pt2285

Yeah, I did swap oil between the 2 times going from the 5/30 to a full racing 10/30. And I did not see any metal in the oil on the swap.

G Atsma

My point was, being a production engine, I would not have raced it unless I first checked out EVERYTHING inside. A production engine is not a racing engine.
That being said, you might get some warranty satisfaction if you can prove the wall was way too thin. Just don't say you raced it. Competition voids warranties.

qweedqwag

They wont warranty a raced engine.

pt2285

but its the same production engine that came in the corvette and camaro and they track those.

pt2285

if you look at the DR525 engine from chevy, that is the same engine but with tamper proof bolts and it comes sealed/ broken in. its the same as the one i bought and its for NMCA comp from the factory.

G Atsma

They DO track those, but if anything breaks while doing so, the bill is NOT GM's. There are warranties, and those things that void them. Racing is only one.

pt2285

so the thread has turned into a dick show over warranty when the original question was "hey what do people thing caused this". so yeah im gonna try and submit a warranty claim. do i think i stand a chance, nope but im gonna try. the system its set up enough to deny deny deny. but at least i tried. so thats where i am with that. whomever said that the wrist pin is what caused this, thank you because that makes most sense. so now i look to future and try to figure out how to keep this from happening again.

LLLosingit

iTrader: (4)

I mentioned that the wrist pin did the damage to the cylinder wall but not the cause of the piston failure. The cause mentioned above sounds plausible (bearing failure allowing the piston to travel further up in the bore)

ColeGTO

iTrader: (3)

I'd start by removing the rods and bearings keeping them numbered. Look for damage, pitting, etc. Check the big end of the rods to see if they're still round.

Then I'd take a look at the main bearings and see if they tell any of the story.

After that, I'd pull the pistons and rings to see what they look like and measure. My guess is you'll see some scored skirts and possibly some butted rings if it really got that hot.

The reason I asked about calibration was I've personally witnessed a brand new STOCK LS3 put a window through the block on the dyno after 50 pulls. All it took was one too many pulls with the slightest detonation down low (26 degrees of timing at 2500 and WOT) 23 degrees is the max. that it would really tolerate without pulling timing. No warning signs, noises, oil pressure, etc. Broke a piston and the rod made a window.

Looked quite similar to your engine.

Why one piston broke is because that's all it takes to stop the engine. Had it been able to continue to run, I'm sure you would have seen more broken pistons.

pt2285

see thank you so much.. this makes total sense.

A.R. Shale Targa

iTrader: (2)

Pressure is created once there is resistance
Oiling systems feed everything further away from the pump but don’t show pressure until all the “leaks” are filled and sustained
So the last assembly to get pressurized oil film will be the closest to the pump. Not the furthest away

pt2285

thank you all for all the kind words. your input really has helped me build the picture on where i went wrong. if you see me around town or @ ls fest west, i'll buy you a beer.. but just 1, don't be a dick. in other news i am selling some parts on this that are still very useable and i dont need due to replacement engine coming in.. comp 1.8 roller rockers are still in great shape since they only had about 2 months on them.. those are for sale.. my lifters are still great and those are for sale. i put $$ into my heads and upgraded the springs with a comp kit for up to .650 lift, those are for sale... need to be repaired but still functional and ill unload them for a good price.

thank you everyone once again.

dreadpirateroberts

iTrader: (1)

Many years ago I warrantied an engine once that blew, at least in part, because of my doing.

Karma bit me in the butt later with a different car and i felt the pain of having to pay for another engine.

it happens, and although i won't judge anyone for trying to warranty their stuff, what i can say is that no matter what, it's a hard lesson, but a good one. I think a lot of us know how much it hurts to lose out on that kind of cash. Sucks, but you won't make the same mistake again, and probably not make several others, either.

93Polo

iTrader: (5)

If you are going to road race a LS3 use a dry sump otherwise LS6s, and LS2s have been more reliable. GM dry sumped the C6 Grand Sport manual coupes for a reason.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...the-track.html


If you do dry sump a LS3 525 I would upgrade the valve springs. Corvetteforum autox/rr section has had reports of the factory springs failing.

pantera_efi

iTrader: (1)

Hi PT, the Off Road Spec LS-3 engines often fail when the tune is changed form the GM specification.
Typically from a broken valve, the Light Valve.

I do not know if you had a valve drop ?

The normal method is to contact the dealer where the engine purchase was made, he will report to the regional tech in your area, mine was Dino.
GM is VERY good to customers with their engine replacement program.

Lance

pt2285

Baffled oil pan, melling pump, and a 3 qt accusump and I should be good to go. I like the idea of dry sump but it’s a huge cost and after talking with the improved racing guys I’m good to go with the set up I just bought. The dart block has an access port direct into the main oil galley where I can tap the accusump into.

ddnspider

iTrader: (26)

How does the tune cause a broken valve? Seems like the tune could only control rev limiter and A/F and spark, but how that automatically results in a broken valve is odd.

kra86

If going at this again, try having oil squirters machined into the current block. Or purchase an LSA-block? From my research, that is the cheapest aluminum block (LSA) to get from the factory with oil squirters. It seems a common problem from failures or connecting rods at the wrist pin and wrist pin itself and the tendency to respond to advancement of timing with little or no gains. Sorry this happened, I feel your pain and I feel some pain whenever I see engines destroyed.

A.R. Shale Targa

iTrader: (2)

Wrist pins and piston pin bores don’t fail. The reason for squirters is to cool the underside of the pistons which rejects heat back into the combustion chamber. Cadillac engineers were able to gain 15 foot pounds of torque from a couple additional degrees of timing without detonation when using oilers

pdxmotorhead

Ring gap may not have been wide enough for road race track use,,,
I was pretty hard core in to road racing for years.. I saw several corvettes blow on track, overheated transaxles being a biggie on the later models. (2 burned to the ground... )

Even the special order GM motorsports competition package cars came WITHOUT an oil cooler for the trans and a itty bitty one on the engine.. Helped build one of the big motor factory dry sump cars and they had to drop over 40K in the engine to make it race-reliable.. Burnt Pistons, broken valves, valve springs, crank noses.. Road racing is tough on motors in big power cars.

If the oil hit 280, your Piston temps were through the roof, you may have stuck a piston in the bore.