Thanks guys, I will have the CPS and Knock sensor (which by the way, I am sure a mechanic will know what that is, but I don't see that in my service manual, is that the same as the Cam sensor), and to answer your question, I have lights and everything works,(radio, dashboard etc) and it turns over like it is trying to crank, just won't fire. And that is what was happening when it would just shut off on me, the only difference then is it would crank after sitting a couple of minutes....now nothing. Will let you guys kow how this turns out.....thanks again

 

Guess what, it cranked today for my son two times and I cranked it a little later, so it is not totally dead yet, will let eveyone know what it was, getting it ckd out next weekend......thanks guys

 

Vicki, Did you ever figure out what was wrong with your Camaro? I am having the same problem, almost exactly, and would appreciate it if you would let us know what it turned out to be. Thanks. Mom from Moms Camaro

 

I am 99% sure it is the crank shaft sensor, want to hear something strange, it cranked last weekend and I drove it sunday about 50 miles with no problems, drove it about 10 miles the next day and 20 today with no problems, all this was after I changed the ignition control module which was probably not bad to start with, my mechanic said it is more than likely the crank shaft sensor as everyone else also believes, I am going to take it to him at the end of this week and have them change it, the part is only about 30 dollars but it is a real ***** to get to, you have to take off the serpintine belt and my friend will not charge me that much to do it, so I will let you know the first part of next week.......

 

Vicki, The fact that you drove your car around on three different occasions, without breaking down, does not surprise me at all. After I break down and then wait a couple hours, get it restarted, I can usually go for days without it breaking down again. Does your car idle higher right before you have a breakdown? If mine starts iding unusually fast, I know a breakdown is not far away. I also have head lights, dashboard lights, all power except that it just won't start. I also have been smelling gas when I start it. Every time it goes to the shop,it never breaks down for the mechanic. I recently had my throttle sensor replaced. We really thought that was it, but 12 miles later I broke down. This time it wouldn't restart till the next day.This is soooo frustrating. I hope we both figure out what is wrong, cause I really love my car, and am running out of suggestions to give my mechanic. Please let me know what you find out.

 

Trust me, I know exactly how you feel, I have been going thru this for 8 or 9 months now, I am taking it this Saturday to have the crank shaft sensor replaced, I am HOPING this fixes it, I love my car also, it is black with silver racing strips, I have t tops and all the ground effects there is an L88 hood scoop on it, I have 18 inch Krager wheels with low profile tires, it is definately a one of a kind, and it is PAID for, as far as the mechanics go, I can beat the 12 miles, I took it one time and they kept it 3 days, drove it everywhere, told me to come get it, it was ready, I get in it and go 2 miles and it shuts off on me AGAIN, as far as idiling high, no, but it does idle rough right before it happens, this is why we are hoping it is the crank shaft sensor, the last time it quit on me, I let it sit for about a week, I went to crank it and it was idling from 1000 rpms jumping straight to 2200 rpms really fast up and down like it was breathing, it had done that to me a couple of times before and when I talked to the mechanic, he was stumped, said it could just be the "nature of the beast", anyway, I drove it about 50 miles that day, did just fine, I took a chance and drove it to work 2 days in a row, about 15 miles each way, did fine the first day and the 2nd day, ok going to work, drove about 12 miles home and it shut off, cranked on the 3rd try, I have only had to let it sit for a long time, overnight, just one time, mine usually cranks after sitting just a couple of minutes......but both of our situations sound exactly alike, I even took it to a different mechanic a couple of months ago, they kept it a week and ran it out of gas 4 different times and it would never shut off on them, I got it back and drove it a couple of weeks b4 it started acting up again, so yes, I will definately keep you posted, and if you can find out anything else, let me know, like I said, I know my fuel pump is ok, had it tested, replaced ignition control module, EGR valve and one of the 3 coil packs, I have lights, radio and everything else when it shuts off, and it turns over, but nothing else, let it sit sometimes 30 seconds and sometimes it takes 5 minutes, fires right up and runs like an banshee.....

 

Vicki, My mechanic has had my car for almost a week and has driven it off and on, and has not one breakdown. I wrote down a list of things for him to check from the replys sent to you. He put some of that diletic grease on the crankshaft positioning sensor that chaotic bastard suggested, and he said he drove it out of town the next day and back and it drove perfectly. He even offered to buy the car from me....He is going to drive it over the weekend,and if it doesn't break down, I am getting it back on Tues. Could it be something that simple? He said that if even a miniscule piece of dirt was on the cps it would cause it to act the way it has been,cause it would keep it from making contact. I am not as car savy as you appear to be,but it might be worth your while to have your cps cleaned before you go ahead and have it replaced. I sure was hoping that the car would break down on him,but maybe it is really fixed this time. I am afraid to get my hopes up.My car looks just like the Camaro at the top of the Forums letterhead, with t tops but without the hood scoop, and I just had the hood repainted and the front bumper replaced. Someone banged into it at Walmart. lOther than that it has never been in any accident. It has had only one other owner,another lady who put 12,000 miles on it, and me. It has 123,000 miles on it now, and I used to not think twice about driving it from S.C. to N.Y. It has been the most enjoyable, reliable, car I have ever owned. This is the only problem except for regular maintanance things, that I have ever had, and I know if I can get past this problem, that it will go back to being dependable again. My car is paid for as well. I hope you figure out what is going on, cause I have been having this problem off and on for over 2 years. At first the breakdowns were far apart, but now they are closer and closer together, except of course when the mechanic has the car. Lots of luck to you. Will keep you informed.

 

I hope it is fixed for you as well, and yes it can be that simple, the 2nd mechanic that had mine put the grease on all of my connectors and I drove it for probably 6 weeks with no problems, like yours I have a little more miles than you 164,000, but I have really had no problems out of it, we put a water pump on it about 130,000 and I burnt up one of the coil packs last summer, by putting in a fuse that was too big when one blew and left me on the side of the road, I have the part, it was cheap and my friend in not gonna charge me that much to put it on, maybe 30 dollars, it is worth it to me to have it replaced, I think mine is bad just like my mechanic, I am taking it in the morning so I will keep you posted also, and you are right, I have had my car for 2 years this October and have had a lot of offers to sell it, but I will not sell it, I have waited my whole life to get a car like this, (had to wait until I was 40 to be able to afford the insurance, had a lead foot when I was younger, LOL) but I do truely love it.....so again, good luck and will let you know how mine turns out.......

 

Hey camaro crisis, I took my car to the mechanic this morning, after almost getting rear ended when it shut off at a traffic light, this nice officer pushed me into the turning lane, I got it cranked, 3rd try, and took it to the shop.....Hey Caotic Bastard, good call, my mechanic did not even think about the crank shaft positioning sensor, anyway, we replaced that, it did have some metal shavings on it and yes, even the smallest speck of dirt will cause it to not work properly, so he replaced it, had to put it on the rack, because on my 98 model, one of the pulleys had to come off of the bottom to get to it and so far today I have driven it 63 miles with NO problems, this morning I only went about 6 miles went it shut off on me, so we ALL have our fingers crossed that this was the problem, the part is only 30 dollars at advanced auto and if you can get someone to put it on for you maybe it will fix yours also, I got lucky and my friend only charged me $60.00 to put it on.........by process of elimation he said there is really nothing else he can think of.....so, I am going to drive it for a few more days, I will put a reply on this site on Monday to let you know how it has been doing, but I really think we got it this time......

 

Vicki,I have almost been hit several times, breaking down in traffic or at a traffic light. I sure hope this is the end of your eight month saga. Please let me know if this fixes it. I pick my car up Tues. My mechanic has driven it all weekend.Don't know if he ever broke down. Probably not. Will let you know my outcome as well.