Real Time Help - Flag/ABQ I-40

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Andy, I think the coolant system is still tight. It did overheat but I'm not sure if it happened as a result of the hole in the piston or if the coolant overheated due to 105-deg ambient plus the climb out of the river valley plus the boost plus "maybe" something that caused the coolant flow to not keep up like stuck t-stat. Not sure. The topic of "too lean" seems to be maybe the best one to explain what caused all of this to go south so quick.

It does seem like the first symptom was the coolant temp sky-rocketing very, very quickly. But I still never saw, nor has anyone else here that's looked at it, any sign that coolant is leaking or going anywhere. Kind of irrelevant anyway since to replace the cylinder a new HG will go in there anyway. We'll have the empirical evidence soon.

I guess I hope someone sees what the route cause of all of this was. I'm still ready to blow my head off...
 
alia176 said:
Update:
16:52

Boroscope revealed a hole on top of Piston #1. Looks like classic detonation scenario due to *perhaps* too lean condition. Maybe the Unichip and the ECU didn't compensate properly for the quick elevation gain?

I'll head up to Flag tomorrow and bring it down to ABQ using a dolly.
Click to expand...

My guess is; it normally ran on the lean/hot side, once it got to the hot/dry desert it was too much for it. :frown:

Cruiserdrew said:
That's great, but that does not explain the coolant thing. It still has to have a bad HG, or some high pressure path from the combustion chamber to the cooling system.
Click to expand...

When enough pressure/heat is involved to burn holes in metal, coolant doesn't stand much of a chance. There could be leaking gasket, warped head/block, massively boiling coolant in the areas around the affected cylinder(s) or likely a combination of all.
 
You said oil was leaking down the side? Sounds like some type of crack to me. Plus If you run the system to 2 quarts low the oil temps are going to be extremely high in Arizona. Hopefully you didn't get metal in the turbo.
 
clownmidget said:
Andy, I think the coolant system is still tight. It did overheat but I'm not sure if it happened as a result of the hole in the piston or if the coolant overheated due to 105-deg ambient plus the climb out of the river valley plus the boost plus "maybe" something that caused the coolant flow to not keep up like stuck t-stat. Not sure. The topic of "too lean" seems to be maybe the best one to explain what caused all of this to go south so quick.

It does seem like the first symptom was the coolant temp sky-rocketing very, very quickly. But I still never saw, nor has anyone else here that's looked at it, any sign that coolant is leaking or going anywhere. Kind of irrelevant anyway since to replace the cylinder a new HG will go in there anyway. We'll have the empirical evidence soon.

I guess I hope someone sees what the route cause of all of this was. I'm still ready to blow my head off...
Click to expand...

This is exactly my experience with how motors that are run "on the edge" (like high compression, boosted, etc) go when lean and hot, it's very quick. There is a good chance that no coolant leaked out, it was cooked, evaporated in place, inside of the motor. If you had leaks at the time, they may have "resealed". What I have seen happen is, very high temps locally in the meltdown area, causing big time warping from the difference in temps. Once the motor cools, it's less obvious, but may find things like melted/permanently deformed/hardened gaskets, like the valve cover gasket, etc. It's very likely to have warped parts and a high probability of metal transfer, like piston to cylinder walls, etc.

Obviously I cant see it and wasn't there, so don't really know how bad it is. In my building experience if it has suffered this type of an event, you are way ahead both from a $$$ and future reliability standpoint, to start with another motor. Once a major part has been way overheated, warped, it can be straightened, machined, $$$, but is more likely to fail in the future. If another known good motor is available it's often easier, cheaper, quicker and a higher chance of future reliability to simply swap it. In this type of case we often didn't use effected major parts as cores.
 
clownmidget said:
It does seem like the first symptom was the coolant temp sky-rocketing very, very quickly. But I still never saw, nor has anyone else here that's looked at it, any sign that coolant is leaking or going anywhere. Kind of irrelevant anyway since to replace the cylinder a new HG will go in there anyway. We'll have the empirical evidence soon.

I guess I hope someone sees what the route cause of all of this was. I'm still ready to blow my head off...
Click to expand...

Mike,

Sound like a classic example of a guy who has gown through Cruiser withdrawal and then just about OD'd on straight pure turbo goodness... Tisk tisk tisk....

Sorry just tryin to lighten the bad news man. Give me a holla if u need to vent.

-Matt
 
I'm looking forward to getting Mike to ABQ where we have good spaces for working, the right tools, the correct parts supply/source, and the mechanical/moral support to get this taken care of.

I'm at AmToy all day. Let me know how it goes.

-o-
 
Mike,

I'm leaving the house now.
 
beno said:
I'm looking forward to getting Mike to ABQ where we have good spaces for working, the right tools, the correct parts supply/source, and the mechanical/moral support to get this taken care of.

-o-
Click to expand...

Damn, that's kind of harsh.

I did the best I could outside, on a rainy Sunday, on an angled dirt driveway, 7 miles from my toolbox or a parts store. :frown:

Dave
 
MoGas said:
Damn, that's kind of harsh.

I did the best I could outside, on a rainy Sunday, on an angled dirt driveway, 7 miles from my toolbox or a parts store. :frown:

Dave
Click to expand...

I'm sorry Dave....not directed at you at all. :o

I was just thinking about the long term solution to Mike's issues. You were essential in figuring out the problem and helping Mike out--Cruiser Karma is strong in you!

Again, not at all a personal shot man.

-o-
 
Nothing like a rescue mission. Good luck guys!
 
Spoke with Powderpig and his thoughts were maybe bad injector on #1 cylinder and/or bad O2 sensor. Also had the gut feeling that the bottom end would not have escaped some significant damage.

Thanks so much to Dave for coming over and really nailing down what happeded and allowing me to move forward. The Cruiser network is amazing and I feel lucky to have so many folks willing to assist. I just really, really wish I was on the other end...
 
Best of luck on the repair, Mike. I have to concur with Kevin, you may be able to fix it but it may never be right again. I'd be taking David up on the new motor offer, its going to be easier and may be cheaper on the long run. I would also look into a fan upgrade. Keep us up to date with the repair. I hope it all works out.:cheers:
 
Just talked with Mike. They are on the road back to ABQ...going about 55-65mph with a nice tail wind and it's pretty much downhill in elevation from Flagstaff to ABQ. I'll have some pizza and beer waiting for them when they get to my house with the rig....

Cruiser karma comes through as always!
 
As Kevin is saying. When you have enough to melt pisons, it is hard to keep any kind of coolant in cooling system. It take a bunch of heat to melt pistons. I have a kid telling me Mom is going to yell at him If I do not get him to bed. I will finish my thought in a bit.
I too would start with a different engine, and look at the turbo exhaust side real well.
Robbie
 
Just wanted to say to all you guys that helped out clownmidget, You Guys Rock. Great job.
 
Mike's at my pad. Ali and Mike drove from Flagstaff to ABQ and the rig is at my place.

We had some pizza, pounded some beers, talked philosophical a bit, and Toyota a lot. Good times.

Bed time for a new day.

Best.
-onur
 
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