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Man some bad luck all around, but at least you had some seat time. Its all a learning experience so each outing should be better than the last. And you know what needs fixing.
So it looks like I'm going to be yanking the engine and rebuilding it again. At least I'll be able to see how the drop in pistons have fared after almost 10k miles and 5 track days. Had almost nothing in my catch can and most of what was caught was water and fuel so I'm hoping for decent looking cylinders and pistons. Assuming everything checks out okay it shouldn't dent the wallet too much, just going to get the deck on the block and head cleaned up and slap all new gasket on as well as throw the cams in along with some springs.
In other news I was visiting some friends in Indianapolis this weekend and made a couple stops along the way to pick up some stuff from the Pro Awe guys. Ended up getting a set of Hankook TD Z221 tires and two PF01 18x10.5 wheels along with a herra rare evo 7 rear bumper. Got some small body stuff planned this winter and I'm happy I was to get one of these without straining myself for months looking for one.
The head was decked the block wasn't. I measured the block and it measured within spec for flatness. My guess is that it was insufficient surface finish on the block side to seal the headgasket. I've seen this happen before on other engines, it's just more likely to be an issue with aluminum than iron.
Definitely not an assembly issue. A couple months back I rechecked the torque on the headstuds. They were all still at the 85ft/lbs I torqued them to when I put the engine together.
Well looks like I'm putting the car away for the winter next week.
As it stands here's the plan for the winter:
- Engine rebuild/refresh + cam/spring install
- SSB front knuckles
- SSB lower control arms
- Rear suspension and diff bushings
- Front brakes
- Evo 7 rear bumper and possibly rear diffuser
- New internal wastegate setup
The head was decked the block wasn't. I measured the block and it measured within spec for flatness. My guess is that it was insufficient surface finish on the block side to seal the headgasket. I've seen this happen before on other engines, it's just more likely to be an issue with aluminum than iron.
Definitely not an assembly issue. A couple months back I rechecked the torque on the headstuds. They were all still at the 85ft/lbs I torqued them to when I put the engine together.
Well now you have learned that your block is warped. I need to find a machine shop so I can start my own engine build.
Motor and trans will be out this weekend. Should have it all torn down next week and off to the machine shop.
Got a good deal on some 1450cc FIC injectors so gonna send those out to Boostin to get cleaned.
Was a little sad upon draining the trans. Saw a fair amount of silver fluid pour out and the plug had a ton of metal stuck to it (pic shows after wiping it off to show how thick build up was around entire magnet). Fluid was fresh as of last fall. The trans is original with 110k on it with 5+ years of track driving and has given me zero issues so it's earned its keep, just hoping I can get one more season out of it as a rebuild isn't in the budget this year.
The plug doesnt look terrible. Sure its not ideal but its never going to come out clean IMO. The way I see if it it aint grinding run it to the ground. What fluid you running in there? Not to get into a fluid debate I've had the best luck with Motul in my trans. Good fluid and a properly adjusted clutch go a long way to keeping the trans happy.
That's why I change drivetrains fluids pretty much every track day. Just helps get all the junk out.
You can get input shaft bearings and synchros from Jacks for $660. Output shaft shaft and center diff bearings probably another $150-$200. But if it wasn't making noise and it was shifting ok, I'm sure it'll be fine.
I've been running Pennzoil synchromesh. It's a good fluid for higher mileage transmissions with yellow metal synchros. My main cause for concern is that in the previous times I've drained the fluid, it's not had nearly this much metal debris in it. This is probably 3-4x the amount that came out last time, using the same fluid. The pic is just to show how thick it was, that thickness was on the entire magnet.
Gonna cross my fingers and keep a close ear on the trans next season. Hopefully can get something of a sadety budget in order in case it lets go mid season. Plan was to give it to TRE next winter for their ultimate ratio setup with a PAR 4th and jdm 5th gear. Still undecided on final drive, still plenty of time to change my mind 10+ times.
