Blown VVEL !!!
 

A few guys already know that I blew my engine at my last Time Attack.
this is some update from my diagnostic .

I towed it back from the dealership last saturday so I started right away to remove everthing in front of the engine to have a full acces to the front .

I removed both cam cover to look at the chain since I suspected a broken or loose chain .
the driver side chain that connect both Intake and exhaust cam was quite loose to compare with the passenger side !
until I compare them side by side , I suspect one of them elongated !

next step was to remove the driver valve cover to see what went wrong in the end where the knocking was comming from in the beginning while the engine was still running porly



Located at piston#6 ,, look alright and wet from the oil... not much sign of any defects.
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...ny-defects.jpg


something is missing there !
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...sing-there.jpg


humm broken pawl and pin somewhere in the bottom of the engine head.
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...ngine-head.jpg


the wrose where everything went bad from the engine code I got first ... piston#4 VVEl look very dried up and rusted already ,, !!
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...ed-already.jpg


dried up lobe from a broken VVEL pawl. the rust is already getting there !!! must have been red hot.
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...en-red-hot.jpg


the wrose where everything went bad from the engine code I got first ... piston#4 VVEl look very dried up and rusted already ,, !!
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...ed-already.jpg


I wonder what composition is in the center that melted !
located on piston#2
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...d-piston-2.jpg


you can see the dried VVEL camshaft and the broken pawl , VVEL valve from piston #2
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...e-piston-2.jpg


side holding pin pawl getting out !!!! ,, VVEL valve from piston #4 , the dried up VVEL is due to an extreme heat generated by the lack or lubrification !
http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...rification.jpg


soo after this ... my conclusion would be
do not rev up to 8000 rpm !! and avoid taking corner at 1.35-1.4G

damn, will dealer cover?

Wow that blows! Isn't this covered under your factory warranty?

no they denied any warranty on the engine ... part of my fault and the new build Nissan dealership where I live.
they went to fast with picture and getting in contact with Nissan Canada.

it wasnt like last year with a different dealership , They told me that I should reinstall everything stock around the engine before they take picture...
I got the 7AT replaced there
but I couldnt tow the car at that one and my only option was the new one near of my home.

if the revs were at 8k... not going to happen. sorry to hear that!

That's messed up man...

I guess 7800 is the max.

Ouch! What's your plan now?

HR head swap with BIG CAMS !

and a surprise that was supposed to be done at the end of the summer.
let just say ... ITS BIG !

but for now , the big project is really to make the HR head work and start the engine .. once this is done the big cam and custom piston will follow...

Im hopping to do everything myself so a lot of new tools will be needed to be bought !

Dude - if you are pulling 1.3 to 1.4g lateral G and you have not done anything about avoiding oil surge, this is what you will see.

The top-end of the engine looks like it has starved of oil, so my guess is that you suffered oil surge ... if that is the case, then the bearings (main and big-end) need to be checked as well .. IMHO best to strip the block - look at everything and rebuild.

I'm surprised that anyone would think that Nissan would cover engine failure during a Time Attack run as a warrantable situation as (in Australia at least) participation in organsied motor sport events invalidates the warranty.

That's why I have taken quite a lot of time to look after the oiling system in my car t make sure it does not suffer these sort of cnsequecnes.

That said, HR heads, hi-comp pistons and BIG cams is clearly the way to go now !!!

Good luck ....

that's pretty much what the world challenge teams have and they run to 8k rpm all day long :tup:

I still reckon the issue is oil starvation and not excessive rev's

this is also my guess .
I plan was to strip everything to see if the block / bearing/ piston are still good..
I suspect now piston#2 & 4 to be damaged ..
anyway they are gonna be changed no matter what...

Good excuse to go full forged route with HR head conversion .... take a peek at the GTM heads that flow 330 cfm which will get you close to 500hp on a solid build ... consider sleeve and overbore - 100mm bore and std stroke will get you to 4.05 litres which with decent cams should let you get close to 500hp - you;ll probably need an aftermarket ECU and individual throttle-bodies to manage it all though ... good luck with the build

good luck man. Your gonna have an awesome NA Z when its all said and done

:icon18: There is no way this will be convered under warranty. No dealer will cover this specially given the situation that caused the damage.

Good luck OP! Can't wait too see when she's fully healed! :tiphat:

LOL let me know about the Nav Unit.. you may need some additional funds!

Why did the engine spin up to 8k?

Really sorry to hear this. I've been watching the build and was hopeful. Anyway, done that myself years ago; blew piston #2 threw the CF Hood. the NOS bottle rolled on me and the motor ran lean...very expensive mistake on my part. Wish I had some spare parts to send your way, but I don't. Let me know how I could help other than sending you a lot of $. :tup:

Tuning

So he change the RPM by +500? Thats just stupid at least on a stock engine. Was it a stock engine?

Very sorry about the failure. Good time to start the build though! It's been on my mind too since my Time Attack competition got a recent boost in power.

Makes me very glad I installed the AM Performance baffled oil pan last year. Does anyone else make a suitable oil pan or are you going to convert to dry sump?

you should've tried the same dealership man..atleast they knew the history of the car.

It seems more like oil starvation than anything else. Were the oil levels ok, before and after track use?

stock engines can take close to 8k rpm occasionally without problems. 7500rpm is where nissan felt safe warrantying the engine for 60k miles

Very interested in HR head swap. How much is involved besides different wiring?

You could send me those nice JWT C10 intake & C9 exhaust cams !!
that way you arent sending me any money !!! :tup:

I do not have the funds right now for a dry sump !!!
I wish I could do that but no im gonna look to make something up in there !
I have a few good ideas that should do the trick.
But a spacer will probably be added to the mix


due to some restriction and last minute problem . that was not possible .
trust me I wanted to tow the car there !!!!

yup I saw so many guys getting their rev limit to 8000 rpm ...
my reason to have it there wasnt to look cool or anything but only to stay in gear as much as I can which was perfect with the gear that sit in my diff !


I havent fully figured it out yet ...
but from my research it seem I have everything to make it to work ..
we will see , I also tried to get in contact with a shop who did a few of type or swap ..Im waiting for their answer.

yea i think with the VVEL heads they set it at 7800rpm. you can PM bkleeman if you have any questions and he might answer. BJ, Dwnshft, might also know since he races in the conti-challenge team. and yea, having those extra revs can really save you a 2-3 or 3-4 shift in a straight going into a corner which helps with laps times, especially if you are running the 4:10 gear. little different for you since you are auto though

But thats silly to say. A stock Z engine can probably handle 20 pounds of boost for a while then Boom like what happen here. Its cool people are trying new things but this seemed silly. IDK.

it's not silly at all dude, lots of people raise their redlines a little over stock when tuning. if it's tuned right, it should work fine. it definitely looks like oil starvation played a role in this problem, not completely the higher rpms (though that was part of it)

Your sig is asking for donations?:roflpuke2:

why not ? hehe
I just blew the engine and yes this is part of the game in racing .
but if someone want to donate im all for it !

there is a few company that (could be/are) interessted for some sponsorship.
but nothing written down yet.

Sorry to hear about this as I really liked where you were going with your build. This combined with all the other track issues (high oil temps, high diff temps, high brake temps, csc problems) really makes me nervous about tracking this car.

there's a big difference between track days/HPDE's vs actual wheel-to-wheel racing. the Z is fine for those things as long as you have an oil cooler and proper braking prep

I'm very aware with the difference since I have a SCCA and NASA club racing licenses, plus instruct for BMWCCA, PCA, and our local Driver's Edge. My Z was my Dad's and he did 4 track weekends with it and it did fine at his novice level with the prep in my signature. However within 5 hard laps of me driving it the clutch pedal stuck to the floor and then when I came into the pits the diff was binding up.
The plan is to sell my race car and just do track days with the Z but the way it stands it just isn't up to the task for my level of experience.

arnt both of these issues fixable?

Better fluids worked for me. :V

I use 75W140 since the diff gets so damn hot. Probably not good for street driving but works well on track.

I guess I better stop shifting at 8200, at least until I recover from the cage build and can afford an LS swap.

today was the day that I removed the engine/tranny!

I had to stop because I do not have the special socket to remove those bolt on the Lower cylinder block. it seem like an inverted Tork bolt.

there is quite a few picture for those interessted .
Tomorrow I will try to find the needed socket to go deeper in the engine ! :)

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...own-engine.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...own-engine.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...out-engine.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...gine-stand.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...ts-oil-pan.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...-oil-1-3mm.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...-oil-1-3mm.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...oil-pickup.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...r-oil-pump.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...-pump-body.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...-pump-body.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/megan...-pump-body.jpg

Broken oil pump. That explains alot about the lack of oil in the head. :eek: In the picture, looks like the block is cracked too. To the right of the crank.

wow! even the block is cracked!!! Did you pay this car cash? or making payments? hope it's a lease!

the block isnt cracked ,,, this is also my first guess when I looked at it...
but its only the oil pump assembly that is cracked , the engine block is Ok ! (for now,,,,)


im still making payment ;)