QuestionQUESTION: My son has an '86 Camaro, 2.8 V6. The car was always pretty peppy but then it turned sour, it lost power. It reminded me a lot of the old days when timing would make an engine seam lazy. Then bubbles appeared in the radiator indicating a gasket problem. I pulled the heads and had the valves ground and heads surfaced. While the engine was this far apart I figured I would replace the timing set (which was WELL worn) as well. After getting the car back together and test driving, it's still gutless! I am a retired shade-tree mechanic from the "BC" (before computers) era and at a total loss with these new fangled machines. The check engine light comes on when starting but then goes off. What am I missing? Can you give me an idea of what my problem is and hopefully a cure?
Thanks,
Elmer
ANSWER: I don't believe your car is computerized as far as performance, so ruling that out, have you looked to the exhaust?
A plugged cat or a collapsed pipe or muffler will kill an engines performance. is the power loss greter the higer you run the engine or consistant all the way? Exhaust problems are amplified with volume.
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QUESTION: Tazz,
Well, I've removed the cat and still have the same problem. The car starts hard and takes a long time to warm and even after running, when in gear it stumbles and sometime dies. It used to spin tires on pavement and now won't twist gravel in my drive. There is a computer that controls the timing and injection, could the problem be there?
Elmer
AnswerDefinitely. If the spark advance is not being serviced by the computer, it would be the most likely cause. If you set the timing dead on when your rebuilt it try setting it advanced about 8 degree and see if it make a big improvement. If so, your computer is probably the culprit.
