i just finished my cam, headers, and pulley swap couple weeks ago... to be honest i did it for the least money possible and took a whole bunch of shortcuts. anyways, heres the issue

i have a 99 ls1 camaro with
lid
slp underdrive pulley
custom grind (pretty close to ms4) cam
comp cams springs
ebay 1 3/4" to 3" headers, open
took out all of my a/c
took out all the emissions


i drove my car for awhile just like this because im broke and need to get to work. i know it was a bad idea but anyways...

it was driving fine the whole time until a couple days ago it started idling really high, and when i gave it gas it just bogged really hard. i left it overnight and came back and it did the same thing, except after warming it up and driving it, it started smoking really bad, and the weird part was that the smoke was scentless.

here is the really weird part

when i started it this morning, the car was idling at what sounded like 400ish rpm, but the tach did a full sweep up to redline then came back down and the car was smoking like a sob... so i am now very confused. any ideas on how bad i fucked it up?

 

If it was not tuned it could have alot to do with that. you didnt swap oil pumps while you were doing the cam?

 

no i didnt swap oil pumps

 

i would def get a tune before you drive it. as far as the smoke, its possible a valve bent when it reved up high. i would check oil, plugs, leak down test stuff like that, but a tune is a must i think

 

im just really confused by the tach sweep... ive never seen it do that before

 

MS4 comparable cam with no tune? You really have to just factor the price of a tune into a cam swap.

 

The tach/gauge sweep is a common 99 problem, it usually happens when your battery has low voltage/is on its way out. My car would do the same thing too even though it drove totally fine and started fine. I swapped batteries and have never seen it since.

 

What color smoke? Black? White? Blue? making any noises? Clattering? Ticking? Knocking? Need some more info!!

 

no strange noises, other than its loud as hell... and the smoke is very blue... and smells slightly of oil but mostly fuel

 

did u do any WOT?

 

Dum da dum dum...... You need a tune is what i imagine if you havent messed up something already.

 

ms4 like cam untuned? not surprised youre car is bogging out on the a4, as for the smoke, could be your valve seals are worn out and are now under alot more stress with the cam etc.

the gauge sweep is normal, my 99 did it til i replaced my battery.

hows your oil pressure and operating temp? and did u get larger injectors? cuz with a cam that big you definitely need them.

 

i missed this post.

you need a tune. go get one, then report back.

.02

 

my 99 does it too, low battery voltage after sittin,kinda like why the trip odometer resets automatically when battery is low after sittin

like stated and a tune,if its that much of a concern get a new battery

 

Are the rear O2's still in service on the car? They could have made the car go rich after the header, cam swap and cause the rings to be washed out!! Changing the headers alone with no tune will make the car run rich.. If the rear O2's are not reading properly (now because of the work) then the computer will start to dump fuel and the car would run like crap. Just a thought..

 

With a cam that big i'm surprised you can drive it without a tune. I'm sure the PCM is in a limp mode, so it's running super rich.

GL man, hope you can get it figured out.

 

k ill try the tune.... btw the rear o2's are not in... only the front ones since i have nowhere to put the back ones lol

 

pretty sure u have to disable the rear o2s.. You might just be running really really rich. Your going to need a tune. Where are you in seattle?

 

Yea no kidding! People...a tune IS part of a cam swap!

 

That's your problem then. Without the rear O2's disabled the car is just dumping fuel into the motor and causing it to run really rich.. Be very carefull on how much you drive it without a tune as you can wash out your rings (if this didn't already happen). If you did wash the rings out you can plan on building a forged rotating assembly.. Again good luck..