96 Camaro z28 rough driving and rough idle
 

Hey, new to this forum. Just bought me a 96 z about 2 months ago. Drove great off the lot until I seen leaking water.. So I replaced the water pump and thermostat, mechanic done, and he told me one of harmonic balancer bolts was loose, so i tightened that back up. Had SES lights on when I bought it and he said it was the fan relay set up. stupid me for trusting him. Went and had it scanned and read multi misfire code and some other ones that i cant remember. Today on my way home from work, it was driving rough! i could feel it in idle and accelerating.. and even the sound from my exhaust was different.. please any suggestions would help. I'll post other codes later

Check the Opti.

Yeah, Someone had said that. I was doing mad research on opti spark. problem is, i don't have tools, knowledge, or time to check it myself :/ I'd rather not have to take it a shop

What you need to swap the Opti:
10 qt drain pan
3/8" socket wrench
standard screwdriver (also will use that to take off the intake) or slipjoint pliers for the radiator hoses, depending on the type of hose clamps
3/8" drive 10mm socket for opti bolts and vacuum pump (can take fans w/ it, too, if you want)
3/8" drive regular and deep well 9/16 socket for water pump bolts, alt bolts, vacuum pump bracket, and belt tensioner
3/8" drive 6 inch extension (need that to get the water pump bolt behind the power steering pump pulley)
1/2" 18" or 24" breaker bar
1/2" drive 5/8" socket for crank pulley bolts
new opti
2 new water pump gaskets
red loctite for crank pulley bolts
blue rtv for gaskets

Write-ups on how to do it all over the place, and the whole thing should take about 5 hours if you take your time. Don't even have to jack the car up.

But, before going Opti on it, pull your Ignition Control Module (ICM) and Ignition Coil and have them tested. $83 and $26 parts, respectively. A lot cheaper and easier to replace than an Opti if one tests bad. Also, pull your plugs and check their condition. Pop your cherry on them LT1 plugs lol.

Lol yeah I tried doing a tune on it last Saturday, needless to say it is a bit beyond amateur level.. even with car jacked up I could only reach maybe 3 plugs. And I think I'm just going to break down and take it to a shop. If I knew half of what you're talking about and had someone who half ass knew what they were doing in person to guide me that would make me feel a lot more comfortable

Oh yeah, shop said free daignostics so hopefully they don't bullshit and try to make themselves rich off of me

shops usually do, where do you live, someone on here can probably guide you to a decent shop

Pasadena, Texas. Near Houston. The lot I got the car from said I can pay half upfront for what needs to be done and half they would finance and tack it onto my payments

Thanks for info though, maybe on my next vacation time off I'll tinker around with your suggestion so next time if this happens I can do it myself

Not that it'll help but have you called the lot you bought it at and pitched a bitch with them?

Indeed but of course you know they arent going to admit to knowing

Check your egr valve

Is that their "warranty"??



WOW......

Yeah it fucking blows, I'm locked into a 480 a month payment for this and its something new every other week... But I can't do shit about it because the car was sold "as is" and I have an UPDATE as of this morning the car wouldn't start, I cranked it and it did its usual trying to crank with the motor turning and on the third try to crank it, the motor turned a quarter and it starting just clicking. My dad said starter may be going bad or the timing chain :/. I'm breaking down and taking it to the the dealers mechanic. Hopefully they dont fuck me over too much

Also the codes firing are p0300, p0372, p1641 and 1642

P0300 Engine Misfire Detected
P0372 IC 24X Reference Circuit Missing Pulses
P1641 Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) Control Circuit
P1642 Vehicle Speed Output Circuit

Definitely opti. When my opti died, it would crank and crank but never catch. The clicking from the starter was probably from the battery running down from repeated attempts to start it. Mine did that some, too. I had some problems other than the opti after I replaced it lol.

Let me get this straight...your paying $480 :eek2: a month for a 16 year old f-body...I hope it's mint condition. Meanwhile, the dealer is laughing their way to the bank offering to "tack on" labor bills for fixing crap with the car; now your talking of taking it to the stealership (don't be surprised if they say $600-900 to replace an opti going by the book rate)....you are getting ripped! I would learn to replace it yourself, ask friends for help, or find a competent smaller shop that has messed with LT1's before or this is going to be one expensive headache.

Maybe the $480 per month loan is for 8 or 9 months

And it's his first car. And he filed for bankruptcy a year ago. Wow that's a shitty rate.

Thats Houston used car lots. Thats prolly 12mos for a 3500 dollar car. BUT he needs it fixed. If its got the smog crap throw it in the dumpster. You should know a place thatll inspect it regardless lol Get block off plates for the EGR. If the battery is older than 2yrs old it needs replaced too AS stated have the ICM & Coil tested If those are good its prolly the evil opti LoL But one more thing to do Bypass the VATS in your keyswitch Use a multimeter to measure the resistence in the keys chip Then go get a resistor @ radioshack that matches Find the yellow & orange wires on the steering column & install the resistor Many write ups on the web Just pay attention & lay out everything together pc by pc & you can do it easy Hell if my buddy can install an opti anyone can LoL WHEN you do the opti REPLACE the plugs & wires with good stuff Opti = A/C Delco Plugs = NGK Platinum Wires = MSD ,Taylor or A/C Delco