hey everyone, new to the forums.

i recently picked up a 1993 camaro rs, 5 speed v6 with 163k miles for 1000. i knew it needed work when i got it.

well, the idle has been acting funny since i had it. slightly erratic idle when stopped, and when im coasting in neutral the rpms jump to around 1500 to 2000 untill i come to a stop. also noticed after the car got to normal temps the engine light would pop on when stopped, but would almost instantly go away when i go to take off. sounds like a vacuum leak right? so i went out earlier today, pulled some lines, everything looked ok, untill i pulled the one that went from my purge solenoid to the fuel canister in the back (i think). either way, it was completely clogged with carbon, and so was the purge solenoid. i tried getting something in the line and clearing it....but it seemed like theres carbon all the way through the line. im almost positive this is whats causing my vacuum/idling issues.

i read up on other forums, that it was possible to remove the purge solenoid, and route the vent from the charcoal canister somewhere to vent the fumes into the air. ive read how some people got rid of the entire evap system completely. can this be done on my car? because if i can remove everything, and it not have any bad side effects, then why not? i heard it was all for emmissions. and we no longer have e check in ohio

thanks for any feedback!

 

basically what im asking, is how i would do it if it is safe? from everything i gathered online, i disconnect the solenoid electrical harness, and remove the sensor completely. cap off the vacuum line that runs from the sensor to the intake. move or tuck the other line that runs from the sensor to the rear of the car elsewhere (to the charcoal canister?). and remove one of the lines from the charcoal canister and position it so the fumes vent into the air, or could i remove the charcoal canister completely?

does that sound about right? sorry for asking so much, i just like to be 100% positive on what im doing before i do it. other forums dont really go into detail on how to do it.

im still curious if it would in any way effect MPG by removing the evap system, some say yes, some say no....

 

i dont know if anyone would give detailed directions to disable the evap system. your canister has failed, (when it fails the charcoal in the canister goes to pieces and gets sucked into the hose) probly because of over filling the gas tank.. could also been a solenoid and or the control valve failure. be best to replace the canister and the pressure control valve, either blow out the hose or replace it,

 

yeah thats kind of what i thought happened too.

so your against removing the evap system. why? is there any harmful effects it can do to your car when its removed? other than the fuel smell obviously. would it decrease MPG or anything? make it run rich/lean? because i was wanting to do it temporarily, untill i got the money to replace the components on it, then install it again.

im not one to strip things from my car (even to cut weight). but with that line clogged up the way it is, its making the car run like crap lol. and if i can do this as a temporary solution without any negative side effects until i get $150, then id like to do it. even if that means only for a few days-one week. lol

 

so if anyone cares, i went ahead and stripped everything off. i didnt disconnet the purge solenoid though. i just disconnected both hoses, plugged up the one to the intake manifold and plugged the vacuum line that ran to the back to the canister. also pulled the charcoal canister out, now i have 3 hanging lines, one small hard line (vacuum line) that i plugged, and left the other two soft lines open. im assuming those are inlet/outlet for the canister and those need to be vented. so i left em alone. she idles alot smoother. havent really been out driving yet. but i plan on it to see how it goes. if im missing a important step somewhere, let me know.

if she drives fine, ill leave it that way untill i get the money to buy a new canister and solenoid and vacuum lines.

 

well....drove around for a little bit, she definitely runs a bit better, but the trouble code comes back after it warms up. any way i could bypass that code? so it doesnt come back? because it drives great untill the code comes on.

*edit* never mind, i read about using a 1k resistor in the wiring harness to the solenoid, to trick the system that its there. idk how it works exactly, but ima read up some more and try it.

 

one of the hoses to the canister is a vent to the gas tank. need to put some kinda filter on that.

 

yeah i was looking at little valve cover air breather filters to throw on there.

my concern now is the check engine light coming on still and it effecting my idle still. it has to do something with that purge solenoid not being hooked up (i think). dont get me wrong, the car runs noticeably better. but when it warms up, and i come to a stop, the check engine light pops on, but goes away as soon as i take off, and the rpms are still around 1500 to 2000 when i put the clutch in and are coasting, but goes normal when i come to a stop. doesnt do it during the first 15 minutes of driving (warmup).

and even with the gas tank line vented out, im noticing a good amount of pressure in my tank after a little bit of driving. i opened the gas cap and a good amount of air came rushing out. i know its normal, but it seems like its more than usual. maybe im just seeing things lol.

i have a feeling that im just going to end up putting this **** all back together lol. i have an uneasy feeling about having this stuff off.

 

*Update* did some errands today, unhooked the harness from the purge solenoid and no check engine light at all. But still the funny idle. I got to listening, and heard a sucking noise like a vacuum leak towards the back of the engine. I almost want to say its my intake gasket leaking causing the higher than normal idle, and weird throttle response. I also am losing oil into the coolant and not vice versa. And compression is fine, so that's really all I can come to as a solution.

Thanks for anyone who read/replied.

 

sounds like the lower intake gasket is toast. if your goin that far you may want to do the head gaskets as well, are you sure its oil in the coolant? it may be the head gasket somehow pushin oil into the cooling system too so it could be both. 3.4 doesnt have the strongest intake or head gaskets.