Something went wrong.... BOOM

[Stang_1973]

It all started when i first began to here a faint tick. As the day passed the tick got louder. Then i noticed stumbling when i came to stops and under low acceleration. So the next day i took the car to the mechanic who did the rebuild. he says it's a weak lifter and so we are going to have to replace it. I am like OK but is the car still driveable. He says yes and that it is no big deal. Well on the way home, BOOM. Something shoots out my oil pan and the car dies. Now there is a big hole in the pan. The mechanic is supposed to come over today to check every thing out. I am so Mad

 

[Ozsum2]

It all started when i first began to here a faint tick. As the day passed the tick got louder. Then i noticed stumbling when i came to stops and under low acceleration. So the next day i took the car to the mechanic who did the rebuild. he says it's a weak lifter and so we are going to have to replace it. I am like OK but is the car still driveable. He says yes and that it is no big deal. Well on the way home, BOOM. Something shoots out my oil pan and the car dies. Now there is a big hole in the pan. The mechanic is supposed to come over today to check every thing out. I am so Mad

Call your attorney. Sorry to here this. Normaly, a lifter is ok to drive for a while, unless it is so collapsed that it shoots a push rod out. This may or may not be what happened here. At least it went through the pan instead of the block.

 

[Max Power]

Sounds like your mechanic was wrong. Do you have a warranty?

 

[Stang_1973]

The mechanic is a brother of one of my dad's friends. He is a mechanic for the San Antonio police Department and so he did the rebuild on the side. Supposeably he has built several engines before and was an avid drag racer. me and my dad are supposesed to sort everything out with him later on today.

I forgot to add. Not just oil spilled out but coolant as well. but nothing happened to the radiator. does this suggest a blown head as well.

 

[dodgestang]

Not be a downer....

I think you are going to find out it is much worse than you think.
You have a motor that was making a 'noise' and then shot something out of the bottom of the oil pan. The block is already .040 over so even with superficial damage this block is toast. Then you mentioned water/antifreeze coming out which would indicate at best a bad gasket and at worse a water passage damage as part of the "removal of parts by force out the bottom of the motor" trick.

Time to start looking at yards for low mileage late models to drop and go with a whole new motor or to find a good block to rebuild from IMO.

I suppose a good question would be "how much water came out?" as you try to figure out what caused the failure to maybe help point out if water in the block contributed to the failure or was a result of the failure. Where you watching temps and oil pressure closely at the time?

 

[70XR7ConvertCat]

Not be a downer.... I think you are going to find out it is much worse than you think.... I suppose a good question would be "how much water came out?" as you try to figure out what caused the failure to maybe help point out if water in the block contributed to the failure or was a result of the failure. Where you watching temps and oil pressure closely at the time?

I suspect the original "tick" sound you heard was caused by a blown head gasket. You didn't say if the car overheated, or not, but what probably happened next is the coolant drained into your oil. The oil emulsified, and lost it's lubricating properties. The engine then suffered a fatal event due to a rod bearing failure. Ask me how I know.

Steve C.

 

[ratio411]

I don't see a pushrod shooting out of the pan... valve cover maybe.
I think his collapsed lifter theory is shot in the foot.
Sounds like you probably lost a head gasket and siezed the engine due to lack of attention to the problem.
If he had looked harder when you took it to him, rather than send you on your way, he could have caught the problem and cured it much easier than replacing an entire engine.
Good luck.
Hate to hear of such a large problem.
If it makes you feel any better, I suffered a spun rod bearing recently and ended up rebuilding a complete engine as I got into it... everything was worn away to nothing.
Dave

 

[Ozsum2]

Yea, I've seen em go through the block but not that far south. Do you really think it lost that much coolant before he didn't notice an overheating problem? Could be, but I'd think there would have been some other signs.

 

[Ronstang]

If you reused the stock head bolts I am betting a head gasket blew and hydauliced a cylinder.....bending/breaking a rod which subsequently destroyed the block by cracking the cylinder wall at the least. ALWAYS, and I do mean ALWAYS replace all head bolts with a $32 set of ARP head bolts as it is the cheapest insurance you can buy. If you reuse stock head bolts it is a matter of when the head gasket blows, not if.

 

[68Coupe289]

Drop the pan, and see if you still count 8 connecting rods.

I'm going with the coolant into oil theory as well. Probably seized and threw a piece of a rod out.

You wouldn't have seen a drop in oil pressure, but the engine probably would have been running hot prior to the failure.

 

[65fastback2+2]

time to go late model roller 5.000hhhh

 

[2nd Mustang]

How large of a hole? I've seen pistons go through blocks before, also connecting rods make nice missiles. Sorry to hear of your dilema, been there too.

 

[Max Power]

Ronstang,

I am building a 393 with aluminun heads right now. What are you torquing the ARP head bolts with ARP lube to? Have you been re-torquing after break in? Using Fel-Pro head gaskets.

Sorry for the threadjack.

 

[Ronstang]

Max,

I don't use ARP lube since the bolt holes in the block are into water passages. I use teflon sealant paste which is also a very good lubricant and allows for smooth torgueing. The ARP bolts we just used came with instructions to torque to 85 ft/lbs when using 30 wt oil so I used used that figure. Of key importance in my opinion is to torque in steps. If the manual does not provide the step increments just improvise. I usually start at 20-25 ft/lbs to make sure the gasket seats well and square. On these I then went to 55 and finally 85. If you have to torque to over 100 just go to 25 and then subtact that from your final number and divide by 3 and use those steps. The torque depends upon the size of the bolt so if the 390 has 1/2" bolts that number will go up to over 100 ft/lbs...but follow the ARP instructions because they figure torque at 1/2 yeild strength for the best compromise between clamping force and reliability.

New head gaskets do not require that you retorque them after they heat cycle. This was common 30+ years ago but todays materials are far superior and I have not seen a head gasket that suggests you retorque....that doesn't mean they don't exist so go by the manufacturers recommdation.

 

[ratio411]

Retorque.
Cheap insurance.
Doesn't take alot of effort.
I did it on my work engine I just rebuilt the other day... the torque was off 10+ ft/lbs after break in.
Dave

 

[VictorII]

It all started when i first began to here a faint tick. As the day passed the tick got louder. Then i noticed stumbling when i came to stops and under low acceleration. So the next day i took the car to the mechanic who did the rebuild. he says it's a weak lifter and so we are going to have to replace it. I am like OK but is the car still driveable. He says yes and that it is no big deal. Well on the way home, BOOM. Something shoots out my oil pan and the car dies. Now there is a big hole in the pan. The mechanic is supposed to come over today to check every thing out. I am so Mad

Man, sorry this has happened to you. Of the top of my head it sounds like a rod nut was not tight, and let the rod come loose. If that happened, and the cap came off, the crank probably picked the rod up on its side and toasted your block in the bore skirt area.

I'd look for an early block due to ease of swap out (water pump outlets, etc.) Although the roller blocks are a little more powerful. See what the guy says. My sense is that he will do the right thing, and put a period block back in after checking the heads and everything else that needs to be checked and after a catastrophic failure like this one, everything well need to be checked. There are a lot of early blocks around, stay with flat top pistons so you have a little compression. The stock '73s had low compression and low horsepower -- 140 I think; down from 225 from '72. Pistons, cam, intake, carb, ignition (and performance curve) with a decent exhaust will take care of that. I currently run a '74 block with performance parts in my '65 convert (converted from a dead 6 cyl). I also have a '68 block on the engine stand getting ready for the next build. I use '68 heads and have an extra set with bigger than stock valves and some porting/gasket matching that are exactly what I have on the engine now. Let us know how it turns out. This kind of thing sux.....

 

[Max Power]

Victor, the change in horsepower ratings was due to how it was measured, not a huge reduction in compression.

 

[VictorII]

Victor, the change in horsepower ratings was due to how it was measured, not a huge reduction in compression.

Probably true, however compression was down, timing was way slower, cam profiles were way different and intake was wimpy. I had a '72 and then a '73. The '73 was much less powerful. It was noticable. Undoing all of that will bring it all back and more.....

 

[ratio411]

The changes were in the timing gears and the heads.
The short block changed very little.
So it's pointless because the engine in question is using all aftermarket stuff anyway.

On the late/early block arguement, I urge the use of an early block.
The late block's only redeeming factor is the use of a hydraulic roller cam.
Other than that it is weaker and can cause compatability problems. This can be overcome, but why worry about it.
Dave

 

[VictorII]

The changes were in the timing gears and the heads.
The short block changed very little.
So it's pointless because the engine in question is using all aftermarket stuff anyway.

On the late/early block arguement, I urge the use of an early block.
The late block's only redeeming factor is the use of a hydraulic roller cam.
Other than that it is weaker and can cause compatability problems. This can be overcome, but why worry about it.
Dave

Not true -- there were a lot more changes than that to get to a certain smog standard. I know, I had one. I wish I still had the shop manuals so I could scan and show you the specs. They were different; pistons, cam duration and (I think) lift, distributor timing and an awful exhaust system. Timing gears would make no difference, the gears and chain were installed so that the cam was straight up anyway.

However, if everything is performance oriented, it is a moot point, you are right. Just make sure flat top pistons are used and consider earlier heads (smaller combustion chambers) to get the compression up to around 9.5. Unless you run forced induction you want more than the 8 or 8.5 to 1 that they had stock. That 1 to 1.5 point change will make a difference when everything else is considered.