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My DynoTune Went Horribly Wrong...

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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 08:28 PM
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Default My DynoTune Went Horribly Wrong...

After all this time building my motor it came down to today.. Off to ECS for my dynotune. 2003 z06, cam, headers, cai, new rods, pistons, rings, bearings etc, etc. Barely pushed 350 rwhp.. I don't know WTF is worng? To make matters worse, drove all the way back home with a engine knock and 15psi of Oil Pressure the entire ride home. Not to mention a big dent on my wallet..



I'm went back in and check the cam alignment, but it's dead on.. Removed the oil pump and oil ring seal is like new, it was never pinched or anything.. I guess only one thing left to do, A Leak Down..

Last edited by BonestockZ06; Nov 28, 2007 at 08:35 PM. Reason: adding
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 08:34 PM
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Wow, sorry to hear the problems. Could you explain what motor setup you have? Who did the motor work?
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 08:35 PM
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Who did the work on the motor? Who did the dyno for you? What did they say? What were your goals for the motor? What is your build?
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 08:38 PM
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I did the motor myself, it was just a simple rebuilt. I had the cylinders honed, but that was it. ECS tried their best to tune it but to no avail. Doug suggested Run a leak.

Last edited by BonestockZ06; Dec 3, 2007 at 02:08 PM.
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 08:46 PM
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New rods, pistons, rings, and bearings is more than a cylinder hone. As Doug suggested do a leakdown. I would also do a compression test. 15psi oil pressure could mean a pinched pickup to oil pump o-ring, or excessive main bearing clearance. Did you verify your clearances when installing the new bearings? What about rotating assembly balance? Di you check your rings for proper end gap?
---
I know I may be asking the obvious questions, but what you are describing sounds like some of these things were overlooked or not done to proper tolerances.
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 08:58 PM
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Originally Posted by ArKay99
New rods, pistons, rings, and bearings is more than a cylinder hone. As Doug suggested do a leakdown. I would also do a compression test. 15psi oil pressure could mean a pinched pickup to oil pump o-ring, or excessive main bearing clearance. Did you verify your clearances when installing the new bearings? What about rotating assembly balance? Di you check your rings for proper end gap?
---
I know I may be asking the obvious questions, but what you are describing sounds like some of these things were overlooked or not done to proper tolerances.
I meant the only machining to the block was a cylinder hone... .003 on the bearings. Assembly is fully balanced. The oil pump ring wasn't pinched, however, I did find the relief valve stuck, but on the closed position, that should have given me more pressure, right? Gap is at 14 for the first ring and 17 for the second.

Cam is dead on.. Dot to Dot.. If what I just described is not proper, then I don't need to look any further because then we have found the problem/s.

Thanks
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by BonestockZ06
I meant the only machining to the block was a cylinder hone... .003 on the bearings. Assembly is fully balanced. The oil pump ring wasn't pinched, however, I did find the relief valve stuck, but on the closed position, that should have given me more pressure, right? Gap is at 14 for the first ring and 17 for the second.

Cam is dead on.. Dot to Dot.. If what I just described is not proper, then I don't need to look any further because then we have found the problem/s.

Thanks

Don't always trust the dot's....degree it to see for sure. Also, .002-.0025 on the bearings unless it is an all out race motor.
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 09:16 PM
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Originally Posted by BonestockZ06
I meant the only machining to the block was a cylinder hone... .003 on the bearings. Assembly is fully balanced. The oil pump ring wasn't pinched, however, I did find the relief valve stuck, but on the closed position, that should have given me more pressure, right? Gap is at 14 for the first ring and 17 for the second.

Cam is dead on.. Dot to Dot.. If what I just described is not proper, then I don't need to look any further because then we have found the problem/s.

Thanks
Sounds like you either spun a bearing or something broke internally. I presume your oil pressure was fine on the way to ECS ?
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 09:20 PM
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Originally Posted by ajg1915
Sounds like you either spun a bearing or something broke internally. I presume your oil pressure was fine on the way to ECS ?
It wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as it became after the pulls... I was having issues with it, but only at idle. Now it will not raise pressure with higher rpms at all. Hard to tell where the knock is coming from, I'm hoping it was just valvetrain noise from the low oil pressure..
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 11:51 PM
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Doh! Sorry, I didn't absorb the symptom that you have a knock. With low oil pressure and a knock I have to agree you may have spun a bearing on the dyno. Also, +1 on degreeing the cam. you wouldn't be the first one I've read about with a bad grind.

Last edited by ArKay99; Nov 28, 2007 at 11:53 PM.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 12:01 AM
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I don't know why you were down on power initially, but it seems like you probably spun a rod bearing on the dyno with a knock and decreased oil pressure.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 09:25 AM
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All the spun cam bearings I've seen resulted in no oil pressure...It'd be odd that it would only spin a little bit, those oil passages are pretty small. Collapsed lifter maybe? or something blocking oil from pumping up a lifter, which would act like a dead hole, a leakdown/compression test can show you that, hell looking at the plugs will tell you if it's a dead hole.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 09:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Tuner@Straightline
All the spun cam bearings I've seen resulted in no oil pressure...It'd be odd that it would only spin a little bit, those oil passages are pretty small. Collapsed lifter maybe? or something blocking oil from pumping up a lifter, which would act like a dead hole, a leakdown/compression test can show you that, hell looking at the plugs will tell you if it's a dead hole.
The oil issues were there from the beginning, just not as bad. I would get 50 psi on start up and fully hot (210 oil, 200 coolant) I would get 20 psi. If I drove it, then I would get steady 30-32psi at around 2200 rpms.

I originally though it was a pinched o-ringed and was on my to do list next. However, now the pressure will not raise past 14-15 psi at any given rpm ( I've gone as far as 3k rpms and it just will not raise. I drove home with some engine noise, but It's hard to describe, it almost felt like it was coming through the center vents.. I never got a warning light and the noise is only coming through under acceleration. Pull the codes and had none, I'd figure, maybe I'll get a knock sensor code, but no..

I came home pulled the front cover off and removed the oil pump. Oil ring was seated properly, looks brand new with no signs of being pinched anywhere. I opened the pump and the relieve valve was stuck closed, shouldn't that be more pressure instead of less. I mean, I had to pry it with a thin screw driver to get it lose. Is the valve supposed to move freely? Can it be a faulty Oil Pump?

Last, I checked the cam alignment and it's dead on dot to dot.. I will be running a leak down test later on tonight.

Last edited by BonestockZ06; Dec 3, 2007 at 02:10 PM.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 10:05 AM
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Damn Juan, you took that apart fast!!
You only left here mid day yesterday!

it's a shame the build did not go as planned, personally I would pull the motor and completely tear it down. A cam bearing could have walked and personally I think your bearing clearances are too loose anyway. At least it's winter time now and you can take your time and build it right.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 10:06 AM
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Cut the oil filter open & examine the pleats...look for "gold" colored metal flakes. If thats what you see it's a bearing.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by TLewis4095
Cut the oil filter open & examine the pleats...look for "gold" colored metal flakes. If thats what you see it's a bearing.
100%!!! Best advice here yet. An oil filter will tell you a lot about the engine if something when majority wrong in there. You shouldn't see much copper if any in a new build. But if you have turned a bearing you will most likely see the damage in the filter, no matter how bad the bearing turned.



As far as low power, are you sure the pistons decked back to the top of the block? Did you check deck height after assembly? These motors normally run 0 to +.005 (piston slightly out of the hole). If you ended up with the wrong pistons or rods your piston height may be way below the deck causing an extremely low compression ratio. Do a compression check as well as a leak down to eliminate that possibility.


Did the engine run smooth or did it seem to have a miss before the dyno pulls?
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 12:05 PM
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Originally Posted by SpeedyZ
100%!!! Best advice here yet. An oil filter will tell you a lot about the engine if something when majority wrong in there. You shouldn't see much copper if any in a new build. But if you have turned a bearing you will most likely see the damage in the filter, no matter how bad the bearing turned.



As far as low power, are you sure the pistons decked back to the top of the block? Did you check deck height after assembly? These motors normally run 0 to +.005 (piston slightly out of the hole). If you ended up with the wrong pistons or rods your piston height may be way below the deck causing an extremely low compression ratio. Do a compression check as well as a leak down to eliminate that possibility.


Did the engine run smooth or did it seem to have a miss before the dyno pulls?
No misses during normal driving, but very rough idle prior to the tune and will stall occasionally, I would attribute that to the new cam and would count it as normal prior to tunning. I'm currently running a compression test and will post the results soon. I will then move on to a leak down.

amn Juan, you took that apart fast!!
You only left here mid day yesterday!

it's a shame the build did not go as planned, personally I would pull the motor and completely tear it down. A cam bearing could have walked and personally I think your bearing clearances are too loose anyway. At least it's winter time now and you can take your time and build it right.
That would attribute to the low oil pressure, but I still want to get to the root of why so low in power.. Hey Doug, I appreciate your effort, it didn't go un-noticed. Thanks
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To My DynoTune Went Horribly Wrong...

Old Nov 29, 2007 | 12:32 PM
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Sorry to hear about that but I hope you get it worked out soon
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Corvette-Chris
Sorry to hear about that but I hope you get it worked out soon
Thanks..

Compression test results are as follows.. Performed with fuel pump fuse off and throttle body blade open.

#1 204psi
#2 195psi
#3 190psi
#4 192psi
#5 190psi
#6 211psi
#7 209psi
#8 210psi
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 02:10 PM
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