Engine DESTRUCTION / CARNAGE thread

I didn't see an appropriate section to put this one in, so I figured I'd start it in the off-topic section - if the mods think it's better suited in another section, feel free to move it. I think every forum needs a carnage section, for entertainment, of course. :woohoo:

My first post here on the forum - been following Paul on Youtube for about a year now. I've been wrenching since I started fixing my bicycles around age 7 or so. Then, I graduated to dirt bikes and ATVs, then got my license at age 16 and progressed to cars. Attended the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix, AZ from mid '99 to early '01, worked at a bike shop out there for a bit, moved to CA with a buddy from school and did the shop thing out there for a few months until I crashed my bike, ran out of money, and moved back to MA. I roofed, worked in factories, drove tractor trailer & garbage trucks, then started full time working for myself out of my house 8 years ago doing small engines and auto repair. That's the condensed version.


I've got a couple here from 2 different genres - one automotive, and one OPE (outdoor power equipment). The Focus I did back in '12, and the leaf blower was from the other day.

First up is a 2000 Ford Focus 2.0 engine. My cousin sold me the car for $500 back in 2012 as it sat, not running. Said it just quit. Well, as soon as I yanked the head I knew I was in for an adventure! It's the notorious valve-seat-spitter. Long story short, I repaired the carnage with a reman head, and just slapped a new piston and rod in it. We drove it for 8k miles trouble free, and decided to sell it (since it was a 4th vehicle). I threw it on eBay, and it's new home is somewhere in Africa now.

Second up is a Toro 4-stroke leaf blower. My neighbor brought it to me from his boss to get running. Figured just a carb clean, valve adjust, and oil change and she'd be on her way. Well, turns out nobody had changed the oil in this one ... EVER! It's a 2010 model, lol. Long story short, after doing the above and getting her running probably better than it ever has, she promptly grenaded in my hand. :lol: Lack of maintenance caused wrist pin bearing failure, which caused the piston to contact the head, and smash & break the ring land on the piston!

Pics for this one in next post ...

CARNAGE!! :woohoo:

Leaf blower pics:

Well there's your problem!

HAHAHAHA! :lol:

I'm from MA too, btw. I work in Methuen.

You're quite a ways east of me. We're a half hour west of Worcester.

Yes, we have indoor plumbing .... and no, we don't experience Indian attacks.

I grew up in Worcester County.
When I met a girl from the city (now my wife) she was blown away that we didn't have cell phone service! Moved out here to make money.

I could get in on some carnage I suppose.

This is me in my twenties driving a doomed Mazda at a junkyard that no longer exists. It's an old video, I don't even know who posted it, but I found it...

HAHAHA! Nice!

Yeah unfortunately we've lost quite a few junkyards around here in central MA.

That looks alot like stuff we used to do in the day. We had a party at my parent's house way back in my younger days, and someone brought a Suzuki DR200 from who knows where. We ended up draining the oil, filling the crankcase with water and dirt, and tied the throttle wide open. That thing ran for an amazing length of time! Exhaust was glowing bright red from header to muffler - it actually melted the plastic rear section of the front fender, lol. Was puking boiling water out of the breather. It seized 5- 6 times - each time we'd let her cool, and jump on the kickstarter again, and she'd light right off. Built great stuff in those days. I think that bike was an '86 or '87 if I remember right.

As long as we're sharing. My current ride 97' k2500 burb 454. Bought it with a "noise". And for sure, a valve seat makes a funny "noise" when the piston is relentlessly pounding it into the head.

Yikes!
That's what the big knob all the way to left of the stereo it's for, right?

The old left knob only helped this Subaru for so long...

OUCH! That piston took a pounding, similar to the Focus I had.

Nice hole in the block there, Noah!

Back in the day I blew up 998cc Imp race engine and put a lovely hole in the block those 998 blocks were expensive so as the liner was almost undamaged I replaced the crank, one rod got a patch welded on the alloy block and used as the spare for two season. Usually those engine would blow up at 9,000 rpm plus and leave almost nothing usable.

The worst and most expensive blow up I ever saw was while testing the above racer at the Knockhill race circuit back around 1978 , out on the track was a Formula 2 car powered by a 2 litre 300 bhp Renault "CH" V6 engine, the remains of an exhaust valve, exhaust valve seat came out through the exhaust at over 10,000 rpm as the car crossed the start/finish line, the driver ignored the obvious and kept pressing on hard, he almost completed the 1.3 mile lap when the inevitable total and very violent self-destruct happened, pistons lying on the road, cylinder block shrappnel everwhere.

Wow Andy! I've never seen any engine come apart that bad!
He sure must have been in it to win it.

Always epic destruction when they come apart at high RPM ... especially over 9 grand. Great story Andy!

You just reminded me that I have a pic of an older air-cooled Kawasaki drag bike engine that was fed too much nitrous. I saw the block sitting there when I came to pick up engine parts for my RD350 from the machine shop about 7 years ago. On the piston in the back there, the ring lands were crushed flat! Crappy cell pic doesn't do it justice. Thing was mangled! :lol:

This poor GMC Van with a 5.7l Vortec was full to the top with a lovely coolant/engine oil slurry.

Seriously, to the top. Level with the distributer hole in the lower intake!

Oh wow, HAHAHA! Won't be cranking THAT one over ...

Holy CRAP! :woohoo: That's horrible. What was the reason you were looking at this one? Lemme guess, the A/C wasn't working? :lol: