Ok i Got A 1986 Berlinetta. It Was Given To Me. But The Thing Is It Sat For 6 Years. I Now Have It On The Road. Just to drive back and forth to work. I think it has potential....MAYBE. Heres the problems though.

Rear Main Seal Leaks
Smokes After A Cold Start
Check Engine Light Is On
Brake Light Is On


But Heres What I've Done...

New Spark Plugs
Oil Change
New Exhaust (Cat Back-Nothing Special)
Fuel Filter

I Was Just Wonderin What i Should Do With It. I Just Got It a Month Ago.. Long Story Short Is That I OWNED a FORD EXPLORER....Not One But 2, both had Tranny Problems...So i decided to do something with a chevy.
Any Help OR Suggestions Would Mean A Lot. Thanxs.

 

Welcome to the forums!

I have an 86 Berlinetta too, but it's my parts car so for the tranny problems I can't help you, I think it's a 2.8 or 2.9 V6 right? Anyways you'll see it on my photo gallery...it's the white car...But yeah, check the forum we have a distinct spot for posting those questions

 

How bad does the rear main seal leak? Is it worth pulling the motor and replacing it?

What color smoke comes after a cold start? Black usually is to rich of a mixture and blue is burning oil. Both are fixable but Black is easier on the $$$ to fix.

As far as engine light goes, I'm not sure. You could try reseting the ecu(unplug it from the battery for a few minutes). If that doesn't work, you'll have to go to a shop or find a friend with the proper equipment to read the code.

Brake light is on? Not sure if I know what you mean. If the brake lights are on at the back of the car no matter what you do, it's an easy fix. Check and or replace the switch that comes in contact with the brake pedal. Just reach up the arm of the brake pedal and you'll find it. If it's an "idiot light" thing, I can't help ya.

All the stuff you've done so far is spot on for fixing up an older/neglected car. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

 

the rear main seal leaves a trail every so often. its a 2.8 L. i have gotten told that this car isnt worth the fixing. only b/c it has the 2.8 in it. i just dont have the money for a V8 yet. Money is a little tight right now .

the smoking problem it has, the color is white/grey. Is it my vavle seals???

Ok heres what the car looks like.




[IMG]local://upfiles/9434/D272436695364E05BC47F9F01D5A66B5.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/9434/4465EB2A43B6491D8BA0CB15000D0039.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/9434/245AE0DE808242C99F9DEA5C9A01F23C.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/9434/9560E5D028ED4B369FAD7773CDE56718.jpg[/IMG]

 

yeah 2.8 is worthless in my book, i'm sure you can find a 3.1 pretty cheap...that's what's in mine and from when I've drove it, it's not that bad...my camaro will mainly be just a summer time vehicle because Ilove it, but I have a vehicle i can drive in winter

 

Yea Its Pretty Useless to me but i might buy the neaighbors 91 RS. its in a lot better shape. but for now i wanna fix the little problems with my car first .

The interior in my car is worse. i need the top of the dash. thats all cracked. the front seats and back seats are faded and torn. the carpet looks really bad.

Another question is i just drove it the other day and the inside of the car got really warm. No heater on or anything. I only drove it maybe 25 min away from my house.

But what can u say it was a car given to me. Not like i can get a 2007 Camaro given to me. LOL.

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: EqualizedCustoms

the rear main seal leaves a trail every so often. its a 2.8 L. i have gotten told that this car isnt worth the fixing. only b/c it has the 2.8 in it. i just dont have the money for a V8 yet. Money is a little tight right now .

the smoking problem it has, the color is white/grey. Is it my vavle seals???


White or grey is pretty much blue in my book...it's not a good sign. It could be the valve seals/guides. It could also be worn out piston rings.

The 2.8 isnn't the most desireable motor, but it's really not as bad as people say. My ex used to have a S-10 with that motor, it was plenty strong and did some decent powerbraking burnouts lol.

I'd say, stick with what you got untill you can get ahold of a V-8. You might have to change the tranny too if you get into the hp goodies. As long as what you have is street legal, don't waste moey on it.

Chevy is really forgiving on motor mounts and belhousing patterns. That camaro could easilly accept a v-8 or if nothing else a 4.3L six. (I'd actually take a 4.3 v6 vs a 305 v8)

Just do some research and save some money

 

Yea This 2.8 does do some good burnouts. but i would need a possy rear for a better one. I should be tearin the engine out one of these weekends. To put that rear main seal in 4 now. I'll run it til it dies. lol. i'll take pics of the tear down. i just need these little problems to go away. My main concern is on the body and its looks. V8 will be later.

 

There is alot of nice stuff ucan bolt up to that camaro. So many things you can get from the wrecking yard. My first car didn't have possi, but when I saw the possi tag on the rear end of my second car I definatley had some fun. Nothing like sitting still while the rear kicks off to the side lol.

I think your camaro has alot of potential...as long as you don't live in CA. It's got a straight body, you have disc brakes in the front and the most abuse it's seen is from a 2.8. From the pics, it's a great project car.

 

How much is your neighbor selling the 91 RS for? In the long run it maybe better to buy it than fix this and it's problems, which include the engine and interior...just throwing that out there