Boom goes my bottom end.

Giro

Registered User
So i was cruising down the freeway, and I pushed my car to around 120 mph, when it started smoking (oil) and the engine started rattling. I let off the throttle, and coasted off the freeway, and had it towed to my friends house. This is the aftermath. First picture is the driver side, second is the passenger side.
 

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Ouch, that sucks! No problems with the engine beforehand? Usually a motor will give you a bit of a warning like knocking or smoking before it lets go completely like that, unless it was over-revved. Either way, now would be a good time for a fresh motor with some ported heads and an upgraded cam.
 
No signs from the bottom end at all. I redid the top end when I did the head gaskets, but bottom end seemed solid. And yea, ill start saving up for some bigger and better things.
 
Also I didn't over rev it, it was at around 4700 rpms. Guess I should start shopping around for a new block.
 
If you did the head gaskets, that explains it. Once the coolant gets into the oil, it starts wearing the bearings REALLY fast, and if it isn't caught right away, the bottom end will frequently fail within a few months.

So what are the plans now? Just another stock bottom end, or are you going to build something up? Is the car a daily driver, or just a weekend toy that can be down for the winter?
 
If you did the head gaskets, that explains it. Once the coolant gets into the oil, it starts wearing the bearings REALLY fast, and if it isn't caught right away, the bottom end will frequently fail within a few months.


First time I blew head gasket the bearings lasted about a month before it died, then it was time for a new engine

Ken
 
I am wondering how it got so bad. Broken rod? Was there detonation that you couldn't hear at speed? Dropped valve? Just seems like extreme carnage.
 
That's not extreme. When mine blew (dropped valves on #5) had a softball sized hole in block, rod in 3+pieces and oil pan had hole in it, and broke lifter retainers too.
 
The coolant wearing the bearings make sense. The car was my daily driver, so now I'm woyhout a car. Luckily my commute is half a mile, so I can be without for a bit. I wanna build an engine with some moderate mods and performance. Not a track beast, but something that has maybe around 400 hp and torque. Gonna need a new block for sure.
 
400 Hp is some pretty big shoes to fill from a little six cylinde,especially for a daily driver. 300 hp would be more realistic i would think.
 
300hp in an SC makes for a fun daily driver. Given that the car is your daily driver, my reccomendation would be to get a set of ported heads and a cam from XR7Dave, find a good used motor and freshen it up with new rings and bearings, and put it all together with felpro head gaskets and ARP head studs. After that, see what the budget looks like for a blower upgrade. That will give you a decent bottom end to work with without breaking the bank or taking all winter to complete.
 
What if I stroked it out to a 4.3? If I can, I plan to reuse the top end component, I think the supercharger has a magnum power s port or something like that, and im boosting 15-16 OSI.
 
You could build a stroker, but be prepared for the car to be down for a lot longer. Plus until you get into much higher power levels, the stroker really won't help you as much, so if I were in your shoes, I would hold off on that and spend the money elsewhere. An s-port blower is definitely a good upgrade. What other non-stock parts does the car have on it?
 
Tough break on the motor. If it were me I'd either get a replacement motor or another daily if you want to build. You could always pick up a low mileage 4.2 motor and swap your top end on it, just keep boost/tune moderate around 12psi and timing below 16psi for 93oct. The bump in displacement and compression will give it a nice bump in power. A na motor can last just needs a good safe tune. Made 370rwhp with my stock na motor for 2 years, bumped the boost up to 18psi before it snapped a rod.
 
DRIVETRAIN
TWO 5 SPEED HALF SHAFTS
3.55 GEARS
MARK VIII ALUM DIFF HOUSING
94/95 SC 5 SPEED CENTER FORCE CLUTCH/PRESSURE PLATE
B&M SHORT THROW SHIFTER
MARK VIII ALUM LOWER CONTROL ARMS
KENNY BROWN BRACING
ADCO FRONT AND REAR SWAY BARS
93 SPINDLES
MUSTANG PBR CALIPERS
KVR PADS AND ROTORS

ENGINE
94 SUPER CHARGER/INLET PLENUM
W/ MAGNUM POWERS "S" PORT
MN12 PERF ALUM INTAKE TUBE
Modded Boss 302 ROLLER ROCKERS
MN12 PERF EXHAUST
MAGNUM POWERS BLOWER TOP
INTERCOOLER FAN
180 THERMOSTAT
MN12 PERF MOTOR MOUNTS
SCP HEADERS
K&N AIR FILTER
10 mm WIRES
DUAL INTERCOOLER
75MM THROTTLE BODY
42 LB INJECTORS
76mm C&L MAS
ALUMINUM RADIATOR
STEEL IDLER PULLEYS
5% BLOWER PULLEY
SCP CHIP
94/95 SC WINDAGE TRAY

MISC
94/95 SC 145 MPH SPEEDO
FACIA DECALS
92+ GAS TANK
255 LPH FUEL PUMP
GUAGE PILLER PODS
AUTOMETER AIR/FUEL GUAGE
AUTOMETER WATER TEMP GUAGE
AUTOMETER FUEL PRESSURE GUAGE
CANADIAN DAYLIGHT RUNNING LIGHTS
CANADIAN ACTIVE RESTRAINTS
CERVINI HOOD W/ MACH1 INSERTS
CUSTOM REAR SPOILER
CLEAR CORNERS
96-97 COLOR KEYED DOOR HANDLES
 
That sounds like a nice car! Given that, I still would say get a refreshed SC bottom end, at least a cam upgrade, and spend the extra on an MP inlet and 10% jackshaft or crank pulley.
 
Depends what your budget is, and what the replacement motor looks like once you get it apart, but for the mods you have and then a little more, stock internals will hold up fine. If you end up havig to overbore the block though, then you might as well upgrade the pistons, but if you can keep the stock internals, then you won't have to worry about machine work or getting the rotating assembly balanced, which will save you time and money on your build.
 
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