Whats up all, recently got my first camaro, a 1998 3.8 auto, and need some help for it. First I will list the symptoms I got, things I tried, then what I think it might be and why lol.
New fuel filter, pcv valve, belt. All fluids good. No leaks, nothing loose or burnt anywhere in engine bay. Complely factory. DTS codes are the throttle pos sensor (TPS) and a PCM/VCM code.
Does not have a lot of power taking off, real sluggish. Sometimes in 3rd, when I punch it instead of downshifting it upshifts lol. Doesnt shift all the time quickly, sometimes just cruises along at 3-4k for a few seconds, then shifts. It shifts up-down kinda hard. Checked the continuance of the tps wire at the sensor and the ecu (#66 pin on clear conn to ecu) and it read fine (no shorts/breaks in the wire going to the ecu) TPS is relativly new, it checked out fine too. This leads me to believe there is a short in the ecu causing the tps and the PCM/VCM codes. Car idles fine, doesnt die or sputter, just lacks power, shifts weird.
I work at a local dealership here in Statesboro, Cleve White Nissan, but im a certified Nissan tech, lol this is really the first non-nissan I have every worked on in depth trying to diagnose something. Now, good news (maybe) is if it is the ecu, a local junkyard has one, but it is in a 2000 model (same engine and trans) Would this work? Thanks, sorry my first post was asking for help lol but I have looked at a bunch of forums and this seems to be one of the busiest, most populated with actualy help Thanks!

 

A simple cheap thing to try is just replace the TPS -- just a couple screws...

 

I am going to monday, for reference the car was in so-so shape when I got it. Not taken care of, most interior trim was broken-gone, rs skirts all scraped, shocks/struts blown lol. I def got my hands full. Car looks 100x better than when I got it, got almost all the interior in, fixing it up like it should look. 157xxx miles, things I still need to do this week I am replacing the coil packs with MSDs, some new wires and plugs. I was just hoping someone on here would have had a similar problem or know if that 2000 ecu would swap. B/c if it would, I can try it before buying it to see if that fixes it, but I dont want to plug it in unsure if it would work or not.

 

Quick update, changed the trans fluid today and the filter, and replaced the tps sensor. car runs better, still sluggish but it shifts normaly now, though still a bit hard. couldnt check codes again tech II was loaned out. Anyother ideas on why sluggish, lack power? Things im going to try to do this week are replaced the coils, plug wires, plugs.

 

plugs and wires is a good idea. Coils either work or don't work. If they are working, no need to change, in my opinion.

How did you do the tranny fluid? Did you flush the system or drain/refill only? Drain/refill will not completely change the fluid.

 

I am with you on the tranny. Flush it and get a tranny conditioner. By the sounds of the PO abused the car, so the tranny might be shot from poorly executed burn outs / brake stands.

 

Hopefully you added back Dexron 6 (for its longevity and many improvements), NOT Dexron 4.

Use the appropriate cleaning sprays for the MAF Sensor and Throttle Body...

 

Tranny flush, I work at a dealership so got all the nice BG flush machines lol. Car has been running real good since all the work. Shifts good, drives good, but still sluggish in first (just let off brake, and punch it, wont even come close to squeaking a tire, just vvvvvvvrrrrrrr(about 4k)RRRROOOOOMMMMpshpshMMM (lol have a exhaust leak))
Found out previous owners cut cat off, and welded in piece of pipe. the leak is coming from the pipe. But since the exhaust now has no bolts from the manifolds back to the muffler, i got to replace the whole thing or re-weld in a new pipe. Was thinking about just getting a nice set of headers and a cat-back, but so far I have not seen any cat-backs that would work with the factory appearance package? I dont even care if it has tips that you can see or not, I kinda like the no-exhaust tip look. Any suggestions? And still have not done plugs/wires yet, we are down two mechanics so I have had my hands full
For mafs i removed the mafs completly from throttle body before cleaning tb. I had a small issue of it idling high sometimes but it was just the butterfly not closing all the way due to carbon. fixed.

 

Do a few tanks of Lucas Injector cleaner -- stuff noticeably works from my experience...

 

Okay ill do that after i do plugs/wires. i ran some 44k through the gas tank, but with a full tank more to just run through the pump than clean the injectors.