[s-cars] Engine completey hosed

[JC]

Sadly, I guarantee that your 700 miles did the real damage.  Good chance
that when it first started to knock the gasket was just breached and if you
shut down and called a flatbed, you might just be looking at a gasket or
resurfacing the head, or at worst case, a new head.

Just to make you feel better, I too am a citizen of automotive-bozo-town, as
I once insisted on trying to bump-start a Toyota 4x4 that it turned out had
hydraulic lock from blasting through 3 foot deep tidal puddles.  Had I
pulled plugs and run the starter, it would have pumped the water out and
likely started right up the next day. Instead we busted a rod which went
through the side of the block. Dumb. Then the first replacement engine was
crap so I needed to pay for another rebuild a year later. Doh. At least I
have this fun story to tell...


---- current ----
1995.5 S6 Avant
---- past lives ----
2006 A4 2.0TQA
1998 A6Q 2.8 PES G2
1989 200TQA SJM
1990 CQ
1997 A4 1.8TQ Wett
1987 4kCSQ

John J. Cunningham
jc at j2c3.com
US Mobile +1 (617) 750-5025
Main / Global +1 (978) 633-3510
China Mobile: +86 (0) 136 6080 9560


> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of
> djdawson2 at aol.com
> Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2009 10:01 AM
> To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: [s-cars] Engine completey hosed
>
> For those of you who can remember WAY back when I posted
> about my strange engine failure... yeah,it was a full 2+ years ago.
>
> It was while I was on a trip... engine suddenly began to
> sound like it was detonating.? The load didn't matter, it
> could even be idling with a small rev, it would sound like
> detonation.? I quickly bagged completion of the trip, but it
> was about 700 miles that I had to drive it like that to get
> home.? The engine sounded more sickly as the trip progressed,
> but I did get home.
>
> Car has sat for 2+ years... just no time to mess with it.?
> Someone succeeded in making me feel guilty last weekend, so I
> got into it.
>
> I started with a compression test...? 1 - 83, 2 - 62, 3 -
> 101, 4 - 36, 5 - 28.? Stunning numbers.? I pulled off the
> head today to look at the bad news.?? The headgasket had
> failed between all cylinders, most notably between 1 and 2,
> and 4 and 5.? The failure between 4 and 5 was beyond anything
> I had ever seen, and the gasket material was simply gone.?
> The cylinder head has a nice little "fire groove" burned into
> the aluminum between those cylinders as well... deep enough
> to catch a fingernail.
>
> Inspection of the bottom end showed significant material
> missing from the #5 piston crown.? #1 and #4 have a good
> 1/16th inch gap between the pistons and cylinder walls.? #2
> and #3 look fine.
>
> Needless to say, the engine is essentially junk.? The head
> can be milled and get a valve job and be fine.? The block
> would require a set of oversized pistons/rebuild to be
> returned to service.
>
> I am wondering how this came to be.? The piston damage I see
> is typically associated with either too much timing, a lean
> A/F, or detonation... or a combo of all.? I do use a wideband
> and an EGT, so it seems like I would have noticed this before
> damage took place.? No to mention, this engine had run a full
> 60k miles with the current configuration before it failed...
> hard miles.
>
> The only change in engine configuration during its 60k mile
> life, was a conversion to the 1.8t coils.? That was done
> about 12k before it died.
>
> This engine put out 440+ whp? (or 12.4 1/4 mile power for
> those that don't like the dyno numbers)... so perhaps this
> could be a full lifespan for an engine with this type of output.
>
> Either way, I'm a little surprised at the extent of the
> failure... and the fact that it went so wrong so quickly.? It
> went from full tilt power to poor running in a very short
> time frame.? I suppose it is possible that things were not so
> bad at the point of failure, but that running it an
> additional 700 miles to get home just made it abysmal.
>
> Anyway... that's where it's at.? Debate at this point is
> between building another 2.2, or trying a 2.5... parts for
> which I've had sitting around for years.
>
> That's my story for early '09
>
> Oh, and if anyone want to see pictures, just ask? ;-)
>
> Dave
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>
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