I'm having an issue with it not starting without some spray and it falls on its face at first when you take off but then will start driving okay. I have put in a new fuel tank, new sending unit, fuel filter, fuel pump, fuel injectors, MAF sensor, spark plugs, spark wires. I set the timing correctly at 10 btdc because when I did it the first time i missed the step to remove the tan/blk wire but after doing it properly it ran shittier than before i touched it. I also replaced the coolant temp sensor after reading another thread that mentioned it being important to do so, does anyone know where to get a vacuum line kit for the entire engine bay or just all of the different hoses.

 

Any auto parts store should have the lines you need. Good luck with your project.

 

Hi,

Sounds like you have done just about all you can do to your fuel system. Have you checked your pressure at your fuel rail? That would eliminate any of your fuel delivery system being the culprit other than the injectors themselves (which I would save for last as they are expensive). Eliminating fuel as the culprit leaves us with spark and air.

Let's talk air first. Looking for a vacuum leak is a great idea. Being that this is a 28 year old engine I am sure you will find at least one. You may also want to look at your Idle Air Controller (IAC)*. It's quite accessible the top of the intake. Due to the EGR being so close the IAC tends to get gummed up with carbon deposits leading to failure. If it gets stuck closed your car will struggle to start without the gas pedal being pushed in just a little to open the throttle blades. If it get's stuck open the car will be taking in too much air and this will be most pronounced just off idle when the amount of unmetered air is the greatest percentage of the air the car is taking in. I am a few years removed from owning an Fbody, so I don't know if Idle Air Controllers are still "available at any parts store" like they were in 2017, but I recall it being a cheap part to throw at a car. Much like the vacuum lines even if the IAC is not the problem it may be a problem, especially if it's original to the car.

Next let's talk spark. What is the condition of your plug wires? Are you plugs clean and gaped correctly? How is your distributor? An overly worn rotor or distributor contacts can cause spark degradation. A worn pickup coil can cause timing to get screwed up even if you have set it dead-on. I don't know enough about spark delivery to point you in a specific direction, but on both of my cars I ended up rebuilding the entire spark delivery system over the course of my ownership. Both my 86 2.8L firebird and my 88 5.7L GTA struggled with an off-idle stumble at one point (both the MPFI for the v6s and the TPI for the v8s are very similar). In the case of my GTA the pickup coil came out in pieces once I finally pulled the cap.

Let us know what you find, and good luck getting your 86 Camaro back into shape.

*Camaros went to MPFI in 1986 just like Firebirds, right? All of the below is assuming your car is using the Multi-Port Fuel Injection system. If your car is using a computer controlled carburetor or throttle body injection than this Idle Air controller talk is useless to you.

 

Thanks for all the info about everything, I got rid of the charcoal canister because the lines were broken in places or missing. Then I capped off any open ports on the engine side of the vacuum system which didn't seem to make a difference besides idling smoother. I tried swapping the MAF sensor relay with the burn off relay and that didn't do anything. But I did find the fuel relay that is next to the brake booster had really crappy connections, and is now throwing a code after I had inspected it.
I pulled out the IAC valve and cleaned it off and actioned it to see if it was sticking at all, it seemed like it was alright and the inside of the throttle is really clean. And yea its the MPFI system I haven't gotten to look under the distributor cap yet.

 

I have a 2.8L V-6 82k original miles im the 3rd owner and I replaced my MAP SENSOR, IAC SENSOR, THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR, IDLE CONTROL SENSOR, ERG VALVE, FUEL PUMP, FUEL FILTER, FULL TUNE UP plus cap & rotor spark plugs correct gap45, sprayed throttle cleaner in throttle, poured fuel cleaner in fuel tank, even did things that might not had mattered like brand new starter, alternator, battery, fusible link, changed my relays on driver side fire wall and got new connectors to plug in the relays, and bought a new ECM, AND BAMMMMMMMM RUNS PERFECT LIKE A CHARM !!! I JUST DID IT ALL SINCE I WOULD HAVE HAD TO DO IT ANYWAY NOW IT RUNS PERFECT

 

I've just replaced the fuel pump relay and now it cranks up and idles way better, im gonna go look for another two relays for the MAF power and MAF burn off. Hopefully then it'll perk up and drive smooth.

 

@JokaTee WOW that is a lot to do at once. Replaced your ECM? I have not known those to go bad often. Good job.

@7oSammmy Nice job with the vacuum fixes. A smoother idle is always good. Great job. Taking care of things like that will make all future diagnostics easier. One thing to be aware of, deleting the (probably not working anyhow) evap system (charcoal canister) can cause the car to throw a code and run a little funny. (*EDIT I wrote an explanation, but the second post on this threat does a way better job).

Great work on all the rest. I am very interested to learn what you discover when you start investigating the spark side of things.

 

I already removed the charcoal cannister because the hoses were all damaged but it hasn't had a negative affect that i can notice.

 

You don't have a MAF burnoff relay, that is a V8 thing only. You have one relay in control of your MAF's power, and that relay is mounted near the radiator on the passenger (RH) side.
If you have no check engine light indicating a MAF failure then your relay is powering your MAF properly and isn't the source of your running issues.....

(bottom of diagram, towards the right hand side)

 

yeah i went all out with sensors and etc so I won't have to worry about it no time soon only thing left is the relays
A/C Compressor Clutch Relay, FUEL Pump Relay & Engine Coolant Fan Relay and Ima Rewire All 3 Old Connectors Cause the wires are showing anything that looks old ima replace I've always done that to any old/classic car I ever had ?

Engine Coolant Fan Motor Relay Had To Replace It All

AC Compressor Cotrol Relay Had To Replace This All

Fuel Pump Relay I Had To Replace It All