Block damage What would you do?"
09-13-2010, 04:48 PM
#110
Rennlist Member
Damaged block - saved!(?)
Here's my version.
Had the OB track car on the lift getting it ready for my first Club Trials.
Noticed the alternator was at an odd angle, was still charging and the belt was tracking fine.
The tension arm had obviously taken a hit, so I pulled the alternator and found this
:
The entire lower half of the lower mounting boss had been blown out.
As had the front of the upper half of the upper mounting boss:
Both mounting bolts were still in place. Upon disassembly, I found out why, it looks like the bosses are heli-coiled from the factory.
The bad news is that I have forever prevented the future use of this 4.5L block for any other purpose than running it in my track car until the 5L from my S4 finds its home there. The good news is, that I think my shade tree mechanic fix will work, and that hopefully I'll be able to drive the wheels off the 4.5L in the meantime
:
I had recently lowered and 4 wheel aligned the OB Track car for our groups last track event . I know I scraped in two places, one exiting the gas station in Spokane, and the other pulling into the shop parking lot. In both cases I was not perfectly centered on the paved entry ramp. Next time I'll be sure to line it up just right. I would not have been happy if this was a 32v motor. [EDIT] Unless I lived in the DFW area. You guys do amazing work!
[EDIT]
Had the OB track car on the lift getting it ready for my first Club Trials.
Noticed the alternator was at an odd angle, was still charging and the belt was tracking fine.
The tension arm had obviously taken a hit, so I pulled the alternator and found this
:The entire lower half of the lower mounting boss had been blown out.
As had the front of the upper half of the upper mounting boss:
Both mounting bolts were still in place. Upon disassembly, I found out why, it looks like the bosses are heli-coiled from the factory.
The bad news is that I have forever prevented the future use of this 4.5L block for any other purpose than running it in my track car until the 5L from my S4 finds its home there. The good news is, that I think my shade tree mechanic fix will work, and that hopefully I'll be able to drive the wheels off the 4.5L in the meantime
:I had recently lowered and 4 wheel aligned the OB Track car for our groups last track event . I know I scraped in two places, one exiting the gas station in Spokane, and the other pulling into the shop parking lot. In both cases I was not perfectly centered on the paved entry ramp. Next time I'll be sure to line it up just right. I would not have been happy if this was a 32v motor. [EDIT] Unless I lived in the DFW area. You guys do amazing work!
[EDIT]
Last edited by atb; 09-14-2010 at 01:23 PM.
