I just got my first camaro today. 1986 Iroc-z 305 vTPI, 700r4 tranny.

My guages are wierd as hell. The oil pressure guage twitches in the red, though the car has good oil pressure.

Also the temp guage runs about 150(no thermostat, getting one in tomorrow) but will randomly peg itself all the way to the hot side.

also the tach can be a little laggy.

Is there a way to check the guages or the senors?

I also have another big question, will a 700r4 out of a 88 pickup fit my car?

Thanks for any and all help everyone!

 

Ummmm, you just opened a can of **** here.......

1) Oil pressure is in the red but you say you have good pressure.....how do you know? Dont count on obvious knocking sounds to tell you. I ignored a gauge in the red thinking it was malfunctioning.....then I spun a bearing.....run a separate oil pressure gauge, ASAP.

2) Temp of 150 is actually a bit on the low side. There are a few reasons why a temp gauge goes up and down......a)engine heats up, t-stat opens, engine cools down......b)engine heats up, coolant leaks from head gasket/intake/other mystery spot....coolant fills again and cools engine off.....either way you need to also verify this. Run a separate cooling gauge, ASAP.

Tach, tranny...the least of your worries....fix above and then worry about the lil stuff......

 

i would venture to say that the temp of 150 is due to running no t stat. and the random pegging might be due to a loose connection. but could also be pockets of air in the system

 

before i took the car i had it sent to my mechanic to check it out, he chexked out the oil pressure and it was good. the temp guage is officially always stuck pointing straight up! evenn when the cars cold, it doesnt move.

sound like a guage or senor problem?
would these guages cause an engine light?

i also know that the car sat in a showroom from the time in was new till 2005, having only 44000 origional miles put on it in that time.

 

check the connector for the water temp guage. i would assume the sending unit for the oil pressure is bad

 

ok, untill i get the book, does anyone know where to find these?

 

water temp sending unit is on the driver's side cylinder head between spark plugs 1 and 2 i believe and my guess is the wire will just be hanging out near there touching ground

 

my temp and oil pressure gauge went out on my 89. I took the quick easy way out and installed some new ones on the a-pillar. To this day i dont know why. But i do remember one night where my temp worked for about 10 mins. I would like to get all that working on the rebuild though. for a nice clean look.

 

yeah im trying to keep it all clean and working since this car was and will soon be again a show car.

thanks for the info, i will be checking out the connections first thing tomorrow. ill let you know what i find. still need to fint the oil pressure switch.

i found some stock looking guages at the local auto parts store that light up red at night to match the car, since the car is already very cusom and tricked out, im going to be getting a full set and fitting the to the factory locations(hopefully)

NEW found problem. The odometer is racking up way more miles than i am driving! i drove three blocks down the street and back and i gained 60 miles!! i dont even know where to start here. ive never seen this before

 

Okay replaced the oil pressure switch/sending unit. the guage remains in the red but had stopped twitching!

Inside the valve covers looks great, seems to be getting plenty of oil.

Leading me to suspect a bad guage? Although the wire to the switch did seem a bit too rubbery and seemed a tight fit, as if the wires a bit short