New Member

[tonypaz]

Hey guys just joined the site. Glad to find a site that is only for people in Michigan. My name is Tony. I have a 2002 Camaro V6. 1010929_10101541033882758_130672039_n.jpg

This was to bought to save me money from driving my truck back and forth to work everyday. Poor baby took a crap on me back in November. Now looking to rebuild it and make it a custom Camaro.

Will be looking for help along the way as well as some good ideas.

[meissen]

Welcome to the site Tony!

[ruckusz28]

Hey there, Tony!

[92conv]

Welkom to the site, enjoy!!

[mcalus]

Welcome! Love nbm!!!

[ktl711]

Welcome to MiFBody! What exactly went wrong with your car? I have a 2002 V6 Camaro also, nearing 190K and showing no signs of stopping. Did it have the dreaded intake manifold coolant leaks?

[tonypaz]

Think I spun a main bearing. Driving home from work one day and swung into the store and noticed a knocking noise up front. Went in and came out to head home. Started the car it struggled a little bit to turn over but it did. Pulled out onto the road to head home and had no acceleration put the pedal to the floor and was struggling to hit 30mph. The knocking noise got louder then looked down and lost all oil pressure the engine shut off. I was able to cost down the hill and pull over. Had it towed home.

I drained the oil and didnt see any metal chunks/shavings. Cracked the valve cover to see the valve springs and tried to turn the crank to see if the valves move (trying to see if I broke the timing chain). Damn thing wouldnt even budge.

And thats where i stopped.

[2002Z4CSS]

Welcome and nice ride!

[the_dragon]

Welcome to the site and nice nbm camaro.

[tenpin842]

Howdy, welcome to the site! Nice car and Dodge truck (-;

[tonypaz]

Thanks guys. Yeah i love my truck. Gas is always fun. Lol

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[ktl711]

We have several folks on here who have 3800 experience -- [MENTION=396]TrickyTransAm[/MENTION] is one of them. Maybe they can help you assess what happened, and give you some ideas on how best to proceed.

It has been pointed out to me several times that the LS1 can deliver only 2 less mpgs on the highway than the 3800... just thought I'd share that...

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

Welcome, Tony, and enjoy the site!

[tonypaz]

O yeah ktl711. Thats my plan. I work with a guy that used to race 3rd and 4th gens. Thats what im gonna do. Ls1 swap.

But im gonna go classic and get rid of all the useless stuff on the interior. Only seats carpet and floor shifter

Sent using Tapatalk

[TrickyTransAm]

I have been summonsed by the great MIFbody gods.....
(Actually I just got an e-mail)

Sorry I haven't been around. Lots of issues.....

Before you toss the V6, I might be interested in the stuff surrounding the short block.

It sounds like you've locked up the motor. I wouldn't try starting it anymore. You'll just burn up the starter and bend the flywheel, rods etc..
A few things can cause this. @ktl711 - you are correct in thinking coolant leaks being one of the culprits.
This is how my first 3800 grenaded spectacularly with pieces of the block smacking the car behind me.

My guess is whoever sold it had issues with the intake before you got it. Either they poured in Bars Leak to try and fix it, or they fixed it and sold it asap.
1. Water got into the crankcase from the intake gaskets, ran with water and wiped out the bearings or oil pump. 2. Sludge - from slow coolant leaks can also kill an oil pump slowly, but your bearings wear very quickly.
I'd say the short block is scrap. The heads should be ok, but will probably need guides from all the water damage or accelerated wear.

Unless you've got an excellent machine shop, time, patience, and engine rebuilding skills - it's cheaper and more cost effective to get on car-part.com and search out a low mile motor - then change the intake gaskets immediately when on the stand, or perhaps the head gaskets too. Dexcool is a horrible liquid that eats anything in its path, including fiber head gaskets, which are what's on that 3800.

When you get the new motor, make sure you flush out your heater core (reverse flush carefully) and your Radiator.

IMO.... its' not cost effective to do a LS1 swap in these cars.
It's just my opinion, but by the time you buy the highly inflated parts cost of a LS swap - you could have bought a true LS car and drove it rather than gambling on used parts to do the job right.
They are available cheap nowadays.

And..... remember WHY you bought that car. Mileage.
V8's are hungry in the city. With performance parts, they'll be just as hungry as your truck. (Money spent - no further ahead)