Wow, I finally got the bottom end apart. I had to take the cam out of the back because it was bent. My guesss is that the #6 rod came loose somehow - either the wristpin jumped ship or the the end of the rod let go - I don't know which happened first. But there was more shrapnel in there than you could get from an Iraqi tank out in the desert!

The piston is SHATTERED, split three ways and the skirts are gone. The #6 rod is bent like a pretzel and after it punched the piston a few times it bent pretty good and wrapped around the outside of the #4 rod! I had a fun time getting those parts out - what a pain in the *** . The factory bolts however were stronger than the rod - the bolt is still in one piece while either side of the rod was ripped off. The crank, surprisingly, weathered the storm seemingly ok. I'm replacing it anyway with a forged piece, but I was still surprised it wasn't cracked after seeing how the rest of the motor came apart.

And the heads are fine too, except for the valves in #6 slapping the piston about 6 times judging from the piston top. But the head castings themselves are undamaged - pending a magnaflux.

This is the first motor I've blown - I think I'll polish up all the shrapnel and mount it on a wall

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1991 RS LT1
every imaginable bolt-on, and an all-forged 355 on the way with an ATI following in '01

2000 C5 Coupe
black/black 6-spd, optional polished rims, 'mostly' stock....

"So what DOES the back of a Mustang look like?"

 

Thanks for the post-analysis!

I've just decided NOT to use these brand new LT4 "pink" rods for my 383, and have just ordered a set of 4340 forged H-beams.

These new LT4 rods are for sale, if you want 'em BTW.

 

Brett...what happened man? You blew your LT1? How in the hell did you do that?

Please explain...

Eric

 

Brett,

I've GOTTA see a picture of that (if you have one).

P.S. Moral of the story, don't spend a lot of cash for aftermarket rod cap bolts, right?

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

I'll have to bust out the camera tomorrow and get some shots developed. Once I scan them how can I post the pictures here?

To tell the truth I don't know 100% how or why it went but I can tell you the story leading up to total failure. I had the car running for about 4 weeks, and 3 weeks before that just sitting in the driveway idling while I tuned it and played with things. When the rod let go the motor had about 500 miles on it while between the 91 fenders on top of it's original 27k. I had driven it basically down to Rt 5 and back several times just cruising. Went to the mall once. Went to my gf's dorm once. In this time I was basically cruising it on the highway - easy driving. The one thing I did that was abusive was a quick burnout down at my gf's school for one of my buddy's. I only tached it to 3500 and it was only about a 5 foot shot. The car was fine driving home after that. Fine the next time I took it out around my neighborhood while I tracked the source of a squeak in my dash. And fine on the trip down (final trip) to get gas at the new Stop & Shop gas station (they were still charging 1.72 for 94 when everyone was charging 1.95 for same). Once I filled up I turned around and was leaving the lot and heard a knock. I pulled over and it went away. So I decided to take Rt 15 back to my house instead of 68 to avoid lights. Got on 15 heading north and made it 1/2 way to my exit and the car started knocking again. Pulled over - went away - started going again. Got as far as about a mile from my house where I went over a bridge over 91. Heard the knock and repeated step 2 (pulled over, etc). Got 200 feet to the stop sign and stopped. Went to go through the sign and noticed fading and no throttle repsonse. Gone about 50 feet from the sign there is no throttle and the motor is now really knocking. I'm already angling for the curb when I look down and see the oil pressure sink past 0. "Aw ****!" I say as I look in my rear and now see a cloud of black oil smoke. I got out (dark now) and flashed the light under the car - sure as hell there's a huge honking hole in the oil pan by the starter and oil was pouring out onto the exhaust.

As I figure it - the engine took a serious smack when it's donor car got side-swiped in the rear by something BIG. So there may have been something damaged but not quite gone until I got it running again. Or maybe it was okay until I did the burnout - but that wasn't anything taxing for the engine, or at least not enough to cause a catastrophic failure like that.
Oh well.

This time around I'm rebuilding it from the ground up. Come to think of it, it won't even be the same engine! New Block, all-new internals, different LT1 heads, but same intake. Only original parts will be sensors, injectors, etc.

Moral of the story (as I see it) - don't buy a used LT1 and swap it into your car and finish everything up without a COMPLETE tear down. All I did was to pull the pan off the bottom and the valve covers off the top. DOH!

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1991 RS LT1
every imaginable bolt-on, and an all-forged 355 on the way with an ATI following in '01

2000 C5 Coupe
black/black 6-spd, optional polished rims, 'mostly' stock....

"So what DOES the back of a Mustang look like?"

[This message has been edited by Brett (edited September 28, 2000).]

 

Ouch Brett...you got the shaft on that deal!

Okay...here's the thing...I got my LT1 out of a wrecked '94 Vette...with 55k on the clock...and it runs like a champ! But...like you, I got screwed shortly after getting it completed. I had driven mine 800 miles when I was run off the freeway at 70+ mph and down into a ravine and over trees...which eventually caused it to roll at the bottom. I walked away completely untouched after the paramedics and police thought I was killed...I am VERY lucky to be alive.

I'll send you pics and the complete story if you'd like Brett...let me know.

Eric

 

Wow, that's a heart-breaker - but the car kept you alive when it mattered. Is the car rebuildable or beyond repair? Right now mine is sitting in the driveway begging for attention.

While I'm waiting for the machine shop I think I'm going to paint the engine bay - it NEEDS it after all the scratches I put everywhere. And I may get the headers hot-coated but we'll see where the funds are around the time the engine comes back.

I'll scan the pics of the busted parts when I get it all developed. But how do I post them here for eveyone?

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1991 RS LT1
every imaginable bolt-on, and an all-forged 355 on the way with an ATI following in '01

2000 C5 Coupe
black/black 6-spd, optional polished rims, 'mostly' stock....

"So what DOES the back of a Mustang look like?"

 

Brett,

Do you have your own web site or page? Your ISP may provide you with several megs of space on their servers as part of your service. You can upload the scanned image files to that space, then provide a link to those files in your posts.

If you have the space and need help posting, I can detail it explicitly. If you don't have server space available, email the files to me an I'll post them from my space. (After all, I asked for them.)

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

Sounds like it spun a bearing, because thats the only knock I know of that comes+goes. Something like a broken wrist pin makes noise all the time. How do I know you ask? Done both myself.

"P.S. Moral of the story, don't spend a lot of cash for aftermarket rod cap bolts, right?"

I wonder about that sometimes. All the rods I have had my hands on that were broken the bolts were intact. Ive seen bent bolts, and ones with parts of the rod missing from the bolt, but never a broken bolt. Added insurance that you dont need I guess

 

Max,

I just threw that one out there because I spent almost 20 years working for a company that made engine fasteners for GM, Ford, and US Honda. I know what goes into them, and just how tough the factory requirements are internal engine fasteners. I've watched the metallurgists study the microcrystalline structure of bolts that failed in test engines. 99.9999% of the failures were from shear, not tensile forces or elongation. That means the part that the bolt was holding broke first, and the bolt was essentially cut or twisted off by the broken pieces.

I guess some people aren't happy unless their parts come in a fancy card pack box with a couple of window stickers so they can advertise to the world that they paid too much for their hardware - while the LS1 with "cheapo" factory hardware dusts them off.

Sometimes you just gotta laugh...


------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

Doesnt surprise me. I'd like to see a rod bolt fail in shear before it comes off the crank heheheh... yea right. I guess it could happen if it got speared by another flying part...

Next time I am where my junk is I'll take a couple pics of the busted rod I have, still have it One part of the cap is twisted but the bolt is just fine. It didnt damage the crank coming off either, which is no less than amazing to me.
The piston and other half of the rod I use to hold my ring compressor.
Its too bad I dont have the sheared wrist pin and the piston that was on there, that was pretty cool looking. Never had a FORD do that to me though, damn GM stuff.

 

Nope...it needs a completely new roof inluding A-pillar and what not. The whole passenger side is perfect, as it didn't hit anything...but the driver's side is beat to hell. It broke my rear axle when I landed, because I was in the air for a while, it sheared it right off, as if it was supposed to be cut like that.

So needless to say, all of my stuff will be put into my current LB9 car. That one handles better anyway, and has fewer miles on it. I've got every available suspension mod from Hotchkis on it...which my other one didn't have yet. So it'll be a better car to have an LT1 and a M6 in. I can't wait...

Eric


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Red '85 Z-28 w/'94 Vette LT1 w/'93 Z ECM
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Red '85 Z-28 w/LB9
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