Bad acceleration, high oil pressure, wtf is wrong?

**Mike510** · 01-26-2010, 11:43 AM

I have a problem with my 1994 6 speed camaro. When I hit the gas it has terrible acceleration and it jerks. Ive also noticed the oil pressure is high when it does it and the weird part about it, its intermittent. Sometimes it will drive just perfect but then when I drive it the next morning its bad again. I took it to a shop and he said it needs a tune up and a new distributor because each cylinder was reading a different spark level but that wouldnt be intermittent....what could be wrong?

**Mike510** · 01-26-2010, 11:46 AM

I didnt really explain the oil pressure part. Its high, like about in the middle or above instead of below 10, and when it is below 10 it seems to drive great. My dad said that has nothing to do with the problem, but idk. Also my car has a rough idle sometimes and sometimes its smooth. Also, I have some cheap spark plugs i noticed but they all look just fine.

**bigrondownhiller** · 01-26-2010, 01:58 PM

Could be the opti-spark. How old are the wires? When was the last fuel filter change?

**c5z28** · 01-26-2010, 04:24 PM

Oil pressure is supposed to go up with rpm's that means the pump is doing its job. Optisparks are know for going bad and scattering or just getting ruined by the water pump dripping on it.

**Mike510** · 01-26-2010, 06:38 PM

I just recently bought this camaro, it wasn't doing it before I bought it. So is the opti spark the distributor? Or is that something else? Also the car has 84,000 miles and the wires look good.

**c5z28** · 01-26-2010, 06:44 PM

The optispark is the distributor for the lt-1. If it is throwing an ses code go to an autozone for a code scanner and look up the definition of that code.
What shop did you take it to there are general shops and ones that specialize.

**c5z28** · 01-26-2010, 06:47 PM

Oh and Newtech is an ls tuner but he does have some experience in lt's you might give them a call to schedule an appointment and they may give you a definitive answer.

http://www.newtechperformance.com/

**Mike510** · 01-26-2010, 07:20 PM

Well it is just a general shop but my dad knows and trusts him, we could tell he has a lot of knowledge about it. He did an all over inspection of the car, checked the fuel pressure, codes, sensors, all that stuff and nothing showed up.

**grandkodiak** · 01-29-2010, 07:38 AM

yea optis the distributor, sits right under/behind the waterpump... and coolant leaking will surely find its way in there and over time cruds op the wheel inside that is just a super thing piece of metal with slits cut into it, that an optical sensor pics up to determine timing. either the slits get gunked up or the sensor head gets dirty...or both.

ive always thought that you could probably clean them both and reinstall the opti... but ive never heard of anyone trying.

i forget what year they changed to vented opti...maybe 96-97? that has 2 lines that suck in air from the intake and manifold to have fresh air pulled through it... suposed to extend the life of the opti.

also if you end up replacing it, shell out the extra dought for one made by MSD. it has many upgrades and built in timing adjust screw if u wanna do some tuning...

as for the oil pressure and strange running, if its not the distributor, check for a crushed pcv hose, clogged pcv, or egr failure... and buy some cheap valve cover breathers instead of those caps... seemed to help steady mine out. mind you the oil pressure should almost mirror the rpm needle! if it doesnt, something bads about to happen

**Mike510** · 01-29-2010, 09:17 AM

Thanks grandkodiak. Today me and my dad are going to try to check the egr valve and check all the wires and plugs because it has a miss when it does the weird hesitation.

**grandkodiak** · 01-29-2010, 07:28 PM

ps this sites awesome for diagrams, exploded views, component id/location, gerneral help and how to... theres sections on checking all named parts above

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html