Draco-REX Posted July 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 You are handling this much better than i would. +1. Good luck on the rebuild! I'm not exactly happy about this, but being pissed off isn't, going to change things. And besides, I put a blower on an engine with 12.5:1 compression, overdrive the blower, and then switched fuels to E85. I only have myself to blame. Even knowing the risks, I was still confident because there are numerous people using the same setup for track days where the engine will see far more stress. So I'm very curious about what went wrong. Sorry to hear about your car. So what's the verdict? HG or rod thru the block? Don't know yet. I may climb under it Thursday after work. But I'm sure it's not a rod since that should be fairly obvious (gnomes with sledgehammers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 The guys manning ZB's shop let me put it on an empty lift so I could get a look under the engine. ..so much oil.. It's going to suck to clean. Anyways, got the skid plate off and I didn't have to pull the header. Looks like someone over on FT86Club.com called it: I'm going to go out on a limb here and venture my guess to be that you ate a rocker and shot it out of the valve cover. Just a guess. I'm interested to see what the actual verdict is. Nailed it. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess oil starvation. The course at the event was very right-turn heavy, including a banked turn. With no downforce or slicks I didn't think I'd have to worry about this, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Hopefully someone's figured out a solution to this, or I'm just not going to be able to run at Kil-Kare again. So, if I'm somewhat lucky, I just need a head and I'm back and running. When the engine comes out, I'll know for sure. But for now I don't think I'll be needing the replacement engines I've sourced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 More news. It turns out I might have fallen victim to a rare defect effecting the pins that hold the rockers in place. If so, it wasn't an oil starvation issue, and Element Tuning has a solution. Man, I really hope that's all that happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRD2BDF Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Crossing fingers for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 The Internet age is awesome. Someone who has never seen the car before predicted failure and you already know of companies that have solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Gump 9 Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 That's lucky. As far as cleaning the engine bay, spray simple green and power washer off. Pray the engine will start when you turn the key Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 These are two brand new ones: Warning: huge image http://elementtuning.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ElementOEMRockerManuf.jpg I'm starting to see why Subaru's quality rating has dropped recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Those look like they weren't even in a box and fell off the truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noobiemcnooberson. Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 There you go, moss magnuson act. Personal I'd pull the blower and take it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Hoping for the least-damaging outcome! Were those rockers the ones you pulled from your engine? If that's factory, then LOL at the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Hoping for the least-damaging outcome! Were those rockers the ones you pulled from your engine? If that's factory, then LOL at the quality. That picture is from Element Tuning. The two pictured were brand new replacements. Ah well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossle Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 These are two brand new ones: Warning: huge image http://elementtuning.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ElementOEMRockerManuf.jpg I'm starting to see why Subaru's quality rating has dropped recently. That's ugly lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 That is a rare failure, and has happened to relatively stock n/a cars as well. Yours is maybe the 3rd case I've seen on the forums, but still better than a bottom end failure. Hope it's back on the road quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grudes Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 The guys manning ZB's shop let me put it on an empty lift so I could get a look under the engine. ..so much oil.. It's going to suck to clean. Anyways, got the skid plate off and I didn't have to pull the header. Looks like someone over on FT86Club.com called it: Nailed it. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess oil starvation. The course at the event was very right-turn heavy, including a banked turn. With no downforce or slicks I didn't think I'd have to worry about this, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Hopefully someone's figured out a solution to this, or I'm just not going to be able to run at Kil-Kare again. So, if I'm somewhat lucky, I just need a head and I'm back and running. When the engine comes out, I'll know for sure. But for now I don't think I'll be needing the replacement engines I've sourced. A dry sump oil system would take care of the oil starvation problem. It doesnt allow the oil to slosh around in a pan. They make kits for the EJ motors but you may have to do a little digging to find one for a BRZ. The kits I have seen are around $3400 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 These are two brand new ones: Warning: huge image http://elementtuning.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ElementOEMRockerManuf.jpg I'm starting to see why Subaru's quality rating has dropped recently. My 25yr old 4g63 rockers still look like better quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 A dry sump oil system would take care of the oil starvation problem. It doesnt allow the oil to slosh around in a pan. They make kits for the EJ motors but you may have to do a little digging to find one for a BRZ. The kits I have seen are around $3400 It's looking like it wasn't a starvation issue, but a manufacturing defect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKilbourne Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 That really stinks. Those "stamped" rockers have a tiny bit of casting flash...just a tiny bit :gabe: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 This is rather good news, maybe not as catastrophic as we had all feared. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssFo Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 Glad it wasn't major. I'm super disappointed in the quality of the new Subaru's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted July 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Glad it wasn't major. I'm super disappointed in the quality of the new Subaru's. Subaru's in a bad position right now. They're a very small car maker, but they've had the biggest growth of any. Their production is stretched to its limit, and they are having trouble meeting demand for their most popular cars. I have a feeling that their drop in quality is due to corner cutting to get few more cars out the door. If that the case, the only solution is to build more capacity or pull back production. Either way, I don't see the quality going back up in the near future. ZB's due back this week. I don't know if he will jump right back into work (most people wouldn't, but knowing him I wouldn't be surprised if he did). So I may not get a look inside the engine till next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 ZB got the valve cover off and was able to get a good look at the damage. He confirmed rocker failure as the cause. Unfortunately when the rocker came loose it damaged the head. So the engine is getting pulled and the head removed. We'll give the cylinders a good look and see if forged internals is warranted. I really wish there were aftermarket rockers available. No pictures yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Sucks. Welcome to the "Heads-Off Summer of 2015" Crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 ZB got the valve cover off and was able to get a good look at the damage. He confirmed rocker failure as the cause. Unfortunately when the rocker came loose it damaged the head. So the engine is getting pulled and the head removed. We'll give the cylinders a good look and see if forged internals is warranted. I really wish there were aftermarket rockers available. No pictures yet. I'm surprised at the lack of aftermarket rockers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 Problem with being on the cutting edge of new toys, when parts fail due to weakness or any other reason there often isn't a ready made option What's ZBs recommendation at this point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Sucks. Welcome to the "Heads-Off Summer of 2015" Crew. Popped my HG last Friday at the track at the top of 3rd. So count me in that group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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