A Lil Different Bottom End Failure

My Buddy Kenny's kids grew up with/in Woody just like mine did their last 6 or so years during their 'formative years' so when Kenny was taking his two daughters (now 15 and 17) and a few of their friends to a concert a couple months ago they asked if they could go in Woody. Sure, why not? At 8 something he called me and said Woody was making "a funny noise" from the engine. I said whatever, just drive it easy. at 1030 after the concert he called again to say that Woody was dead beside the road. I go out there and AAA flatbed him to my shop, push him into a dark corner and wait til I have time to open the motor.

The other day my Bro and I had time to pull the head. I gotta say, I've never seen a failure like this before. Keep in mind, the block is NOT windowed and the oil pan is intact.(in fact the cylinder bore actually looks unscathed. Masi motor going in next so whatever. Enjoy...

EDIT: Looks like one pic down the bore after I pulled the piston(was just sitting in there loose) didn't come out but thee is NO EVIDENCE of a conn rod on that journal at all. It's just gone, all of it. Head is also untouched, I*'m cleaning it up and using it on a certain red Omni that needs one.

Wicked!

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That is very interesting.

Alan, when you and your friends f*ck stuff up, you do it right!!!

That's different. Do you think it could be from overreving?

Its hard to believe you can have a failure like that and NOT destroy the head and that cylinder bore! That is extremely lucky!
What did that rod look like?
And those were the stock pistons? Or had you replaced them?

looks to me like the upper ring is to tight and cracked the land..... do you know what gap it was set to and how much HP are you making (or estimate)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wheming

Its hard to believe you can have a failure like that and NOT destroy the head and that cylinder bore! That is extremely lucky!
What did that rod look like?
And those were the stock pistons? Or had you replaced them?

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What rod? There isn't one:lol: In this pic all I've done is lift out what was left of the piston(which was just sitting in there loosely). Where's the rod? it's gone;) Keep in mind that neither the block or pan is windowed or leaking any oil. That's strange to me, how does the rod come off the crank completely and not exit the motor even if it's just a small hole or a crack?? I haven't pulled the pan yet but I did drain the oil and cut the filter open.Very little in the way of chunks at all! Some metal grit but not nearly the outpouring of reciprocating fragments I expected:confused:! So to address the over rev question, heck I think if anything the motor was at idle or practically so when it let go. If I forgot to include it, this is a stock bottom 2.5 bottom end with about 165K miles. Top end was extensively reworked about 5-7K miles ago with modified Mitsu, TVL ported big valve head, V6 necked one piece Intake Mani, ported EX, and dual core IC.

I wonder what the pan will look like when you pull it. This reminds me of when Jon Trotter had a rod go in his GLHS and it shattered into a million pieces causing relatively little damage for how fantastically the rod came apart.

Do you have one of those magnetic "pens" that are like an old radio antenna? Lets you reach in there and extract some pieces?

Or maybe that cylinder never had a rod from the factory? ;)
Saved 25% of the cost of rods...

It came apart either TDC or BDC, IMHO.

The Daytona I parted out last year had the exact same failure. Number three piston crown was left in the cylinder, the skirt and rod were in the pan. It looked identical to your photos.
That engine was a reman with thin rods.

Wow. Rod's gotta be in the pan, right? Forty years ago I had a Norton piston that cracked horizontally and the lower half just kept going up and down, pushing the crown up into the head where the valves would open and push it back down and so on. Bent valves of course but cylinder and rod OK.