Hey HT I really need some help...

I Had a motor built.
I bought a GSR block off of some kid and brought it to a reputable machine shop in SoCal to have the blocked inspected, decked and cleaned up. I got the block back and had a local machinist put the motor together. I had the head Decked and cleaned up too from the same machine shop! I have forged internals Eagle rods, SRP pistons, ARP head studs and a fully built valve train, Stage 2 turbo crower cams and a hondata s300. I made a huge mistake and bought a crappy head gasket not OEM. When tuning the motor the tuner said that on the first pull at 14lbs and at 4000 RPMS the head gasket blew and it cracked two of the sleeves... does this sound possible?! I have a Tail waste gate and a greddy inter-cooler. It seems to me like there taking me for a ride. I know a thing or two about hondas and you can push 16lbs of boost through a build motor that is not sleeved all day long. It seems to me that I am being taken for a ride. Have any of you ever had this experience? PLEASE give me your input and let me know what you think I should do.
Thanks,
D

 

Sorry to hear about your loss

 

You say you know a thing or two, too bad you didn't know a few things so you'd know enough not to use a trash HG in the first place. At this point I think you're screwed no matter what, if the shop is shady how are you going to prove it?

 

A few thing could have happened here. Installation error, crap tuning, very unlikely a head gasket will go bad on the first pull at 4000rpm unless it was the wrong headgasket or installed wrong

 

Ya it was a bad move on the head gasket I was trying to go cheep...Stupid...I regret it now. My question is? Can you visually see if a block is cracked? I always thought that you can. If the block is cracked will it mess up the pistons? If anything I should have to just replace the piston rings right?
Thanks,
D

 

Also... Now they want to sleeve the block... if the sleeves are cracked can you sleeve a block with aftermarket sleeves or is it trash? I thought that the machinist just milled it out the old and pressed in the new sleeves. Right?!
Thanks,
D

 

A crappy head gasket? Not oem? Ive never bought a single OEM product other then nuts and bolts. You didnt install the head gasket right, likely you put it upside down and the compression rings didnt seal properly around the cylinder. Can blowing coolant and 14psi into an untuned engine on the dyno crack a sleeve? Yes. Is it the tuners fault? Not likely.

 

Yes you usually can see the crack plan as day
Yes, again.

 

I don't use Oem gasket here

 

Me neither. I put OEM gaskets in engines.

OP - Also, if you "knew a thing or two" you would know PSI is completely irrelevant!

Regardless, the pistons could go either way. I have seen them be destroyed and also look brand new after a cracked sleeve.

 

I have seen the head gasket installed like this before. but that should also have been caught pretty quick. Usually it will be followed very quickly by burning coolant.

 

sorry for your loss bud, just one side not please get out of the mind-set that a honda can run 16 pounds of boost on a stock block crap. Boost is irrelevant if you have no clue what size the turbo is.

 

Herpa derp.
"16 pounds on a stock block" thinking isn't too far off. It takes a certain amount of air to make a certain amount of power, right (Turbo X needs to flow Y CFM for engine to make Z HP). Measuring the amount of air/min in weight isn't a bad way to rate a turbo/build, IMO. Not the best, but....

But here in the Honda world, people use "PSI" and "Pounds" of boost interchangibly.

 

Why don't you go to the shop and look at the block for yourself?

 

Not sure why this is a scam post when its most likely a tuning issue. Cylinder pressure is going to be highest around that 3500-5000 range unless your running a big turbo and it only take one pull to crack stock sleeves. As for stock blocks handling 16lbs all day. That the exception not the rule. Like I've said a million times, there are 20 people who crack stock sleeves for every one who runs successfully.

If your tuner has the same attitude as you, "stock blocks can handle it no problem", then he was most likely being to aggressive before looking at the data.

The machine shop is "reputable", but missing a very small crack can happen, BUT missing two cylinders is very unlikely.

Hopefully the internals are still usable and you get back up and running soon. Good luck.

 

Let's sit back and get the information straight.

Your "tuner" claims that on very first pull (which was according to you was 14psi) at 4000rpm there was catastrophic failure inside the engine.

Your "tuner" claims right off the bat without actually taking the engine apart that it is a blown headgasket and not one but TWO cracked sleeves without actually inspecting it.

You also did not mention on the run if the engine suddenly started blowing white smoke, which would indicate burning coolant.

I call bullshit on this whole situation/explanation of your "tuner's" diagnosis.

 

Kinda where I'm getting at. Again.

 

Or maybe the tuner didnt correct (yet) the proper AFR on the 1st pull and some detonation came in..

I wouldnt do a full throttle run on the 1st pull.


**we dont know what the size of the new bore is, we dont know how the rings were set, piston to wall clearance, and ring gap.