Oh Bugger It!....

[mike_sekinger]

Hi Gents,

A few weeks ago, I had a turbo failure while travelling along the Autobahn. On close inspection, the impellor has disintegrated. The resultant fragments look to have caused the compressor side to seize and the shaft snapped....

... I was worried about the ingestion of the foreign matter, but all plugs looked to be in good health and there were many metal parts that had been captured in my pre-throttle collector. I was encouraged and though that maybe I had gotten away with any serious damage. The engine was still running smoothly when I diagnosed the turbo failure.

Anyway, I pressed on with replacement hybrid turbos from R&B here in Germany. After several days of swearing and general hardship, the car was back together and ready for an oil flush and coolant bleed.

The car started first time and settled into a good idle..... then to my horror, I noticed that the

Edited July 11, 2007 by mike_sekinger

[silverfrost]

Mike absolutley gutted for you mate your engine bay is fantastic along with the

the rest of the cars looks, hope you get it.. all i can say is gutted

Have a cold one, relax and look forward to getting her back on the road :yes

danny.

[chstephens]

I feel your pain Mike. What a miserable and frustrating situation to find oneself in.

If I was over the pond, I'd buy you a bitter and lend moral support. Keep us posted on the plan/progress.

Craig

[actwon]

Damn Mike.

I understand what you are going through. Sorry to hear that though.

[mike_sekinger]

Thanks guys... two bottles of red and I

[neal]

Shit Mike, I know how you feel! How many miles were on the engine?

[fmxa]

Sorry to hear that Mike, I just heard my gearbox needs a rebuild so I know how you feel .....

Edited June 10, 2007 by fmxa

[mike_sekinger]

The engine has just 22K miles on it - and only 2K miles since all of modification work.

My fear is that I brought about the failure, since I had been having problems changing the exhaust heat shields recently. The only plausable reason for the turbo disintegration is that something got into the inlet side during the work... perhaps one of the large washers...... it is painful to think about my oversight in not

[peter_england99]

Mike,

I'm sorry to hear about the need for a re-build. I hope the promise of the up-rated pistons and higher boost makes it worth while in the end.

Regards,

Peter.

The engine has just 22K miles on it - and only 2K miles since all of modification work.

My fear is that I brought about the failure, since I had been having problems changing the exhaust heat shields recently. The only plausable reason for the turbo disintegration is that something got into the inlet side during the work... perhaps one of the large washers...... it is painful to think about my oversight in not

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Mike tell me this is not on my GT1 replica :crybaby:

I am realy gutted for you mate, as most people know I love that car and had I had the money when you contemplated selling it I would have snapped it up. I hope you get it all sorted soon mate.

[hasuSan]

"The car started first time and settled into a good idle..... then to my horror, I noticed that the

[bzguy]

Where in Germany do you live Mike ?

[toyroom]

Did you buy the car new ? What year is it? The cost of a rebuild plus the cost of the car plus any other costs minus the eventual resale value divided by the number of months you owned it will (I bet) give a smaller figure than the same mathematics for a similar priced car (say a Jaguar XJ or even a Merceded E class V6) Small consolation, I know, but consolation nonethe less. I have felt your pain many times and so you have my empathy rather than sympathy....Good luck....By the way, if you are going for 500 Bhp, has your gearbox input shaft (good for 300 in factory original form) been upgraded? If not, I know an expert.....

[mike_sekinger]

The car will be heading back to Mike Haines Racing to be sorted out. Having discussed it with Mike, we decided that it would be best and he still retains a great deal of pride in the work done so far.

Hopefully, we

[mike_sekinger]

We are living about 10Km South West of Landsberg - just inside Ost Allg

[Pred247]

I was gutted for you when I read what you had to say. I hope everything is fine after changing the cylinders.

My car has now done 58k and I'm always waiting and wondering if and when I'll need it. Hence the worry I had over the right bank popping problem I have.

It's amazing how paranoid these beasts can make you feel lol!

All the best mate,

John

[Günter]

...It's amazing how paranoid these beasts can make you feel !

All the best mate,

John

yes; ...you say it,

by the way, -Mike i can now understant why we could not see you on the road.... :crybaby:

i hope to hear some good news, and maybee to see this legendary car in real.

best wishes !!!

[mike_sekinger]

Thanks again fellas.

I

[Günter]

Thanks again fellas.

...Hopefully, I

[mike_sekinger]

Okay - here is the latest update:

The car is now scheduled for a full top and bottem-end rebuild at the hands of Ramspott and Brandt, here in Germany. They have great experience in rebuilding the V8 engine and I feel confident in their ability to deal with the cars special requirements.

The plan is to strip down and assess the damage, before commencing on a rebuild with forged pistons and fresh bearings etc. I am hoping to receive a photo update in the progress and promise to post images as the work gets underway.

The car will also benefit from their radiator upgrade along with a few additional tweeks suggested by me. All being well, the car would be ready towards the end of July.

More info as it happens.....

Cheers,

[bzguy]

Okay - here is the latest update:

The car is now scheduled for a full top and bottem-end rebuild at the hands of Ramspott and Brandt, here in Germany. They have great experience in rebuilding the V8 engine and I feel confident in their ability to deal with the cars special requirements.

The plan is to strip down and assess the damage, before commencing on a rebuild with forged pistons and fresh bearings etc. I am hoping to receive a photo update in the progress and promise to post images as the work gets underway.

The car will also benefit from their radiator upgrade along with a few additional tweeks suggested by me. All being well, the car would be ready towards the end of July.

More info as it happens.....

Cheers,

Nice to hear it will be repaired, but hopefully the bill is ok as well ...

[mamovaka]

Yes I would like to know the final bill also..

[Günter]

Mike no panic, you can sometimes (bills for smal budgets) pay with parts on a "exchange basis".

"R&B" is not the cheapest way at all, but they have a comunity behind... .

We will watch out the R&B -pictures from workplace page...

god luck to you!

[mike_sekinger]

Well, the car is ready to be

Edited June 30, 2007 by mike_sekinger

[mike_sekinger]

Following my decision to recover the car to the UK, it was time get the AA involved.

AA arranged the services of a company called

Edited July 10, 2007 by mike_sekinger