. whenever something broke on it, it was something expensive and took me a whole week to fix)

 

I would still do the tune up first and see what happens. Chances are that one or all of your plugs and wires are all too old to work any more, or the plugs are fouled, etc.
What you can do is remove the sensor and look at the orange film inside. If the film is completely flat when looked at from an angle with a light shining on it, then you should look at other things, unless what you can see of the circuitry has a scorch mark or something on it.
FSM says to reset the ECM by disconnecting the battery and run the engine for a full minute or until the code sets (if it does). If the code re-sets, then you can replace the MAF. If not, then you should look into a wiring problem as the code is intermittent. You CAN also have the sensor tested at AutoZone or somewhere like that.

 

yeah its dark out right now and im living at my college, didnt feel like taking apart the MAF yet. i checked the wires though and they SEEMED fine. i reset the ECM just now, thanks for reminding me to do that. I did that a while ago but i thought i did it wrong possibly. No luck, the CE light stays lit, same error code: 33. I already ordered the MAF sensor from advance auto. ill pick it up tomorrow and throw it in.

one other question though, i bought the new MAF for like 70 dollars brand new. other websites i found were selling some of them for like 150-300. is there something im missing with this price difference? are those like performance MAF sensors or what?

 

its nice out right now so i decided to check out the connections on the MAF. first i checked the error code: error 34 this time. still has to do with the MAF sensor. so i went down to advance auto to pick up the sensor. before putting the new one in, i looked at the plug. had that hardened grease stuff in it, so i used a small allen wrench (didnt have a wire brush) to remove the stuff. I THOUGHT i put the new MAF in, turned the car on and the engine light was gone . then i went to close the hood and noticed dust and a red spot of paint on the "new" MAF. woops, put the old one back in by accident... in other words, the old one was still good, i just needed to clean up the plug lol. so i gave it a test drive and drove real nice, but still felt like something was lacking. so i put the new one in for the heck of it (i was going to return it like a complete *******, but figured id check it out anyways), and the car was running even better. guess the MAF really was a bit old, but still ok to use. the new MAF was still a good idea. thanks for the help guys, it wasnt much but im still a newb and right now i need someone to hold my hand a bit lol.


another question: at what rpms should this baby be shifting? its shifting at around 4200 right now from 1st to second gear. is that normal? my guess is yes, but i just wanna make sure. i remember reading someones car shifting at 3500 and it being normal. thanks in advance guys

 

shifting at wide open throttle?

 

Yes, most places will try to hose you on the MAF. I got mine a couple years ago for $80, with a LIFETIME warranty, so that when it goes, I don't have to shell out that kind of cash again. (my car has already killed 2, the factory one and one I picked up from someone on here used)
Anyways, unless you are constantly at WOT when starting again from a dead stop, your trans should shift between 2500 and 3700 or thereabouts. Mine, IIRC, would shift around 2200 and WOT at about 3400 RPM. Maybe you should adjust your TV cable on the throttle cable bracket, the thing with the green connector on the top of the throttle lever, and see if that helps any.