Camero won't pull hard
09-25-2012, 05:13 PM
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Camero won't pull hard I've recently got a 2000 camero that was a V6 car that they did a Ls1 swap on. They said that it had a big cam in it with valve springs, long tube headers, and 3:73 gears. I looked up the engine ID and it is a 1998 LS1 with 317 casting heads on it. They said the car did 11.2 but wasnt running right because of the check engine light. They also told me it had a 3800 stall converter in it. The car has the EGR system removed and no A/C and no cats. The car seems to start up and run good it had the check engine light on when I got it but it was a cut wire on the MAF sensor, I fixed that and it seems the stay off so far. No for my problem, I took the car to the track last weekend and the best time I ran was a 14.7, the car seems to run good just didn't pull real hard. My stock 1999 trans am ran a better time. I took it back to my house and checked the gears to make sure they were 3:73 like he said, and they checked out, and it has long tube header and it sounds like it has a cam in it so I don't know why it wouldn't do as good or better then a stock LS1 car. I lock up the ebrake today a rev'ed the motor to see what the stall would lock up at and it only went to 2100rpm. Does this seem right and if so what can I do to make the car faster because 14.7 is embearassing. Also the guy said he had the computer tuned but I not so sure. Is it worth the $300 to get it dyno tuned?
09-25-2012, 05:23 PM
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Sounds like there is definitely some issues going on. First I would go through and make sure all the proper maintenance is done, and then continue diagnosing what is going on. Wouldn't be a bad idea to get the car on a dyno and see what is really going on.
09-25-2012, 06:09 PM
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Also when driving around town it seems like it is really gutless off the line driving normally until the rpm's raise a bit. Do you think the stall might not be the right one or maybe slipping. Tomorrow I'm going to change plugs, wire, and check fuel pressure, and compression. I'll post if I find anything bad or not right.
09-26-2012, 01:04 AM
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stall is a fair guess if it has a cam... the 317 heads are dragging your compression down so your going to lose even more low end power there also... get it on a dyno like said and see whats going on.
09-26-2012, 04:45 PM
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Ok today I cleaned the MAF sensor, and the throttle body. Both looked clean already tho. Then check to see what the spark plugs cloud tell me but they actual looked normal. Did a compression test on three of the cylinders and all showed around 10.75:1 cr so I'm guessing they had the heads milled down to raise the compression of the 317 heads. So then I checked fuel pressure, and at an idle it ran 60psi but then I power braked it and got it up in third with some load on it and the fuel pressure dropped down to around 25-30. So I went down to cal speed and performance and bought a high performance fuel pump and installed it. Fuel pressure seems to stay steady now and car has a little more power it seems like but still don't think it has what it should. I did break the engine coolant temp sensor when missing around with the spark plugs and the check engine light was on for that when I test drove it, don't know if that would cause the car to run weaker to help save the motor or not. Bought a new one and a new fuel filter and will install it tomorrow. I have an appointment at cal speed and performance tomorrow to have the car dyno tuned so I will post tomorrow and let you know what they find.
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09-26-2012, 05:37 PM
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Sorry didn't even realize i spelled it wrong this stupid phone keeps changing it to that and I forget to go back and change it. I guess that's why I got a job working with my hands and not in an office.
09-26-2012, 07:03 PM
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Ok just watched a you tube video on compression testing and realized my grandpa gave me wrong info on how to check it. He said the small numbers is the ratio. Now I know better. Thanks, without you guys questioning it I would have never known I was wrong. So the good thing is they were all close in psi all around 160-170psi.
09-26-2012, 07:42 PM
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thats sounds better.....what did the spark plugs look like when you pulled them out? Black, tan, white in color? These could give some indication of why its not running right.
09-26-2012, 10:35 PM
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They were coco color. I had a chilton book and looked at the spark plug page and it looked like the picture that showed normal. My 99 trans am I check at the same time and it was white and ashy so I'm going to take that to the tuners in the morning too. It's not running as fast as it should either that why I was checking that car too, it's only doing a 14.2 with a slp lid and K&N air filter. Hopefully the dyno tuning will be worth the money. I have only been a LS1 owner for about a year and I'm trying to get them back to running good.
09-27-2012, 02:26 PM
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Ok had it dyno tuned in today and the fuel pump must have done the trick because it was running good and had 366rwhp, the tuner fine tuned it and got it up to 382rwhp. Now I have to get some slicks and take it back to the track and see what she'll do. Only bad thing is the track isn't open till November. Thacker for all the help guys.
