Do I need an L99 Engine Replacement?

[monkeymehman]

Hey everyone, first post on the forum so bare with me. I'll try to keep things concise.


I took my 2010 Camaro SS (Auto, with the L99) in to the shop to fix an array of Christmas lights that popped up on my dash. As a disclaimer, this new issue happened about 50 miles after I had just taken it in to replace my fuel tank to address a fuel leak engine code that I've had for months.


Anyways, they did a diagnostic, and said I have a dead cylinder, cylinder 4 to be exact. They did a compression test and it showed 50 psi. Without doing any other diagnostic, they said I need a brand new engine.


It seemed like they jumped the gun too quickly, so I did some research and found that the most likely cause of what is happening is a collapsed AFM Lifter. (Obviously we won't know for sure unless we take the head off, or run a borescope inspection.)


Anyways, I decided to get a 2nd opinion from another shop. This shop performed the same diagnostic, (this time cylinder 4 showed 95 psi on the compression test), and came back to me with the same conclusion.


My question is, do I really need a brand new engine, or could this be fixed by replacing the head / camshaft? Again, without taking the engine apart, we won't know for sure. I guess I'm just asking, is it possible to ONLY need a head / cam job? Or is my ONLY solution, to buy a brand new engine?


Any help would be appreciated. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions if I missed anything.


Thanks

[Joe.G]

They need to tear into the engine, First step would be to put off the Valve cover and have a look at the valves/Springs. If that checks out take a peak inside the cylinder and go from there. Way to early to say you need a complete engine.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by Joe.G

They need to tear into the engine, First step would be to put off the Valve cover and have a look at the valves/Springs. If that checks out take a peak inside the cylinder and go from there. Way to early to say you need a complete engine.

^^^ concur on this..

[0stones0]

Sounds like this shop has $$$ on their mind, more than an actual diagnosis.

[monkeymehman]

Yep, that's what I figured. It almost sounds like both shops just want a quick payday, without actually addressing the root cause of the issue. (Quoted me $15-16k for a new engine install). I'm gonna tell them to start with the valve cover and move further down as needed.

Only if they can prove to me the block is damaged, will I go the new engine route. Hopefully this can save me $10k.

I'll update this thread with what they find.

Thanks

[Joe.G]

Personally I'd find another reputable shop, at this point how could you trust them?

[mr_honez]

Originally Posted by Joe.G

Personally I'd find another reputable shop, at this point how could you trust them?

THIS

[ariZona28]

Originally Posted by Joe.G

They need to tear into the engine, First step would be to put off the Valve cover and have a look at the valves/Springs. If that checks out take a peak inside the cylinder and go from there. Way to early to say you need a complete engine.

+1! Get that valve cover off and look for a broken valve spring or maybe the rocker arm trunion bearings have failed. The fact you went to two different shops and got two different compression readings is alarming. Pulling the valve cover is fairly easy. Can you do this inspection yourself? Maybe have help from a trusted friend or relative? Good luck.

[monkeymehman]

Thanks for the insight everyone. Glad everyone here shares my suspicions.

I tried calling a third shop that a buddy of mine recommended. Couldn't get a hold of them. Will try again tomorrow, to see what they say.

I personally have 2 left hands when it comes to working on my own cars. I don't trust myself with a wrench. Doing the inspection at home would have to be a last resort, with a trusted friend.

I'll update this thread with what the third shop tells me tomorrow.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by Joe.G

Personally I'd find another reputable shop, at this point how could you trust them?

^^^ This for sure! I was just thinking the same thing! They would probably "make something happen" so that you would be stuck spending money you don't need to. I've seen it happen before to unsuspecting people.. Be careful!!

[monkeymehman]

Update: Talked to the 2nd shop (where the car is at currently). They told me they took the valve-cover off and confirmed it was an AFM Lifter that collapsed.


They said they don't do band-aid fixes. Only a brand new engine. Apparently that is company policy.


I called a third shop. They told me if I bring it in, they'd take off the head, and look at the block. Didn't give me a definitive answer, but said they'd make a decision based on what they see.


I'm quite frustrated, so for now I just got the car towed back to my house. Will take a couple weeks to decide how I want to move forward.


Side Note: Decided to see what my car is worth to a junker yard. Got a quote for $4500 as is, with free pickup. Not sure if that's worth it, but at this point I might consider it

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by monkeymehman

Update: Talked to the 2nd shop (where the car is at currently). They told me they took the valve-cover off and confirmed it was an AFM Lifter that collapsed.


They said they don't do band-aid fixes. Only a brand new engine. Apparently that is company policy.


I called a third shop. They told me if I bring it in, they'd take off the head, and look at the block. Didn't give me a definitive answer, but said they'd make a decision based on what they see.


I'm quite frustrated, so for now I just got the car towed back to my house. Will take a couple weeks to decide how I want to move forward.


Side Note: Decided to see what my car is worth to a junker yard. Got a quote for $4500 as is, with free pickup. Not sure if that's worth it, but at this point I might consider it

Replacing the AFM lifters and the cam, which probably might be damaged as well, is NOT a bandaid fix! It's when you would want to do a cam swap and an LS3 conversion and get rid of the AFM junk. Nothing else in your engine would have been harmed due to a collapsed lifter. A brand new engine is BS!!! You would only need a new engine if a rod or sometning broke and went through it, or it got way too hot and cracked it somewhere, and then you would only need a short block, not an entire new engine.. That shop just wants to make a few bucks off you!!