onevoice |
09-04-2018 01:31 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Kelsey
(Post 10166748)
The rod bolt definitely broke and I will post a pic of it, as soon as I can get into daylight.
If the rod bolt was too loose, then I think we would have heard a horrible clatter, before the explosion and Im told there was no such indication. Which leads me to suspect the rod bolt failed from a material breach or a torque problem at assembly. I have not opened the motor to have a look inside yet.
My hope through appealing to you guys, is not so much to pass blame but rather to hopefully get some informed advice from anyone who may have gone through something similar (my sincere sympathies) and go about the correction process as sensibly and frugally as possible. If there is a reasonable ownership that should be taken here, I would like that to be honored by the responsible party, but until I get more diagnosis, (and perhaps even with it) I think it's is going to be difficult to pin this issue on one person or event.
Assuming the heads and the top of the motor are all fine, what parts do you suspect I will need to replace? Or what alternate engine configurations are worth considering at this point? Is the case salvageable with a good aluminum welder?
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I have had this happen to a race motor, it sucks. Rod bolts break because they are over stressed, either from installation error(low probability), or material issue(if real ARP-very low to zero probability), or over revs(most likely).
Given 18 months from build to failure, you can pretty much eliminate the engine builder. Even if he made a mistake, it's too late to prove it with any certainty. If you are reasonably certain you haven't done anything (the flywheel could point to you), the most likely culprit is the current shop. Over revved it on the first test drive and took it out to make sure it was ok, again, no way to prove anything so a dead end.
As to what is damaged, it could be a lot. If the intermediate shaft got destroyed, all the valves could be bent, and possible the heads also. When I did something similar, I had nothing left but an intake manifold and carb. Even cracked the trans case. No way to tell till you look inside.
On the other hand, an optimist would say maybe everything can be saved. But you would have to have multiple lottery winner good luck. Most likely the entire crankcase and everything inside is junk, as is at least one cylinder/piston/head. If your heads are good, an engine builder would be your best bet in finding what you need.
Best to start looking for a complete engine
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