Jcase187

Hey, just wanted to let you guys know you're awesome. I've learned more about cars reading these forums in the last few months than i learned in the last few years before that.

Okay, so a bit of background about my car. I have a 1992 5.0 liter 170 HP V8 RS with 219,000 miles. My parents bought the car off the 'lot in 92. Having been young when the car was bought, i fell in love with the whip-lash inducing power of the big V8. While in highschool, i financially totaled the car in a wreck and bought the car from my parents. Needless to say, the car needed a lot of work. I got back from deployment about a year ago, and started fixing a LOT of stuff on the car. I had the exhaust replaced, tranny rebuilt, brakes replaced, water pump replaced, battery replaced, A/C replaced, and most importantly spent about $4000 fixing the body and paint which had been rusting for almost 3 years.

I was having some issues with hoses leaking coolant not too long ago, and i took it into the shop to have them fix it, and when i got the car back, my A/C was now coming out of the defrost vents only (and the A/C wouldnt turn off), and my "check engine" light was on. Worst of all, the engine was running rough, and the car stalls at any given chance now. I took the car out of the shop with twice as many problems as what it went in with. I suspect someone jacked up a hose somewhere, but oh well. The diagnostic is giving me an error back about a faulty ECM. Rather than buy a new ECM for an engine that is eventually (and soon) going to die, i would rather just purchase a new, more powerful engine.

Long story short, the car is great at breaking down. While i've replaced most everything in the car, i know its only a matter of time before the engine just completely dies. I want to buy a crate engine for it (i would rather rip off my leg than get rid of this car), but i'm not very car savvy. What kind of things do i need to consider when getting a new engine?

I dont really want to have to replace the tranny as it is essentially new. The drive train is on the chopping block though. I would LOVE to get the car around 500 HP, but i know that that much power would shred the stock parts to pieces.

I realize this isn't the easiest or cheapest car to make fast, but there isn't a car i would rather have (well, maybe a 70's StingRay). Money isn't much of an issue either, i have it sitting near an auto hobby shop for the next few years. I plan on spending the next few years working on the car (i'm stationed in hawaii for another 3.5 years).

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

The thing about the defroster, running rough, and all that, is "mechanical failure"; the mechanic failed to assemble the car properly. They left a vacuum line off. The little doors that route the air are controlled by the switch thing in the dash sending vacuum to diaphragms that open and close the doors. Hook that line back up and you'll probably fix several problems all at once.

Unless you change ALOT more stuff than just the "engine", which when you buy one all you're going to get is the big casting pieces and NOT the ones that have anything to do with the ECM like the ignition of fuel systems, you're going to need to keep your ECM. Doesn't matter what chunk of cast iron you slab off in there, it will have to be controlled by SOMETHING, as long as it still has fuel injection. I'd suspect that there's actually nothing wrong with your ECM anyway, but rather, you are misinterpreting the codes resulting from the disconnected vacuum line. Again, fix the vac line, and alot of other stuff might clear up.

I would also suggest, rather than "take it to the shop" for trivial things like heater hoses, you learn to fix stuff like that yourself. There's NO WAY you'll be able to afford to daily-drive a 20-yr-old car, that one or any other, if you pay somebody else to fix it. Life just doesn't work like that. WAY too much stuff simply gets old and wears out, even if the car doesn't move; belts, hoses, seals, gaskets, anything rubber or plastic that sits out in the sun especially, breaks down and turns to dust with age. Doesn't matter if the sticker says Camaro, Frod, Honduh, or what; it's just a basic property of being in this particular universe. I know, it sux, but that's just how it is.

Either get a service manual and roll up your sleeves and dive in and start learning to do the basic simple maintenance yourself, or sell it and get something newer.

Doom86

The first thing I thought of reading your post was someone messed up putting your stuff back together and left a vacuum line off. What did they actually do with the repair? One mans "leaking hose" could be another mans "leaking heater core" which is a entirely different job and leaves a lot of opportunity to mess up your HVAC system. Also make sure nothing is unplugged at the distributor.

Check the coolant diverter valve it's the only thing I can think of under the hood that shares coolant hoses and vacuum. It is sitting on the passenger side head with 3 (looks like 2 at a glance) coolant hoses going to it and should have a small vacuum line going to it as well.

If you really want to swap/upgrade you do need to consider the TBI. Making any major changes will require a re-tune. Most recommend Rbob's EBL to take care of tuning TBI. You could downgrade to a carb but that's daft IMO. Also since money isn't a issue you could do a LSx swap and ditch the TBI.

Personally I would invest in some killer heads, get a built roller 350 short block and go from there. It really depends on what you are willing/capable of doing though. But it sounds like from the months of reading you are on the right track. Read read read.

One last note; I would not take that car back to whoever "fixed" the leaking hose. No self respecting mechanic would let you have your car back in that condition.

Jcase187

Thanks again. You're right, i should've taken it back. I've been wanting to learn to work on the car myself for a long time, so this last time it broke down i just said to hell with it, and decided to let it sit. I actually just bought an S-10 for the time being. I know i should've taken it back to the shop, but obviously the car was doing just fine before i took it in, so i know that it was a simple fix (i dont know that much about cars, but i know that the engine running rough can be due to lack of air, and they WERE messnig with hoses).

So in all, now that i have the S-10 i get to do what i've been wanting to do with the camaro: learn to work on it, and give it some TLC.

Jcase187

Okay, i will definitely check the vacuum lines. Before, the camaro was my only transportation, so when it broke down i needed it fixed fast, and correctly. I learn pretty easily doing things myself, but it just wasnt possible without any other transportation.

I got a Chilton, and I wont be able to do it this weekend, but i plan on checking out the vacuum line next weekend. Really appreciate it guys, i'm sure i'll be frequenting the forums with questions for a while.