Hello Everyone....

Today I was driving my Camaro ( 96 Z28) and I was sitting at a stop light...and all of a sudden the RPM dropped to about 600 then jumped back up to 1100 and idled back down to 900, which is where it normally idles at.

Then I took off from the stop light, and shifting into second, then while accelerating in 2nd i got to around 1500 RPM then the engine felt like it was hesitating, and all of a sudden it jerked and the power was back, then it did it again in 3rd gear at about 1500 RPM, this time I push the throttle down more and it didnt do anything, then it jerked again and the power was back. So I turned around and got my truck....Haha

It also has a funny smell after I turn it off...Kinda of like a flooded smell. Does this sound like the Opti ?

I noticed it had been losing hesitating at 1500 for a couple weeks, but today it was the worst its been so far.

 

check a couple plugs and see if there fouled. what plugs you runnin? how old are the 02 sensors? can you scann it to see if its got a code stored?

 

When I installed the Headers, I put New plugs in...They are AC Delco plugs. I bought 1 new O2 sensor when I did the headers because I broke one trying to get it off of the old one. I think 3 of the 4 O2 sensors are old.

Can you explain to me what you mean by scan for a code ?

Thanks man.

 

scan for trouble codes. call around your local parts stores and ask if they have a scanner that will work on your car. you have a obd2 system and most places have scanners that will work on it. yes it could be the opti but its best to try and confirm because there are a few other less expensive things that can cause missfires and dead spots in the throttle.

 

Oh ok....Thanks man....I had it scanned a couple years ago at Auto Zone and I believe the scanner showed a couple O2 sensors out.

So if I understand correctly, it sounds like I should replace the 3 old O2 sensors, and check a sparkplug.

 

well i have had issues with rough running and misfires when my plugs get fouled. same with fouled 02 sensors. they can go into a cycle that causes failure. the 02's get fouled and read a lean condition that does not exist, the computer will rich the afr causing the 02's to foul even more, this makes the sensor see a lean condition again and the computer will richen the afr more, this continues till the rich condition is so bad the fuel in the exhaust starts to ignite and cause it to backfire and or not run. not sayin this is what you have going on but looking at the plugs and 02's for fouling would give us an idea if thats possible. it could be maf, tps, 02's, plugs, ignition module, opti, plugged cat or a combination of these. im sure im missing some things.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone.

Here is an update.

I changed out the remaining 3 O2 sensor. I changed 1 when I did the headers because I broke the wires.

After 4 new O2 sensors the car seems to have straightened out. Now if I can just get it to not idle so hot !

So I think the rough idle and cutting out was the O2 sensors.

Hopefully.....

Thanks for the input !

 

try bleeding the cooling system a couple more times. if not air it may be the crossover pipe is plugged.

 

I bled the cooling system on Saturday, and when I cracked open the Thermostat screw no fluid came out. I took the screw off and nothing came out.

When I cracked the Larger screw...once the car was running it seemed to have a lot of air in it.

 

make sure the radiator is full while bleeding it. park the car as steep a hill you have in your area, park with the front of the car on the up side. let cool, fill radiator, with the radiator cap off open the bleed screws one at a time and close them when coolant comes out. refill radiator as needed. the bleed screw on the hose will not bleed untill the car is started. soo once you have bleed the lower screws, mine has one under the tb, one on the thermostat cover and one on the hose that is next to the alternator, this is the one that will not bleed without the motor running. anyways once you have fluid coming out of the other or others then with the cap still off start the motor and bleed the hose screw till fluid comes out, check coolant level in the radiator and fill if needed and put the cap on. take the car for a ride around the block and rebleed the screws without removing the radiator cap. then let it cool and do it again to see if air is still there if so repeat till you get no air on the re bleed.