i like how you used the stock head gasket. I'm planning to use the same. Good to know great numbers can be had with the oem gaskets instead of HKS.

goodluck with the re-build.

 

Don't be a fool. OEM headgasket is not a wise choice at this point in the Z33's development. There are MUCH better choices for a build. Cosworth, HKS, just to name a couple

 

i think it looks like the headgasket failed, and the rest was subsequent.

a nasty headgasket blow during a high power pull can cause that. if a little chunk of headgasket was lost between the chamber and cooling jacket the heat will really focus on that spot of the sleeve, and it will push the coolant in the jacket away from that spot compounding the heat in the situation... as the hole grows, the heat traveling thru has more and more effect on it and it blows out the side of the block.... thats the theory anyway, i had it happen on another type of engine using a stock headgasket and after welding and decking it all and putting to back together with better headgaskets it never happened again on the same tune.

 

Good luck Joe. I am sure she will be better than ever when you get her running.

 

Thanks for the feedback Charles!

I think that makes a lot of sense... Especially since the cast iron liners are cast into the block. With the deck having a thin layer of allum before you get to the oem sleeve if you had a head gasket fail it would be really easy to melt that out of the way and blow into the cooling passages of the block... My concern is having dissimilar metals on the deck of the block when the machine shop installs the new liner. I am hoping there is a way to sink the liner in far enough to match the other cyls and then weld allum back to the deck and plane it down so that everything is the same. Does that make sense?

My next question is, what caused the head gasket failure? just the fact it was a stock gasket? Or was something more serious going on there? Any thoughts?

 

You know I have to bring her back stronger than ever! Just not excited about the price tag of doing the rebuild...

Working on your car will sure help things a lot man, thanks again for the opportunity. Got to pay for this stuff some how! lol

 

Damn... Sorry to see this happen. Somethink like what Phunk mentioned looks like it could have been the issue. I'm not convinced that the stock cylinder wall failed due to stress / too much power. A weak head gasket failure sounds more likely considering that was really the only weak point in your build. But it's just a theory / best guess.

Good luck getting it back together and keep us posted on your progress. I'm sure that round two will have a better result.

 

Personally, I wouldn't mess with rebuilding the sleeve. The short block core and the machine work needed on a new block would probably work to to a similar cost in comparison to the fix. That plus the peace of mind in using a fresh block... Just my

 

+1

 

+1...I just realized the engine was using a stock head gasket. Joe is a trend setter for sure, and this engine was making some serious power with 93 octane+meth.

 

I have to agree with Phunk. The faulure of the headgasket in one small area would allow a flame to propogate to that area and the flame would be concentrated like a blow torch.

 

I can´t believe that you were using the stock head gasket in a 643rwhp engine...........

 

Can you post a pic of the HG? I'm not convinced just yet that it's a hg. The factory one is superior to my stock KA gasket and I run 31psi and 55X rwhp through a 4 cyl........

 

The fact that it held up to 643whp is a testament to the work involved in the rest of the engine / kit / tune IMO... While it's safe to say hindsight is always far clearer than foresight, what we all get to learn from this is that the stock head gasket can in fact take a good amount of abuse without throwing in the towel. The question is how much? With this info, one could assume that the stockers are good for 500? Maybe a bit more??? We've seen stock blocks hold at 400-450 for thousands of miles, with the failure being an internal rather than a stock head gasket. I'm sure the thought process in the build was that if the internals were addressed, then the hg would hold up to far more abuse. Again, that theory in my mind was proven by this...

I'm going to assume that the next step will probably include an upgraded head gasket (HKS or Cosworth at a minimum). The question is whether or not J will go all in with a sleeved block We'll see.

All of this is speculation on my part though. Both the OP and other shops / parties involved have yet to confirm exactly what the cause was. Although I think that most of us are on the same line of thought about the hg...

 

+1 thats why the hoses blew off

 

evaluating that as we speak... What ever I end up doing I will make sure the enigne will hold together with even more power. I have a score to settle with Alberto at ZDayZ next year!

 

I look forward to it Joe!

 

Awe damn... thems fightin' words. J/K

 

So this could be a possible result of a stock hg giving up? Is that one of the stronger conclusions????

I can't wait for ZdayZ next year, it is going to be one crazy weekend, I have a feeling alot of Runs are going to take place haha

 

Next year I'm looking forward to running a select few guys. Just to give you guys a chance I'll run low boost Def gonna be a blast!