Car Thread - VROOM VROOM

[internet friend]

Blew up the engine today on track. Fuck.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

Just found out how poorly designed the Ford 1.0t and 1.5t inline 3 engine are. Those of you who have one of them better watch your back.

 

[WhatInTheActualFuck]

Blew up the engine today on track. Fuck.

Ouch. What was the failure and what engine?

@Car Won't Crank - owners of those engines are mostly too busy dealing with the shitty PowerShift DCT to notice anything else.

 

[internet friend]

What was the failure and what engine?

FA20 (par for the course for subie engines, I know). Haven't done a full autopsy yet but it either overboosted and the ECU didn't catch it, or an oil return line getting loose and resulting in 0 oil pressure. Either way cylinder 4 is blown the fuck open and it'll be sitting in my garage for quite some time.

 

[WhatInTheActualFuck]

FA20 (par for the course for subie engines, I know). Haven't done a full autopsy yet but it either overboosted and the ECU didn't catch it, or an oil return line getting loose and resulting in 0 oil pressure. Either way cylinder 4 is blown the fuck open and it'll be sitting in my garage for quite some time.

BRZ? Yours wouldn't be the first one I've heard/seen go down to oil starvation.

 

[internet friend]

BRZ? Yours wouldn't be the first one I've heard/seen go down to oil starvation.

Exactly right. Now all I'm left with us deciding much money to spend on the new engine/upgrades.

 

[WhatInTheActualFuck]

Exactly right. Now all I'm left with us deciding much money to spend on the new engine/upgrades.

Yuck. Whatever else you do, I would definitely add a baffle for the oil pan/sump to the build list.

 

[God's drunkest driver]

Exactly right. Now all I'm left with us deciding much money to spend on the new engine/upgrades.

K swap it. Yeah I know that's probably not realistic, more expensive than rebuilding or finding a replacement engine, it sucks.

I've never been a fan of subaru but I really downright dislike anything they made after the hatchback STI era. The boxer 4 has shown that it is generally not worth it, if it weren't basically the only player in the game of low cost AWD 4 cylinder sport sedans the WRX and STI would be a laughing stock, they've done nothing but gain weight and get bigger nearly a decade. If you're stuck with a 4 cylinder, it doesn't make sense to have two cylinder heads, 4 cams, etc. It's the lesson honda learned with the V4s in their motorcycles which were very cool but generally not worth it in the end because of increased cost and complexity vs an I4. And now Subaru has marketed this BRZ as a track friendly car and there has been a pattern of failures emerging, which is really not good. It's a shame too, because Toyota could have made something way better on their own if they weren't so damn boring and risk averse these days. Toyota made better NA 4 cylinders than Subaru ever did, and could easily have made the new 86 not only a little lighter but more robust with a modern take on the famous BEAMS.

Now if only Honda would pull their collective heads out of their asses and offer a RWD 4cyl sports car to steal all of toyobaru's sales and some from the ecoboost mustang.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

K swap it. Yeah I know that's probably not realistic, more expensive than rebuilding or finding a replacement engine, it sucks.

I've never been a fan of subaru but I really downright dislike anything they made after the hatchback STI era. The boxer 4 has shown that it is generally not worth it, if it weren't basically the only player in the game of low cost AWD 4 cylinder sport sedans the WRX and STI would be a laughing stock, they've done nothing but gain weight and get bigger nearly a decade. If you're stuck with a 4 cylinder, it doesn't make sense to have two cylinder heads, 4 cams, etc. It's the lesson honda learned with the V4s in their motorcycles which were very cool but generally not worth it in the end because of increased cost and complexity vs an I4. And now Subaru has marketed this BRZ as a track friendly car and there has been a pattern of failures emerging, which is really not good. It's a shame too, because Toyota could have made something way better on their own if they weren't so damn boring and risk averse these days. Toyota made better NA 4 cylinders than Subaru ever did, and could easily have made the new 86 not only a little lighter but more robust with a modern take on the famous BEAMS.

Now if only Honda would pull their collective heads out of their asses and offer a RWD 4cyl sports car to steal all of toyobaru's sales and some from the ecoboost mustang.

On the topic of motorsports driving and Japanese cars, I have found that to be quite often the case especially in 90s to 2000s era Japanese sports cars. So many of them like the NA Miata and Toyota Aristo and your Nissan Ks all tend to be underengineered from the factory to be driven spiritedly. When I had my Miata I actually overheated it doing some mountain runs at a moderate pace. The new Lexus RCF and GSF are also lacking in the heat exchanger area for extended abuse. Also Lexus totally under specced the LC500 in cooling capacity too despite it being a $100k+ USD car. Totally unacceptable when the Germans and American sports and touring cars come adequately equipped for enthusiast driving.

 

[God's drunkest driver]

Also Lexus totally under specced the LC500 in cooling capacity too despite it being a $100k+ USD car.

Not surprising. While the Lexus fanboys may insist it's the best thing since sliced bread, it's a flashy gaudy V8 barge made for flexing wealth, not a car made for an enthusiast who will drive it hard. I have never heard of people having issues with Miatas overheating on the street but I don't get into roadsters, they're all over the track. All of the spec miatas I see have some manner of aftermarket aluminum radiator, spec E30 have either aluminum radiators or Z3M radiators too though. I haven't tracked a stock E30, so I have no idea if the cooling system is up to the task, an E46 M3 is though.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

Not surprising. While the Lexus fanboys may insist it's the best thing since sliced bread, it's a flashy gaudy V8 barge made for flexing wealth, not a car made for an enthusiast who will drive it hard. I have never heard of people having issues with Miatas overheating on the street but I don't get into roadsters, they're all over the track. All of the spec miatas I see have some manner of aftermarket aluminum radiator, spec E30 have either aluminum radiators or Z3M radiators too though. I haven't tracked a stock E30, so I have no idea if the cooling system is up to the task, an E46 M3 is though.

I don't know much about E30 but normal E46 like the 325 and 330 are also adequately equipped for track duty without overheating issues. They have some other issues like the oil pump nut coming loose and potential for oil starvation on high g turns, but that can be fixed with an aftermarket oil pan baffle. Pretty much every M3/4 is track ready. LC500 is really a grand touring car but so is the BMW 850 and that has sufficient cooling capacity. Lexus always skimps out the last bit to make a good enthusiast car, kinda like Ford.

 

[God's drunkest driver]

The oil pump nut is a blob of weld away from fixed, unfortunately that's not an easy job and the oil pump shaft may still snap either way. 1990s+ BMW still finds lots of little ways to skimp out. They also didn't equip M50 series engines or the US S50 or S52 with oil pump chain tensioners like they did the S54 and euro market S50s, this is one of the factors in that oil pump shaft failure. The 3L M54 and the E36 M3's S52 do not like to rev high, they have inadequate crank damping for the long stroke cranks and will break things. Aftermarket dampers are expensive but do exist. Even stock, unlucky people have had issues, but spec E46 hasn't had a lot of problems from what I can tell (they don't have a forum, they use facebook, I don't even have an account) so a raised rev limiter of a tune or aftermarket engine management is just a problem. Now unfortunately there aren't many japanese cars that have a spec series like that to compare directly with an E46. Speaking of inadequate cooling, my RX7, now that's a japanese car with ineadequate cooling. Though removing the emissions equipment pretty much cured it.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

The oil pump nut is a blob of weld away from fixed, unfortunately that's not an easy job and the oil pump shaft may still snap either way. 1990s+ BMW still finds lots of little ways to skimp out.

One of the main fixes seems to be attaching steel wire threaded through the oil pump nut and securing it to the sprocket. What I've done is simply applied high temp removable and oil resistant thread locker.

The 3L M54 and the E36 M3's S52 do not like to rev high, they have inadequate crank damping for the long stroke cranks and will break things.

That would explain why the M54B25 seems to like to rev without feeling uneasy to 5k.

In other news I finally got my M62tu to crank after a full refresh with new timing guides. Though after a few minutes it seems to burn oil like it's leaking from somewhere and smokes up the engine bay. Feels bad man. Hoping it's some residual oil from the valve cover gasket job. No drips on the ground.

 

[God's drunkest driver]

Today's car thought is that the Lemans performance of the NASCAR camaro was the closest thing to classic lemans racing anyone has seen in a very long time. That car lacked creature comforts and techno-wizardry and would have turned in a great performance had it not been for the surprise transmission issue. What a fascinating thing they did there.

One of the main fixes seems to be attaching steel wire threaded through the oil pump nut and securing it to the sprocket. What I've done is simply applied high temp removable and oil resistant thread locker.

Safety wired options are available but a blob of weld is common if you have to remove the pan and not the engine.

That would explain why the M54B25 seems to like to rev without feeling uneasy to 5k.

In other news I finally got my M62tu to crank after a full refresh with new timing guides. Though after a few minutes it seems to burn oil like it's leaking from somewhere and smokes up the engine bay. Feels bad man. Hoping it's some residual oil from the valve cover gasket job. No drips on the ground.

I've never driven anything with an M54B25 but it shouldn't be noticeably more smooth or responsive than a B30, B30s have the most aggressive cams and they all have dual mass flywheels and marshmallow engine mounts to take NVH out. Where I've seen (M50) B28 and B25 builds hit 8,000rpm (albeit with dampers) I've never known an M54 or S52 of any flavor rev over 7,000rpm and survive long term.

M60 valve covers are probably just as prone to leaks as M50 valve covers, the rubber washers between the bolts and the valve cover harden and will cause leaks if you didn't replace them. They're the most likely culprit for oil dripping on to the exhaust. BMW is stupid with the rubber in valve cover seals things. M20 rocker plugs harden and leak, M40 and later engines have the rubber washers, M30 and earlier at least used threaded rocker shaft plugs and no rubber washers.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

M60 valve covers are probably just as prone to leaks as M50 valve covers, the rubber washers between the bolts and the valve cover harden and will cause leaks if you didn't replace them. They're the most likely culprit for oil dripping on to the exhaust. BMW is stupid with the rubber in valve cover seals things. M20 rocker plugs harden and leak, M40 and later engines have the rubber washers, M30 and earlier at least used threaded rocker shaft plugs and no rubber washers.

I've replaced all the gaskets top and bottom end that you can think of so it's probably not that. The valve cover gasket and rubber washers are also new. I've done some custom mods to bypass the stock pcv system cause the bmw design is utter trash with that diaphragm nonsense. I'm think those mods aren't working as intended. Despite the plastic valve cover, the M54 definitely has a better sealing design than the M60/62.

 

[WelperHelper99]

Well got my XG350 back:

The good news: it feels good and no longer makes noise, and they got the check engine light to go off

The bad news: the check engine light came back on this morning. It's not stalling out anymore, but it jolted the car when it happened.

So it's going back to the shop literally less than a day after getting it back. End me

 

[Car Won't Crank]

Well got my XG350 back:

The good news: it feels good and no longer makes noise, and they got the check engine light to go off

The bad news: the check engine light came back on this morning. It's not stalling out anymore, but it jolted the car when it happened.

So it's going back to the shop literally less than a day after getting it back. End me

What does your OBD scanner say? Older cars need more tlc and you'll just end up being gouged by a shop if you rely on them for diagnostics.

 

[WelperHelper99]

What does your OBD scanner say? Older cars need more tlc and you'll just end up being gouged by a shop if you rely on them for diagnostics.

I'll get it checked, but the crankshaft sensor was acting up previously. It's running fine, but I have no clue what's going on now that the stalling is gone. Already got a appointment 2 weeks from now

 

[DavidS877]

I'll get it checked, but the crankshaft sensor was acting up previously. It's running fine, but I have no clue what's going on now that the stalling is gone. Already got a appointment 2 weeks from now

Check your car model and pick up one of the Bluetooth OBD II scanners on Amazon. It's handy to be able to check your own codes, especially if it's something simple to fix.

 

[WelperHelper99]

Check your car model and pick up one of the Bluetooth OBD II scanners on Amazon. It's handy to be able to check your own codes, especially if it's something simple to fix.

Bluetooth? Lol, this is from 2005, designed in 1998, it uses a cable hookup for the scanner. As for the fix, I have a idea at this point, which if true, is beyond my abilities and time. It's running fine for now, could just be a code.