(Engine Trashed?) Thread of Unfortunate Events

Loose bolts!?! No bueno.

I’ve found plastigage helpful to determine if the crankshaft is not “in spec.”

OP I meant to ask, is this your first rodeo going this deep in a teardown? Us on-lookers always wanna know.

 

Yes. Never been into a motor before like this.

Next closest thing I did major on a vehicle was pulling a 4 banger out of my jeep 12 years ago and swapped it with a lt1. Still runs good to this day.

I'm a Facilities manager so very mechanically inclined. Tear a part million dollar machines for a living repairing. So, the motor work is pretty easy just want to make sure I follow proceedure on torque specs and checking clearances correctly.

I also have a good machining background. But currently no access to a mill.

 

I'm set with 3 options.

option 1: Buy a new piston and rings for 600$ Measure gaps Yada Yada and slap her back together. Cheapest option and only fixes what's broke.

Option 2: buy a short block, 3500$ new. Still stock bottom end. My truck has 70k miles on it so the current block isnt that old. Idk if it justifies 3500$ when all thats broke is option 1. I am NOT getting rid of the supercharger.

Option 3: buy these? https://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/product/wiseco-piston-set-toyota-2gr-fse-10-01-94-0mm/

I don't know anything about the brand or if anyone else has upgraded to these but they say that they are meant for superchargers.

 

If I had it apart like that I think this is the best option. Also reach out to a better tuner and let them know what your doing. I don't think this is going to be an email tune. Probably tune on the dyno .

 

Which option would you choose?

I will for sure try to haul the truck down to FL and hopefully get OVTune to tune the truck.

 

Ill say it again.....
As looks like you keep posting & ignoring...
Those cylinders need machine work before deciding on any pistons...
Vertical scoring is bad regardless that you cant feel it, sure the lower piston skirts are score on multiple pistons....
cross-hatch is gone....
You will have oil consumption issues if you cut corners....

A dumb ball hone, doesnt fix what you have going-on, you beat those cylinders & pistons to death....

 

Take it to machine shop before you purchase anything and have them inspect everything. Only they can make the determination if they are okay to use. I would also inquire about having them assemble it. If all is good they should be able to give it a hone, throw a standard set of bearings and pistons in there and call it a day. Even if you buy the Toyota short block, take the heads and get them checked.

Since you have it apart and have seem to have big aspirations, you might consider some stronger rods and forged pistons, the machine shop might have some connections to order those. Those monkey pistons are just wiseco(a reputable brand) that they are reselling. They are a custom order and not something you'll find on a shelf. The ring land cracked because of detonation most likely due to the sketchy tune. The secondary ring was never intended to see the pressure that went past the primary ring when the event(s) happened. You absolutely need to get a good tune it it'll do it again or worse.

 

I think everyone continues to trust others to do their work for them. I for one don't trust anyone and will do things myself to ensure it's completed properly. I'm in situations where dealerships, mom and pop shops, machine shops have all failed to follow procedures and caused issues in all my vehicles. The heads were sent to a machine shop. So, no need to send those again. They sat in the machine shop for 7 months waiting for valves to be machined. If cross hatching is an issue I'll get a shop to fix that. At the very least I'll send the block into a shop for that. But if it comes down to paying a machine shop 1000-1500$ to re hone and inspect....I might as well just buy a new block from Toyota lol.

You might think I'm hard headed but when you deal with bull shit from dealerships and their "experienced" techs doing nothing but ruining your expensive vehicles you would be taking matters into your own hands too.

 

I hear you, and I'm looking into the cross hatching that you're talking about. It makes sense, I just don't see how a cross hatch is maintained when you have metal sliding up and down the metal cylinder walls 3k times a minute.

 

The cross hatch holds oil and keeps the rings lubed up to help prevent that wear. It is common for cross hatch to still be visible on engines at 200k even.

Personally I’d get a short block at minimum, I’d make damn sure the heads and valves are in good shape (they seem very questionable currently especially since being worked on) and then I’d throw it back together and get a tune from OTT or someone that really knows what they’re doing with the pro charger.

 

ive taken motors apart with 200k on them that still had all their crosshatch, your cylinders should not look like a glazed mirror with those vertical lines.....
regardless if you can feel the vertical lines or not....

Are the vertical lines worse at say the interior wall of the cylinder, say the 3:00 position if the very front was 12:00?
Thats the side that puts the most stress on that side of the piston & block....

you put a 7/11 generic tune on this engine & it destroyed it cuz all the parameters were generic & wasnt specifically tuned to what was actually happening live..

 

Yeah....my wallet wants me to take the cheap route out. Replace rings, piston, get a good tune.

My gutt says just buy a short block lol. But as a hobbyist I enjoy this kind of thing. And honing the cross hatches back in myself and putting everything back together seems fun.

 

Yeah, I agree tune was the root of this issue. I shouldn't have trusted being a "beta tester" for them...

I'll take your advice on the cross hatch. I'm going to get some tools and work on getting the cross hatch back into the cylinders. If it doesn't come out absolutely flawless I'll buy a new short block.

 

Ton of work to do it 2x, regardless of money...
You felt you had to have a SC, but you cut corners that caused this...
Now youre in this pickle & you continue to cut corners...
You need to pay to play, if you cant pay, dont play....
goodluck, I spoke from what I see....
You do you....

Engine builders to do it correctly on the modern engine use very expensive & accurate honing machines / lathes....
This isnt a 70-80's 350 or 302....
A $20 ball hone is going to get you no-where, crosshatch will all be temporary & your glazed cylinders will come right back....
Modern engine, tolerances are much tighter than old school days...
backyard rebuilds without real machine work dont end well....

 

Agreed, you're free to your opinion. But you should remember it's your opinion. If you want to fork over the cash to do it your way, I'll be glad to let you guide my decision. Regardless I'm taking your advice and looking into the cylinder walls more thoroughly. You have the attitude of a "30 year dealership mechanic that never makes any mistakes".

Again, I do appreciate your advice and it will weigh heavily in my decision.

It's also ton of work for someone getting paid to do it. However for me I take pride and ownership in the work I do on my vehicles.

 

my attitude is from me telling you youre making bad decisions & its going in one ear & out the other, still have im going to cut every corner in the book cuz I dont have the funds.....
From your response, you weren't going to do anything to the block or have any machine work done.....
just shade tree it back together cheap as possible....

 

Funny you say it's going in one ear and out the other. Might be the opposite there bud.

How do I downvote a comment?

 

I think the consensus here will be a ring land fracture from detonation related to the tune

 

The molten metal blobs on the side of the piston by the top above the broken piece shows this to be the case most likely. As soon as I saw the pic of the damaged piston, those stuck out like a sore thumb.

 

Option 4: Quit punking out and step up. Buy a motor built for Le Mans, something that will take 15000 RPMs and then drive it like you mean it. Just think how massive your junk will be if you have a p3nis extender like that under the hood. Screw your supercharger and be a real man. Just think how many people you'll impress as you commute at warp speed and what kind of things they will think of you.