Hey all,

As I write this I'm sitting in my Evo about 15 feet from the main straight at Laguna Seca... This week has been hell! After all the fiasco with getting the transmission in (see other thread), not getting time to install coilovers, and finally getting here at 1am.. It has not gone well. First session cut short because mechanic didn't tighten down intake pipes (popped off)... Second session cut short, and third session missed, because one spark plug blew it's top off and I had to find a replacement..

Fourth session... I think I blew the engine. I was actually taking it easy, no redlining, and the session was going well.. Suddenly, white smoke out the back billowing... Got back to paddock (I was right near the pit exit), coasting, got in my garage, car still idling but extremely rough. Turned off the car and popped the hood - oil everywhere on top of the engine. Appears to be coming from around the FPR area.

I thought head gasket, especially with the rough idle, but not sure why there is oil all over the top of the engine.

Anyone have any ideas? I'll do a compression test as soon as I can, but maybe (grasping at straws), there is a secret Evo thing that isn't so bad!!

Thanks!

S.

 

Damn! Sorry to hear. I wish I could tell you everything will be okay with the car but I have no idea. Hope it's not too searious.

 

White smoke out the exhaust tends to indicate coolant ingress into the combustion chamber. Check your coolant level and maybe run a coolant pressure test if it's low at all. Coolant AND oil issues tend to lean toward chamber sealing (head gasket area). Hopefully it is just the head gasket. It could be a lot worse if that's all it is. Best of luck to you.

 

Thanks guys..

Yea, coolant expansion tank is empty, although water temp never rose above normal whatsoever.

I'll do a cylinder compression test when I get home, and a coolant pressure test as soon as I can.. Any ideas where all the oil near the FPR could have come from? Do head gasket failures on these engines spray oil outside the engine? I wouldn't think so, but I've never experienced a HG failure in an Evo specifically! Looks like the oil squirted with force upwards from around the FPR area, hit the inside of the hood, then rained down on the engine itself.

Thanks!

S.

 

Sounds like the dip stick popped out. And possibly lost the head gasket.

 

One of the first things I checked was the dip stick.. It was still firmly in when I stopped.. Unless the oil got past some how, but there was so much oil (literally pooled in the rocker cover where the coil packs are - I didn't have the plastic cover fitted for that run), that I doubt it could have come from there..

Thanks!

S.

 

My friends DSM did the same thing. The 3rd time it happened, we only finally realized it because the plastic handle broke.

 

I could see the dipstick being the reason for the oil, especially if you still have a stock PCV setup. The excessive pressure would pop the stick up and let lots of oil fly past, and then get sucked back down in idle and overrun states when the vacuum will pull it back into place. That doesn't explain the coolant, however, which right now I'm more concerned with. Pressure test that cooling system. If you can't find a leak, that's disconcerting, as it probably means it's going into the engine.

 

Hey all,

So finally got around to working on the Evo.. Did some compression tests:

Cylinder 1 - 100PSI
Cylinder 2 - 105PSI
Cylinder 3 - 145PSI
Cylinder 4 - Zero PSI!

The number 4 cylinder also had its spark plug with a blown/broken ground electrode.

I tried to pressurize #4 and at only about 15PSI I can hear air coming out like crazy from the vented cam cover - if I take the oil cap off, the air is definitely coming out through there.

My theories right now are...

1) HG is blown badly around cyl 4 and air is going directly down an oil galley in to the crank case and cam cover
2) the blown spark plug bit destroyed the rings on that cylinder and air is going straight passed the piston in to the crank case, back up an oil galley, and out the cam cover.

As for cylinders 1 and 2, maybe just a slight failure on the HG, or the rings on those cylinders are fried too.

I guess best case, just a badly blown HG.. Worst case, rings are shot, cylinder walls scratched on at least one cylinder and probable damage to pistons..

Any comments/insight appreciated!!

Thanks!

S.

 

Take the head off and you will find your answer.

 

Of course, that is what I am doing 😉

Just wanted to post progress, and wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Thanks,

S.

 

Cylinders one and two may be leaking into each other through the head gasket. That could explain their low, but not dead, similar compression figures. If you can get a bore scope you can check some things early, but since you'll need to pull the head, you can skip that part. I'd like to see what you find, if you don't mind posting a few pictures for us. Just know I'm wishing you lots of luck that the cylinder walls are clean and the piston in cylinder four is okay. Hopefully any damage to the combustion chamber car be repaired without head replacement!

 

Sounds like detonation killed the number 4 piston.

 

The car runs E85 (not detonation proof, but less likely), and I have the check engine knock detector (flashes with knock, and I didn't see it flashing). Not saying you are wrong (until I pull the head), just wanted to mention why I didn't bring up knock as a possibility yet..

I should have the head off on Sunday (unfortunately I'm out all day Saturday so can't work on it).. I'll post pictures!

Thanks!

S.

 

Just as an FYI, you can have detonation with E85 and it won't always register as knock by the ECU. One of the many things I discovered from running E85 for almost a decade now.