CRAP!! My blown head gasket is the least of my problems.........

Finally got some time to take the driver's side head off and look what I found. It looks like it happened quite a while ago. And the car was still running 12.0's. Anybody got a spare +.030 TRW piston????

Well, I'm definitely not going to be making it down to the Nationals now to race. This engine is coming out and I'm going to start making preparations to put it in the Regal. Maybe I can get the original engine back in. But I doubt it. The wife has me in the middle of a makeover of the house complete with repainting everything, new floor and counter in the kitchen, etc. GGRRRRRR!

I guess I'll take my heads up and have them cleaned up and flow tested to get them ready for sale.

 

Ouch!

 

New head gasket, bolt it back together and run 12.0s. Worked before, it'll get you through the Nationals.

 

Any idea on the cause ? Detonation ? Lean condition ? John B. ou: What a bummer.

 

Typical detonation damage on that particular piston.

bummer..

Time for a freshen up..

JW

 

I will say that I must have hit the tip of the spark plug when I put it in because the gap was all but zero. There may have been an accumulation of fuel in the cylinder and then boom! I hadn't touched the engine in about 5 years, so God only knows when it happened. It did sound like I had a lifter tick there. Guess not.

 

If I recall correctly, didn't you say that you have a stock fuel system, with a STG 1 pump, and it was laying down on the top end?

If so, then you were leaning it out, and that is the most likely cause of the detonation and resulting engine damage.

I think your going to find some copper colored bearings in the bottom end there..

You can just buy 1 new piston from Fed-Mogul.

JW

 

The heat and forces during detonation can close the gap even without piston failure.

Devon

 

I have posted that I thought the car was laying down on the top end. I was going to add an electric pump at the back and close off the return line. No sense doing it now. Running 11.86 at 111 to 112 mph, does the mph match up to the times?

 

Hey Phil,
Look at the good side, at least it didn't let go going down the track on one of those 11.80 runs. Not bad for 5 years of flogging. I'd say you did a good job putting it together. Time for a major overhaul with a new set of aluminum heads!!! Don't tell your wife I said that.

 

Not going to make it? You have 5 weeks. I spun a bearing on a Sunday night 10 days before the Nationals and made it. :TU:

 

Hey Glen, yeah the aluminum heads are definitely in my future. I'm just not sure if I should get the Stage 1's from T/A or just some Edelbrock's and have someone port them. I only get out a couple of times a year to the track, so I don't want to have a $10K+ engine in the car.

Looks like I'll be coming over to get the cherry picker a little sooner than I planned.

 

How about some TA's and have someone port them? :birthday:

 

Phil, I would say a bigger fuel system is in order. If the budget allows it check out these guy's http://www.aeromotiveinc.com/d_systems.php?systemdisplay=carb great guys to deal with. These are only my thoughts on what I have seen and picked up on. There is a point at which are stock stage1 fuel systems max out, and if I had to pick a HP # I would say it becomes a problem around 450hp range give or take. It makes a difference also if your using a holley carb vs a Q-jet, with the q-jet being a bigger problem because of one tiny fuel bowl vs two fuel bowls on the holley, hence why SA cars fight so hard to keep the Q-jet fuel bowl full. Mechanical pumps are great until you hit the magic # and lets face it we know they can have problems with the transferal of engine heat or heat soak because of the pump being mount to the side of the hot engine. Another problem is because the pump is sucking (vacuum)through a long fuel line from the back of the car the fuel tends to vaporize easier then it does when it is getting pushed (pressure)from the back of the car.

Pusher pumps, if your border line with your stage1 pump a pusher pump could pick up the slack a bit but I don't like them because the pusher pump is trying to work against the diaphragm (restriction) and can cause failure and leak fuel into the crank case, and yes it has happened. Doug Roe also cautions this problem. Also we are back to heating the fuel up again (heat transfer from the block), not only are you heating the fuel with the mechanical pump but also with the self bypassing electric pump.

No matter what system you are using, on acceleration all the fuel in your fuel system wants to go towards the back of your car, hence why on harder leaving cars you also need to use jet extentions on the secondary jets. So all that fuel in the fuel line is trying to head back to the tank, it is much easier to over come that with a pump at the back of the car creating a higher pressure to help push the fuel forward to the regulator that is mounted in front of the carb and what the engine can't use it will then be returned to the tank via the return line off reg.

Phil, I'm sorry to see your having engine problems. You have been beating on it for 5 years in a big heavy tank. Who ever screwed it together should be proud:beers2: You posted that your are going to buy some TA heads, great choice, I would go with the stage1 SE's so that you can use your intake and headers and don't get to crazy with the compression and cam size or you will be showing us pics of your new broken bottom end next time:Brow: what ever you do buy a good fuel system to go with them:TU: Sorry I got carried away, I'm not trying to hi-jack your thread... Chris

 

How would one prevent such a thing from happening?Are there tell tale signs?

 

Looks like thanks to the generosity of another board member, I'll get a replacement piston for the cost of shipping. :3gears:

 

The "peppered" look on the insulator can be the earliest sign. You might see this before anything is audible. The dark flakes are aluminum deposits...tiny flecks from the piston crown.



Devon