1994 Chevrolet Camaro from North America - Comments

I have had trouble ever since I bought the car with the car idling correctly. Until recently, it only presented a problem periodically, but now the check engine light comes on every time I drive and the car stalls constantly. I have tried to get to the root of the problem, but no mechanic has narrowed down and diagnosed what is causing it to stall.

I had the transmission checked, the computer checked, the clutch replaced and many other parts checked or serviced, but the problem has never gone away, just gotten worse. This is the only major problem I have had, but it has impacted how I feel about the car greatly. When you accelerate, the car hesitates and bogs up and down, like there's a misfire. It is very upsetting in regards to the performance of the vehicle, which can hardly seem to match that of a 1994 Ford Escort 4 cylinder station wagon!

Other than that, all repairs I have made were to be expected, not overly costly, but not cheap by any means.

The car looks and sounds incredible, it is noticed by everybody I drive by. There's a certain something about Camaros that are appealing in regards to look and sound, especially with an aftermarket exhaust bolted on.

The car handles incredibly, I have avoided accidents because of it and have always been pleased with the response from the steering on mountain roads and on the freeway.

As the driver, I am comfortable on long drives, displeased with the cargo space, but not expectant of more.

The body of the car, with the suspension and the final drive ratio makes this car go fast! It is easy to get speeding tickets with this car! It's not blindingly fast, but rather it's fun to drive with the manual transmission, and given it's not acting up at the time.

Have you checked the oxygen and fuel sensors? Also check to make sure that the plugs and wires go to the corresponding points on the coil to match the firing order of each cylinder. This may cure your idle and acceleration problems. Just some ideas seems how they were not mentioned in your article.

I have a 94 Z28 6 speed and I was having the same problem as you. Mine was also making a (clank, clank) noise, I thought the motor was bad. I couldn't even drive it, so I took it to a mechanic and the problem was the distributor. Now the car is running mint so, like this guy said, check the firing order and the plug wires, your problem could be there because as you know, your car doesn't have a distributor.

I own a 1994 Camaro Z28 and it sounds like you are having opti-distributor problems. Good luck! The part is very expensive. I just paid 642.00 just for the part, but I can tell you that the car runs mint now and pretty much always did up until I had this miss firing problem. Part #10457702.

From the description you gave, it sounds like the distributor/optispark.

Go over to acdelco. com and find the part# and replace it, unfortunally the part is not cheap, it probably is over $350, and the install is a pain, you have to remove the water pump, so you mind as well change it. and since you are at it, change the wires and spark plugs.

Does anybody have any information on wipers for the 1994 Chevrolet Camaro (V6)? It seems that they are not compatible with store bought wipers???

The problems described above with 94 camaro Z28 sound exactly the same as mine. When hot the motor mis-fires, & runs erratically. The problem comes & goes. 2 years ago the mechanic found it was the distributor, & replaced it. The part was $700, labor $400. That fixed it for 2 years, but now it's doing the same thing. My mechanic says they only used this system for 2 years, & it's bad design. Does anyone have any more information?

As you all previously stated. I am having problems with my 94 Z28 as well. At first I thought it had something to do with the fuel system or poor gas because it begun to sputter and knock out of no where. Well, it finally died on me. I took it to a mechanic and it was the distributor. The funny thing is it was just replaced in April 2002. The most painful part of this is the labor due to the removal of all the other parts just to get to the distributor.

I also have a '94 Z28 that has the same problem. I have owned it since Jan '96 and have put almost 80K miles on it with only changing plugs at 30K and a water pump at 60K. It started missing after it warmed up about a month ago. At first it was slight. Now it starts missing, sputtering and stalling shortly after I start it. I had to park it until I could get a new distributor. Unfortunately it is currently on back-order, but for the price I can wait a few weeks. Check out MSD's new Opti-spark distributors for '93-'94 in aftermarket catalogs such as Summit Racing or maybe even Jegs. I am hoping that the MSD unit will be an improvement on the Delco Opti-spark.

I should also add: As an attempt to avoid the inevitable, I tried changing out the O2 sensors, throttle position sensor, EGR, and Idle air-control valve. No luck. I have even been playing with the idea of changing out the ECM/PCM if the if new distributor doesn't help. I was surprised how cheap ECM's are nowadays...$280? It wasn't too long ago that a GM ECM/PCM was well over $600 and another $400 to have a dealer install it. Search for "GM parts best prices and see what comes up. That's how I found the ECM.

I have a 94 v6 model, and it had what sounds like the same problem. If your car is also idleing erratically, surging, sputtering, and not wanting to pick up rpm when you hit the gas, have a fuel pressure test done, cuz it might be your fuel pump, if it not your distributor. The v6 has no distributor (coil packs) so it was much easier to diagnose. It cost me a little under 700 bucks US including parts and labor since they have to drop the tank to make the replacement. (unless you have a garage to do it yourself, then its about 300 for the pump). So I recommend getting it tested before you buy any parts.

This was a very fast car and it handled even better. That's the good news. The bad news is that this car is a nightmare to work on. To do a basic tune up can run you anywhere between $700 and $1500 bucks. The optispark distributor which is not cheap in itself runs about $350. It is located under the water pump which also must be removed and actually replaced bad or not. You see if you don't replace it and a month later it starts to leak you will have to replace the opti all over again. The spark plugs are special plugs and run about $8.00 a piece. The wires well there a special wire and they run about $50 to $75 buck for a set. Now if you brave enough to try this your self and are successful you just saved your self the biggest cost of this basic tune up which is the labor. If your like me and consider yourself a decent garage mechanic. Once you look under the hood of this thing you will likely do what I did. Run away sceaming and eventually pulling out a phone book to find some other poor sucker that you can pay to do it for you. Labor is expensive when it comes to anything with this car. Now when its running right it's a force to be dealt with on the road, but you better have deep pockets when its time to replace something.