Cascade Crew

Schultzy89GTA · Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 11:03 pm Post subject: Sled Carnage - 383 Tear Down

Ok kids. Here is the part we don't want to admit but we all have a sick fascination with auto carnage. It is even better when it is not your own!

Bottom line was rod failure. The big end was still attached to the crank and the other side was still attached to the piston. You will see it in the pics below.

Looks like I bent both valves in that cylinder. The loose rod spinning around smacked holes in the oil pan, ripped through the windage tray and breached the cooling passage on the block.

Less talk, more pics....

We already knew about this

But couldn't see this while it was still in the car

peek-a-boo

Might be hard to see in the pic but if you look just below the crank you can see all the way through the pan and out the other side.

'One of these things is not like the others, one of these things is not quite the same' - I actually have a video of Brandon spinning the piston freely in the hole. You can see the marks from the valves hitting the piston. Those TRW pistons are pretty strong.

Valves that made contact

Dr. Hardcore with 'blood' splatters all over himself

Sadness

This is the pic that shows where the rod actually came apart

The rest of the rod tried to wrap itself around the adjacent rod

Paul and Brandon came over yesterday and helped me pull the engine and tear it down... then we got drunk! Brandy worked the blender like a pro hehe.... Thank you guys and gal.

Not quite bad enough to get me to go the LS route yet. Afraid that swap would nickel and dime me to death. Will likely build the 383 back up but with stronger rods and possibly lighter pistons.

Hope you enjoyed the show. Stay tuned.

-Schultzy

cameron7710 · Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 11:08 pm Post subject:

dude that sucks.i hope u get her goin again

Xophertony · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:58 am Post subject:

is that marked piston reusable? please excuse my engine ignorance.

iansane · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:07 am Post subject:

Wow. Just wow. Bigger they are, hard they fall I guess? Now is your chance to build the motor for boost. Smile

83Z28BlackBetty · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:06 am Post subject:

sorry man, that is crazy!

i'm sure you will get her back on the road soon enough

~JAKE

305 302eater · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:59 am Post subject:

That sucks Mike. I'm sure you'll have her back on the road in no time. Any Idea's on what would have caused the rod to break? Were they to weak for the nitros hits? Or just a bad rod?

blue89 · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 12:24 pm Post subject:

I love carnage. Something about the aftermath of tremendous amounts of force are just fascinating. Could you imagine how much it took to break and bend that rod?

Sorry for your loss man. Hope you find a new block soon! What pieces can you reuse?

Schultzy89GTA · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 12:27 pm Post subject:

Thanks guys. If you play, you're gonna pay. Sh*t happens and all that.

It's all speculation as to why it happened. Bad part, 4-5 years of frequently running a heavy reciprocating assembly over 6k RPM, exceeding hp ratings of parts - who really knows. I always figured I would take it out. I just imagined it would be at the track with a 200hp nitrous shot or something more glamorous than a routine 6k shift on the street.

Brandon and I were talking a while back about the build up. When we built up the 383 we built it for what seemed like an exotic goal to hold together at 500hp. Figured with the nitrous that would be enough for anything I wanted to do. The rods were rated for 500hp. Empirical data from track and dyno over the last year or two show that I have been running in excess of 600hp. Is that enough to cause the failure? I have no idea. I don't know if that weakened the rod or if it was a bad part all along.

Overall, this was a very good build. This little mouse was making real power (and will again).

Like I said, the cash to get back to where I was doesn't seem to exceed the point that I would decide to completely change up to an LS engine. Evaluating options and getting input from some trusted builders but likely will go with stronger rods and lighter pistons and basically end up with the same combo. It is real money but figure I am playing in a 'big boy' land with a 'little boy' budget. I think that is pretty analogous to most of us with third gens Wink

The block is repairable. If I was building up a 300hp driver I would probably re-use it but for my own piece of mind I will get a fresh one and sell this one. Same with remaining rods and pistons but they will be attractive to someone out there and I will put those up for sale as well.

-Schultzy

Quasi-Traction · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:28 pm Post subject:

While seeing carnage is cool and all, Still kind of sucks to have to redo the bottom end over again though.

Did the crank take any damage when that rod busted loose?

I'm actually kind of suprized that it failed on the small end of the rod.

Al Hasse · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 6:32 pm Post subject:

Ouch, looks nasty. Surely you'll get her up and running good as new.

brandyland · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject:

I hope that the blender magic eased the pain a little bit.

Xophertony · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:06 am Post subject:

brandy, your blender can cure much.
condolences mike.