Engine failures database

[mick]

Id like to start a thread that logs details of our Engine specs, then that engines Failures so that we can compare and then analise some of the results to see what consistancies and inconsistancies come up and then maybe get some more definitive answers. I'll start of with what I think and as we go no doubt others will add what they think is important. I only have one failure so far, but looks like I'm about to have another one go thats starting to clatter really bad, maybe the result of a bad injector on this new engine.

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 04 LLY
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI
MAX HP - 881 repeated
MAX TQ - ?
STREET DRIVEN - YES
DRAG -OCCASIONALLY - STRIP
PULLER - NO
TURBO(S) - PROCHARGER SUPERCHARGER INTO GT45
AIR FILTER - K&N
INTAKE MANIFOLD - BANKS BIG HOSS
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - SS HEADERS
DOWNPIPE - 4"
MAX TIMING - 31deg 3800 RPM
AVERAGE EGT'S - 6-700
MAX EGT'S - 1350
FUEL PUMP(S) - 1 X STOCK PLUS 1 X PPE
INJECTORS - STOCK
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCKOIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - SUNCOAST STAGE V
CONVERTER - SUNCOAST 1059

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 35,000
BLOCK - HOLE AT NO 7
PISTONS - ALL IN GOOD SHAPE - NO BURN MARKS
RODS - ALL BENT EXCEPT NO 7 BROKE IN HALF
BORE - AS NEW
CRANK - AS NEW
TURBO - GOOD

 

[NWTDIESEL]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 04 LB7
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI MMLMM
MAX HP - 650rwhp repeated
MAX TQ - 1180
STREET DRIVEN - YES
DRAG -OCCASIONALLY - STRIP
PULLER - NO
TURBO(S) - A5K
AIR FILTER - AFE
INTAKE MANIFOLD - Stock
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - RDL SS HEADERS UP-PIPES
DOWNPIPE - ATS 4"
MAX TIMING - 31deg 3400 RPM
FUEL PUMP(S) - 1 X STOCK CP3/FASS 150
INJECTORS - STOCK
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCK
OIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - ATS
CONVERTER - 5 star

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 225,000
BLOCK - GOOD
PISTONS - ALL IN GOOD SHAPE - NO BURN MARKS-IN SPEC
RODS - GOOD
BORE - GOOD
CRANK - GOOD
TURBO - GOOD

I broke a injector hold down and blew the injector out of the hole.
Rings were burned up.
Bearings were shot from miles.
My motor just got weak and couldnt take it anymore.

 

[sweetdiesel]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 05 LLY
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI Me
MAX HP - ?
MAX TQ - ?
STREET DRIVEN - YES and towed heavy
DRAG -OCCASIONALLY - STRIP
PULLER - NO
TURBO(S) - Stock for the most part and then a HTT
AIR FILTER - banks
INTAKE MANIFOLD - stock
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - bd manifold
DOWNPIPE - 3" or Diamond eye
MAX TIMING - 38*at 3200
FUEL PUMP(S) - 1 X STOCK PLUS 1 X PPE lb7
INJECTORS - STOCK
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCKOIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - SUNCOAST STAGE V
CONVERTER - SUNCOAST 1057

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 74,236.05
BLOCK - HOLE AT NO 7 and 4
PISTONS - holes burnt clear through
RODS - ALL BENT under spec
BORE - AS NEW
CRANK - AS NEW
TURBO - GOOD[/QUOTE] still kicking

Ran hundreds of different tunes in it upwards of 4000pw with both cp3s
commanded over 200mpa on the fp, never could read what it got to,knew it was high because of the raw fuel coming from the exhaust

EGTS is simply what killed my first lly motor IMO i wrapped that 1600 gauge so many time that i got a 2000f just to see it do the same


I know right before the pistons let go it was running its best!

 

[JoshH]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 06 LLY (LBZ)
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI tuned by me
MAX HP - approx somewhere between 600 and 650 (best 1/4 mile performance of 12.0 @ 111 with a race weight of 6600)
MAX TQ - ?
STREET DRIVEN - YES
DRAG -Yes, frequently
PULLER - NO
TURBO(S) - Standard MPI Twins
AIR FILTER - AFE
INTAKE MANIFOLD - Stock
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - Stock
DOWNPIPE - 4"
MAX TIMING - Varied from tune to tune, but no more than 30 deg @3200
FUEL PUMP(S) - Stock CP3, TTS lift pumps
INJECTORS - STOCK
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCK
OIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - Tweaked TTS kit
CONVERTER - SUNCOAST 1058

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 45,000
BLOCK - Excellent shape
PISTONS - Hole in #4 piston
RODS - All in good shape
BORE - Scoring on #4 cylinder wall from piston
CRANK - AS NEW
TURBO - GOOD

FAILURE #2

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 06 LLY (LBZ)
ENGINE BUILDER - Me
TUNING - EFI tuned by me
MAX HP - approx 700 (best 1/4 mile performance of 11.8 @ 115 with a race weight of 6700)
MAX TQ - ?
STREET DRIVEN - YES
DRAG -Yes
PULLER - NO
TURBO(S) - Standard MPI Twins
AIR FILTER - AFE
INTAKE MANIFOLD - Stock
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - Stock
DOWNPIPE - 4"
MAX TIMING - Varied from tune to tune, but no more than 30 deg @3200
FUEL PUMP(S) - Dual CP3s, TTS lift pumps
INJECTORS - 40% F1
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - Duramaxtuner
PISTONS - Cut LBZ
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - SoCal/ATI
OIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - Tweaked TTS kit
CONVERTER - SUNCOAST 1058

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 4,500
BLOCK - Excellent shape
PISTONS - As installed
RODS - Varying degrees of bend
BORE - Good
CRANK - AS NEW
TURBO - GOOD

 

[05_LLY]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 05 LLY
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI
MAX HP - 570 (4049r) ?? Twins
MAX TQ - ??
STREET DRIVEN - YES
DRAG -over 150 passes
PULLER - maybe 10 times
TURBO(S) - stock/4094/twins
AIR FILTER - K&N
INTAKE MANIFOLD - GM
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - gm
DOWNPIPE - 4"
MAX TIMING - 37deg 3800 RPM
MAX EGTS/ Back to 0 more than once!
FUEL PUMP(S) - 2 stock
INJECTORS - STOCK
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCK
OIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - ZF
CONVERTER - Soouth bend
CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 48,000
BLOCK - good
PISTONS - slight erosion
RODS - ALL BENT
CRANK - AS NEW
TURBO - GOOD

truck ran two strong years with dual fuelers and the 4094 with a max boost of 36, 3 months with the twins @ 48psi and dual pumps and the compression droped!

 

[othrgrl]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 05 LLY
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI
MAX HP - 540 Dyno proven, a little higher on the track, and new mods since last time at either
MAX TQ - 940
STREET DRIVEN - YES
DRAG -At least once a week - STRIP
PULLER - occasionally
TURBO(S) - 68mm Cheetah, 45+ PSI
AIR FILTER - S&B
INTAKE MANIFOLD - Stock
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - RDL HEADERS and up-pipes just before she blew
DOWNPIPE - Diamond Eye
MAX TIMING - 27deg @ 4000 RPM
AVERAGE EGT'S - 550-650
MAX EGT'S - 1400
FUEL PUMP(S) - 1 stock LBZ
INJECTORS - used 90hp Dynomite
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCK
OIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - SUNCOAST STAGE IV
CONVERTER - SUNCOAST 1058

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 80,000
BLOCK - Gouges from wrist pin at #3
PISTONS - #3 is kibbles in the oil pan
RODS - haven't measure them yet
BORE - #3 is beyond repair
CRANK - Like new
TURBO - missing a piece of a turbine blade, may have injested a piston fagment.

This, spec sheet lists the specs at the time of failure I had pushed it hard on stock injectors and turbo with a little more timing and much higher EGTs. On the Cheetah I had also been at 50 PSI of boost with drive pressures through the roof before installing a drive pressure gauge.

 

[05lly2500hd]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 05 LLY
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI
MAX HP - never dynoed
MAX TQ - ?
STREET DRIVEN - YES
DRAG -OCCASIONALLY - STRIP
PULLER - NO
TURBO(S) - 1st gen. MPI twins
AIR FILTER - AFE
INTAKE MANIFOLD - stock
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - stock
DOWNPIPE - 4"
MAX TIMING - don't remember
AVERAGE EGT'S - 6-800
MAX EGT'S - 1400
FUEL PUMP(S) - single kennedy
INJECTORS - STOCK
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCKOIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - SUNCOAST STAGE III
CONVERTER - SUNCOAST 1050

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 84,532
BLOCK - crank journals damaged
PISTONS - ALL IN GOOD SHAPE - NO BURN MARKS
RODS - looked fine, sold to member
BORE - AS NEW
CRANK - AS NEW
TURBO - GOOD
lost oil psi, gradually worsened to 0 psi.
Main bearings were trashed.



This happened while dragging against a buddy in his mustang. I built boost, whipped his but and then heard some knocking, oil level was fine.
I let him drive the truck alone right before race and to this day I wonder if he didn't try and drive it like a crazy man by revving in N and slamming it in drive???? Not sure if that would do it but surely not good on the crank down there.

 

[05lly2500hd]

Josh, holy jeez two failures! Man that sucks, no pun intended. My first was bad enough.

 

[Hot COCOAL]

bringing this up from WAAAAAAYYY back
lol

I'm reading quite a few of y'all have had a hole in a piston as the cause of a failure vs a crack...

I had the same issue

Type of failure: Nearly a perfectly round almost dime sized hole in the corner of bowl, hole through the side of the skirt too
Engine: stock LBZ
Injectors: exergy 60'
Turbo: new VGT72
Max boost: 42psi
CP3: stock
Trans: built to the hilt
total miles: 150k
miles tuned: 30k
daily driven, beat daily
Max timing: I need to find out...
Max EGT: 2000* maybe more! numerous times
average EGT's: meh, cruising I'd see 650-800*, but who does that?
Max Speed ever reached: 143 on 35's and stock gears

Rods: all protruded from deck, pretty sure they were good
Bore: factory cross hatching still present, no ridges, looked awesome
est max power: 550-580whp for 30k mi, 600-630whp for appx 500mi


slew of other mods listed in sig, pic of failure in Avatar...




I'm curious if anyone went to the trouble and expense of having their injector checked after the failure occurred and if a hung injector or cracked tip, poor balance rate or any other issue was found with an/the injector of the damaged cylinder???

I'm about ready to drop in this brand new engine and I'm starting to get cold feet cuz I didn't have the injectors checked out, cuz until now I've just assumed the issue was the weak LBZ pistons finally letting go...

As sad as it makes me, now with the doubt building in my mind and the cost and effort I've got into this thing, now I'm gonna have to hold off on installing this engine until I have the injectors tested...

Just for the knowledge tho, I'm curious what the percentage is of how many failures could be attributed to an injector issue...

thanks:angel:

 

[Hot COCOAL]

BUMP

Can anyone whose had a hole in a piston say with certainty wether an injector was or was not the cause to the hole being made in their piston, or was it just structural integrity breakdown from added cylinder pressure/abuse???

In my case, I don't believe the hole was made from heat, cuz the edges of the hole are not rounded or at all smooth like the spot got hot and melted. Rather the edge is blunt and sharp, sort of like an FMJ bullet would create shot through similar material...

And that's also why I don't think it was caused from a stuck open injector, cuz there's no erosion or smoothness around the edge of the hole, just a straight, rigid blunt edged opening...and there was also no warning signs of a stuck injector, literally the truck was running awesome and then spontaneously, it wasn't...but this could be misguided thought

I'm just trying to make an educated decision about the cause of this failure, thanks again for any light y'all could shed on this subject for me
:thumb:

 

[melms23]

My friends lbz had a dime sized hole in #4. Stock truck with built trans on 37's with max effort tuning. He ran the truck hard for 4+ years that way. Held it wide open with a big snowmobile trailer on that was loaded for over a quarter mile when it happened. A piece of skirt also broke off the same piston. The hole was sharp and not rounded, but I would guess the direct result of cylinder pressure and heat.

 

[DMAXchris]

BUMP

Can anyone whose had a hole in a piston say with certainty wether an injector was or was not the cause to the hole being made in their piston, or was it just structural integrity breakdown from added cylinder pressure/abuse???

In my case, I don't believe the hole was made from heat, cuz the edges of the hole are not rounded or at all smooth like the spot got hot and melted. Rather the edge is blunt and sharp, sort of like an FMJ bullet would create shot through similar material...

And that's also why I don't think it was caused from a stuck open injector, cuz there's no erosion or smoothness around the edge of the hole, just a straight, rigid blunt edged opening...and there was also no warning signs of a stuck injector, literally the truck was running awesome and then spontaneously, it wasn't...but this could be misguided thought

I'm just trying to make an educated decision about the cause of this failure, thanks again for any light y'all could shed on this subject for me
:thumb:

Mine was caused by a faulty injector. #3 cracked and #3 was the bad injector. We sent them out after the motor failed. It ran its fastest time a month prior to cracking and was driven 1100 miles to Florida 2 days before it let go. It was leaking fuel into the cylinder. I cheaped out when I switched nozzles and didn't have them checked, which was the direct cause of my failure. It was a reman that I bought from a Bosch dealer when bad fuel caused the oem injector to fail.

 

[JoshH]

BUMP

Can anyone whose had a hole in a piston say with certainty wether an injector was or was not the cause to the hole being made in their piston, or was it just structural integrity breakdown from added cylinder pressure/abuse???

In my case, I don't believe the hole was made from heat, cuz the edges of the hole are not rounded or at all smooth like the spot got hot and melted. Rather the edge is blunt and sharp, sort of like an FMJ bullet would create shot through similar material...

And that's also why I don't think it was caused from a stuck open injector, cuz there's no erosion or smoothness around the edge of the hole, just a straight, rigid blunt edged opening...and there was also no warning signs of a stuck injector, literally the truck was running awesome and then spontaneously, it wasn't...but this could be misguided thought

I'm just trying to make an educated decision about the cause of this failure, thanks again for any light y'all could shed on this subject for me
:thumb:

My piston failure was not caused by an injector; I had them tested after I tore the engine apart. My dad also lost a piston the same way, and his injectors were also fine. I didn't get them tested, but it has been running fine for over a year with 20k miles on the engine since I put it back together.

Every instance I have seen with a hole like you talk about, there has been a small crack leading away from the hole. I believe it cracks and the heat and pressure of combustion blows through it making the hole. I think the crack and subsequent hole is definitely heat related because every time I have seen it happen, it is directly over the wrist pin on the opposite side of where the oil squirter entry point is positioned, in other words, the hottest and weakest part of the piston.

 

[Hot COCOAL]

thanks for the replys guys!
:hug:

Hey you are right Josh, there was a small crack starting leading away from the hole, and it was/is running across the middle of the piston.

I guess I didn't think about a hot spot occurring and collapsing under the pressures like you were explaining, I was just thinking it didn't "melt" through like some of the pics I've seen online.

I did drop off the #8 injector @ DDP last night just to make sure it wasn't hung open, they called me about an hour ago and they said that it performed flawlessly...so
YAY!

So I suppose that means we can chalk up another failure to the LBZ weak pistons


On a lighter note, the parts I ordered to wrap up the install are showing up one by one, so hopefully if I receive everything I'll have my truck running Sat morning!!! Which is perfect, cuz we signed closing documents on our new house last night and are starting to move boxes over tonight!!
:woott:

Thanks again for the replys and helping me to put my mind at ease

 

[WVRigrat05]

Mine had seen high enough egt's to melt the valves, drove it 60k with blown hg's, injectors crapped out at 130k, kept running it and 3 Pistons cracked at 190k, it had a 150 tune forever and a shot shot tranny, so like 325 rear tire peeling power. It let go at 4200 rpms passing a car on the on ramp.

 

[JoshH]

Mine had seen high enough egt's to melt the valves, drove it 60k with blown hg's, injectors crapped out at 130k, kept running it and 3 Pistons cracked at 190k, it had a 150 tune forever and a shot shot tranny, so like 325 rear tire peeling power. It let go at 4200 rpms passing a car on the on ramp.

I blew mine up the same way! :rofl:

 

[WVRigrat05]

Lol, The look on the woman's face was priceless when the Pistons let go, I just did pass her and she got a motor load of oil on her car, I'm sure she was thinking good for you dumbass, I was embarrassed.

 

[moparkxracer]

Lol, i bet

 

[Yellow Jacket]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 05 LLY
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI by me
MAX HP - 650-700
MAX TQ - ?
STREET DRIVEN - YES, hard
DRAG -no
PULLER - Yes, 100+ hooks
TURBO(S) - s475 over stock, 58 psi
AIR FILTER - K&N
INTAKE MANIFOLD- egr delete, factory y bridge & inlet
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - Stock
DOWNPIPE - 5"
MAX TIMING - 36deg 3500 RPM, 3500 pulse width
AVERAGE EGT'S - high, lol
MAX EGT'S - pegging 1600 gauge
FUEL PUMP(S) - 1 X STOCK lly PLUS 1 X stock lb7
INJECTORS - STOCK
HEADS - STOCK
RODS - STOCK
PISTONS - STOCK
CRANKSHAFT- STOCK
BALANCER - STOCKOIL PUMP - STOCK
TRANSMISSION - Goerend STAGE 4
CONVERTER - Goerend triple disc

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 23,000
BLOCK - HOLE AT NO 7
PISTONS - Cracked #7 - NO BURN MARKS
RODS - ALL BENT EXCEPT NO 7 BROKE IN HALF
BORE - AS NEW
CRANK - AS NEW
TURBO - both good

 

[Yellow Jacket]

ENGINE SPECS

TYPE - 05 LLY
ENGINE BUILDER - GM
TUNING - EFI by me
MAX HP - 978 rwhp
MAX TQ - 1568
STREET DRIVEN - YES, hard
DRAG - best 12.009 w/2.0x 60 ft
PULLER - Yes, 100+ hooks
TURBO(S) - s480 over s366, 75 psi first year, s400 3.0/gt45 precision 3.0
AIR FILTER - K&N
INTAKE MANIFOLD- full 3" tubes & y bridge by me
EXHAUST MANIFOLDS - 2" ss & 2" up pipes and pedistal by me
DOWNPIPE - 4"
MAX TIMING - 34deg 3000 RPM+, 3400 pulse width
AVERAGE EGT'S - high, lol
MAX EGT'S - pegging 1600 gauge
FUEL PUMP(S) - 1 X STOCK lly PLUS 1 X stock lb7
INJECTORS - 36 LPM DDP nozzles
HEADS - Stage 2 SoCals
RODS - Carillo
PISTONS - Mahle Motorsport Cast, coated
CRANKSHAFT- lbz
BALANCER - SoCalOIL PUMP - STOCK shimmed
TRANSMISSION - Goerend STAGE 4
CONVERTER - Goerend triple disc

CONDITION AT FAILURE

MILES - 2 yrs, 15,000+
BLOCK - billet mains
PISTONS - Cracked #1 & #7 - NO BURN MARKS
RODS - ALL GOOD
BORE - AS NEW
CRANK - bearing wear, failed mag test
TURBO - both good[/QUOTE]