Fresh block needs machined again. Out of $ and need advice..

[little-razcal]

Here is the rundown.....this may be a little long..

I gathered parts for two years to finally get the car up and running about a month ago. I was planning on going a little more stout on the bottom end, but chose to use a already assembled new JAM Eagle/Wiseco shortblock I had laying around. I paired this with a Curt Brown head with high hopes it would hold true and get me in at least the bottom 10's.. I've spent a ton of money and time building this car and now I'm kinda back to square one.
I was battling an very wired fuel issue for the first few miles from startup, but I was able to get it running good enough on SD to seat the rings and such. After 40 miles my compression was a solid 165 across the board. I was extremely happy with those numbers and knew after breaking in the motor more, the numbers would jump up a little. (8.3:1)
Anyway..a week ago I finally got her running right and was finally able to hit a little WG pressure set at 18lbs.. Let me tell you I was like a kid in a candy store when she ran the way she was supposed to. She ripped pretty good on the HTA3586 and this just at 18lbs, so I was thinking everything finally was gonna pay off from all my hard work come March when the tracks open. This is primarily a track car BTW with a CM 10 point, KELFORD 280's, JMF Drag, HTA3586 , SLS T3, Kiggly's, Shep 4, QM, DSS HD, ETS 4", ect.. So to make a long story short...this happened last week.

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I had purchased a used set of Ksports to run the QTP's this spring, and they sat really low. I didn't think nothing of it as I was only driving around town and planned on getting my alignment done the next day. Well this cost me big time.

Pulling out of a gas station, the oil cooler line contacted ground and split the oil cooler itself. I had no idea this happened and was busy watching my laptop for a wierd phantom knock issue and I was busy dialing in my SD table watching combined fuel trims. The last 3 weeks I steady watched my oil pressure gauge and was very cautious of everything. The one time I'm not looking at it, everything goes to hell. In just .8 mile of speeds under 30mph cruising through town, my motor locked. At first when she died at the light I figured it was because of the usual stall I was experiencing from pushing in the clutch to fast when coming to a stop. (QM and no ISC) But after trying to start her again the clutch felt like it was dragging and I could feel movement in my foot as I cranked!! This later I found was the crank chewing up the thrust from lack of oil. I looked over at the oil pressure and sure enough... ZERO....
Jumped out and found the cooler dripping what was left of five quarts of VR1.
HOLY SHITTTT...40 MILES and now this..

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After taking it back home and stewing in my crap for a few days, I decided to pull the motor and see what was the damage.

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# 4 rod bearing seized to the crank

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#4 main and #3 main got chewed up pretty bad but didn't spin..

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Thrust got ate up on clutch side..

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Crank damage , #4 main, #3 main, #4 rod, thrust face

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Main bore looks good..besides the few bearings themselves

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Cylinder Walls look pretty good with lots of crosshatch and very very small scratches in #3 near the bottom. I can't even catch with fingernail.

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#3

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The head is fine, the cams actually show very little wear and the oil pump is ok. Thank god the motor didn't skip a few teeth when she locked or I would be parting the car out at this point. The turbo had an inline filter and seems fine as well. I think that actually loosing oil the way I did protected the top end from getting bearing material sent through the top end. The bearing damage happened from lack of oil, so no material was pumped into the head. This is one good thing that came from this. So now I'm trying to figure what I need and don't need, and what I can and can't use again. I have no money now and struggled to get this thing together finally, so I am hoping this is gonna be an easy rebuild. I have quite a few questions Is like to get your opinions on before I drop it off to get machine work done. Guys I'm sorry for this long ass post. I know its annoying and hard on the eyes. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't one of those asking things with no pictures and details. If its ok I'm going to make a list of questions Is like some help on. I plan on dropping the shortblock off at the machine shop today, so any help ASAP would be greatly appreciated. Any more questions you guys have for me, just ask.

Q..

1). Considering the rings are practically brand new and had perfect compression, can I reuse them in the same cylinders? This will save me 100$. If I get just a light hone will I still need new rings?

2.) Do I need to get an align hone on the main bore if I had one done not 40mi ago and the bearings didn't spin on the mains?

3). Does this sound right for machine work? What else should I have done?
Crank polished, maybe a light hone, clean block, resurface..
I really don't think it needs much more. The main thing I'm wondering is if I need the crank cut .010" from the damage. I know people frown on that, but this is my only crank and I know many people who have done this for years with no problems.

4.) Would you hone again on a 40mi old motor?


Those questions came out wierd and not the best sounding, but you get my point. Basically I'm tapped out both mentally and financially and I'm hoping this can be a quick fix considering the motor was running fine and was brand new before the oil lose. I already need a new rod, headgasket, all new engine gaskets, machine work, maybe rings, rod bearings, main bearings, ect.. and this is gonna cost me a good chunk just getting this back together.
Any advice would be appreciated. Sorry for the long post. I actually did all this on my phone, cause my computer is broken.( shit took forever)..

 

[bryanwheat]

If the mains didn't spin than you will be fine without a line hone. I would definetly re-hone the block and buy a new set of rings without a doubt. You also need to mount the new oil cooler higher so that this is not a possibility again in the future. You are going to want to have the block cleaned well, and have the oil passages cleaned. I would more closely inspect the oil pump also. That is usually the first thing to get damaged from debris in the oil because the oil to the pump is not filtered. I would also replace those rods with the heat damage that they have.

 

[99gst_racer]

For future reference: Never install coolers with the fittings down. It allows hot air to be trapped in the top of the core. Always install the cooler with the fittings pointing up or to the side.

 

[little-razcal]

Yea the cooler is going bye bye.. I really just threw it on there to get the thing running while I was waiting on my new hose to come in. Little did I know Is be in this position.

Won't honing the cylinders again put the PTW out of spec? Ive talked with a few people that say reuse the rings I have as long as you put it in the same cylinder. If I get a hone, do I need new rings regardless? Sorry for all the q's..

Oh and for future reference to others on my end: If you plan on running open downpipe, be prepared not to hear a single thing with the motor if something happens. The droan is just to loud. I had no idea I was spinning a bearing. The car is just obnoxious.. Muffler is going strait on next time immediately.

 

[bryanwheat]

Yea the cooler is going bye bye.. I really just threw it on there to get the thing running while I was waiting on my new hose to come in. Little did I know Is be in this position.

Won't honing the cylinders again put the PTW out of spec? Ive talked with a few people that say reuse the rings I have as long as you put it in the same cylinder. If I get a hoone, do I need new rings regardless? Sorry for all the q's..

Oh and for future reference to others on my end: If you plan on running open downpipe, be prepared not to hear a single thing with the motor if something happens. The droan is just to load. I had no idea I was spinning a bearing. The car is just obnoxious.. Muffler is going strait on next time immediately.

Just a mild hone might take .0005 out of it at the most. You just want to make sure that there is a nice surface for the rings to seat to. I would replace the rings regardless if i pulled apart. For the price and the extra assurance that you won't be pulling it apart again it is well worth it.

 

[Tfitch90]

If you got your stuff from JAM I would call them and let them know your stuation. He might work deals with you since you worked with them before. I got my work done at jacksons Tony is a pretty cool guy and easy to work with.

 

[T is for TURBO]

Damn. Sorry to hear about it. I guess I will definatly be moving my oil cooler a bit higher than it is currently, as mine is pretty close to the ground too

Best of luck man.

 

[JacksonAuto]

Give me a call on Monday. The rods and crank are junk for sure. There's a slim chance that the pistons are ok and if the mains didn't spin then the block may still be usable. I'm sure I have a core crank and maybe a set of rods to get you back on the road.

 

[spyder1219]

Hate to say it but thanks for the early warning to spin my cooler up and around. You get it back on the road yet?