I've got issues or it's more like my SS does. I bought it used w/30,000 miles on it in 2002. Had it for 3 weeks, missed a 2nd-to-3rd shift @ ~5000 RPM, went 2nd-to-1st instead and over revved the engine for a couple seconds, at least. A week later, the engine starts clicking, take it in for warranty work . . . dealership tells me the #4 exhaust pushrod is broken, they replace the #4 exhaust pushrod and check nothing else.
Fast forward a year and several 14+ sec 1/4 mile runs later, I take it to an experienced dyno tuner to have the bugs worked out. Baseline dynos come back all wrong and the tuner wouldn't touch it, and I don't blame him.

See here (I know . . . a major WTF, huh?). . .


During the baseline dyno pulls, the tuner mentioned that it was leaning out in the bad RPM range. The tuner checked fuel pressure at the rails and it was good. Injectors were good, also. Took a known working MAF sensor from another car, my MAF sensor was/is in good working order.

A year after the failed dyno tuning, I packed up and moved to Michigan in 2005 where the car has basically stayed in the garage, with exception of ~500 miles of casual cruising a year. I recently used the SS to make a 100-mile one-way (200 miles/day) commute for about 15 days. Since then, I've been bent on getting the car fixed in 2010, but no one I've talked to, and no one who has worked on the car has been able to give me one iota of insight on what the problem might be.

I just had a compression test done, worrying that it might be a bum piston ring or something, but the compression test came back within spec.
#1 174 psi, #2 180, #3 179, #4 178, #5 180, #6 176, #7 181, #8 181

I'm planning on a leak-down test next . . .
The tuner recommends I get the fuel pressure rechecked, as well as getting a WOT dyno pull run w/ a data logger to get some numbers.

2000 Camaro SS mods are all bolt ons . . .
Cold-air lid w/smooth bellows
Throttle body coolant bypass
Borla Cat-back w/OEM cats - no restriction plates installed
MSD ignition wires
SLP Y-pipe

I run 93 pump gas & Mobil 1 5W-30

Anyone have any thoughts, questions, and/or comments?
I'm the only guy I know who has an SS that has failed to run in the 13's even once (best ET was a 14.01 on drag radials ).

I want to put in a new cam, new heads, LT headers, and get it dyno tuned, but the advice I've gotten so far is: Figure out the problem before you go messin' around with stuff

 

if you broke a pushrod, maybe check springs, and lifter?

may as well do a cam, and dual valve spring setup.

Also i did notice when this happened to my buddies m6 car, that was overreved, not only were his pushrods bent, but it had marks in the pistons where the valves were hitting..maybe bent valves, leakdown should show that

 

damm like 1 hour ago i just missed a 2nd-3rd shift, i went into first, i heard the tires chirping. my car is running fine tho had the clutch half way in i guess. thank you hardened pushrods

 

btw, it seems to me your valves are floating. maybe your springs are done. for. if you have a stock cam you can upgrade to some better beehives.

 

dont thank them yet, it took this guy a week before his push rod broke.

and how do you go from 2nd-1st??? it is extremely hard to put it in at that rate of speed, first mod should be driver mod.

 

its been a couple times this week i have been missing 3rd gear, i dont know why, i always get it in fast, but this time it dident go into what i thought was third gear, then since i still had the clutch in and rpms already dropped by now, i jammed it in and released the clutch until i heard the tires, the low trac light came on too. then i put in the clutch and put it back into neutral. i hope everything is ok, my rpms dident rise up at all maybe because the abs was using the rear brakes or something. my clutch has been slipping lately too.

 

I'd say do a cam around 230 dur. 5.90 lift, dual springs, chromoly pushrods and ls7 lifters, that autta fix the problem and give ya an extra 80 hp from what you have now...

 

on the dyno graph did the tuner let out of the gas at 5,000? or does the car fall on its face? If its falling on the face and you don't want to do the entire cam swap, then I'd try springs.

 

Going down the track, when I get to 5000 RPM it's like all of the sudden it thinks its a Honda or something . . . It completely loses it's will to be a V8 performance vehicle. It feels like a fat chick hops in @ 5000 RPM. It's quite disheartening, really.

Question is, do I just rebuild the heads (port & polish, etc) or do I go with some nice new Livernois Stage 2 heads & w/Stage 2 cam, 232 dur, 595 lift?
Hardened push rods, too I suppose?

 

i did the same thing but i went from 2nd to 3rd, my trans am seemed just fine too, but like 2 weeks later it started making a high pitch noise when going in to gear and accelerating. so i pulled the tranny and i found out i annihilated my throw out bearing and i ruined my input shaft. i also have chromoly pushrods, i did this when i war racing my cousins GSXR 1000...

 

It all depends how much money you have to spend, if you have the money just get a set of heads, that will save some time and get a good abmount of power over stock a cam like the tv.2 cam will make very good power and tq with the heads you end up getting. if you are going to do all of this you also need a good oil pump, one thats either ported with the spring shim to allow more flow and pressure with higher rpms and power gains. I also went with an oem ls2 timing chain that is stronger then the stock ls1 chain.

If you don't have the money for new heads, just rebuild yours with new valves, seals and springs, I'd still put the dual springs with titanium retainers. even if you do keep your stock heads and go with a bigger 230ish cam it will make killer power, maybe around 390-400 with supporting bolt-ons.

 

Ya sounds like something in the valve train is messed up. I doubt your heads are messed up though. I would go ahead with a cam swap, and buy the cam install kit. It comes with everything needed for the install. You will be good after that.

 

i would do the leak down test before anything. Pull your valve covers and rotate the motor by hand and see if anythings out of the ordinary. If the test checks out go for the cam swap. I wouldnt do heads unless your really looking for some power. Save the cash and go turbo or forged one day, lol As far as which cam it just depends on how much driveabilty you are willing to give up for HP.