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My friend just bought an ’87 Camaro z28 with a 305 and fuel injection. The car had been sitting in a junk yard for a while before he bought it. The car will crank over and occasionally fire, but never starts up. The guy my friend bought it from was told by his auto teacher that there was some sort of clog in the fuel lines. The seller also said that he replaced the fuel filter and fuel pump. So far, we have checked the spark plugs, which are pretty old, but not horrible, the resistance in the injectors (the passenger side injectors all tested 16.1 ohms, and the other side tested within .3 ohms of 19.1), and the fuel pump, which sounds as if it is working. When the car cranks over, it sounds like it really wants to start, but can’t. I am just wondering what we should test first and how to do so. I am leaning towards the clog in the fuel line.
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try spraying some starter fluid down the intake to see
if the car starts.if it does then fuel issue.We tried that for once, and it didn’t seem to do much. Then again, the starter fluid was almost empty.
We tried that for once, and it didn’t seem to do much. Then again, the starter fluid was almost empty. We will try it again with more fluid.
Thanks college man! This video gave me some good ideas of what to start with. Another question for you guys.. What would be the best way to unclog a fuel line. Would the standard injector cleaner work best, or are there other methods?
If the line itself is clogged. You will need to disconnect the line
at the tank and at the engine.Then use compressed air to blow through
the line.Be careful here it is fuel.Well, we unhooked the fuel line where it goes into the rail and turned the key on so the pump primed the system. Fuel came out, but it wasn’t really a pretty sight. Mixed in with the fuel was a sort of red-brown liquid (I’m assuming it is a mix of dirt and the injector cleaner my friend put in recently) that acted like some sort of oily substance. There was probably about a 3:1 ratio of gas to this liquid junk. Shortly after, my friend cleaned the fuel rail and injectors, and also installed new o-rings on the injectors. We also checked for the spark plug wires with the screwdriver method, and they all worked well. We also made sure the wires were going to the right cylinders. The car still won’t start. When cranked over, it sounds like only one or two cylinders are igniting, and does so in sort of a pattern. Would this be the timing that is messed up?
Sometimes it’s easier to go back to basics….you have fuel, do you have spark and air? What do the plugs look like?
This has been sitting around for years with old gas and the fuel system is loaded with crap. Give this a try.
You have a timing chain, so not likely this is a timing issue. You have spark, so that end is good. You either have bad compression or bad fuel, and with what you have found in the fuel rail even a brand new motor isn’t going to run. Follow this vid to the letter and then measure your fuel pressure with a fuel pressure gauge.
To be honest with what you described about this vehicle you should probably drop the tank and take it somewhere to have it cleaned OR replace it with a new one. I think you’ll be fighting fuel delivery issues forever if you don’t address this issue as it sounds like the tank is full of corrosion which will continue to clog up your fuel system.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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