Camaro Fuel delivery problem

[4SPDFOX...+1]

Hey guys, I have a question about a friend's car. He just acquired a 1989 Camaro IROC-Z with, as far as we know a 350 TPI, and T5 trans. Whether it's a 305 or 350, it DOES have the TPI fuel injection system. Sorry to bring Chevy into this forum but I have run out of resources. It has a problem, here are the symptoms:

Car is slightly hard to start (does not start up as fast as i'd like from a fuel injected car)

After the car runs for a few miles, it will not go over 2000 rpm at full throttle, the more throttle you apply, the harder it bogs and earlier it stops going.

It does not die, just completely runs out of fuel and will not go any faster, then when you release the gas it goes back down to idle.

If you turn the key off and immediately back on, it works properly again for a minute or a few minutes.

Even when it is working "properly", the engine runs out of power at 3000 rpm. It doesn't miss or shake or bogg, just literally stops pulling at about 3000 rpm which seems very odd.

Fuel pump is audible, and not in the normal GM buzzing/whining way. It sounds different from that and is louder.

We've replaced and checked a lot of things on the car, next step is replacing the fuel pump. However, if the fuel pump were bad it seems to me that the car would stall or just not start, yet it continues to start, idle, and run fine except for the afformentioned problems. There is no check engine light and when hooked to a scan tool there were no trouble codes. Any ideas?

[mustangxtreme]

I've never worked on a Chevy TPI but, I'd start with a fuel pressure check. It sounds like the pressure isn't holding to the required amount. Check fuel lines for any leaks or cracks, the fuel filter, etc. Any of the basic things you would think of for an FI Mustang.

[93CobraGuy]

Had this same problem on my old Bronco II with an '88 302 EFI swapped in it. Ended up having to drop the tank on it. It had about an inch and a half of silt in the bottom of the gas tank that was clogging up the fuel pump sock. Changed the whole pump and cleaned the tank out, put it back together, changed out the fuel filter and it screamed after that!!

[86 50CPRI]

Definitely sounds like a fuel restriction, but its best to be sure. It is easy to hook up a fuel pressure gauge on those and find out what the FP is doing,from initial startup, to under load when it is dying off.

believe me,dropping that tank is something you wont want to do twice.

[gregpro50]

I moved this to the BS area since it is not within scope of the site.

[4SPDFOX...+1]

Also, when they changed the fuel filter, it left a rust stain on their driveway and when we changed the sprak plugs, the old ones had kind of a rusty color to them.

[eeprete]

Also, when they changed the fuel filter, it left a rust stain on their driveway and when we changed the sprak plugs, the old ones had kind of a rusty color to them.

I Don't think any of us are anti-chevy, however with the various issues your friend is experiencing, it might be better to post these types of questions on a f-body enthusiast website.

When it comes to the operation of an engine, break it down to the simplest functions of air, fuel and spark.

[varn82]

I would not only check fuel pressure, but volume as well. You can have 35 psi all day long, but with a restriction, you might not have adequate volume to feed the injectors. I had an 88 IROC in high school, 305 TPI. Running out of power at 3000 rpm is normal..........sorry, bad joke. May also be that sweet coil. Hard to diag over the computer.

[mossybull]

my money is on fuel pump."i don't think any of us are anti-chevy"-come on really?really?!lol!yeah,that's why we're here,we LOVE chevy's!

[Jaymoney]

fyi - Manual trannys weren't offered on the 350 Camaros from '82 - '92. Auto's only. Chances are it's a 305 unless someone swapped a 350 in it.

[Jimmy2.3Mustang]

http://www.thirdgen.org would be the best forum on the subject, just keep in mind that at least 90% of the membership are morons.

The fuel pump is bad. What you're describing is exactly what they do when they start to get weak. I've been there myself, and just went through this with a guy on the local forum. He too figured since the pump worked fine until it got hot, and since it was only a month or two old it couldn't be the pump. After two weeks replacing everything else he finally replaced the pump and the car runs fine now.

You can check for yourself by putting a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail and watch for the pressure to drop when the engine starts to stall.

Also, as mentioned, no 350 5spds. Look at the VIN, 8th digit is a F for 305 TPI, 8 for 350 TPI. Engine and transmission swaps are common, but that's another thread.

[85 Speedfreak]

Drop the tank and replace the pump/ strainer .Make sure you get all of the funk out of the tank or replace it with one thank is clean.
This will fix your issue.