My car died :(

[JPiZZiJP]

Can anyone please offer me some help or assistance?

I drive a 95 Z28 LT1, and it's not doing so hot... I was heading down to AC Friday night cruising in 6th at 80 mph, and out of nowhere I just lost power. Now, the car make a really bad whining noise upon startup (the whine sounds very similar to the whine a bad belt makes, but it's not the serpentine belt), and the car won't go much beyond 20 mph without shaking and stuttering like a mofo. Also, there is something under the hood smoking too

I've been told it's most likely the catalytic converter... I had it towed to Pep Boys to do a diagnostic, and they won't even go near the car; they said they have NO clue what's wrong with it, but it's definitely not the cat. They also said they have no clue what the whining noise is, but it sounds like it's coming from the engine.

So... any clue guys? Please help. I am desperate here for a clue.

~Joe

[Squirrel]

can you rev it in neutral? how high does it go if anywhere?

[JPiZZiJP]

I can rev in neutral only on a cold start... once the engine warms up, the revs are limited to 3500 - 4000 rpm.

Same for in gear... highest i rev is 3500 - 4000 rpm.

~Joe

[V]

i dont know lt1s much but any chance its opti related? smoking may be something coming from that area and if oil or coolant gets into the opti it may cause it not to be able to rev...just some ideas..

[deadtrend1]

well, the folks at pepboys are about as reliable as your opti.

Check the cat, and the opti. Most likely its one of the 2

[JPiZZiJP]

Yeah, I was told by several other people it might be the opti...

It's being towed to a Chevy dealership tomorrow.... they're going to rape me on labor but I don't have too many other options.


~Joe

[JPiZZiJP]

So I have it narrowed down to this so far:

1) Catalytic Converter
2) Opti
3) Coolant/Water Pump

I didn't even think of the smoke... it was white, so it might be a seized water pump??? Badunno.

Gahh this pisses me off.

~Joe

[j0n]

cheapest RELIABLE opti anywhere

[sleeperz2]

Go for the Delteq, i installed on my car in about 2 hrs and it ran like new. And it sure as hell beats replacin the opti itself, ive done them and they are not fun at all.

[V]

i could see how coolant or oil can leak out into the opti and also create a whitish smoke, that could also explaing the belt type noise, coolant or oil could have gotten on the belts, or it could be a bearing in either the water pump or opti, and if something gets into the opti, that will surely cause some problems. Like i said before i dont know much about the lt1's, i only owned a 93 T/A for a 6 months, and the 96 LT1 in my vette only has 6,609 original miles right now, and neither have i really gotten much time to play with. anyway i wish you luck with getting it fixed soon and i hope they dealer doesnt hit you too hard. btw, if its water pump related, go for a electric conversion. I will do the elec. swap on my 96, once i hit 10k miles(that may take several years, lol)

[JPiZZiJP]

Found out today it was in fact, the catalytic converter and exhaust manifolds. Sucks, but I am grateful it wasn't the water pump and opti.

~Joe

[Tru2Chevy]

Originally Posted by JPiZZiJP

Found out today it was in fact, the catalytic converter and exhaust manifolds. Sucks, but I am grateful it wasn't the water pump and opti.

~Joe

What was wrong with the exhaust manifolds? If it's something that will require having them replaced, you should take the car back and toss on headers and a hi-flow cat

- Justin

[foff667]

Originally Posted by JPiZZiJP

Found out today it was in fact, the catalytic converter and exhaust manifolds. Sucks, but I am grateful it wasn't the water pump and opti.

~Joe

so do i get a prize for being the first to say that to ya the other night?

[j0n]

Originally Posted by foff667

so do i get a prize for being the first to say that to ya the other night?

i told him it was the cat b4 u...so if there's a prize i want it

[Batman]

How does an exhaust manifold go bad? did it crack? If it isn't cracked they may be taking you for a ride.

[sleeperMULLET]

if you need headers, y pipe and cat, i just got my LT's installed on my 95 Z28 so i'm going to sell the RK sport ceramic coated headers, y pipe and cat that was on it. Since we have the same year car there should be no modifications needed for any emissions hookups or anything. I wish that was true for the pacestter longtubes, off road y pipe, and magnaflow catback that i just got installed, the bill is $800 just for labor and small parts like hoses and wiring modifications

[JPiZZiJP]

Originally Posted by j0n

i told him it was the cat b4 u...so if there's a prize i want it

The prize is... the clogged cat First to IM me claims it :P


~Joe

[JPiZZiJP]

Originally Posted by Tru2Chevy

What was wrong with the exhaust manifolds? If it's something that will require having them replaced, you should take the car back and toss on headers and a hi-flow cat

- Justin

The manifold is cracked and the gasket is worn too. The guy at the dealership showed me... he says the reason why this happened was the overheating and the pressure buildup (cause I ran it a good while...) Whether or not this is true, badunno... I'm not a mechanic... this is why I come here (Funny though, I know a lot about accounting, yet I'm not registered on any accounting forums lol. But yeah, if anyone wants a copy of TurboTax 2004... IM me and I'll burn you a copy haha. Free tax tips from me too, but no guarantees they're good :P)

~Joe