A Chevrolet Camaro owner is facing a potentially hefty repair bill after bringing their car to a shop for a problem that left it unable to start. Upon inspecting the engine, a mechanic discovered what they believed was causing the problem.
The mechanic shared a photo and details of the problem on the r/Justrolledintotheshop subreddit. They explained that the vehicle was a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro with an L99 V8 engine. The owner brought the car into the shop with a crank-no-start problem, meaning the engine would turn over but wouldn’t start.
When the mechanic checked the engine, they discovered it had lost compression. A leak-down test further revealed air escaping through both the intake and exhaust. Although only one cylinder was tested on each bank.
The mechanic then removed the driver’s side valve cover to inspect the pushrods and discovered several of them were bent.
A Timing Problem
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According to the mechanic, the damage could have been caused by the engine jumping timing, possibly allowing intake valves to contact the pistons and bend the pushrods.
The mechanic also suspected the exhaust valves may have come in contact with the pistons, which could explain the air escaping through the exhaust during the leak down test. The exact cause still has not been confirmed.
In the post, they recommended removing the cylinder heads for a valve job and taking off the timing cover to check whether the camshaft timing had shifted.
However, the owner had the engine rebuilt by their father a couple of years earlier, according to the post. Unfortunately, their father has since passed away, and after receiving a quote for the repairs, the owner walked away.
Now, the Camaro is expected to leave the shop on a tow truck rather than undergo the recommended repairs there.
What It Could Cost
In a comment under the post, one Reddit user asked exactly how much the estimated cost actually was.
The mechanic replied and explained that they didn’t know the exact quote since they are only responsible for working on vehicles rather than handling estimates.
But they still gave an estimate on what they think it costs. They said the process requires taking off the oil pan, which can be labor-intensive on these kinds of cars, according to the mechanic. They said it could take roughly over 20 hours of labor, along with machine shop fees and the parts needed. The total could potentially exceed $5,000, but that is only an estimate by the mechanic.
Others Recall Similar Engine Damage
Another commenter said they recalled working on an older car that also experienced a timing failure after the nylon gears broke down. According to the comment, the debris clogged the oil pickup, and 14 of the 16 pushrods ended up bent.
It’s now unknown whether the owner of the Camaro has taken their vehicle to another shop hoping for a different quote. No other updates have been made to the post.