When you take a car out of a lake or pond after standing there for who knows how long, the results are always disgusting. I mean, what do you expect to get? A showroom beauty that just smells… fishy? Whatever the case, this 6.2-liter V8 from a Chevy Camaro SS that has been submerged in the Ohio River over the years is a prime example. Not only is there rust and grime on the outside, but there is mud, oil, and other types of sticky slime inside.
there’s an hour long demolition video i do cars youtube channel For those who have time to kill. If you’re taking your union break, stick with me for a minute or two. I will show and explain as briefly as possible, as well as show how bad this engine is.
A quick tour reveals a little, but not all, of the sad state of this L99 V8. Host Eric also finds it difficult to put sockets on most bolt heads because they are clogged with anything. There isn’t much silver left in this engine; Really, it’s more orange and brown than anything.
Job number one was to remove a drain plug. Once this was done, enough still river water was added to fill the Purina Tidy Cats litter container. Eventually some dirty pieces of debris came along with the oil. Oi.
The intake manifold could have been far worse, but removing the valve covers revealed some atrocities. The rocker was practically frozen over with rust, and after further investigation, Eric discovered it was missing a pushrod. How does this happen? They suggest someone may have already removed it to resolve the ticking problem, and you know, I wouldn’t put anything past a fifth-generation Camaro owner. (I am a child.)
Most of the cylinders were filled with mud, although surprisingly, the sleeves were not badly damaged. One was even clean, although that may have been because it had absorbed some water before closing it. There was still some rust that made the sleeves less than desirable. And since you can replace them with a new set, I don’t know why anyone would want to try to save what was already there.
The pistons were certainly no better, as Eric had to remove three rusted pistons before he could start the engine. Eventually he forced the crankshaft to rotate, sending tons of dirt flying out. However, it took a lot of hard work to get there and practically every step was dirty.
Perhaps the most frustrating parts of the teardown were removing the camshaft (which Eric refers to as the “mud stick”), bellhousing extraction, and disassembling the torque converter. I wouldn’t want any part of those jobs. But then again, this guy certainly knew what he was doing when he found the lump.
After breaking it all the way, Eric expressed how pleasantly surprised he was by the resistance around the engine. “This whole thing fell apart. I had no expectations for it,” he said. “I broke an exhaust manifold bolt, but they do that when they’re not in rivers, or lakes, or ponds, or waterfalls. I just can’t believe I took the whole thing apart.”
So, if anything, I think we should give props to the team at General Motors. Here’s another reason to love the LS family of engines.
This Lok Sabha spent 4 years in a river! Will it fall apart and what remains? Smacks of insurance fraud!
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