smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 So, since my last update on 22nd November when the car was at Brands Hatch for a show & shine competition, you may have noticed I've been a bit quiet... Today, I am back to break my silence! Many of you have been asking questions over the past few weeks and it seems that there have been a few rumours flying around as well. I told a few of the guys that attended the Christmas Bash what had happened but today I got to see the real extent of the damage. Unfortunately, during the last dyno run of the day at Abbey Motorsport at the end of November for the final stage of tuning, Mark phoned me to break the bad news that the engine had gone pop (more of a BANG according to him!) and that we need to strip the engine down after just 2,100 miles of running after being rebuilt with the HKS stroker kit. After finishing the call with Mark, my head was all over the place. We were both very confused as to how this could happen after we've ensured that every single component necessary to be upgraded to take the new charger was looked at. This project has been months in the making and to hear that it had let go after such a short amount of running time, I was absolutely gutted. I told Mark that there was no rush to get it looked at as I had no plans for the car until Spring 2016 - I wanted to make sure that we didn't rush into anything and see what has happened before we made any further plans. However, over the Christmas break, my mind started jumping to all sorts of conclusions. I started doing some research on other 86's that had gone bang and came across various threads on the FT86 forum stating that the rocker pins for the cams are prone to failure on boosted engines due to poor manufacturing quality control in the factory. Below are a couple of pictures showing what can happen and a comparison of 2 OEM rockers which you can see are quite different Praying that this was the issue, I started to look at stronger heads which there are a few companies in the States that offer such services and products. But unfortunately, Mark confirmed that it was a rod that had let go so my hopes were smashed and I once again felt absolutely gutted that a main component that we had upgraded was at fault. Over the weeks I even started to look at completely changing my plans for the car. 2JZ and LS swaps were investigated, but I was just getting ahead of myself before knowing all the facts and I don't really have a spare £15k for an engine conversion...I even seriously considered selling the car in recent weeks. Just jacking it all in and starting with something new. But I've somehow managed to hold onto my optimism and stick with my original plans despite the situation we're currently in. Today I met with Mark to see the devastation for myself. It's not pretty - I'll let the pictures do the talking... Picture showing that the big end bearing is perfectly fine and was still attached to the crank Basically, rod #4 has decided not to play ball. Although the rods aren't actually forged like the pistons and crank are, they are still made of a "high strength material" according to HKS which are rated to 550ps (about 500bhp) so this should have happened. All of the bearings on the crank are fine. Piston #4 has the large chunk taken out of the side so it looks as if the small connecting end has suffered as a result of the rod snapping. As it was all still connected to the crank, this has then "windmilled" around inside the crank case causing the huge gouge marks in the case itself. AMAZINGLY none of the valves are bent and both heads are fine...HOW? We have no idea Mark has had a sample of oil inspected and tested by Millers who have reported back with the oil performing as it should with no issues. So there was no oil starvation or anything that caused this. It simply looks to be a faulty part. Mark has been speaking to Maz at HKS about all this who will be inspecting the parts himself next week before sending them onto Japan for an official inspection and report. Whilst I fully appreciate that internals come with no warranty as such, running at just over half the 500bhp rating and with only 2,100 miles on them, I would never expect to see such a major failure as this. Yes it's extremely disappointing but I have full confidence in Maz. HKS and their products - it's just one of those things unfortunately. The next few weeks will probably be even more nerve-racking than the last few months while I wait to hear back from HKS. We'll just have to wait and see... 2 Gringosteve and Keethos reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tareim 343 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 really sucks to hear about this failure, but glad to hear you are sticking with the car and looking to carry on as you had intended Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 18 minutes ago, Tareim said: really sucks to hear about this failure, but glad to hear you are sticking with the car and looking to carry on as you had intended Cheers Sam I was so close to chucking it all in - I'd even made a list of all the parts I was to split off the car ready to put up for sale on the forums! I think that's when I realised exactly how much time, money and effort I'd actually put into this car already and it made me want to finish it I seriously looked at an LS swap over Christmas as well, almost sourcing an engine and gearbox for a decent price but the install cost being around £10k for all the wiring, custom mounts and braces, stronger diff and driveshafts just made me think twice Hopefully HKS will be in touch over the next few weeks and we can take it from there 1 Tareim reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul 442 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 Oh no. I would hope that HKS take a long and hard look into this, it's not a great advert for their internals for this to happen after such a short period of time and not even at max power. Best of luck getting some sort of resolution out of them Smudge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 Just now, CanaryWundaboy said: Oh no. I would hope that HKS take a long and hard look into this, it's not a great advert for their internals for this to happen after such a short period of time and not even at max power. Best of luck getting some sort of resolution out of them Smudge. It's disappointing, yes. But I have full confidence in HKS that it will be taken seriously and I'm sure it's just an exception to the rule. I chose to pay the extra for the HKS kit over the less expensive alternatives as I wanted that brand name behind me with HKS' extensive R&D that they do on all their products I have no doubt that a resolution will be reached fairly quickly 1 Lauren reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul 442 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 25 minutes ago, smudge said: It's disappointing, yes. But I have full confidence in HKS that it will be taken seriously and I'm sure it's just an exception to the rule. I chose to pay the extra for the HKS kit over the less expensive alternatives as I wanted that brand name behind me with HKS' extensive R&D that they do on all their products I have no doubt that a resolution will be reached fairly quickly Glad to hear, please keep us posted. It's owners like you that become the trailblazers for those of us thinking about these sort of upgrades so I'm sure the manufacturers will seek to help out wherever they can to avoid loss of confidence in their products that the rest of us will be in the market for at some point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 1 minute ago, CanaryWundaboy said: Glad to hear, please keep us posted. It's owners like you that become the trailblazers for those of us thinking about these sort of upgrades so I'm sure the manufacturers will seek to help out wherever they can to avoid loss of confidence in their products that the rest of us will be in the market for at some point. Hope so matey! LS swap will be my next upgrade after this by the way Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rob275 1817 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 When you put this much money In to a car it gets to the point it's not worth sacking it off, so I'm glad you're sticking with it. I'm confused why HKS have decided not to use a forged rod? Seems a bit strange when the other bits in the kit are forged. Sure it still shouldn't of happened but I'm still a tad bemused. I feel bad now because when I said your car was broken on your other thread I was joking, not aware it actually was. Sent from my ONE E1003 using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 3 minutes ago, rob275 said: When you put this much money In to a car it gets to the point it's not worth sacking it off, so I'm glad you're sticking with it. I'm confused why HKS have decided not to use a forged rod? Seems a bit strange when the other bits in the kit are forged. Sure it still shouldn't of happened but I'm still a tad bemused. I feel bad now because when I said your car was broken on your other thread I was joking, not aware it actually was. Sent from my ONE E1003 using Tapatalk Oh it's well and truly broken mate Mark said the bang gave him quite a jump in the dyno room I've come too far to just give up. Rest assured she'll be back in action (hopefully) in the next few months! I've asked Maz to ask why the rod isn't forged. They must have felt that it was unnecessary to do something with them but it is odd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicebiscuit 655 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 What a shame... :-( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bles 32 Report post Posted January 16, 2016 Sorry to hear of your problems and hope the car will be back on the road soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
remal 85 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Blimey hope you find out what caused this in the end. Seems a great projects and a bloody shame this happened to you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevinA 695 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Personally speaking I am really pleased you are not quitting the scene, look forward to seeing you soon and if I can help with anything just give me a call. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 4 minutes ago, KevinA said: Personally speaking I am really pleased you are not quitting the scene, look forward to seeing you soon and if I can help with anything just give me a call. Cheers Kev hopefully not long til we can catch up again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 I was gutted when I heard about it. I think though it could well that you were simply unfortunate with a faulty part, or a part that had a flaw in it that weakened it. It doesn't take much with a rod to affect it's rigidity. I'm sure HKS will replace the rod and piston, but I guess the question of the block remains. But, I think you've got so far with this, that it would be tragic to give up now, so worth hanging in there for I think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Camilz 15 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 My condolences for your engine! Hope it all gets sorted and you get your beauty back with everything working as it should!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Test Drives Unlimited 278 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Sorry to hear about all your problems with your car Jordan Sent from my Archos 53 Platinum using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MangoNo5 55 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Sorry to hear the bad news, glad you are pushing on as your project has been one to watch for me while make my own changes. Hopefully HKS come through as I have also purchased quite a bit of their kit so far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Thanks for all the kind words people. It was a difficult choice but I think the right one to make If I had the money, I would have just chucked the FA20 motor away, sold the charger and gone for something insane like an LS swap. Maybe I'll save that for sometime in the future Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chillismoke 182 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Ouch that's a lot of Sky TV you need to sell to cover this! Hope you get it sorted Jordan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted January 18, 2016 Wow.....I know you said that you blew your engine but never imagined he damaged to be that extreme. Glad in a way that it was on a dyno and not on track or the road when it did go bang. Thanks for sharing this dude, I know it's not easy and I really hope you get it all sorted soon! And glad you're sticking around!!! 1 smudge reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riceburner 284 Report post Posted January 18, 2016 Jeeeessuuus Jordan that aint good.I hope Maz and HKs can work something out for you. Keep us informed and if you need anything let me know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smudge 1020 Report post Posted January 18, 2016 Cheers Keith and Rich Parts being sent to Maz today and then off to Japan later this week hopefully Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gringosteve 213 Report post Posted January 19, 2016 Sorry to hear about your car, I know one thing for sure.. It's next iteration is going to be even better than originally planned Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
