Anyone know what might cause this kind of piston damage?

cmnorman

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Got these photos from the shop yesterday. Anyone know what the heck could have caused that kind of damage?

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R.D.P.

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Bad detonation that was occurring for a while would be my guess.

Edit to add - sorry about the bad luck. That's not going to be cheap. I hope the heads and block can be reused.
 
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cmnorman

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Bad detonation that was occurring for a while would be my guess.

Edit to add - sorry about the bad luck. That's not going to be cheap. I hope the heads and block can be reused.

Thanks, me too. I guess it's not from something actually getting into the cylinder then? I really hope they can save the heads and the block or I am in big trouble with this car.
 

01yellercobra

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It really depends on how bad the chamber looks. I had some marks on a head and was able to smooth them out with a pad on a die grinder.
 

94slowbra1

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ouch. my guess is the same as above, bad detonation. it looks like there may some marks on the cylinder wall too or it could just be a reflection. either way i would get everything checked
 

AznPrswayzn

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In your first picture the very top of the piston looks like it's missing a small chunk. I'd say detonation had cracked a bit of piston off and the was bouncing around in there for a while causing all the small nicks in the piston and cylinder wall. I'll bet your combustion chamber looks just like the piston top
 

ShaneCobra74

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These pics are of two separate cylinders. If that's true, it leads me to believe that a more systemic problem existed such as detonation, bad tune, etc.
 

TxCobra76

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I say detonation. I was spraying a 302 motor I built and leaned out. Pistons looked like someone took a flat head screwdriver to them. Sorry for the bad luck.
 

cmnorman

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Thanks all. They are two separate cylinders. He said at least 5 looked like that. It had an email tune on it when I bought it...at this point I just hope they can save the block and heads or I am really going to be bleeding a lot worse than I already am.
 

CobraBob

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Sorry for the mess. Was this a recent purchase?

Keep us posted. Doesn't look good, but I am hoping for the best for ya.
 

cmnorman

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It was a recent purchase. Passed from one forum member to another and then to me. I should have known something was up but the issues I saw I thought could be fixed with repairing and bleeding vacuum line and a new tune. Turns out I was wrong. Should have taken it in to get it checked out before I bought.
 

Black Gold 380R

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Don't despair to much. I actually blew the motor in my 65 Mustang. It was a 347 with aluminum heads. I added a 150 shot of Nitrous. The system fired at idle and Kaboom. I shattered three pistons, rods punched through the block and I bent 7 valves and my heads were nicked by the shrapnel.

The machine shop WAS able to repair the nicks and bent valves in my aluminum heads and you can see below how much carnage there was and my heads were repairable.....

So, I'm assuming, based on your pictures, that your heads "should" be repairable and they "should" be able to get those nicks out of your cylinder walls.

Warning: Always make sure your system/solenoids work properly BEFORE opening your bottle of nitrous LOL......

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ShaneCobra74

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Thanks all. They are two separate cylinders. He said at least 5 looked like that. It had an email tune on it when I bought it...at this point I just hope they can save the block and heads or I am really going to be bleeding a lot worse than I already am.

Man- I know it sucks, but its a starting point. The cylinder walls looked okay from the pics. Any word on how the heads look?
 

cmnorman

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WOW! They actually were able to repair the block(edit, just re-read and he didn't say they could save the block) and heads? That's insane. The machine shop guy is the one that does work for Roush/Fenway if I understood correctly, they he is top notch. No word yet on anything unfortunately. He got me in a week ahead of schedule though so I am not complaining about the speed to get answers at this point. I just paid the taxes and title fees to get it registered and get the title sent to me...was kind of sad dropping another $400 on a car I've only had in my possession for like a week out of the month or so I've owned it. Oh well, big boy toys have big boy bills!
 
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Black Gold 380R

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WOW! They actually were able to repair the block(edit, just re-read and he didn't say they could save the block) and heads? That's insane.

No sir, block was toast. I was showing you how much damage there was with my block and the heads were able to be saved. Complete bottom end was totaled. Crank was scarred and so was the cam. Only thing they could fix were the heads. I'm currently saving up for a new forged short block.
 

cmnorman

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No sir, block was toast. I was showing you how much damage there was with my block and the heads were able to be saved. Complete bottom end was totaled. Crank was scarred and so was the cam. Only thing they could fix were the heads. I'm currently saving up for a new forged short block.

Man, I'm sorry to hear all that. That made for a bad day I am certain.
 

Black Gold 380R

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^^^ I appreciate it brother. I was trying to give you some hope on your project. Showing you that your situation might not be as bad as you think. Give the machine shop some time to completely evaluate the damage and tell you what options you have. I'm sure if he works for Roush then he should know exactly how to proceed.
 

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