We got a motor in yesterday that an owner brought in from his rail. It wasn't running quite right, then just stopped altogether.

For starters, the flywheel looked a little worn....



Nice full-flow set-up! The oil cooler wasn't in the shroud either, by the way. It was blocked off with a plate. We might be on to something here:



We popped the head on one side and found the lifter bore needed a little attention. A sign of impending doom:



We popped the other head off and found another small sign that might just tell us a little something out of the ordinary was going on. Notice, if you will, that both pistons are at Bottom Dead Center. This is generally not a good sign.



Yep.

This engine might need a little work.

Let's split the case and find out a little more...

First, let's take a quick peek inside through the oil drain screen opening at the lifters:



Oh boy. That's not good. Maybe we can save the crank?



Maybe not. How about the rods? Can we even get the rod out of the case without a hammer? Notice also, these are H-beam rods? High dollar stuff here!



Nope.

Just for clarification, we didn't actually hammer on this rod except inside where the bearing rides, just to get it loose, and even then, it wasn't much. We hammered the other stuff out of the way to get the rod out of the case. This is PURE, UNADULTERATED CARNAGE. Oh yeah!!!





I think if we really try hard enough, we'll be able to save the drain plug. That's about it.

No amount of JB Weld is going to fix this one.

Who built it? Gremlins? or did someone add a bunch of nuts and bolts to bring the oil up to the "full" mark?

are those like "H" Rods?

Wow...

That is one very expensive paperweight...

You should save that, just to show people what COULD happen...

Dave

GREAT! Now I'm gonna have nightmares!

Mykul wrote:

8O GREAT! Now I'm gonna have nightmares!

Me too

The new " J " rods huh? So it was actually running?

Just another fine example of who not to use to install a VW engine.
That is a travesty. This is VW porn.
DeMello race weight crank

Gene Berg sump nuts.





Pauter rods

Tool steel lifters

Leatherneck wrote:

The new " J " rods huh? So it was actually running?

LOL!

Yes... three H-beams and one J-beam. No. It wasn't running. It was really tough to even get the case apart and remove the rod. It was totally seized.


perrib: NICE STUFF RIGHT THERE!!!

Is that an autostick Dynosoar pump? That's a very curious piece. Used for power steering maybe? What's up with that crazy looking thing? Assuming it's as thick as it must be, how in the world does one even get a pulley on the car? Clue us all in, dude!

Those look like Udo's lifters. I'll get a set of those one day. They're more $$$ than most pay for a case.... even a NICE case! For a race car that will constantly be having the case split, they'd be just the ticket.

I'll ask Santa for a set this year, as I have in many years past. Unfortunately, I just keep getting coal instead!

That DDS dry sump pump is a good 5-6 inches deep. The alternator pulley is smaller to compensate.

Those are Udo Becker lifters. You install them, fire up the engine, let it idle, set timing and co and go for a ride. When using dual or triple springs they are worth every penny they cost.

First set of rods are CB the second are Pauter billet.

Looks like the motor 57baja posted probably either had improper bolt torque, or a failed rod bolt. H-beam rods with after market bolts have a different torque spec than stock rods and that varies by both the manufacturer for the rod AND the bolt. Be careful when you use after market rods, if in doubt call the manufacturer and get it right the first time and avoid your motor looking like the ones in the top pic.

Also if you are re-using a set of after market rods its a good idea to have a bolt stretch gauge to make sure the bolts wont fail.

BugZyla.com wrote:

Looks like the motor 57baja posted probably either had improper bolt torque, or a failed rod bolt. H-beam rods with after market bolts have a different torque spec than stock rods and that varies by both the manufacturer for the rod AND the bolt. Be careful when you use after market rods, if in doubt call the manufacturer and get it right the first time and avoid your motor looking like the ones in the top pic. Also if you are re-using a set of after market rods its a good idea to have a bolt stretch gauge to make sure the bolts wont fail.

That is so true but you like me the first time I read it missed 57's comment in the second picture. There was no oil cooler stock or aftermarket used on the engine. Those parts had no chance at all.

It's hard to say. The rod bolt definitely sheared. The J-beam rod was severely discolored at the top end. The crankcase was filled at least a quart higher than it was supposed to be, smelled very strongly of gasoline, and the oil in it was watery thin. The 3-4 pistons were squeaky clean and shiny, as opposed to the other side. My two guesses, in order:

1) The carburetor malfunctioned on one side of the engine and dumped raw, unmetered fuel into the combustion chamber. This, or course, washed the pistons and cylinders clean, while the rings scraped the gasoline into the engine. Once it got into the oil, it thinned the oil out too much, causing that rod bearing to let loose due to lack of lubrication. Once that happened, the rod bolt failed and BAM!!!

2) Running an engine with no oil cooler would heat the oil up to the point where it would fail, just as mentioned above. Since I haven't seen the car, only the motor, I'd be inclined to just guess the guy took a hose off and connected it to the other fitting to transport the motor. This would also explain the extra oil in the crankcase. I'll find out soon enough. He's going to come by and drop off another engine for us to look at this week.