S600VXR - Found the Problem

[S600VXR]

No 7 piston - or third back on the right as you face the front of the car. You can also see the top of the piston is damaged. The plugs are AC Delco 12571164 41-985

Question - going to speak with Bellingers tomorrow again as the car was fully serviced when I got it 22mths ago at just about 13k miles, it now has just on 22k miles and whilst I change the oil every 3k it was not serviced last year on the yearly basis due to the low miles it covers. Will this invalidate the warentee on a technicality in yr opinions...?

Edited by S600VXR on Monday 10th August 20:18

[Magic919]

Same as Charlie's then. I'd say you'd be outside the letter of the warranty. What they decide to do, who knows. I'd ask for a contribution towards a proper fix at the place of your choice.

[ringram]

Bummer mate.
Looks like its forged stroker time afterall.
With any luck the bore is ok and you can use your block.
Good luck with the warranty claim, however given the end result a different path next time might be more advisable.

[007 VXR]

[madmunky]

Unlucky mate its all sounding very familiar to what happened to me, hope you get it sorted.

[SimonV8ster]

So what is the likely cause of this ??

[l4jor]

I thought the factory plugs were good for 60,000 miles? I have never even looked at mine..18,000 miles. I had better check them ASAP.

[Tiger_kpt]

I changed mine at the 30k mile service. I seem to recall that some specialists recommend 50k miles though.

[monkfish1]

Tiger_kpt said:

I changed mine at the 30k mile service. I seem to recall that some specialists recommend 50k miles though.

50K is the factory service interval.

[ringram]

SimonV8ster said:

So what is the likely cause of this ??

Exceeding factory specified power levels

[SimonV8ster]

ringram said:

SimonV8ster said:

So what is the likely cause of this ??

Exceeding factory specified power levels

People, eh ? Just can't trust to leave things alone.

[monkfish1]

SimonV8ster said:

ringram said:

SimonV8ster said:

So what is the likely cause of this ??

Exceeding factory specified power levels

People, eh ? Just can't trust to leave things alone.

Just an opportunity to upgrade

[stevieturbo]

ringram said:

SimonV8ster said:

So what is the likely cause of this ??

Exceeding factory specified power levels

In a way yes. But I'd say most of the applications with a standard bottom end...its only a matter of time.

The weak pistons are well documented. Combine it with warm days, enjoyment of the car, and sooner or later it will just overwhelm them. For all you know, whatever fuel you used may not have been up to the same standard as usual ?

Although it was probably just time ?


One good thing though....the pluig looks dry. SO the damage might not be so severe....ie, no bore damage as the piston hasnt melted badly. Just broken.

Edited by stevieturbo on Monday 10th August 22:34

[broadslide]

Sorry to hear that Rog. I'm sure you had it serviced at Greens though. Did they forget to stamp the book?

[stevieturbo]

No amount of oil changes or new spark plugs and filters would make any difference to this problem.

[Mystvxr]

stevieturbo said:

No amount of oil changes or new spark plugs and filters would make any difference to this problem.

How does something like this happen? Could the same damage occur to an engine with a set of forged pistons? Are there better plugs people with high power setups be using or just changing the plugs more often?

[stigmundfreud]

could just have been a st weak plug, or detonation anything could have caused that metal to fatigue. Could have been dropped, scored before putting in. Metal breaks. PErsonally I prefer copper plugs and would rather change every 20k. Platinum plugs or more the iridium ones have been documented to go hard and fail, it was one of the reasons I changed for copper even though I was nowhere near this level of performance.

Edited by stigmundfreud on Tuesday 11th August 01:18

[stigmundfreud]

btw the recommended service times for things like plugs etc was only brought in to make people like fleet managers happy.

[ringram]

stevieturbo said:

No amount of oil changes or new spark plugs and filters would make any difference to this problem.

+1 stock pistons are not designed for the environment in which they were used, hence they broke. Hell they can even brake in an NA setup if things like the tune arnt right.

Yes forged would have held together better, they are more durable and would likely have had a larger top ringland.

All roads eventually lead to a solid forged engine once you depart from stock specifications/temps/pressures as I have harped on about almost daily

There are a lot of variables involved. Fuel octane, engine and intake temps, tune, engine components, injectors, fuel pump etc. It would be a guess as to exactly what went wrong or combination thereof. Hence why all of the above need to be taken into consideration when specifying certain power levels in a reliable manner.

[bennno]

ringram said:

stevieturbo said:

No amount of oil changes or new spark plugs and filters would make any difference to this problem.

+1 stock pistons are not designed for the environment in which they were used, hence they broke. Hell they can even brake in an NA setup if things like the tune arnt right.

Yes forged would have held together better, they are more durable and would likely have had a larger top ringland.

All roads eventually lead to a solid forged engine once you depart from stock specifications/temps/pressures as I have harped on about almost daily

There are a lot of variables involved. Fuel octane, engine and intake temps, tune, engine components, injectors, fuel pump etc. It would be a guess as to exactly what went wrong or combination thereof. Hence why all of the above need to be taken into consideration when specifying certain power levels in a reliable manner.

confused, are you saying the piston broke and in turn this broke the spark plug, or has the plug failed and damaged the piston

if its the latter then I dont see how different pistons would make any difference?

bennno