New Caprice - Discussion forums

I just picked up a 2011 Caprice PPV at an auction in Oregon. It's been snowing here but once I get better weather, I'll post up a few pics.

It has 70k miles. Body is straight except for a few scratches on the trunk lid. And one sealed antenna hole in the roof. It still has the spotlight but the wires must have been cut to it. It has a bad battery and I think that might be the result of high parasitic drain but I'll chase that down a little better once I have a good battery in it. This unit just has the primary battery.

It has a misfire on 7 so I'm assuming I'm looking at a DOD delete and as much cam as I can get away with on a stock converter. I also don't want to ruin it as a daily driver by going crazy with the cam. I am considering an aftermarket exhaust though. Any thoughts on a mild cam and civilized exhaust would be appreciated.

I swapped coils and plugs in attempt to diagnose the miss but didn't learn anything. Based on the sound it's making and the fact that my miss is on 7 which has one of the DOD lifters, I'm pretty sure that's the issue. The oil looks good and it runs strong otherwise so I think it's a good candidate for a cam swap.

The interior is as expected for an ex cop car. The drivers seat is torn up but repairable. The rear seat is the plastic tub reserved for their special guests. It came with the original seat and back as well as both door panels so it shouldn't be too big of a project to get it back to it's original configuration.

It's displaying a bunch of error codes. The check engine light is flashing but the only code is for the misfire. The tire pressure warning is on. There is one tire that doesn't report pressure correctly so I'm hoping a new TPMS sensor in that tire clears that up. The Stibilitrack warning is on and the traction control is off. From this forum, I gather that Stabilitrack won't function with the check engine light on so hopefully once I cure the misfire, the Stabilitrack error will clear as well. Things don't usually work out that easily for me but it would be nice if that's the fix. We'll see.

I'm glad to be a member of this forum. It's already been a big help.

Tom

Welcome. It's my first day here too. I think I'd try swapping the injectors before ripping the heads off over a misfire code. It might be the cam/lifters, but it could be something simpler. Better to upgrade after knowing what the problem is. Good luck.

Hi and welcome. To confirm if an AFM lifter is stuck, take the valve cover off and check the rockers. It will be loose if it's the lifter. Can also run it with the cover off.

Thanks All!

I had a little time to diagnose this today. When disabling ignition and fuel one cylinder at a time while idling, the only cylinder that has no effect is number 7 so that checks with the miss on that cylinder. I removed the drivers valve cover and there's one rocker that barely moves when the engine is turned over. It's the second from the rear on the driver's side. That's cylinder 7 for sure but I'm not sure if it's intake or exhaust.

Next I did a compression check on all 8. This was done cold since I'm trying to run the engine as little as possible. Plus getting the plugs out and the test hose in requires pretty close contact with the exhaust manifold and doing it hot didn't appeal to me too much. At least it gives me an idea of consistency between cylinders.

Here are the compressions I got:
1: 134
2: 147
3: 133
4: 133
5: 133
6: 130
7: 148
8: 131

I think from what I've learned so far, it looks like a lifter problem and the compression readings give me a pretty good feeling that I don't also have a bottom end problem.

Anything else I can do to learn more before committing to cam/lifters?

Was that rocker that barely moved loose, like you could rock it by hand? If yes, then it's the lifter. If no, it's tight and it moves just a little while cranking, then I'm thinking that the cam lobe is ground down and opens the valve just enough for the compression test to work but not enough for it to run properly. Check the oil and oil filter for iron metal bits.

I took another look and that rocker that's barely moving is very loose. So I think that narrows it down to the lifter. The oil looks good although I haven't cut open the filter.

I just looked at the filter and it looks good too.

So I've started to look into a DOD delete. My goal for this car is to gain some power over stock, keep it friendly and reliable for a DD and keep the drivetrain fairly stock. Following the DOD delete, I'll probably upgrade the exhaust to get a little more sound but mostly to take advantage of a little hotter cam. I'd prefer to use the stock TC. I may go for a lower diff depending on how it performs with a new cam.

I talked to a local speed shop today. They recommended a BTR stage 2 cam, delete kit, lifters, ARP bolts, springs, pushrods and gaskets etc. They quoted parts at $1,800, labor $2,000-2,500 and dyno tune at $700. So $4,500-$5,000 total. Seems kinda steep to me but it is a pretty complete package I think.

Thoughts?

The prices are what they are I guess. I think you can do a lot better for the hardware at Texas-Speed or Summit, or or or. If you did it yourself and had 2G's left in your pocket.... These LS engines are fun to play with. If you can drag an unsuspecting victim with you on your adventure, it's even more fun.

The tune is something else you can possibly manage although there is a learning curve. Many folks that have paid for a tune seem to be very unhappy. The car will quarter mile wonderfully but drive-ability sucks. I think this is due to the time-consuming nature of good tuning: testing and re-testing areas in all of the tables to adjust that correspond to varying driving conditions (including weather). The guy running the dyno can "fix" all your full throttle runs but won't spend the time to optimize 30% throttle, 2nd gear, up hill at 80 degrees F. The number of "driving conditions" is nearly limitless and the more you go through testing and tuning, the better your results get. I am very pleased with "Goat Rope Garage" on youtube. That guy has tons of videos that will teach you what need to know. Alternatively, he'll do it for you remotely - I think his price is $600.

Good luck!

For a tune I would look for a a tuner that has worked with the G8 and Caprice platforms and has developed tunes for everyday driving along with wide open throttle. I actually asked my tuner what he had the best drivability success with as far as a cam, before I chose a cam. His experience over several years with the G8's probably helped to work out any bugs and/or transmission issues. I used HP Tuners as a data logger and tune interface. Chris Henry Motorsports is who I used. I ended up with a BTR Stage 1 cam.

Regards,
Maurice

I second Chris Henry. He tuned me with bolt-ons. I highly recommend. Excellent driveability. I am in the middle of a DOD delete / cam swap (BTR LS3 stage 2) right now and will use him again when I am ready.