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Old 10-07-2007, 04:03 PM
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Angry Damage

So if you swap heads or cams...don't drive without a tune...check the pictures to see why. I was scanning my car with HPTuners while driving and had no KR when this happened. It just started missing and this is what I found.

Well here is what the leak down test will not tell you.



Here you see the chunk out of the top of the piston


Here is another shot of the broken hyperuseless piston


And one final shot of it, looks like there is a forged 402 in my future. Suprisingly the head looks OK but there is some scarring on the exhaust valve where the piece exited the exhaust. The cylinder is still very smooth all the way around. I could probably save the block and do a 347 but why, when for just a little more you can have a 402/408.

Anybody got a line on a good sale on short blocks?
Old 10-07-2007, 04:56 PM
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That sucks. Sorry to see that. It's always a good idea to get your car tuned ASAP after serious mods like those. Good luck with the new build.
Old 10-07-2007, 05:08 PM
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damn, sorry about the bad luck. Kinda makes you laugh at the guys who make vids after cam swaps without tunes.
Old 10-07-2007, 05:45 PM
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Yes it sort of does. The car was tuned for H/C but I swapped to a different set of heads and had not gone for a tune yet...I wish I had found the time or taken leave or something. Now we see where I am at.
Old 10-07-2007, 08:33 PM
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Oh well, nothing a nice set of mahle or diamond pistons can't fix.
Old 10-07-2007, 09:21 PM
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Was it detonation or did the piston hit the head?
Old 10-07-2007, 09:59 PM
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Originally Posted by theblur98ss
Was it detonation or did the piston hit the head?
I was scanning it and I honestly could not say if it was detonation or not...I did not see anything on my HPTuners though.
Old 10-07-2007, 10:01 PM
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You got problems with your knock sensors not picking up KR with HPTuners.
I say this because that piece of piston getting slammed between the piston and cylinder head should have been enough to trigger a KR reading.
Plus nothing else will ruin a piston like that unless it was total coincidence and was about to happen before the cam or it has coolant in the cylinder, or serious detonation.
Old 10-07-2007, 11:13 PM
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sorry to hear that, now time to go bigger. Makes me wonder about my future cam and maybe head swap now
Old 10-08-2007, 07:21 AM
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Originally Posted by 8a8mfh
You got problems with your knock sensors not picking up KR with HPTuners.
I say this because that piece of piston getting slammed between the piston and cylinder head should have been enough to trigger a KR reading.
Plus nothing else will ruin a piston like that unless it was total coincidence and was about to happen before the cam or it has coolant in the cylinder, or serious detonation.
I wonder if you are right about the knock sensors? Seems I should have gotten some KR or something with this episode.

Researching a new 402 short block.
Old 10-08-2007, 09:30 AM
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What were the conditions when this happened?

Was it during startup?
How long was the motor running?
Cruising?
High or low RPM?
high or low load?
Old 10-08-2007, 03:30 PM
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When the problem started was when I was a mile or so away from the track (low RPM). Whether it happened in the 1/8 track (only made 2 passes) or on the way home is anybody's guess.
Old 10-08-2007, 04:19 PM
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That is what the top of my piston looked like when it let go. Cracked the sleeve though and smashed the spark plug so I got multiple misfires on #2. SOMEHOW, don't ask me how... when it popped (it still ran) I pulled it apart and as I was cleaning everything in the jet wash I pulled the intake out and heard a rattling, and out came the chunk of piston... crazy. Best of luck on that 402-408.
Old 10-08-2007, 05:04 PM
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Originally Posted by 67Firebird455
That is what the top of my piston looked like when it let go. Cracked the sleeve though and smashed the spark plug so I got multiple misfires on #2. SOMEHOW, don't ask me how... when it popped (it still ran) I pulled it apart and as I was cleaning everything in the jet wash I pulled the intake out and heard a rattling, and out came the chunk of piston... crazy. Best of luck on that 402-408.
The peice of piston came out so I think if I had replaced the spark plug it would have ran...for how long...who knows.
Old 10-08-2007, 05:09 PM
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I agree... Sometimes I wonder if these fly by night shops buy cars like ours with busted pistons, put a new plug or gasket in them, and runnem... Made it even worse being down a hole with that turbo, made the other 7 work harder and spooled the turbo up, making the situation worse. Fortunately for me, it made it 18 miles home, in the rain. Good ol LS1's. =) Fortunately you didn't grenade the sleeve, it ruined mine and I had to junk the block. If you're on a tight budget, you may get a replacement piston and run it.
Old 10-08-2007, 07:22 PM
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makes you wonder on some fly by night shops, hey. Brutal
Old 10-08-2007, 07:32 PM
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damn man thats crazy.
Old 10-09-2007, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by ExceSSive
When the problem started was when I was a mile or so away from the track (low RPM). Whether it happened in the 1/8 track (only made 2 passes) or on the way home is anybody's guess.
You put heads and cam in a car and went to the track untuned?

Thats just asking for trouble.

The damage was done at the track I'm sure, you just didn't notice it until the drive home.
Old 10-09-2007, 05:30 PM
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Originally Posted by radkon
You put heads and cam in a car and went to the track untuned?

Thats just asking for trouble.

The damage was done at the track I'm sure, you just didn't notice it until the drive home.
I had stage 2 H/C/90 intake/TB and was tuned...all I did was change to a different stage 2 head same cam, intake and TB.
Old 10-09-2007, 09:42 PM
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hey excessive did you record your runs at the track on HP tuner?

if so take a look back and see if there was any diff between first run and second, you said your second run was slower...

i feel your pain , but time and a new motor will heal all your wounds.

did you get my email yesterday ??



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