[DeTomaso] Autopsy

[Dan Mixon]

My Edelbrock water pump p/n 8844 has the by-pass passage. You MUST use a
Cleveland specific thermostat.

-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of Will Kooiman
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2008 9:12 PM
To: Pantera List
Subject: [DeTomaso] Autopsy

Most of you know I fragged my engine at BBORR.

 

I pulled the engine today and took it apart.

 

If you remember, the #3 piston is gone.  I guess it isn't gone.  It's all
over the place.

 

The #3 cylinder has a big hole, a small hole, and some scrapes.  The
cylinder wall looks pretty thick - much thicker than I expected.  I haven't
measure it yet.  I had to put my toys away when it got dark.

 

The #3 rod is bent badly.  It isn't spaghetti, but it sure isn't reusable.

 

There were piston skirts missing on 2 other pistons, but I think that's from
collateral damage.  There are a lot of piston pieces in the pan.

 

The #3 intake valve head is wedged in the camshaft.  The camshaft is broken.

 

Here's the freaky thing.  The #3 rod bearing was almost gone.  The piece I
have left is paper thin.  The rod journal is black.

 

The #7 rod bearing is melted together - i.e. it's still on the crank.  A
piece is melted to the rod cap.

 

All of the rod bearings are worn.  All of them are deformed.  They stuck to
the crank instead of sticking in the rod.  I tried putting them in the rods
just before putting the caps on, but they won't stay in the rods or caps.  A
few were down to the copper.

 

All of the rod bolts were torqued.  So were the heads.  I haven't removed
the mains yet, but I bet they're torqued too.

 

The #7 and #8 pistons had a shiny mark in the carbon opposite the exhaust
valve relief.  The marks are identical.  At first I thought it was kissing a
valve, but there's no way it would hit at that point.  I'm guessing instead
it was kissing the head when the rod bearings suddenly got thinner.

 

What do you guys think about the black rod journal?  I doubt that losing the
#3 piston would cause the #3 rod bearing to melt.  On the other hand, if for
some reason the #3 rod bearing melted, the piston would have whacked the
head.  Surely it couldn't whack it hard enough to break it.  Or could it?
These are the stock cast pistons.

 

I'll try to take pics this week.

 

Will.

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