gmendoza Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 (edited) As some of you know, my car has been pushed to the limit since basically day one. A few months ago, I was at the track when my aftermarket boost controller failed, I got who knows how much boost and my motor let go. There wanst much warning, it blew at the same time I realized th car was making more power than it should. Here's the carnage: Hole in the block & damaged liners: pieces of piston in oil pan Snapped timing chain Worn chain tensioners Many bent valves, broken valve guides and 1 damaged combustion chamber 2 damaged rods piston pieces that entered the plennum and back down into other cylinders Oil pick-up bolts snapped More head damaged Damaged lobes in 1 cam Custom Mahle forged pistons vs stock cast pistons that will be installed. Now for the rebuild: Custom Darton liners: Measuring liner stand in Double checking bearing clearances with Plastigauge (appox 0.0018") Checking ring gaps (old ring used for illustration only) Rings installed and gapped per Mahle's recommendation Underside Mahle piston with JAE Saanz H-Beam rods New block cleaned ready for assembly: Oil squirters installed: Upper main bearings installed and lubed: Upper thrust bearing installed & lubed: Crank in: #4 Main cap with bearing & lower thrust installed: Main caps installed: JAE ARP head studs installed (right hand liners, pistons & head already installed): Adding Hylomar to liner with piston & rod installed #8 psiton/liner installed Installing #7 #7 installed: #5-8 installed: Head gasket installed: Head cleaned ready for install: Both heads on: Ready to install rod caps: Edited September 14, 2012 by gmendoza Quote '03.5 Final Edition Esprit ~ 5.7lbs/hp mildly modded - 430rwhp, 353rwtq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Sorry about the blow up, but looks well on the way to getting back on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esprit s2 Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Jeez that is some carnage! Amazing work to rebuild it though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerch Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 In the immortal words of Barry Sheene, "The motor has lost it's lunch". Quote Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it, depends on what you put into it. (Tom Leahrer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibs Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Excellent work Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve930 Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Yeah... You killed that one!!!. Nice progress on the new engine, the old block might make a nice coffee table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonwat Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Great pictures, thanks for sharing & hope you get better luck with this one. Quote Cheers, John W http://jonwatkins.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redshift Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Good luck with the rebuild and keep posting. I suppose it was probably inevitable that the stock pistons were going to lunch themselves at some point considering the mods you had. No margin of error for something like a boost controller failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanj Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Hi Gonzalo, What type of boost controller were you using, and what was the nature/cause of the failure? Rebuild is looking good! Quote Visit Sanj's Lotus Esprit Turbo SE pages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike6 Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Will you run this one in , or is that a silly question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmxa Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Holy smoke Gonzalo, when Alan said the failure was spectacular he wasn't kidding! Nice job and let's catch up soon Paul Quote Paddle Faster, I hear Banjos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmendoza Posted September 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 (edited) Thanks guys. Yeah, I know it was going to happen one day. I just never thought it was going to be this bad. Hi Gonzalo, What type of boost controller were you using, and what was the nature/cause of the failure? Rebuild is looking good! I'm using a Blitz SBC-id. It appears the solenoid got stuck on. I've seen two fail this way before. Now this alone wont cause your motor to fail. The Blitz has an auto and a manual setting. If you are in manual and the soleniod fails, then it will fail at whatever setting you had with no additional boost, you'll just hear the buzzing from the soleniod. I had it on auto. While convinient, it can put you in a bad spot if the solenoid gets stuck because the controller is constantly varying the setting to give you the boost you want. So if it fails, you can get less or more (like me) boost depending on what the controller was doing at the time of failure. Will you run this one in , or is that a silly question There are two schools of thought on run in. Run it like it's meant to be driven from mile one or baby it for thousands of miles. I'm in the middle. No very heavy load for 500 mi or so but plenty of varying PRM and some load to help the rings. On to the pics: more rod caps: lube'ing & installing oil pump intermediate shaft bearings installed and lubed: replacing chain tensioner blocks Chain & gears installed Tensioners installed before adjustment: Lotus alignment tool installed: All done: Sealant for front cover: Front cover on with intermediate seal installed: Sealing for oil pan: Oil pan on: crank seal on (notice key way for intermediate shaft pulleys, see other thread for details) Crank pulley on top cover sealed & installed: oil filter mount installed: rear cover sealed & installed Flywheel on (sorry no pcs of rear main seal) Sensors installed: Head ready for cams: Followers in: cam caps layed out in order ready to be installed: Cams in & locked with setting pins: cam seals in, pulleys ready to be bolted Sealant on cam bolts: cam pulleys loosely bolted ready for belts: belts in: dab sealant on front cam caps ready for cam cover Cam cover ready to be installed: cam cover, injector housings, thermostat housing, exhaust manifold & dip stick installed: Starter and coil packs in Bosch Gen 3 injectors in Wiring loom in: Plennum ready for install: Then the camera card got full and we forgot about more pics, sorry. The car is back on the road and it feels great. I havent done any WOT high boost runs but part throttle feels good. It's very responsive off boost, not laggy at all. It actually feels natrually aspirated. I don't know it that's due to the lighter rotating assembly, rods are about .25lbs (~115gm) lighter than stock, better atomazation of the injectors, port work on the heads around the valve seat area or a combination of everything. Whatever it is, I am very happy. Now to put some miles on it and turn the boost up again. Holy smoke Gonzalo, when Alan said the failure was spectacular he wasn't kidding! Nice job and let's catch up soon Paul lol, Thanks, sounds like a good idea Edited September 15, 2012 by Vulcan Grey Quote '03.5 Final Edition Esprit ~ 5.7lbs/hp mildly modded - 430rwhp, 353rwtq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerch Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Enjoyed the photos, first class work ! You're footwear however ???????????? (consider yourself severely reprimanded) Quote Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it, depends on what you put into it. (Tom Leahrer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconic Ride Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Best V8 rebuild pictures thread since Mike S. jumped ship, Gonzalo. Great shots of stuff I never wanna' see! Quote Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLarge Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 I second what John said about best pictures since Mike S. Real quality engineering Gonzalo - Oh for half your ability!! I do not know the full background to your car at all and make no mistake I love my V8, but thinking aloud, I was wondering what made you pick on the Lotus V8 to get loads of power out of as is it not fair to say that it could be considered a little fragile for much development? I know the failure was caused by an external component of course but would love to know if you think it would have happened to a different motor. (say Audi V8 or perhaps Nissan Skyline engine). That may miss the point of it all i guess and I dont wish to be hung out to dry for these comments - just wondering!! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Günter Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Gonzalo, think I missed this one ..so the block was repaired, or are those still available ? ..and the whole rebuild was done by you @home in one week ? ..so, on availability of all those 'non Lotus specific parts' -can you post some numbers/references where we can find those (you use the 'stronger' Gates belts, different liners & Male pistons and rods offered from JAE -OK) ..but where are the exact numbers listed on those dealer/manufacturer pages ?? @John Heath: that's why I say it so often ..this 918engine is simple and even you could work on yours -the problem is to find the right (and for best results 'stronger') parts to do the work. Quote ********************************************************************* to name the things if I see them, that's what I call integrity.. ********************************************************************* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Günter Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Scott, there is a specific 'liner stand in' noted in the workshop-book ..you have seen similar views in Mikes and my rebuild too, it is 0.08-0.1mm Quote ********************************************************************* to name the things if I see them, that's what I call integrity.. ********************************************************************* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve930 Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Gonzalo, think I missed this one ..so the block was repaired, or are those still available ? ..and the whole rebuild was done by you @home in one week. I would say 1 week is plenty. I've rebuilt several porsche 911 turbo air cooled engines, which if all goes well I can do in 50 hours our so &i would say the porsche air cooled engine is more labour intensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Günter Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 one week is just the time to get some of the parts, that's why I wounder.. as long as it is running again, thats a good thing Quote ********************************************************************* to name the things if I see them, that's what I call integrity.. ********************************************************************* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconic Ride Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Thank you, thank you, thank you, Gunter for your post creating page 2 of the thread. As much as I enjoyed the Gonzalo V8 "family album" pics, each time I returned to page 1 the download time was causing the house lights to dim, and threatened a global shutdown of the internet. Just kidding, Gonz...keep 'em coming Quote Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve930 Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Thank you, thank you, thank you, Gunter for your post creating page 2 of the thread. As much as I enjoyed the Gonzalo V8 "family album" pics, each time I returned to page 1 the download time was causing the house lights to dim, and threatened a global shutdown of the internet. Just kidding, Gonz...keep 'em coming my thoughts exactly, i made the mistake of reading page 1 on my mobile phone earlier today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Günter Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) so it's not only me who can't see the page in full ?..as for those high-res pictures of garage floors and sneakers OK, just joking ..the engine is back in the car now, I would guess ..and it is one engine more with upgraded parts in the 918 family at least ..so the interesting thing is: where was the engine block comming from !? Edited September 18, 2012 by Günter Quote ********************************************************************* to name the things if I see them, that's what I call integrity.. ********************************************************************* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconic Ride Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 I recommend everyone with a V8 check under the engine cover to verify the contents. Quote Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Günter Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 ..still running Quote ********************************************************************* to name the things if I see them, that's what I call integrity.. ********************************************************************* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_kirkham Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Fantastic work on the rebuild and thanks for sharing the photos. May there be many many miles before the next rebuild! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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