[ds968]

Yup, and that's exactly the concern ( the cause , or causes ) so we can make sure it wont happen again, the result is sort of irrelevant

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[flash]

yes.  if it were detonation in and of itself, due to "tip in" or something like that, it would have been visible in all 4 cylinders, not just one.  something happened to make that one go bad.  yes, it is probably the hottest cylinder, and therefor potentially more susceptible, but there had to be an underlying and not merely proximal cause.  i am about as sure as i can be that it was not the programming or setup.  i gave up probably 25hp from the 6 speed setup in order to make sure of that.

 

if that cylinder was worn, and oil was present, that would create higher compression numbers in that cylinder, which could lead to ring blow

 

if the transmission failed to shift, and that cylinder were on the edge.........

 

if the knock sensors failed to engage the computer...............

 

if the fuel pressure regulator lock nut backed off or the regulator dropped pressure...............

 

if the fuel filter was clogged...........

 

if the fuel pump was weak...........

 

if the oil pump was weak or damaged...........

 

the list goes on.

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[ds968]

IF the fpr, or, the injector failed ........... the manufacturer might owe me an engine rebuilt , as both of those were relatively new parts . :glare: .   the rest of the things on list you mentioned are probably past their prime   

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[flash]

lol - nice try. unfortunately the warranty on those parts is only 1 year, and that is only because i extend the manufacturer warranty myself.  we did that upgrade back in sept of 14.

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[ds968]

Warranties are not always an absolute defense in a small claims court environment , particularly when catastrophic damage is concerned, the " reasonable person's expectation "  criteria often is given considerable weight  ( I think the current claim cap in those courts vary, but most are around $ 7,500 so that should suffice to cover most if not all of my repair bill ..)   That said, it would still be an uphill battle given all the other contributory factors arguments which would undoubtedly be raised by the defense and the ensuing apportionment but hey, at a sole cost of $ 45 filing fee and one day of my time, it may be a worthwhile thing to do.  Of course, this is all hypothetical, and I tend to doubt there was one freak defective injector while the other three were fine, so likely no recourse for this but my wallet . :angry2:   

 

Lol, I was soooo ready to sue Porsche in small claims court for the pinion bearing failure, but the PO sent me all the money for the repair cost so I had no "loss" for which to file a claim .. (  Talk about a stand-up guy ; he did that because he felt bad representing the car as having no flaws whatsoever and in spite of it being sold "as is" , he still felt an obligation to make things right . BTW, his no problems statement was based on two different mechanics to which he took the car complaining of that jet whine noise coming from the rear, but was told by both mechanics that it's normal for 968s transmissions to be noisy, especially when the sound is somewhat amplified by the large hatchback space and glass . So when i got the correct diagnosis, he just sent me a check, I did not even ask for the money, he simply offered it , and of course I wasn't going to refuse   :closedeyes:   )

 

And now I'm way OT on my own thread, so back to let's find the what lit the fuse in this car. :glare:                      

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[flash]

lol - i basically quadruple the warranty on those parts, so i think i've met the "reasonable expectations".  speaking of "reasonable expectations"  is it reasonable to expect to drive a 20 plus year old automatic with 130k miles on it at 6k rpm?  just sayin....

 

anyway, enough of that.  back to the issue at hand.  any new news?

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[ds968]

No updates yet , I'll try to reach him tomorrow to check on progress and any more findings ..

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[wildcat]

"Of course, this is all hypothetical, and I tend to doubt there was one freak defective injector while the other three were fine, so likely no recourse for this but my wallet .  :angry2:  "

 

Pardon my butting in, but I rebuilt my injectors and essentially the replacement part is plastic (the atomizer) and I don't think it could be responsible for any damage as it would melt if it became dislodged and was sucked into the engine. Course stranger things have happened. 

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[flash]

he's not talking about the injector parts causing a problem, but rather failing to squirt fuel

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[wildcat]

Or failing to atomize it properly, I would suspect, with those plastic caps off the fuel just gets dumped in there, so maybe he's got a point. 

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[ds968]

Update : the block from the other motor he had on site is perfect, so we'll use that . The head is being machined , crank getting polished , rings are on order so progressing along well. The injectors were tested and they all have a very strong even spray pattern , so it does not seem the injector's fuel delivery to # 4 was one of the issues ..but who knows about the pump, or the pressure regulator, or filter, or whatever else might not be functioning ideally.

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[Rap]

Is it possible you won't find an answer?

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[ds968]

I'm hoping as Bob and Henry ( the mech ) brainstorm through the various things that have been examined and those which have been tested, the causes can be narrowed down to the point where one MAIN factor may be identified , and with a pretty high degree of confidence, as the most influential culprit of the failure. Not sure this is the type of case where anyone can come to a conclusion without a single doubt...and unfortunately educated speculation is not really good enough to put my mind at ease that there's no chance of reoccurrence . But there may be ways to make some adjustments designed to at least mitigate future risk .

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[wildcat]

#4 is closest to the fire wall and as a result gets the most heat, chaos theory suggests: a random molecule of heat collides with another and a chain reaction results thus producing catastrophic results... if that doesn't work for you there's always Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (which states it could have been worse because there was a ripple in the time/space continuum thus producing a sub atomic black hole which ripped a small chunk out of piston ring thus producing catastrophic results and its all Relative because the engine could have jumped out of its mount brackets thus obscuring the view of the driver which resulted in a collision with a passing comet...) No I haven't been drinking but they mentioned they'd discovered "gravity waves" and I couldn't figure out how that might have effected this particular incident. 

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[ds968]

Yes, I just saw the gravity waves discovery report this morning , lol. The vulnerability of # 4 cyl vs the others is duly noted, but that does not offer any clues as to what caused the supernova explosion and the black hole vividly illustrated by the condition of the piston and cylinder .

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[az968]

Don't you mean the black hole that is exerting extreme gravitational pull on your wallet?

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[Rap]

Sometimes not knowing and moving forward is a positive course of action. Even for those of the ocd bent.

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[flash]

didn't bush say that when he decided to take us into iraq?

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[Rap]

I've never definitively found out what happened to my engine when it blew. Certainly early on it consumed me. Then it occurred to me that I had an event in two weeks and the focus needed to be on securing a new engine so I would be prepared for the next event. After that the consuming urge to know was quickly replaced with looking ahead. Just one persons experience!

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[flash]

these engines were not designed for track duty.  yes, many guys take them out there.  just as many end up building motors though.  taking a high mileage engine to extremes is just asking for something to let go.

 

when i was racing, we rebuilt the engine no LESS than once a year.  failure to do that would result in a failure.  you can't win if you don't finish.

 

it is most likely that this engine blew due to a combination of factors, the most likely being wear and age.

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