Second engine. First one with 7000 miles. Brand new 4-bolt main shortblock with less than 1000 miles swallowed a valve. As god is my witness, the car has never been abused.

Have a call into the mech shop that installed the the new block (and who also did all the work on the original block)

I'm just sick. I don't know what the mech will say about this one. The guy that found the problem this time asked if they had measured the valve clearance to piston (that maybe that was the problem) he said that my cam with the 510 lift on the intake was pretty high but I thought it was small what with the 210/224 cam and the lift of 510 INT and 552 EXhaust.

I just can't believe that I've gone though 2 engines and never, ever got on it.

 

Sorry to hear that.Last I knew your rocker fell off.Hard to believe the valve hit the piston.More likely coil bind,spring broke...something.Wish you better luck man.

 

Damn man sorry to hear that. I can sympathize with you on that. $11K into my project finally got my engine running, and things weren't exactly right, have to get it rebuilt again. Good luck!

 

Bubba, feel your pain here, bud. I went through the same thing once. Valve broke off, rocker arm got broken also, did a lot of damage, and had to rebuilt the motor.

I rebuilt the motor the second time, still not knowing why it broke the first time, everything as far as clearance of valve-to-piston checked out. Then, as my mechanic was putting it all together, BINGO! he noticed the pushrods were slighly shorter, and the bottom of the rockers were hitting the retainers, hence a indentation we found on the old rocker arms. (Crane RR's)
My motor was bought in Arizona, and the guy who installed it here in town the first time, failed to see the discrepancy on the pushrods. The valvetrain geometry wasn't right, or wasn't properly checked.
-Goose

Since then, we got the right size pushrod, and went with the ComCams Rockers.

 

When you mention "pushrods" I purchased (+.050") push rods when I got the 1.6rrs just after I bought the car. I wonder if the longer pushrods have been the trouble all along. The heads were done and the mechanics had to see the valve train, etc. on several occassions. I would think that they would check the geometry. Would a longer than stock push rod, even when they were recommended with Crower RRs perhaps push the valve that much deeper and into the piston?

If so, who's fault is it? I would think that the mechanic would have caught any problem like that. I just don't know.

 

What actually happened? Did a spring break?

 

Dam you built two engines already and I havnt even built mine . Who built the motor are they pretty reliable?

 

Don't know exactly. I was told that the mech just lifted up the passenger side valve cover and it appeared that one of the intake valves dissappeared. Obviously the keeper gave way, but I won't know until someone gets into it and gets a better look.

I had REV valve springs which should have been good to 550 lift. THe cam is a 510/552 lift with the 1.6 RRs, but I can't believe that it would break.

At this very moment, the original mechanic is (supposedly) talking with the mech that I took it to last nite (they both have been in the business for many many years and know one another.)

The "new" mech is semi retired and doesn't even want to consider working on this thing. He does have someone in mind, in the same, complex who will do the work, but I haven't talked to him yet because I am waiting to see what the hell my "old" mechanic says about this situation.

I think I'm screwed. I just believe that whoever worked on the car should take the responsibility to fix the damage. All I did was ask to have it worked on and payed to have it done. I did not abuse the car at all.

 

i think its time for you to call a lawyer if no one is owning up to it at that shop

 

ANytime you have a new freshly built motor that fails that early it's most definantly the shoppes fault... If you bring it back to them you'll only be wondering what theydid wrong this time around... time to find a new shoppe.

 

Sorry to hear it man. I assembled my engine myself (first time for me putting together a shortblock) - i have 3,500 miles on mine so far. The first 1k miles i was SO scared something was gunna break...so far so good. I wish you better luck the next time around.

 

If Im reading that right you say the springs coil bind at .550" lift and the cam has max lift of .552"!? That would be your problem right there. Also, why did you order longer pushrods? Having longer pushrods exaggerates the problem even more.

 

I'm sorry the hear that. That just plain sucks, and it should not have
happened in the first place. If the spring did not fail then something is
fishy with the install. I have the same cam and it's pretty mild.

 

That sounds like the most likely suspect so far. The engine builder should never have allowed this.

 

If you use LT-1/4 retainers they can't take over stock spring pressure. They will either suck the keepers or fold up the perimeter with higher spring pressures and RPM'S. It cost me an engine thinking the factory put something there that had some more left in it.
Sounds like the assembly wes not researched and checked heavy enough.