No, i didnt blow up the engine in my eclipse! Here are some pics of Chris's("cms" on here) engine, after what seems to be a spun rod bearing from low oil, and it decided to take a little vacation away from the block lol.. I had a spare motor sitting in my garage, so i did a swap this past week. It now runs like it used to at 7-8 psi on a Hahn kit. I thought you guys would enjoy the carnage pics..sure did a number on the block!

Chunk of block in front of the starter-


Damage to the starter..it was siezed from the indentation of the impact-


Back of the block, a good size chunk of bedplate broke..this is how it looked before i even touched it or took anything apart-


The rod in the middle, cylinder 3, is twisted about 45 degrees, and you can see the bare journal of the missing cylinder 4 rod-


Pic of the chunk of bedplate after i removed the broken part-


The biggest chunks of rod and piston pin, and a little block. The rod and piston pin were just sitting on the rear crossmember..


The oil pan...what a mess. Lots of goodies in there, and a few decent holes in the bottom..



The entire upper part of the piston is still in tact, just sheared off at the wrist pin, so i'm hoping the head is ok, just a few bent valves..havent taken it off yet to see though.. Overall, it trashed the block, the starter, the oil pan, and bent one block-to-trans support bracket. Everything else survived.

Just a friendly reminder, check your oil!

Jesus fucking christ, that motor truly grenaded.

Ouch. I had no idea a bedplate would do that, the magnitude of the forces at work is just amazing.

Beware of not just the level of your oil, but the condition of it too. I just dropped the pan of a 2g I'm trying to restore, and it had a few metal shavings in the oil tube pickup and on the bottom of the pan. I drained almost 5 quarts of oil before I dropped the pan. The thing is, the oil was pitch black with swirls of white - looked like very old oil mixed with coolant.

wow, thats pretty crazy. im sure it sounded nice when it happened :o

the thread title made me cringe before i clicked it...

YES!!! MUAHAHAHAH! Very nicely done.

Sure it was low oil? Usually that kills rod #1 first, not #4...

I've seen worse.. =)

I had no idea Chris still had his eclipse. I thought he sold it years ago when he got that bike?

Originally posted by 992gnt
Sure it was low oil? Usually that kills rod #1 first, not #4...

Actually, with the oil pump closest to #1, in a low oil situation it's more likely that #3 or #4 will starve - especially in a turbo configuration when you're pulling oil from between the #3 and #4 oil galleys.

When do you find time to work on your own cars Matt? :P

Yeah it was low oil...he said it was at least 2+ quarts low when he started to hear slight knocking..The rod bearing for number 3 looked fine to me though. That engine must have been knockin for miles lol..When i first looked at it, i only saw the hole in the block behind the starter. When i was tearing it apart to pull the motor, i saw the back bedbplate, and was like holy shit! A chunk of engine part must have hit or got wedged between the #3 piston/rod/crank to twist the rod. It was pretty cool, the wrist pin and rod were just chillin on the back crossmember by the steering shaft.

I have very little time anymore to work on my own cars..between the house, girlfriend, work, and friend's cars, not much left..the Laser isnt even ready to race in the SO this year..at least i'll be driving it there.

Originally posted by DarkOne
Actually, with the oil pump closest to #1, in a low oil situation it's more likely that #3 or #4 will starve - especially in a turbo configuration when you're pulling oil from between the #3 and #4 oil galleys.

Not in my experience. Low oil + cornering g's = spun #1 bearing and beat up #2 bearing. The motor I rebuilt to put in my car when I sold it also had a spun #1 due to oil starvation. You will have pressure until it picks up no more oil and starts pumping hot air into the system, starting with cylinder 1. :order I still have the bearings somewhere....

Originally posted by 992gnt
Low oil + cornering g's = spun #1 bearing and beat up #2 bearing.

corner what? g what? like we know anything about turning!

I check my car often. People bitch at me because i never leave it alone. I check my oil atleast twice a day. I check for new spots in the driveway.... That sort of thing. I'd have a heart attack and shit myself if i blew my motor like that.

Oh, and i take it those are stock rods and pistons that went to shit?

I was driving my chicks jeep the other day, and I noticed her oil pressure was low. I pull over at a nappa and check it. Hardly reading any in the dipstick like almost nothing. Her engine was a few days from saying good buy to this cruel world. Is it really that hard to check oil every other gas fill up.

Originally posted by Avenger
corner what? g what? like we know anything about turning!

Come to Mid Ohio on saturday, young Paduwan, and I will show you the way. ;)

I haven't seen damage like that since I pulled the VQ out of my Z. It was like that, on three cylinders!

Originally posted by 992gnt

Originally posted by Avenger corner what? g what? like we know anything about turning!

Come to Mid Ohio on saturday, young Paduwan, and I will show you the way. ;)

Whats going on at Mid-Ohio. Greg, one of these days Im gonna have to stop by when you are there lol.

Where I live NOW, I am like 20 mins from Mid-Ohio. 45 from Norwalk. Can it get any better?

PM'd ya!