Hot Rods A catastrophic failure

I think Stimpy has it figured out. Should have used Ford rods.

 

It might be my imagination, but the residue in the pan, ( not the broken parts), looks awfully "dark" or "dirty" for only having traveled approx 50 miles....As others have asked, was the pan removed prior to the install?? Are there any other signs of contamination in the engine ?

 

I saw that too, possibly some coolant got into the pan along with the carnage.

 

It's a valve lifter, and BTW, that looks like a Ferguson Ardun Enterprises head in the photo. That certainly is not in any way to imply Ferguson was responsible for the failure.
I recall "crab nuts" on EMD 710 ( cubes per cylinder) locomotive engines that came into the plant with inspection certification from the manufacturer, yet were pulling threads when torqued. Crab nuts clamp power assemblies (individual cylinders) to the block and take 1600 ft lbs to fasten properly. Inspection checked them with their thread gauges and pronounced them good, so I went to a band saw and cut one in half showing the half formed, jagged threads.
Along similar lines there was a rash of aluminum top fuel rods 15 or so years ago that had faulty threads, yet they showed good with a thread gauge.
It can happen, and sometimes does even with thorough inspection procedures.

 

Dark oil is likely overheated oil. Most mechanical failures are lubrication related, either the primary cause, or as a result of "x" the lubricant didn't work. On an engine that sat un-used, I have seen the assembly lube fade away from some critical parts. Also, priming the engine before first starting is very important.

On a blown engine. You have to suspect detonation. Didn't sound like much boost. Was that level actually proven, or is that what it "should be" for that combination? Was the camshaft a common blower grind? Maybe it had a bit too much overlap, etc. spark timing and/ too low octane fuel are also killers.


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contact Don Ferguson , its not like he has sold 1000's of these head kits and may have a record on who built it , at least then you can start getting answers

 

Also, the static compression ratio is critical on a blown gasoline engine.


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I'm curious how all these things about the blower, could have anything to do with the rod bolts coming out?

 

Really sorry to see this happen. You seem a lot calmer than I would be if this happened to me.
If I blow up the pic you posted, I can see the ends on the connecting rod bearings. One end on each bearing half is worn very thin and burned. This says to me that that bearing spun due to a lack of lubrication. JMHO.
Good luck. Hope you get it sorted out and back on the road soon.


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Detonation/extreme cylinder pressure does crazy shit. I'm saying the wrong combination in a blown engine can cause it to literally shake itself apart.


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For not having it very long, sounds like you did what anyone else would have. Being done quite some time ago you would think it was dependable, maybe the PO treated it a little different than he led on! Good luck on your investigation, please keep us posted on your results as they unfold.

 

YEP ROD BOLTS ARE OUT. WE BOUGHT A SBC THAT HAD SET FOR ABOUT 7 YRS, GOT IT RUNNING. IT LASTED ABOUT 10 HRS. WASHED OUT CAM/LIFTER. WHAT WE FIGURED WAS THAT ENGINE BREAK IN OIL/LUBE HAD RAN OFF OF EVERYTHING WHILE ENGINE SAT IN GARAGE.

 

I would look at the threads in the rods. Compare how far in the bolts should go with how deep any threads that pulled out are.

I suspect that the bolts came loose. The bearings appear to have been pounded from too much clearance. The pounding on the bearings put extra stress on the threads causing the bolts to pull out. Checking thread depth might show if the bolts were loose or there was just too much clearance. It's possible that they were overtorqued and damaged the threads. I like bolts and nuts. It's pretty much impossible to tell if the threads in the rods are compromised. If they are used more than one time it can be a problem.

 

The odd item you are referring to in post 29 is a lifter...described usually as "bottle type."
The snout ends in a cup for the bottom of the pushrod. Lifter is very long to get the pushrod to an angle that will get it upstairs without interference. Engine obviously rejected the pushrod, noting it as a foreign object...

 

Oh Lord.What a mess.Hope those Ardun heads are ok and reusable.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Check and see if the front ( behind the timing gear) or rear oil gallery plugs were left out of the block, if left out they while wipe out the main bearings in less then 100 miles

later kb

 

I think I see bits of a grenade...

 

Import parts rods and crankshaft could be the cause of the failure but only 6 pounds of boost they should have held up to at least that. Good original Ford and Merc parts will withstand at least 10 pounds of boost with an Ardun set up I know from daily experiance.
Another area of concern is a reground cast cam if that gave out first everything else becomes junk. To me it looks like the cam may have broken then the big parts got in the way of the rods and so on.

 

That should buff right out.

 

It's like a horrible car crash...you don't want to look but you have to. And then you look even closer to find out what happened. Good luck. I think a little bit of every real hot rodder on the HAMB died when you ARDUN did.

 

I thought, "nice rocker arms".

 

There is a rod bolt still in the cap. Boost, detonation and all that other shit had nothing to do with it. It either spun out or the threads were pulled out when it was torqued. You need to check the other rods for correct torque. This problem started at the bolt. JC

 

Do I see a coil spring of rod material wrapped around this rod bolt?

 

Ebb, it could be aluminum from the rod. looks like the bolt just pulled out.

 

Sorry that happened!

 

Sure does look like the bolt threads are full of something, rods are steel so maybe not enough thread depth or over torque?

 

I'm sorry for your loss.

Andy

 

Probably would have been much more enjoyable if you would have been rompin' on it.......

 

Thats a fact.