So you took off the manifold with the engine still in the bay? I was under the impression that that was nigh impossible. I'm taking the car in on Monday, if not to just get it checked out. The mechanics there know pretty much my whole family, and they help us out when it comes to stupid **** like this. What I don't understand is this: Why would the LIM or head gasket suddenly be leaking when all I did was remove/re-install the TB? The only real change was the new gasket on the throttle body, so why would that affect the head gasket or LIM gasket?

 

i doubt you have a lim or headgasket leak dexcool get "muddy" when its old.

 

Yes, it will come off, no problems. The plastic factory gaskets are know for going bad just a fact, that has nothing to do with you smoke problem though.

 

So, after much blood, sweat, and tears, I decided to check the TB one last time. Took a razor and scraped off little flakes that I didn't pick up on last time, and double-and-triple-checked for 100% smoothness. Once I was sure that there was nothing left on the surface of the TB and the intake manifold, I put everything back together, snugged it up, and turned on the car

NO SMOKE!

The engine DID idle a bit funny at first, but I think that's due to the cleaned throttle body, and getting back to running normally. Of course, my father (In his infinite f-cking wisdom), decided it would be a good idea to go, "Hey, what does this do?" and pulled out the vacuum connector from the TB while it was running, and nearly killed the engine. (I'm surprised there's no facepalm emoticon for stupid crap like this)

So now that everything is running better, I'm going to flush the coolant and put new 50/50 in to see if that will clear the Service Engine light. If not, I'm still taking it in tomorrow to have it checked

 

Ok good deal. So lesson learned, there's no such thing as getting gasket surfaces too clean. And haste makes waste.
Fwiw, I scrape, scrape again, then sand all gasket surfaces till it feels as smooth as a.....well you know the rest!

 

Seriously, I just can't win. Check Engine light comes on, so I take it to Autozone to get it scanned. The following result:

P0102: MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure)/BARO or MAF (Mass Air Flow)/VAF (Vane Air Flow) sensor condition.

Description basically tells me that it's dirty, malfunctioning, or defective. Fine, no big deal, I'll replace it. Then when I pull into my driveway, I smell burning coolant and smoke is again coming from my tailpipe. Not pouring out like it was before, but still smoking. Turned the engine off and is now parked until I can get it checked out tomorrow. Any ideas?

 

just get full strength its another dollar or 2, pour in the whole gallon than fill the rest with water. in the end you get 2 gallons for the price of 1.

 

If the maf is bad it will run like crap and there not cheap, around $100+ for a reman, same thing happen to me 1st time I cleaned my TB.
MAP are around $20 and easy to replace, on the very back pass side of the intake, car should run ok though.
You can clean you maf with achool form a spray bottle, gentle spray the wires, do not touch them at all, then let complete dry before you put it back in and start up.
You still have smoke your still leaking coolant somewhere.

 

Found a couple MAF sensors online, and Summit only had one:

Mass Air Flow Sensor - Auto Parts Warehouse

Cardone Industries 100-7450008 - A1 Cardone Remanufactured Mass Airflow Sensors - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Looks like an average of around $120 without shipping

If it IS the MAP sensor, looks like I'm in luck:

List: MAP Sensor - 1997 Chevrolet Camaro | O'Reilly Auto Parts

1997 CHEVROLET CAMARO MAP Sensors - V6 Engine Type - SummitRacing.com

 

Just got it back from the shop, they didn't see any smoke, but the MAF sensor had to be replaced. So I went to Autozone, picked up a replacement, and swapped it out right there. Problem is: The "Service Engine Soon" light is still on. How soon until this goes away? Do I have to clear the code somehow?