I just had a B18c rebuilt with b16a pistons, ls crank and rods, arp hardware throughout...

My question/ problem is the break in..

The first few minutes my car was at idle and bleeding the coolant everything seemed normal, some smoke etc, bouncy idel.. Then i noticed it smoking more than i thought normal... I shut it down and started to research more on the break in process.. Talked to my machinist and found it was likely normal that it smoked until the rings sealed..

So today I decide ill take it for a little drive to seal the pistons, im doing 3-5k pulls at half throttle and its smoking pretty heavy... I continue to shift from 4th to 5th half throttle and i suddelnly notice what seems to be a missfire, and I pull the car to the side of the road and she dies... I restart and pull into a parking lot to investigate... Now she is smoking heavier than before and doesnt want to run well... The car is now parked..

I have put a total of maybe 10 miles on the build and it idel for a total of maybe 30... I am using a stock jdm gsr ecu, and a/f was staying at a steady 13-14ish...

Upon investigation up to now the plugs are caked in oil and probably fouled, and there is alot of blow by... Is this normal after this much time to still have this heavy of blow by? I am concerned that possibly I have a bad ring or something but dont want to tear it open if its just still not sealed...

Please help, anyone with experience in the break in process - advise, recomendations etc...

Thanks

 

I would do a leakdown test on it and go from there. What is youre current setup and who built it?

 

if it fouled the plugs in less than 10 miles then there is a serious issue.

you need to pull the engine apart to see what went wrong. or at least remove the head and inspect.

 

Setup:

94 eg 4 dr
Jdm B18c swap
Bored to 82mm and Honed
NPR JDM B16a pistons
LS Crank - micro polished and balanced
LS Rods, Arp bolts installed
King Bearings, rod main and thrust washers
Stock Head with fresh valve clearance adjustments n inspection by machine shop

Assembly done by me, first time actually completely assembling a motor, but am knowledgable and used the manual for all steps

All torqued to spec and clearances for piston to wall and ring clearances were double checked by me before assembly..

All machine work done by a local shop RX Auto Fab, very knowledgeable and experienced shop...

Will do the leakdown and attempt a compression test tomorrow and see where I am at...

 

leak down is your best bet at finding what is going on internally with your motor.

 

when breaking it in we do 15 minute drives between 1-4 gears..... between 3-5 k with a load and decel........ the smoke if pretty heavy but its speratic. there was a good 5 mins or so on the last 2 drives where it didnt blow any smoke at all.

any ideas?

 

when breaking it in we do 15 minute drives between 1-4 gears..... between 3-5 k with a load and decel........ the smoke if pretty heavy but its speratic. there was a good 5 mins or so on the last 2 drives where it didnt blow any smoke at all.

any ideas?

 

The engine should run nearly perfect even without the rings broken in. It sounds like there is something assembled wrong internally or defective. You're probably going to end up having to pull the engine apart again.

 

+2

Sounds like an assembly error is the most likely problem, only because it was your first build. We've all made mistakes.

Were all 4 spark plugs soaked in oil?