GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 408
Fig. 5: Scraping off the old gasket material
1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Drain the cooling system.
3. Remove the air intake duct and air cleaner, if necessary.
4. Remove the drive belt(s) and the water pump pulley.
5. Disconnect the heater and radiator hoses from the water pump.
6. Remove the water pump attaching bolts, then remove the pump. Mark
the bolts to their corresponding loca tions for proper installation.
To install: 7. Clean the gasket mating surfaces.
8. Install the water pump with a new gasket.
9. Install the coolant pump and bolts to the front cover using the dowel pins
as a guide.
10. Tighten the bolts to 30 ft lbs. (41 Nm).
11. Connect the heater and radiator hoses to the water pump.
12. Install the water pump pu lley and the drive belt(s).
13. Fill the cooling syst em. Start the engine and check for leaks.
CYLINDER HEAD
REMOVAL & INSTALLATION
CAUTION - Properly relieve the fuel system pressure before disconnecting any
lines.
GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 409
When servicing the engine, be absolutely sure to mark vacuum hoses and
wiring so that these items
may be properly reconnected during installation. Also,
when disconnecting fittings of metal lines (fuel, power brake vacuum), always
use two flare nut (or line) wrenches. Ho ld the wrench on the large fitting with
pressure on the wrench as if you were tightening the fitting (clockwise), THEN
loosen and disconnect the smaller fitting fr om the larger fitting. If this is not
done, damage to the line will result.
CAUTION - When draining the coolant, keep in mind that cats and dogs are
attracted by the ethylene gl ycol antifreeze, and are quite likely to drink any that
is left in an uncovered container or in puddles on the ground. This will prove
fatal in sufficient quantity. Always drai n the coolant into a sealable container.
Coolant should be reused unless it is contaminated or several years old.
2.5L ENGINE
Fig. 1: Cylinder head bolt torque sequence for 2.5L engine
1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Drain the engine block and radiator of coolant.
3. Raise and safely support the vehi cle. Remove the exhaust pipe and
lower the vehicle.
4. Remove the oil level indicator tube.
5. Remove the air cleaner.
6. Unplug the electrical and vac uum connections and disconnect the
linkage from the TBI unit.
7. Disconnect the fuel lines.
8. Remove the EGR valve.
9. Disconnect the heater hoses from the intake manifold.
10. Remove the ignition coil.
GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 410
11. Disconnect all electrical connecti
ons from the intake manifold and
cylinder head.
12. If the vehicle has air conditioning, remove the compressor and position it
out of the way. Do not disc onnect the refrigerant lines.
13. Remove the alternator and lay the unit aside. If necessary, remove the
alternator brackets.
14. Remove any other brackets or components mounted on the cylinder
head.
15. Remove the upper radiator hose.
16. Remove the rocker arm cover and back off the rocker arm nuts/bolts and
pivot the rocker arms out of the way so that the pushrods can be
removed. Identify the pushrods so that they can be reinstalled in their
original locations.
17. Remove the cylinder head bolts and cylinder head. Remove the intake
and exhaust manifolds, as required.
To install: 18. Thoroughly clean all mating surfaces of oil, grease and old gasket material. Clean the head bo lts and cylinder block threads, otherwise an
accurate torque specificat ion will not be attained.
19. Install a new gasket on the block mating surface. Position the cylinder
head on the block.
Clean the bolt threads, apply sealing comp ound and install the bolts finger-tight.
20. Tighten the head bolts a little at a time using the correct sequence and
torque to 92 ft lbs. (125 Nm).
21. Install the pushrods and rocker arms . Refer to the procedures described
earlier in this section.
22. Refill the cooling system and check for leaks. The remaining installation
is the reverse of the removal procedure.
2.8L AND 3.1L ENGINES
Fig. 2: Cylinder head bolt torque sequence for all V6 engines
GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 428
1. Disconnect the battery ground c
able. Drain the cooling system.
2. Remove the fan shroud or the upper radiator support and drive belts.
Remove the fan and pulley from the water pump.
3. Remove the alternator upper and lower brackets, air brace with brackets,
and power steering lower bra cket (move it aside).
4. Remove the radiator lower hose and the heater hose from the water
pump. Remove the water pump bolts and the water pump.
5. If A/C equipped, remove the comp ressor and move aside. Remove the
compressor mounting bracket.
6. Remove the damper pulley retain ing bolt and the damper pulley.
7. Remove the timing gear cover bolts and the timing gear cover.
With the timing gear cover removed, use a large screwdriver to pry the oil seal
from the cover. To install the new oil se al, lubricate it with engine oil and drive it
into place.
To install: 8. Prepare the mating surfaces for reinst allation of the timing gear cover.
Coat the new gasket with RTV sealer.
9. Install the timing gear cover and timing gear cover bolts. Torque the
cover bolts to specifications:
• V6 engines (M8 x 1.25 bolts): 13-22 ft. lbs. (18-30 Nm)
• V6 engines (M10 x 1.5 bolts): 20-35 ft. lbs. (27-48 Nm)
• V8 engines (all bolts): 69-130 inch lbs. (8-14 Nm)
10. Install the damper pulley by pulli ng the damper onto the crankshaft. Use
tool J-23523 or equivalent. Install t he damper pulley retaining bolt and
torque bolts to 67-85 ft lbs. (90-110 Nm).
11. If A/C equipped, install the compressor mounting bracket and
compressor.
12. Install the water pump and the water pump bolts.
13. Install the radiator lower hose and the heater hose to the water pump.
14. Install the alternator upper and lower brackets, air brace with brackets
and the power steering lower bracket.
15. Install the fan and pull ey to the water pump. Inst all the fan shroud or the
upper radiator support and drive belts and adjust.
16. Connect the battery ground cable.
17. Fill the cooling syst em, start the engine and check for leaks.
GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 440
Fig. 9: A common oil pump drive location on V8 engines
4-CYLINDER ENGINES
There are two ways to go about this task: either remove the engine from the
car, or remove the radiator, grill and any other supports which are directly in
front of the engine. If the second altern ative is chosen, you may have to
disconnect the motor mounts, and raise t he front of the engine. This will give
you the necessary clearance to remove the camshaft from the engine.
1. Drain the engine oil an d the cooling system. Remove the radiator.
GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 467
8. According to the tool manufacture
r's instructions, connect a remote
starting switch to the starting circuit.
9. With the ignition switch in the OFF position, use the remote starting
switch to crank the engine through at least five compression strokes
(approximately 5 seconds of cranking) and record the highest reading on
the gauge.
10. Repeat the test on each cylinder, cranking the engine approximately the
same number of compression stroke s and/or time as the first.
11. Compare the highest readi ngs from each cylinder to that of the others.
The indicated compression pre ssures are considered within
specifications if the lo west reading cylinder is within 75 percent of the
pressure recorded for the highest readi ng cylinder. For example, if your
highest reading cylinder pressure was 150 psi (1034 kPa), then 75
percent of that would be 113 psi (779 kPa). So the lowest reading
cylinder should be no less than 113 psi (779 kPa).
12. If a cylinder exhibits an unusually low compression reading, pour a
tablespoon of clean engine oil into the cylinder through the spark plug
hole and repeat the compression tes t. If the compression rises after
adding oil, it means that the cylinder's piston rings and/or cylinder bore
are damaged or worn. If the pressure re mains low, the valves may not be
seating properly (a valve job is needed), or the head gasket may be
blown near that cylinder. If compressi on in any two adjacent cylinders is
low, and if the addition of oil doesn' t help raise compression, there is
leakage past the head gasket. Oil and coolant in the combustion
chamber, combined with blue or const ant white smoke from the tail pipe,
are symptoms of this pr oblem. However, don't be alarmed by the normal
white smoke emitted from the tail pipe during engine warm-up or from
cold weather driving. There may be evidence of water droplets on the
engine dipstick and/or oil droplets in the cooling system if a head gasket
is blown.
OIL PRESSURE TEST
Check for proper oil pressu re at the sending unit passage with an externally
mounted mechanical oil pressure gauge (a s opposed to relying on a factory
installed dash-mounted gauge). A tachom eter may also be needed, as some
specifications may require running the engine at a specific rpm.
1. With the engine cold, locate and remo ve the oil pressure sending unit.
2. Following the manufacturer's inst ructions, connect a mechanical oil
pressure gauge and, if necessary, a tachometer to the engine.
3. Start the engine and allow it to idle.
4. Check the oil pressure reading when cold and record the number. You
may need to run the engine at a specified rpm, so check the
specifications chart located earlier in this section.
5. Run the engine until normal operati ng temperature is reached (upper
radiator hose will feel warm).
6. Check the oil pressure reading agai n with the engine hot and record the
number. Turn the engine OFF.
GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 513
1. Connect the vehicle battery.
2. Start the engine. Keep y
our eye on your oil pressure indicator; if it does
not indicate oil pressure within 10 se conds of starting, turn the vehicle
off.
WARNING - Damage to the engine can result if it is allowed to run with no oil
pressure. Check the engine oil level to make sure that it is full. Check for any
leaks and if found, repair the leaks be fore continuing. If there is still no
indication of oil pressure, y ou may need to prime the system.
3. Confirm that there are no fluid leaks (oil or other).
4. Allow the engine to reach nor mal operating temperature (the upper
radiator hose will be hot to the touch).
5. If necessary, set the ignition timing.
6. Install any remaining components such as the air cleaner (if removed for
ignition timing) or body panels which were removed.
BREAKING IT IN
Make the first miles on the new engine , easy ones. Vary the speed but do not
accelerate hard. Most importantly, do not lug the engine, and avoid sustained
high speeds until at least 100 miles. Ch eck the engine oil and coolant levels
frequently. Expect the engine to use a littl e oil until the rings seat. Change the
oil and filter at 500 miles, 1500 mile s, then every 3000 miles past that.
KEEP IT MAINTAINED
Now that you have just gone through all of that hard work, keep yourself from
doing it all over again by thoroughly maintaining it. Not that you may not have
maintained it before, heck you c ould have had one to two hundred thousand
miles on it before doing this. However, you may have bought the vehicle used,
and the previous owner did not keep up on maintenance. Which is why you just
went through all of that hard work. See?
GM – CAMARO 1982-1992 – Repair Guide (Checked by WxMax) 690
b. Install plug, with hollow end do
wn, over the rich mixture stop
screw access hole and drive plug into place so that the top of the
plug is
3/16 in. (4.7mm) below the surface of the air horn casting.
Plug must be installed to retain screw setting.
12. To check the M/C solenoid dwell, first disconnect vacuum line to the
canister purge valve and plug it. Ground diagnostic TEST terminal and
run engine until it is at normal operat ion temperature (upper radiator
hose hot) and in closed loop.
13. Check M/C dwell at 3000 rpm. If within 10-50 degrees, calibration is
complete. If higher than 50 degrees, chec k the carburetor for a cause of
rich condition. If below 10 degrees, look for a cause of lean engine
condition such as vacuum leaks. If none are found, check for the cause
of a lean carburetor.
Fig. 22: Installing the mixture control solenoid gauging tool