how f-ed is the 94? - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

emolineaux · 05-08-2009, 10:36 PM

well my sisters 94 camaro took a crap. since it was dark out i couldnt get a look under the hood. but this is whats going on with it.

she pulled over and shut it down about 10 mins from my house.

got in the car started it up. its got a rough idle but rpms dont bounce around. got on the gas and it smelled like anti freeze but only at that one time. when its in overdrive it shakes alot but when i put it in drive it was better. sounded like an exhaust leak when i get on the gas. also when i came to a stop light the oil pressure was almost all the way down and the heat guage was rising up almost pinned. was bouncing inbetween the 2 white lines before 260. its a 3.4l with 206k miles. body is almost perfect and interior is pretty clean i would hate to scrap the car.

any ideas whats going on or any ideas how i can upgrade this car without spending to much.

91chevywt · 05-08-2009, 10:40 PM

When it is lighter out get a look at what the oil looks like, along with the coolant, and see what the levels are like. Did it idle rough like it had a miss? Sounds like a head gasket may have let loose, going along with the low oil pressure, high temp, and antifreeze smell

emolineaux · 05-08-2009, 10:46 PM

when she called my mom that was my first thought. which in that case its got 206k on it the motor is probably shot. she mentioned a stickshift car so i was just checking into prices of a salvage yard 3.4 and a v6 5 speed trans. looks like it would cost about a grand plus what ever little items i need along with that swap.

NastyEllEssWon · 05-08-2009, 10:47 PM

i guarantee its a lower intake manifold gasket.....go ahead...ask me how i know

emolineaux · 05-08-2009, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NastyEllEssWon

i guarantee its a lower intake manifold gasket.....go ahead...ask me how i know

go ahead

NastyEllEssWon · 05-08-2009, 10:56 PM

cause its the most common problem with 60 degree motors

emolineaux · 05-08-2009, 11:00 PM

i really dont feel like ripping that intake apart again lol. just replaced the upper gaskets when i pulled the upper to clear the egr ports.

Knipps · 05-08-2009, 11:36 PM

It's NOT the opti!

Formulalt1 · 05-08-2009, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NastyEllEssWon

i guarantee its a lower intake manifold gasket.....go ahead...ask me how i know

+1, I have changed a few of the lower intake manifold gaskets myself on these engines and it gives all the signs of a head gasket and thats exactly what sounds like is the case here.

NastyEllEssWon · 05-09-2009, 12:05 AM

yes and you have to pull the pushrods to change the limg. its kind of a big job and you might as well do the head gaskets while your there

sweetbmxrider · 05-09-2009, 07:12 AM

would you be interested in a 3.4 with about 130k? auto though. not sure but i may be pulling it.

emolineaux · 05-09-2009, 07:16 AM

Adam ill let u know this weekend some time I'm going to try to pull the car apart today or tomorrow

emolineaux · 05-09-2009, 07:34 AM

im putting my list of stuff together now for if its just the gasket. are the head bolts on the 3.4 reusable?

BonzoHansen · 05-09-2009, 07:54 AM

part it out

emolineaux · 05-09-2009, 11:07 AM

cant part out until i find out what it needs and if my sister gets another car.

but here is what i found out so far didnt get to work on it much because i just got back from putting my new hood and wing on.

oil looked fine when i checked it. coolant was very low. pulled the air cleaner duct out of the car and coolant came out of the pcv tube. found that the port that goes from the passanger exhaust manifold to egr valve is very loose. and one of the spark plug wires was resting on the egr base. started her up to pull it in the garage and started smokin out the tailpipe smelled sweet like anti freeze. i just started to pull the upper intake so ill know more by the end of the day.

69BirdX · 05-09-2009, 11:14 AM

If the oil looks fine its prob not a head gasket so i would go with the lower intake. rip it apart and you should be able to tell. if your right there it would be the right time to do head gaskets anyway

emolineaux · 05-09-2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69BirdX

If the oil looks fine its prob not a head gasket so i would go with the lower intake. rip it apart and you should be able to tell. if your right there it would be the right time to do head gaskets anyway

yea thats what i was going to do. but well see what she looks like when i get done taking the intake apart

NastyEllEssWon · 05-09-2009, 01:47 PM

do not re use the head bolts on any car any time. your there, do something, do it right.

emolineaux · 05-09-2009, 01:51 PM

well i got the damn intake off after some cussin and a few beers and i noticed that the intake gaskets are actually good not broken at all which leads me to believe a head gasket is split. here are a few pics of what the valley looks like.

emolineaux · 05-09-2009, 03:18 PM

yea its pretty nasty. im just getting ready to start to pull the heads now.

NastyEllEssWon · 05-09-2009, 03:18 PM

hey whered my post go. pretty nasty. looks like chocolate milk

emolineaux · 05-09-2009, 04:57 PM

well here ya go guys!
possible part out
http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=43835

91chevywt · 05-10-2009, 11:57 AM

Honestly at 200k miles I'm not sure I would just put head gaskets on it and expect it to last any amount of time. A complete engine can be had from the junkyard for fairly cheap. I know that Tilghman's likes to make an inventory of engines, and I know Blacey's had a couple of 3.4s sitting around the yard last time I was there. I also say that because running water in oil can be hard on friction points, and at that many miles it may not work out for too long.

If you decided to go that route, there are third gen guys that like to run the 3.4 in place of their 2.8, and could possibly use the crank, heads, or block

emolineaux · 05-10-2009, 12:33 PM

ok. if i have to put a motor in it we will probably just part it out. but just for an update. i finally got the drivers head off and cleaned it up. when i pulled the head there was alot of antifreeze in the back driver side cylinder. when i cleaned the head i didnt notice any cracks on the surface. but when i cleaned the gasket i noticed the metal ring was coming apart and the water jacket was cracked going to that porting of the ring that was broke. so depending on what the other side looks like ill probably just do the gaskets and be done. were probably going to just end up selling it after anyway because she needs something reliable to commute back and forth to school. who ever does buy it im going to let them know what happened and what ive done to it just as a cover your ass thing so it dont come back and bite me.

emolineaux · 05-10-2009, 12:50 PM

hey bill as far as the oil and coolant mixing and possible messing with the moving parts. i just checked the oil off the indicator and its perfect and clean. i think that coolant/oil mix in the valley is front when i pulled the intake manifold.