Damaged Wiseco Pistons (Not Pretty)

[TSIturbo91]

What is your recommended ptw clearance for a hot street motor? How about rod to pin, and piston to pin?

I've got around a little 10k on my shortblock so far, and just had the pan off not that long ago. My pistons looked good inside, but I didn't look that closely. Now I'm paranoid and feel like I should take it apart and check it over good.

I as well would like to know that. I'm in the middle of negotiating a long block purchase with a guy thats got wisco pistons in it. This could be very helpful info for a lot of us.

 

[bastarddsm]

When I was building mine, Wiseco told me 0.0045" ptw for my application. And thats what it was when I assembled it.

 

[VTEC_THIS]

When I was building mine, Wiseco told me 0.0045" ptw for my application. And thats what it was when I assembled it.

The current piston to wall clearance is at .0080" but that is after the fact - the pistons cracked and shrank. The original PTW clearance was supposed to be .0035" on this application I believe.

I really don't belive this was a PTW clearance issue - there was no evidence of any cylinder wall scuffing or scoring and as for the pistons themselves, only the completely broken piston had any up and down scuff marks on it. The rest of the pistons were fine (with the exception of the stress cracks).

 

[JacksonAuto]

I really don't belive this was a PTW clearance issue - there was no evidence of any cylinder wall scuffing or scoring and as for the pistons themselves, only the completely broken piston had any up and down scuff marks on it. The rest of the pistons were fine (with the exception of the stress cracks).

The fact that the coating is worn off of the skirts says otherwise. It is a sacrificial coating.

 

[crash89]

Any idea how many miles (roughly) were on this motor? Im about to assemble my eagle/wiseco motor in a couple weeks and this isnt very reassuring.

 

[tron2119]

Any idea how many miles (roughly) were on this motor? Im about to assemble my eagle/wiseco motor in a couple weeks and this isnt very reassuring.

''The engine had exactly 13,500 miles on it when it happened.''

 

[VTEC_THIS]

I contacted Wiseco today and they gave me a RMA number to send the pistons in for inspection and possible warranty. I shipped them out today, I'll keep you guys updated.

 

[Sebba]

I'd be very surprised if they offered you anything.

 

[VTEC_THIS]

I'd be very surprised if they offered you anything.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Do you have any personal experience with Wiseco's RMA process?

 

[Sebba]

No, I don't.

I see signs of user error, and so will they.

 

[VTEC_THIS]

The error being?

 

[jrohner]

Mine were all cracked in the same place as well on my 2G. I had the worst luck imaginable with 2-stroke Wiseco pistons over the years, so the only reason my car even had them is because it's how I bought the car. When I was researching pistons online, cracking there seemed to be common with Wisecos.

No, I don't.

I see signs of user error, and so will they.

Main error being... using Wisecos instead of something else.

 

[Chrispy0530]

Subbed. I myself am thinking of going a 2.4 with Wiseco's and Eagle as a setup. Will be interesting to see what they say about the damage.

 

[VTEC_THIS]

Main error being... using Wisecos instead of something else.

Ha ha!

Subbed. I myself am thinking of going a 2.4 with Wiseco's and Eagle as a setup. Will be interesting to see what they say about the damage.

I'm curious myself - I had just ordered Wiseco 1400HDs for our stroker build right before this happened!

 

[jrohner]

Subbed. I myself am thinking of going a 2.4 with Wiseco's and Eagle as a setup. Will be interesting to see what they say about the damage.

My 10:1 2.4 is going to be a Manley/Eagle setup most likely.



I've ran Wisecos in quite a few 2-strokes, and now 1 car. I've never had a Wiseco piston NOT FAIL.

 

[nitrouskris]

I have seen HD do the same thing.

wiseco in the past has replaced pistons for me, so you should be good

 

[jrohner]

I have seen HD do the same thing.

wiseco in the past has replaced pistons for me, so you should be good

They welded and re-nicasiled my KX125 cylinder & gave me a new piston once, although I did miss the whole season waiting to get it back.

I had the cylinder redone myself because of a Wiseco piston failure, then it happened again right away, so I sent it to them and they fixed it, and then it was shot again in 1 ride (like an hour) but didn't damage the cylinder, so I then replaced with an OEM piston and I then had more compression, power, and reliability than I did with any of the Wisecos.

 

[VTEC_THIS]

My 10:1 2.4 is going to be a Manley/Eagle setup most likely.

Ah, you have the luxury of running E85 I'm assuming? Our setup is regular 93 octane only for the time being. It's pretty hard to find any stations with E85 by us.

I have seen HD do the same thing.

wiseco in the past has replaced pistons for me, so you should be good

That's reassuring, thank you. I guess we'll have to see what happens. Like I said, I will keep this thread updated.

 

[jrohner]

Ah, you have the luxury of running E85 I'm assuming? Our setup is regular 93 octane only for the time being. It's pretty hard to find any stations with E85 by us.

Yeah, I have E85 pumps everywhere near me and wouldn't even think of running anything else.

Our 'premium' is an impressive 91 octane here.

That's reassuring, thank you. I guess we'll have to see what happens. Like I said, I will keep this thread updated.

The bad part of that is you'll then have Wisecos again. If you have the money, I'd buy something else and just sell the Wisecos IF they do replace them.

 

[VTEC_THIS]

The bad part of that is you'll then have Wisecos again.

You guys are cracking me up!

 

[Sebba]

From the massive scuffing I would guess the piston to wall clearance is to blame. The skirt coating is completely gone, and it shouldn't be. Incorrect clearance will do those things to a piston.

 

[eclipse001]

Any idea how many miles (roughly) were on this motor? Im about to assemble my eagle/wiseco motor in a couple weeks and this isnt very reassuring.

Same here i have a wiseco 9.1/manley rods built motor thats ready to drop in and i hate seeing stuff like this. Its my "built" motor and im nervous something bad will happen

 

[VTEC_THIS]

From the massive scuffing I would guess the piston to wall clearance is to blame. The skirt coating is completely gone, and it shouldn't be. Incorrect clearance will do those things to a piston.

Gotcha. Thank you.

 

[Sebba]

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Looks like temps got a little crazy too judging by the amount of crap built up around the wrist pin. Maybe the skirt coating decided to relocate .

Do you keep an eye on your oil temps?

You guys are cracking me up!

Guess Wisecos aren't all they're cracked up to be?

 

[JacksonAuto]

I don't see how you could possibly blame this failure on the piston. Not to mention there are tons of engines out there running these same pistons for tens of thousands of miles and they hold up just fine. It all depends on how it's put together.