New motor ran before tune, won’t start now. Stuck! - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

EthanODell · 03-09-2023, 08:07 AM

Hey everyone! I own a 2011 Camaro 2ss. I bought the car in October of 2021 and the car had a cam and full exhaust. Unfortunately my suspicions were right, it was a bad motor and when I got in to see how bad it was I found metal shavings all through the motor and a destroyed lifter. I got an LS3 Crate motor and installed a Texas speed Cam kit which includes the Cletus McFarland bald eagle cam, new valve springs, valve seats, valve retainers, and pushrods. I also got a melling high pressure stock volume oil pump and a roll master double roller timing set. When we put the motor back into the car it started right up, ran, and drove. It did sound and ran terrible and needed tuned to the new cam package. The exhaust smelled like raw fuel and the car had very limited power and extremely sluggish throttle response. I sent the ECU to get tuned and when I got it back the car will not start. When I try to start the car while holding the gas wide open it makes a loud pop or two and still fails to start. The tune shop took back the ecu and said everything is good on their end. And tested it multiple times in multiple cars. They re-ran the tune to verify that it did not get corrupt. When i got the ECU back it is the same issue. I took the timing cover back off to verify that the crank gear was properly timed to the cam gear and it was. The car did sit for 6-8 months with half a tank of 93 in it. Could this be causing the issue? Ive never had a bad fuel problem in any of my other vehicles. It’s got spark compression and fuel injectors seem fine. Where should I be looking next? I have a video of the car trying to start. Thank you for any help!

gtstorey · 03-09-2023, 11:19 AM

I’m not sure how you can verify a tune issue without some way to data log. I would suggest buying HP Tuners since tuning is an iterative process. Or take it to a tuner.

The car should not start when floored, since this cuts the injectors off.

03-09-2023, 08:07 AM	#1
EthanODell Drives: 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Join Date: Mar 2023 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 3	New motor ran before tune, won’t start now. Stuck! Hey everyone! I own a 2011 Camaro 2ss. I bought the car in October of 2021 and the car had a cam and full exhaust. Unfortunately my suspicions were right, it was a bad motor and when I got in to see how bad it was I found metal shavings all through the motor and a destroyed lifter. I got an LS3 Crate motor and installed a Texas speed Cam kit which includes the Cletus McFarland bald eagle cam, new valve springs, valve seats, valve retainers, and pushrods. I also got a melling high pressure stock volume oil pump and a roll master double roller timing set. When we put the motor back into the car it started right up, ran, and drove. It did sound and ran terrible and needed tuned to the new cam package. The exhaust smelled like raw fuel and the car had very limited power and extremely sluggish throttle response. I sent the ECU to get tuned and when I got it back the car will not start. When I try to start the car while holding the gas wide open it makes a loud pop or two and still fails to start. The tune shop took back the ecu and said everything is good on their end. And tested it multiple times in multiple cars. They re-ran the tune to verify that it did not get corrupt. When i got the ECU back it is the same issue. I took the timing cover back off to verify that the crank gear was properly timed to the cam gear and it was. The car did sit for 6-8 months with half a tank of 93 in it. Could this be causing the issue? Ive never had a bad fuel problem in any of my other vehicles. It’s got spark compression and fuel injectors seem fine. Where should I be looking next? I have a video of the car trying to start. Thank you for any help!

03-09-2023, 11:19 AM	#2
gtstorey Drives: 2010 Camaro SS2,L99, LSA SC Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,280	I’m not sure how you can verify a tune issue without some way to data log. I would suggest buying HP Tuners since tuning is an iterative process. Or take it to a tuner. The car should not start when floored, since this cuts the injectors off.