way too rich!

[smitty]

hey guys... i am a new member and hoping someone can help me out. i just got my first f-body( a 96 camaro v6) and this thing is running way too rich. i gave it a tune up, change the coil packs, and o2 sensors. it still shows no signs up getting any better. can someone tell me if there is a common problem with this car or any suggestions of what it could be before i get the dealer to troubleshoot it for me.
thanks

[thomas]

Welcome to the board. I aint no mechanic but give these guys alittle bit and they'll get on it!

[smitty]

mistake on year

thankx man.. i made a mistake on the model year, it is a 93 3.4l v6 automatic.

[94 formula]

How do you know that it is running way to rich?

[Joe 1320]

What has been used to diagnose a definate rich condition? Any stored codes? There could be several things but we need to know more info.

[smitty]

when i start the car, weither the engine is warm or not you can see and smell the raw fuel out of the tail pipe.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

when i start the car, weither the engine is warm or not you can see and smell the raw fuel out of the tail pipe.

Are you sure it's gasoline? I would think raw fuel would be sensed by an oxygen sensor and throw a check engine light for over rich condition. FYI you probably know this but the catalyst conversion converts carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and water so it's normal for water to drip out the tail pipe.

[smitty]

do you think the cat. converter is messed up

[Jeff_in_Atl]

do you think the cat. converter is messed up

No. The converter doesn't have anything to do with gasoline. If gas goes in, it's going to come out. It can't produce gasoline.

[Trash man]

when i start the car, weither the engine is warm or not you can see and smell the raw fuel out of the tail pipe.

my car is the same way altho its not stock(cam, and such) i have a high flow cat and it runs rich and i can smell raw fuel(esp if i short start it), try running some drygas thru and let it run for an 1hr30minz maybe it was short started alot?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

my car is the same way altho its not stock(cam, and such) i have a high flow cat and it runs rich and i can smell raw fuel(esp if i short start it), try running some drygas thru and let it run for an 1hr30minz maybe it was short started alot?

"Drygas
Pronunciation: (drī'gas"), [key] Chem., Trademark.
a brand of gasoline-line antifreeze consisting of methyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture of these."

For 90 minutes? What is that supposed to do?

[Joe 1320]

usually a bad cat will give off a stronger odor. Raw fuel smell can also come from a faulty vapor canister. Ideally, scanning the car's sensors will help rule out various problems.

[alenstein]

I had raw fuel smell when one of my plugs wasn't firing, no.7 wire was cut and arching.

[smitty]

i think i need to take it to the stealership and get them to scan the car for me and tell me what the deal is.

[Injuneer]

when i start the car, weither the engine is warm or not you can see and smell the raw fuel out of the tail pipe.

Do you actually see fuel, or are you seeing the water in the exhaust that normally condenses out in colder weather?

I would think raw fuel would be sensed by an oxygen sensor and throw a check engine light for over rich condition.

No. The O2 sensor can only sense oxygen. It can not sense fuel. With a misfire, you get raw fuel and air in the exhaust pipe. The O2 sensor "sees" the air/oxygen, figures its running lean, and richens the mixture up with fuel the engine does not need. Misfires and exhaust leaks can cause a "false lean" condition, and cause the engine to run excessively rich.

You can often detect these problems by using a scanner to look at the long term fuel corrections (aka "BLM"s). That will help determine the cause of it running rich. But first you need to verify its running rich, and that takes a multi-gas exhaust analyzer. An O2 sensor may pick up the rich condition, if you truely have a rich mixture, but if the exhaust contains any excess air from misfires or exhaust leaks, it screws the whole system up.