A Muscle Car Slept With the Fishes
Previously, we covered a teardown of a 6.2-liter L99 V8 from a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS, which revealed that some of its internals held up despite the vehicle being submerged in the Ohio River for nearly four years. The Camaro’s fate appeared suspicious because the engine had a missing pushrod, raising the possibility of insurance fraud.
Aside from the engine, Eric from I Do Cars recently tore down the 6L80E transmission that came with it. The 6L80E is a 6-speed automatic transmission built by General Motors to handle 400 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque from the V8. Would he also find something suspicious inside the gearbox? Spoiler alert: the transmission had not fared much better.
Rust in Peace
Right off the bat, the transmission was heavily rusted and corroded, making it more difficult to remove the bolts from the pan. Once the pan was removed, a foul smell greeted him, along with a buildup of sediment and a damaged filter. Interestingly, though, the TEHCM (Transmission Electro-Hydraulic Control Module) initially looked relatively intact.
Perhaps the remaining transmission fluid coated some of the components and helped limit the corrosion. Others, however, were in extremely poor condition, including the 3-5-R clutch drum. This prompted Eric to conclude that virtually none of the internals would be salvageable for his auto-parts business, unlike some components from the L99 V8. The friction plates also showed signs of sitting in one position for an extended period, creating distinct “shadowing” against the steel plates.
Despite being submerged for years, a Snap-on Solus scanner surprisingly communicated with the TCM (Transmission Control Module). It confirmed that fault codes were stored and displayed some module information.
This One Was Exactly as Bad as It Looked
Nothing suspicious emerged during the teardown beyond the extensive damage expected after years underwater. Still, it was interesting to see what happens to a transmission when a car somehow finds itself in a river.
Eric suspected that the V8 had a lifter issue that would have been costly to repair. He theorized that someone may have removed the pushrod to stop the ticking before sending the Camaro into the water, potentially allowing it to be reported stolen and declared a total loss. The Carfax report reportedly listed the theft report and total-loss designation on the same date.
The L99/6L80E was offered in the fifth-gen Camaro through 2015. Chevrolet ended sixth-gen production after the 2024 model year, but reports suggest the nameplate could return on an updated rear-wheel-drive platform shared with the next Cadillac CT5.
