My engine has just let go !

[nevpugh308]

Ouch. The engine in my Westfield has just let go BIG time, whilst out for a blast in the country (had to get the wife to tow me back from the middle of nowhere, the shame !)

Started with a light clatter, 3 seconds later it was a big clatter, engine off, pull over sharpish, consumed in a big cloud of smoke. This. Is. Not. Good.

Back home, can't see anything externally apart from some oil splatter round the engine bay on the carb side of the engine, and dripping oil from the where the exhaust manifold meets the exhaust box. Have just whipped the rocker cover off, and all the valves are still there, but one push rod is about 1" lower than it should be !! (hence the rattle I guess)

(btw the engine is a Connaught built 1600 Xflow, quite highly tuned, blueprinted and flowed, dry sumped, twin 45DCOEs etc)

I guess tomorrow I'll start stripping the engine of all the anxillaries to find out what's happened, but any guesses anyone ? Cam ? Push rod ? Why is there oil splattered in the engine bay but no apparent breach of the block ? Why is there oil in the exhaust if it is the cam / pushrod area ?

[nevpugh308]

Tref - sorry mate I did SMS you shortly after Tess had dragged me ignomously home (AND I had to rip my front number plate off to be able to attach the rope to the chassis ... note to self, must fit front tow hitch)

The thing I dont understand at the moment is why a piston or valve packing in (assuming that is the case) would mean I've got a loose push rod rattling round ?!? Oh well, I'll find out soon enough, tomorrow morning it's "strip-a-dee-doo-dar, strip-a-dee-day" time ....

(p.s. Tref, bad luck re. Liz .... 115 and she got away with it ?!?)

[nevpugh308]

("getting away with it" being a relative term of course, 3 pts is still a p*sser)

[nevpugh308]

[nevpugh308]

[nevpugh308]

The head on number 4 has been completely mashed / melted, ditto number 4 piston. Crack running length of bore from top to bottom.

Anyone got a 1600 X flow for sale ??

[nevpugh308]

Robp - thanks for that, I'll chase that up.

Mike - not sure yet. Can't spot a likely cause, but the damage is that extensive it's difficult to say. I've yet to pull the engine and check out the bottom end, I think there's something wrong with the bottom end due to no.3 exhaust push rod being 1" lower than it should be ! Best guess at the moment ? Snapped inlet valve, broken/jumped timing chain, snapped cam.

[nevpugh308]

Paul V - interesting, but if yours looks anything like mine how would you know ?!? There's nothing left of the inlet valve (bar chunks) and the valve seat area has been totally destroyed. The spark plug has been repeatedly hit and moshed, so it's hard to tell if it ever had an electrode in the first place !

Was totting up the list of parts I'd need (assuming my block isn't cracked) and I'm up to £1000 already (excluding machine costs and labour)

[nevpugh308]

A mechanic at the place where my wife works has just had a look at the pics. He says that his mate had something identical with his X flow a few years back, and that it was down to the carbs being out of tune with each other, causing the valves to overheat and eventually melt. He says, looking at the colour of the valves, that this looks to be the case here. This doesn't cheer me up much, the fact that I could have avoided this (theorectially) and that it's my fault

Serious comment : if anyone knows of a tuned X flow (1600/1700) engine for sale in the Midlands area (or thereabouts) could you drop me a line ?

robp ... followed that link, couldn't see anything about it on the site, is this insider knowledge ?

[nevpugh308]

Quick question :

Assuming my engine MIGHT be salvagable, could I just replace 1 piston or would I have to replace all 4 ?

Also, anyone know how much crack testing a block might cost ?

[nevpugh308]

richardcraig : gottit, thanks

[nevpugh308]

Thanks all for thoughts and feedback (and sympathy ... I need it .... I've just looked up how much a full race head is from Burton ... ulp !)

Graham : I think, to be honest, the head is scrap. Where the inlet valve used to mate the hole is maybe 3 to 4mm bigger in radius !! Plus there's extensive "impact" damage in what used to be the flat surface of the combustion chamber, basically BIG chunks taken out (to 3-4mm depth)

[nevpugh308]

gbgaffer - thanks for that link, I'll check through all the ads. The specific engine you pointed out isn't a 711M block sadly, so that's no good.

richardincov - depending on how I go, I'll bear that in mind and I'll get in touch. from your name, do I take it you're in Coventry ?

[nevpugh308]

Got the westie engine out on Saturday morning. There's a lot of mayo and debris in the pan (remember the piston was holed)

Something I noticed on the head ..... looking sideways on, one (of the remaining 3) valves sits slightly higher than the surface of the head (the combusion chambers on the head aren't really recessed). The other two are sitting slightly lower then the surface of the head. The car was/is fitted with one of those fuelcat things and the previous owner always ran the car on unleaded (though it wasn't an unleaded head). I wonder if the valves were badly recessing, and that's what caused the no.4 inlet valve to give up the ghost .... ?

There's probably about 2 or 3mm difference in height between the one that's standing proud, and the couple that are recessed.

[nevpugh308]

Hehe ... might upset the balance a little bit mind

No, I'm sticking with X flow I've decided, and I'm going to have a go at building it myself. All I need now is a block .....

[nevpugh308]

Fair nuff.

Yes, I am running filters (K&Ns). Mind you, I might have to replace one of them, as there's a 100 million tiny fragments of metal on the inside of the filter, where the exploding engine threw its guts up, back through the carb.