Sorry that I haven't updated this thread in awhile. There has been a LOT going on and I was waiting for everything to shake out.
** CAUTION ** TURN BACK NOW ** GRAPHIC ENGINE FAILURE PIC'S ** YOU WERE WARNED **
Unfortunately, my engine failed
again during the first practice session at the PCA Willow Springs race. The engine suffered a catastrophic rod bearing failure. Since the complete rebuild in August, it only had 300-400 miles of street/freeway driving and 1.2 hrs of track time.
This was my 3rd engine failure in 5 months. To review; the first failure was in May - lifter failure. The engine was rebuilt but failed in June due to another lifter failure. Then the engine was then entirely rebuilt again in August using brand new lifters and lifter carriers to prevent a repeat of failure #2.
From my point of view while driving, it felt like the engine was low on power exiting Turn 3 and going up the hill into Turn 4. After coming down the hill and through Turns 5 and 6, the engine made a big bad noise, immediately shutdown, and spewed oil all over the track before the Turn 7 kink. The time between noticing low power and total engine failure was around 20 seconds.
This engine was a total loss (not rebuildable). And no, there isn't any warranty on engines used for racing. Ouch. That hurt. $eriously hurt.
As a result of the down time from engine failures #1 and #2, I had previously decided that I couldn't stand to be down for months due to an engine failure so I had already purchased a used engine (92K mile Tip) as a backup - I just didn't plan to need it quite this soon!
But being prepared for just this occurrence meant that the used engine could be swapped into the car in a couple of weeks rather than waiting 2+ months for a rebuild.
I specifically chose a high mileage Tip engine for two reasons; one, if the IMS made it this far, it is probably ok. Two, my theory is that Tip drivers may not rev the engine as much as a typical manual driver so the engine may have had a little easier life.
I plan to have the used engine dyno tested to see how the power compares to the original and rebuilt engines and will report back.
The replacement engine was also fairly cheap (around $4K including the labor to perform the swap) as compared to a full professional rebuild ($14K+).
With all of that being said, this update ends with the car running again and ready for more action.
Stay tuned for a special announcement coming in early December regarding 2015...
Intermix coming out the
intake ports is never a good sign....
Lots of debris in the pan...
Missing a nice big piece of the cylinder and the case (directly above the missing cylinder)...
Broken camshaft, bent valves...
This is what was left of the rod and piston...
Crankshaft damage indicates a rod bearing failure...
