project fast kat race car

[nightracer]

Since my warranty claim was denied for my blown engine I have decided to get my engine built.So since I had one laying around the garage I have started on project Fast Kat. So far I have pulled the engine and tranny . The tranny is at the shop getting rebuilt with a quaife lsd and new syncros. The heads are at the shop getting p&p
with large valves.I have new drive shaft shop axles coming within the next few weeks. I have a set of Pauter rods being made.When those arrive the block and crank are going to the machine shop to have the crank knife edged and polished and the cylinders bored and pistons ordered.

Here are some pics of the car as it sits right now waiting on parts and money :

[Pyro81]

The one thing that always scares me about any kind of engine removal in newer cars like this is trying to remember where the hell everything goes when you put it back in.

http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/attachments/Picture%200044.jpg

[JAMallott]

so you are taking your cougar engine and transmissoin, and putting it into a go kart? what engine is going into the cougar? and what transmission? im really confused...

i still have my engine cover waiting to get piced up too ;)

[gyger]

that sucks man
did you ever figure out exactly what happened to it?

That's crazy you are doing all the work on the Lawn!custom_images/emoticons/shocked.gif
good luck let us know how she turns out

[nightracer]

Brian actually my friend is a ASE certified mechanic and he is going to help me get it all put in and running. We traded work I am going to help him do his body work and he is gonna help me, He is also the one rebuilding my tranny. Brian you have a pm about the c/f guy.

Aaron no I am getting my engine rebuilt for some serious horsepower (if all goes well). Also I would love to pick it up but I have one small problem I have no transportation. So right now alot of my other projects have gotten put on hold sorry.

Gyger actually the problem I have been told is something that happens to the duratec heads quite often.
I guess that when you change the spark plugs the engine should be warmed up and if it isnt I have been told that the threads will strip out. When I got the car it had denso iridium plugs in it so I guess that whoever had it before me didnt know this so it was just waiting to happen.


Also on a side note I have finally been able to find someone who can give me a price on some Cat Cams so hopefully that is going to be the next thing I buy.

later
Justin

[gyger]

That's weird
there are alot of members here and I've never heard of that happening
and if the threads did strip out what would happen?
the plug gets pushed out by the compression and falls out but that wouldn't blow
your motor would it? it would just run on like 5 cylinders right?

[Pyro81]

I don't know a whole lot about engines but to me that sounds like :bs:

The warmer a metal becomes the softer it becomes. Therefore, the easier it will be to strip out threads, especially if it's made of aluminum. And as i said in my other post, when you heat metal it expands. When reffering to a metal ring, the outside diameter of the ring will grow bigger as will the inside diameter of the ring. Now applying that information to a threaded hole in an engine head. The head gets warm, and the hole expands. Hole gets bigger and the threads of both the hole and spark plug don't mesh as much. So, when the heads are warm and the metal has expanded it all means that it will become easier to strip out the threads in the head.

Now, i'm not sure how hot an engine can get and i'm not sure if they get hot enough to actually cause enough expansion or softness to do such things as strip the threads. But it's definately something to think about. I could also be somewhat wrong. But it is fact that heat will expand metal and make it softer.

Edit: Duh, i forgot i wanted to say more than that. So are you rebuilding your engine cause of a stripped spark plug hole or because the engine was blown?

Gyger, when the threads strip out all that will happen is the spark plug will be shot out. A missing plug in itself shouldn't cause an engine to blow. Now, if some of the metal from the stripped threads happens to get into the cylinders, that can cause damage to an engine. Whomever changed the plugs before Justin probably just torqued the [censored] out of them and weakened the threads. Whenever Justin pulled those plugs he might of just finished what the other guy started.

[nightracer]

Well Gyger like Brian said the metal shavings form the threads got into the cylinder and caused some serious damage to the piston although the block and cylinder walls are fine. It also damaged the IMRC when the plug was ejected.I was losing alot of compression so I pulled the head and the hole for the spark plug was melted so no chance of retapping. I was gonna just fix it but since I had to buy a new head,IMRC,and my second gear syncros were going I figured I would just go all out. It is starting to suck but I know I will be very happy when it is finished.

[cougar11190]

why didnt the warranty cover it was it you factory warranty?

[gyger]

Well Gyger like Brian said the metal shavings form the threads got into the cylinder and caused some serious damage to the piston although the block and cylinder walls are fine.
it seems odd that small metal thread shaving cause "serious damage to the piston"
but not the cylinder walls.
If anything there would be more damage to the walls than the piston.
And if aluminum heads are unsafe someone needs to let the racing industry know:rolleyes:
I'm gonna have to say someone just over torqued putting the plugs in. (like you guys already stated)
What I'm trying to say is it's good that you are getting it bored because metal into cyl walls=bad times.
Good luck again with the rebuild and keep us all updated:thumbsup: