CanadianCamaro

Well I finally got my 'maro on the road again. When I moved back from Alberta I didn't have a job so when my insurance ran out that was the end. After 2.5 mnths of driving my bros 82 prelude :P it sure feels good to drive something with "power".
Anyways I'm having a bit of a problem with my car. When I'm gearing down (its a 5 speed) the car kinda revs a little high then gives a soft clunk, like an automatic downshifting, and the RPM drops. I've just replaced the TPS and it is a little loose, can this be the problem?
Also My AirCon doesn't work so I want to remove it anyone have details on how to remove it or is there a tech article available?

On a side note, I temporarily replaced my back tires,were 235's, with 215's & boy is it ALOT easier to spin the tires, even with the V6/Posi combo!

TIA,
Don

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Black 87 Camaro T-Top, V6, 5-speed, PW,PDL,PM,Tilt, Cruise, Air. Lots of little things I didn't realize were options
see my car at: http://www.geocities.com/iCamaro1987/camaro.html

CanadianCamaro

Another question.

I replaced the thermostat with a 160* one and did the throttle body coolant by-pass. I don't know if maybe I've been a little haevy on the throttle or if the cold weather has anything to do with it, but my fuel milage seems to have dropped by 60mi/tankful. Anyone else had results like this?

TomP

If your TPS sensor is loose, it won't be giving an accurate reading... adjust it per spec (0.055 +/- 0.05 volts at idle) and tighten it up!

If there's no more pressure/freon left, you just unhook & remove everything. You can still have pressure & no freon tho; be safe. Maybe take it to a shop to have it depressurized? They shouldn't charge much.

Cold weather & a 160 degree thermo will mean your car isn't getting into "closed-loop operation" (computer regulates air/fuel mix) as often, or as quickly. In open-loop mode, the car runs rich; and there's your gas mileage going up!

Glad to hear you're back behind the wheel of the Camaro!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

Grim Reaper

TomP, that is not true about a 160* T-stat not allowing your car to go into closed loop. When the CTS reads around 115*F, the engine will go into closed loop (provided the time requirement) has been met. I have confirm this MANY times with my Diacom.

Also, I have been running a 160* T-stat for years with no problems. I use to live in the same general area as CanadianCamaro and it is very mild weather there. We get much cooler temperatures here in Kamloops during winter and I just drove to Banff last weekend without any problems. The 160* T-stat is not a problem.

But, I can tell you why your gas mileage has dropped - OXYGENATED GAS...plain and simple. I have notice this for years, that during late fall, most of the gas stations start to put winter additives in the gas and you will generally loose around 10%. Also, you tend to spend more time warming up the car during the winter season, which all burn extra gas. Trust me, come spring when they go to summer gas, your mileage will increase again.

CanadianCamaro, did you just move back from Alberta? If so, make sure you take advantage of the "Settler Effect" rules when bringing your car back from Alberta. It doesn't matter that you may have bought your car orginally in BC and already paid PST. If you have moved to another province and then return, you have 6 months to re-register your car in BC without paying PST. If you wait longer than 6 months, you will have to pay PST again.

I work for the BC Government, so take advantage of the rules on your return to BC and avoid paying any extra taxes that you don't have to.

CanadianCamaro

I Moved back to BC in August, but I didn't live in Alta for very long, the car was never transferred out of BC.

Thanks for the answers guys!

dudelovett

Hey, dont be dissin the Prelude, I lost to an 83 Prelude when I had my V6!!

Long story and I wont share it unless someone asks!

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1991 Firebird Formula, 305, TPI, Auto...stock till I get some money!!!
Former owner of an 88 2.8 Firebird....RIP

TomP

(laughs) Funny, I used to spout that for years, and never saw any backing for it! My GM/Helms manual says the coolant's gotta be above 77 degrees, engine run time > a few minutes, and the oxy sensor has to work.

I'm not so sure anymore tho. On a cold NJ day with the 160 stat, oddly enough, my temp gauge would never budge. It starts counting at 130 degrees. I would've thought that with a 160 'stat, the temp would've stayed around 160! Where does your gauge sit?

I had thought about one of those heated oxy sensors, but having absolutely no heat at night causes me to throw the 195 back in. Oh- the temps here are around 45-50/day, 25-30/night. Brrr...

Too bad there's no terminal off the ECM to tap into that would show open/closed loop operation... something like an on/off light, ya know? I guess the Autometer A/F gauge would show that to some extent. I'll probably get one of those, and a trans temp gauge, when spring weather shows up again.

Oh thanks for that Diacom info by the way!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

Grim Reaper

I would suggest getting the actual GM Shop Manual, it is still the best source of information.

But, I can attest to the minimum 110-115*F minimum requirement for the coolant temperature as per the CTS. A few years ago I had a "weak" T-stat and noticed that my car would "unlock" the TC for some reason. When I hooked up my Diacom I notice that the CTS fell below 110*F and my TC unlocked, my AF Ratio no longer remained at 14.7:1 and the "Open Switch" came on.

So I put in a new T-stat and notcied that when the temperature hit around 110-115*F, that my TC would lock up, the AF Ratio became 14.7:1 and the "Closed" Switch was activated. That is when I learnt the real temperature you need to attain for the engine to go into closed loop. If you have an automatic, you will notice the TC unlock if you are on the highway.

As for my Temperature Gauge, that is about as accurate as the Florida Recount. My coolant temperature remains very steady at 160*F, but the actual guage will only read slightly above the 3rd minor hash mark. If the guage was accurate, it should read at the major hash mark between 100 and 220*F (or 40 and 100*C if you have a metric display, like we do in Canada).

Basically, I found that the guage "under displays" at normal temperature and will start to "over display" at anything above 200*F. It is quite inaccurate. I guess GM wants people to not get over worried when temperature is at 180-190*F, and to begin to worry when it gets above 200*F.

The accuracy of the temperature guage is only rivaled by the accuracy of my fuel guage. I get over 25% of my range before the fuel gauge even gets below the Full mark, and at the 1/2 mark it really is only about 1/4 full. I've never tested the accuracy of the oil guage, but I doubt its accuracy too. About the only guages that are accurate on my car is the speedo, tach and voltmeter.

TomP

Uh, yeah, that's what I said I have. Helms makes the GM shop manuals.

Anyway, I have aftermarket gauges, so I believe they're pretty reliable. That's a good point about the TCC tho- mine was rare to lockup with the 160 'stat in. It would go into lockup when I was almost at my destination The TCC locks up much faster now with the 195 'stat back in.

I've gotta get me a Diacom one of these days... either that, or make my own with all the free info out there on the Prom board (and related web pages). A few people have written $free scanners, all that has to be made is a cable. I even have the $20 laptop to run it!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

ONEFINE8T9

Hey, dont be dissin the Prelude, I lost to an 83 Prelude when I had my V6!!
Long story and I wont share it unless someone asks!

hehe i would like to know what happened


BTW no hard feelings from that last post man. I say ur right.....lets all drink to the fact that we have nice rides.



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1989 pontiac firebird
bright red exterior(just repainted)
grey interior
5 spd
305 TBI (stock)
WS.6 formula wheels
3.73 posi rear end
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system: 2 10" MTX thunder 2000 in a Professionally done custom bandpass box.
Blaupunkt CD player
Blaupunkt 4x6 and 6x9
600 watt rockford fosgate 4.6 amp

http://members.aol.com/j007golden/Mikey89.html

dudelovett

Well onefine8t9, the story goes as follows..

A friend of mine had an 83 Prelude with under 60,000 miles on it, car was in beautiful condition! I had raced him before and easily handled him, even beat him in my 89 Pontiac 6000 LE! One day, he melted the head on his car, went and got it replaced. So we're out a few nights later and he asks me if I wanna line it up, so we head up the street to a nice open spot and give her a rip. He jumps me off the line (FWD, 513 gears) and takes a bit of a lead on me, at this point, I'm kinda like okay what the **** is goin on here!! He beats me all the way through second and starts pulling away from me through 3rd! We finish off at about 90 mph with him a good car length ahead. So we get out and hes laughin at me pretty good. Turns out he had a shaved head slapped onto the thing, a bit bigger carb, bumped timing, new performance plugs and wires! He figured he was pushing around 125 hp in a car that weighs like 2600 as opposed to the usual 105! Needless to say, i was embarassed and returned the favour with a good clean win after i had my engine rebuilt.

As far as our last post, no hard feelings at all.....we can only base our opinions on people we've actually raced and we've never raced eachother!

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1991 Firebird Formula, 305, TPI, Auto...stock till I get some money!!!
Former owner of an 88 2.8 Firebird....RIP

dudelovett

I guess I should also mention that I ended up rebuilding the engine about 3 weeks later!