3.3TT So, I broke my engine

[xot1]

can't give us any more detail on the cost of the new engine? parts/labor? Just curious.

Better ask someone who had it done in the US or Canada. Knowing how much it costs here will do nothing for you. I heard its around $8000 in the US.

 

[xot1]

@xot1 would you mind sharing your .csv? I would love to really look at it in detail.

I will share the logs when I have time to comment them. There is a hint of something wrong in the log of the first pull too.

 

[STINGER]

That sucks, comes with the modification territory unfortunately.

Were you in 4th or 5th when it happened?

 

[xot1]

That sucks, comes with the modification territory unfortunately.

Were you in 4th or 5th when it happened?

4th

 

[STINGER]

4th

I guess your experience gives us an indication on the limit of the stock motor and turbos as a daily driver. I think it is safe to say you were making 480-500whp on that run. Usually breaking exhaust valves and plug tips is an indication of high EGT's.

When you say 99% meth, you mean that is your mix ratio of meth to water?

 

[xot1]

I guess your experience gives us an indication on the limit of the stock motor and turbos as a daily driver. I think it is safe to say you were making 480-500whp on that run. Usually breaking exhaust valves and plug tips is an indication of high EGT's.

When you say 99% meth, you mean that is your mix ratio of meth to water?

Yes.

 

[STINGER]

Im running c50/50 the most I usually see is people running 70/30, curious whats the benefit of running almost pure meth?

You think it could have played a role in this?

 

[xot1]

Im running c50/50 the most I usually see is people running 70/30, curious whats the benefit of running almost pure meth?

You think it could have played a role in this?

Possibly. Water plays a role in lowering temperatures, but more meth creates more power. Most people I know with fast cars run 99% methanol.

 

[Mr. Tech]

can't give us any more detail on the cost of the new engine? parts/labor? Just curious.

I did a google search on engine costs and, for a 3.3TT, you're looking at around $5-$6k for a used one and close to $10k for a new one (USD). That's not including labor.

After another quick google search, it looks like labor would be a minimum of another $1500 USD.

That said, it all depends on which part of the engine broke. You can replace just part of an engine depending on the issue, but then labor costs go way up. Regardless, not something I'd care to experience. Hopefully xot1 was able to work out some kind of discount.

 

[StingertimeNC]

yikes, makes me want to go back to stock, lol!...........nah, never mind. just keep the fingers crossed!

 

[Aquineas]

Awful to hear :-(

 

[xot1]

That said, it all depends on which part of the engine broke. You can replace just part of an engine depending on the issue, but then labor costs go way up. Regardless, not something I'd care to experience. Hopefully xot1 was able to work out some kind of discount.

Correct. In my case I didn't have to change the entire engine, I only changed the block and the cylinder head. But thats still a big part of it and a lot of work.

 

[robz32]

Sorry to hear about this.
But I do believe the higher methanol mix could've had to do with the increase in cylinder temp and failure of the spark plug tip.

Did you install the same kind of spark plugs?

 

[xot1]

So for the logs:

First pull, from 2nd gear all the way to 7th gear.
The car wasn't as fast as it should be but nothing felt or sounded strange.
However two things are weird in the log:
1) Timings suddenly pulled in cylinder #2 (ign2), by much more than a regular timing correction. This happens in 5th gear, at 20psi of boost. Timings were really good so nothing really indicating why the sudden timing pull.
2) In 7th gear, AFR suddenly goes lean (to 15:1), triggering JB4 safety mode. The really bizarre thing is that this is bank #1 and the problems occured in bank #2 so I don't know how to connect this event with the failure. Still, that is something out of the ordinary that I had never seen before (and I do a lot of pulls).



That night I changed the octane booster from Lucas to Boostane so I thought that was just the ECU adapting to the fuel and the cooler weather so despite the weird correction in the first log, I gave it another try.

Second pull is the one I showed in the first post, it starts in 2nd gear as well and shit happens in 4th gear.
On that second log, we can see that
1) Ign2 still has a really bad correction
2) Throttle closure at the shift, not sure why. The car usually doesn't do that with my settings at this RPM.
3) Boost 24.4psi
4) AFR2 18.6 -> This time it is bank #2
Then the JB4 went into safety mode, but the damage was already done.



As a reference, here is what a normal pull (from 40 to 170mph) looks like with the same settings, few weeks before:



as you can see, boost is not crazy high, timings are very stable, no AFR spikes.

I attach the log files of the two pulls before the engine failure for those who want to see. Check at the timestamp to see which one is which.

 

[xot1]

Sorry to hear about this.
But I do believe the higher methanol mix could've had to do with the increase in cylinder temp and failure of the spark plug tip.

Did you install the same kind of spark plugs?

I do not understand your question.

The increased cylinder temp is a possible scenario, not a verified fact. But I do think that adding a bit of water should be safer. I really wish we had a way to monitor EGTs. This is such a crucial variable.

 

[robz32]

I do not understand your question.

The increased cylinder temp is a possible scenario, not a verified fact. But I do think that adding a bit of water should be safer. I really wish we had a way to monitor EGTs. This is such a crucial variable.

I meant if you installed the same brand/kind of spark plugs you were using when the engine failure happened, the Denso's.

Yeah EGT's and AFR's are both critical variables, unfortunately on our set up it would require an additional sensor to be installed.

 

[xot1]

I meant if you installed the same brand/kind of spark plugs you were using when the engine failure happened, the Denso's.

Yeah EGT's and AFR's are both critical variables, unfortunately on our set up it would require an additional sensor to be installed.

Yes. Brand new batch of six IKH27, carefully gapped and installed less than a month before it happened. I did several 8.5s 60-130mph runs with these same plugs so I cannot say I ever had any performance issues with them. Until the day..



But the plug may have been just a result of the blown exhaust valve.

 

[robz32]

I was going to suggest switching to the HKS ones, various owners have had better results so far with them.

 

[xot1]

I was going to suggest switching to the HKS ones, various owners have had better results so far with them.

I expected this kind of reaction and while I may try them to eliminate that one variable, I must say that I know a lot of people who have zero problems with the two-step colder Densos (most people who say they had problems used the one-step colder plugs). I also personally know one guy who blow a spark plug tip (engine byebye) with HKS plugs.

 

[robz32]

I expected this kind of reaction and while I may try them to eliminate that one variable, I must say that I know a lot of people who have zero problems with the two-step colder Densos (most people who say they had problems used the one-step colder plugs). I also personally know one guy who blow a spark plug tip (engine byebye) with HKS plugs.

Interesting, first I've heard of an HKS plug being the cause of an engine failure. Again lots of variables play a role on the failure of an specific part, but definitely something worth looking into, because, as you said it's just to eliminate that variable.