BLACK BEAST BUILD Slicktop R-Spec

Could also be worn cam caps.

 

A warped head will usually break cams between journals, not at the extremities.

 

just got this back from Brett Dempsey when I asked about the the weight of the series 2 gears as I knew they were heavier than series 1.

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Rob,

Wow, that?s incredible. The ?94+ gears are about one pound heavier than the ?90-?93 type, but I doubt that was the reason for the break. My guess is the band machined into the cam journal to allow the oil to flow into the hole had a stress riser it in and that lead to the eventual break. Did the bore in the head get mangled when the cam let loose?

The Ferrea springs will typically install around 80 lbs so you shouldn?t have a problem with them.

 

HAve you been back to JWT about this? whos to say the cam blank didnt have a flaw. Nothing like a high revving track day to show up faults in an engine.

The comments in this thread now have me a bit worried. I have my new forged engine here for the race car. Rebuilt but never started. I dont know if its been balanced etc etc.

I am starting to beleive i have to rip it apart and check a few more things out in case it wasnt by the previous builder.

If the crank counterweights look machined, it maybe the only way I can tell it its already been done.

Still a risk.

 

Sorry for off topic post Black Beast

Tecky mate
Honestly if you have any doubt at all tear it down & check EVERYTHING!

I recently spent a heap of time on a customers car sorting out two issues caused by the engine builder who wasn't involved with the installation of his build.

1st issue we found by fluke, the timing belt tensioner couldn't handle the valve springs & cams etc & was causing the belt to flap at idle. When I took the covers off the belt to fit a custom tensioner (that I make myself) I found one inlet cam retarded by one tooth.
I had to ponder if this had jumped one tooth or if it was built wrong to start off with, I figured if I timed it correctly once started we would see if it had been tuned like this at least. Sure enough I timed the cams correctly & fired it up - ran like a bag of three legged dogs :bash:

Engine builder had screwed up, engine tuner had not picked the fault (even though they knew manifold pressure at idle was no good) & so they tuned it with one cam one tooth out :bash:

2nd issue appeared when we tried to tune the car (correctly), she would not go over 12PSI boost no mater what was tried, I get the call to come have a look, get there & have a nosey around, took all of about 30 seconds to see the boost outlet flange from the RHS turbo had three loose bolts & had blown the gasket out
Easy enough to find the fault, now comes the hard part:
The turbo had been clocked slightly wrong & it was nearly impossible to get the third bolt undone because the exh manifold heat shield was directly over the top of it :bash:
Two hours later the gasket is replaced & the tune continues.

large costs incurred by the customer that could have been avoided had the installer of the engine checked a few things BEFORE fitting the engine.
(what a fricken novel I just wrote!! yes I am having some vodkas tonight )

I would tear the engine apart and check every thing, bearing clearances, piston to bore clearance (see my dead motor ), valve train assembly, balance of internal parts etc etc etc.
It's damn cheap to do this compared to pulling the engine & replacing seriously busted parts ( see my dead motor )

 

I bought the cams over 2 years ago but only had them in and running for a year .they are regrinds so not from new blanks ..Wouldn't even bother taking it up with them after 2 years.

Personally I would recheck your engine before you get it going .I've just pulled mine apart and not happy with the last mechanics work ..silicone city on all gaskets.bad workmanship.
Never would of known unless it was apart.

 

your not using a Ebay UDP... my turbo guy has a few stories of zed engines being destroyed because of harmonics caused by udps

 

yeah it is an ebay one but the timing marks were put on and checked.

will be going with a ross dampner on my next build just in case

 

condolences udp strikes again

 

Yes, I have a ROSS balancer to put on mine.

I fear you guys are right. I am going to have to pull the engine apart before it has been started and recheck everything for my own piece of mind.

may pull the crank and slide the pistons out the bottom so i dont lose the head gaskets.

 

You can't pull the pistons out the bottom tekky, they won't fit past the webbing in the block. Strip it into a million bits and go thru everything. It is only going to cost a gasket set, piston rings and maybe some machine time.

 

( sorry to hijack your thread beast )

Eric, I am more concerned about balancing issues and piston to bore clearances for the forged pistons.

Got any ideas how to check this without a disassembly ??

 

here are my headgaskets ..they sealed perfectly

They are reusable GREDDY METALS..(well thats what I payed for over $500 but never got to see the packaging).

A quick measurement came to 89mm bore and 1.2mm thickness

second time I have used them on current blown motor due to idler pulley failing first time .

Anyone know how many times they can be reused?

 

disassemble! you dont want my headaches

 

Reading yours and Mungy's threads scares the crap out of me

I dont have the time or the money to be ripping engines apart again after assembly/machining failures.

 

Tekky, you are not going to get any accurate measurements with out pulling the pistons. Did you buy the engine built, or have it built?

Black beast, your headgaskets can be reused depending on the condition of them, check them very thoroughly before you clean them for any signs of leaks, and again after you clean them for marks, nicks, seperation between layers and straightness.

 

The engine was already rebuilt and sitting in the engine bay when I bought it as a partially finished project.

I have used the borscope and have looked into valve ports and also the combustion chambers and expect to remove it and the sump before I fit it back in. ( I also have a windage kit to put on the engine but have to cut and shut the sump )

from what I can see the valves are Ferrera ( the exhausts are NOT Inconell thats for sure)

Unsure of brand of pistons but they are forged and new. Can't tell what the rods are till I pull the sump.

Oil pump doesnt look new. I was going to pull it and send it to the States to be modded.

I have no idea if the lifters are rebuilt or new till I pull the covers. I have a set of JWT R5's to go back in as well as JWT springs etc.

So in all its a bit of a mystery box. Unused but unknown.

 

lower plenum

I noticed on my lower plenum signs of wear at the inlet ports.. At first I thought it was normal as I checked other lower plenums at UAS and all had the same thing ..but then saw some ports that weren't worn.

Then I came to thinking is this due to fuel erosion from injector spray over 20 years?

you can see in pics some worse than others

 

That is just mis-matches in the casting process. You can see on the worst one how high up the intake port the plenum runner is compared to some of the others.

 

Such misalignment would have to create a chunky step between manifolds, is this one too far out to be a prime candidate in a performance build ?

Have chunks been coming off and into the motor or is how they were when it was originally made ?

Edited: bit about sealing mark, second look says it not that.