Spun Main Bearing - Out of Warranty

[rnhudgins]

Hi guys,

I have a sad story. After working very hard to maintain my 2011 Camaro SS, my oil pump failed causing my motor to spin the front main bearing. I have 120,000 miles on the vehicle so I obviously am past the warranty. Worst yet, I am 2 payments away from officially owning the vehicle...

I have spent $1,300 to have the vehicle towed, oil pan dropped, bearing diagnosed, and towed back to my house in pieces. I was quoted $10,500 to replace the motor. I declined. I was told that I could have done nothing to prevent this from happening and that if under warranty, it would have been replaced for free.

I have read all the threads I could find on here regarding this issue. I have submitted complaints to the dealership I bought the vehicle from and directly to General Motors.

I wanted to post here to see if anyone had any advice. I hope to hear back from GM but I assume I will be purchasing a new motor and replacing it in my garage. The project would be extremely exciting, however it will create an extreme financial strain on my family when I was expecting to have the vehicle paid off.

If anyone is interested, I will update as I hear back from the dealership and GM. I actually heard back from the dealership immediately after placing my complaint so I expect to hear back from them tomorrow.

I appreciate everything I find on here so I hope that if anything positive comes out of this situation I can post what I did here and help someone else.

[hammdo]

Wow, 120k miles and this, Sorry to hear. Still, 120k miles, i wouldn't expect much from GM.

There are used engines out the if you have the means. LS3 crate version is also an option...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/n...MobileSwitchNo

Hope you get back on the road soon...

-Don

[rnhudgins]

Originally Posted by hammdo

Wow, 120k miles and this, Sorry to hear. Still, 120k miles, i wouldn't expect much from GM.

There are used engines out the if you have them means. LS3 crate version is also an option...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/n...MobileSwitchNo

Hope you get back on the road soon...

-Don

I appreciate it!!

If I purchase the motor, I will definitely get a new crate LS3. I plan on taking out a loan and doing some upgrades I would never have had the money to do such as headers and a performance clutch.

[bdd8401]

Sorry to hear about your car, do yourself a favor and get a melling oil pump do not use another oem oil pump. Read lots of stories on here about oem ls3 oil pumps thashing engines for you v8 guys.

[RichSS2006]

Can we see a picture of the actual bearing surface along with a shot of the crank main where it spun? If you shut it off right away it may not have caused too much damage. You may get by with polishing the crank and new main bearings. New oil pump required for sure.
Good luck. Rich

[camguynj]

Really feel for you. Hope the dealer is able to do something for you. What symptoms did you have? Did you a Low Oil pressure msg?

[Arthur Collins]

Take your engine to a machine shop. Ask them if they can hone your block if your walls are scorned. You will need to replace your main bearings and oil pump. The machine shop can polish your crankshaft or cut it and use oversized main bearings. It would cost less than half of a new engine.

[frankwjr]

whew..all things considered..you got lucky...of all things to happen this one is an easy fix...get a stoker kit..don't look back...just have machine shop(may not even need one!) clean up cyl walls...there should not be any other "Major probs"...lot's of stokers kits can "drop in"..make sure it's balanced...way cheaper....MORE POWER...and stroker crank/rods/pistons usually significantly stronger than stock...and all of this is with longevity in mind....get the right tune on her and never look back...peace out and good luck! it will be fun! cars super easy to work on...make sure your tq wrench is good...never over tq LS bolts=stripped....peace out...

[rnhudgins]

Originally Posted by RichSS2006

Can we see a picture of the actual bearing surface along with a shot of the crank main where it spun? If you shut it off right away it may not have caused too much damage. You may get by with polishing the crank and new main bearings. New oil pump required for sure.
Good luck. Rich

I took these pictures while the vehicle was at the dealership on a lift. It is just sitting in my garage at the moment. Ive been too busy to get it in the air and take a closer look. I will post pictures as soon as I do.

[rnhudgins]

Originally Posted by camguynj

Really feel for you. Hope the dealer is able to do something for you. What symptoms did you have? Did you a Low Oil pressure msg?

Sorry I don't know how to respond to multiple messages at once.

My Low Oil Pressure light did come on one time while I was in the driveway. I was close to an oil change so I killed it and changed the oil before driving it again. The light didn't come on for a few months after that.

Then I saw the light again the day it stalled. I got it home, changed the oil again and restarted it to hear it knocking and acting like it had no oil in it. That's when I knew I was in trouble and towed it to a dealership...

[JusticePete]

LS3 Long Block https://www.summitracing.com/parts/n...1326/overview/

[ravensjeff]

It took me 6 months to get over losing a 650 HP Lingenfelter built engine to a failed stock oil pump.

Then I went with a crate LSX376 engine. I'm in a happy place now.

Forget about trying to get GM to cover anything. The sooner you move on from that, the better. Good luck.

[meyouand987.2]

If you have the space, I would by a low mileage side impact SS on copart and have an extra 1 of everything........................

[sdynak]

Just wondering.. was it cammed? Ever apart? Very sorry to hear this.. Only can go better now.