99.9% metallurgy, something wrong with the heat treatment on those rods. Never sean AL rods fracture like hard candy. You are a stand-up individual God Bless you.
Steve. I have a very, very high degree of respect for you sir! You are an amazing engine builder, father, friend and business man. I am 74 and have been building engines/racing since 1967. I can truly say that I have "never" met a person like yourself. I have had carnage in my days but never on that level. Please continue being the Steve Morris we all know and appreciate.
I totally enjoyed watching this video. What a great attitude you have Steve! Confucius says turn the rev limiter down 3.4 rpm and you will never have this problem again. More importantly, it is so nice to see that you are looking at the things to be thankful for in this disappointing situation.
Steve Morris you are a awesome guy!! Your character speaks volumes about the type and kind of man you are… thanks for sharing!!! Keep being you brother!!
I built and worked on engines for almost 35 years and I never saw a failure like this ever . my only question is when did they start making rods out of explodium it looks like one rod failed and took the rest of them out for a beer .
Well, if one goes, what’s the point in the other 7 hanging around staring at each other like a sausage fest ya know! When the hot looking girl walks out the front door of the bar by herself, you always see all the guys in the house chasing after her! Same story here man, lol That is a good term to use tho, Explodium!! Steve owes you a set of heads for that one, lol
Customer states, " I think a rod done got broke?". Fuuuuuuuu? What you have there Steve, is engine soup. A very, very rare recipe. A little humour Steve but I do appreciate how you feel trying to understand why this happened. Also your attitude towards the maker of the rods, such generosity and consideration. I'm thankful that there are people like you. God bless brother.
Much Respect ! Sad to see these results , like you said it's racing , stuff breaks , hopefully we can offset some of the cost buying some merch and keep this channel alive and grow ! Glad no one got hurt !
Simply mind-blowing event!!! You handled this event in a way that very few others could. I'm sure your still trying to get your head around what the hell happened. You have my utmost respect for your ability to stay calm, maybe your still in shock like soany viewers. Best of luck in the future and thanks for the honest videos.
What a stand up guy. Love the fact you didn't trash or blame anyone. Was on best pass of my life a cpl yrs ago and rearend exploded, ppl were trashin dude that built it for me except me and ended up being a parts failure just as yours was and they were awesome about helping solve the problem.
Steve, this is one of my favorite channels now due to your humility and technical knowledge. How do you know when to scrap the block and start over or if the block (and other parts) is salvageable after a catastrophic failure?
Man! Holy shit do I feel for you. Way to keep your cool about the situation. All logic points to the material the rods were made of. Thank you for the tear down, and walking us through your thought process. Best of luck, get her back on the track. New shirt and hat order going in A$AP! Lol
The guy who made the rods is doing what is proven to be good. I would have to say in my opinion that the people making the aluminum messed up the recipe. but what do 'i know. You must be a bit angry inside, but kudos to your calm and collective demeanor. Thanks Steve for sharing.👍
WOW, interesting how all the rods broke at basically the same place! Like you, I have never seen anything like it in 55 years of racing! Thanks for sharing and best of luck Bro.!!
God loves this man and Steve knows it’s just materialistic nothing that’s going to change him or his life except for the fact of racing. God bless you Steve ❤
My first thought, other than "dang thats impressive", was seeing all the rods broken just below the wrist pin suggests you found the fatigue life or RPM limit for the rods. The fact it let go at 8500rpms = spin cycle of carnage. Apart from the financial kick in the nuts, just chalk this one up as some real world R&D, then come up with a new improved rods design and go even faster!
After my 8th engine I am super glad to be back to watching drag racing as a fan. Hated racing, breaking, spending more money than anyone ever should spend for nothing.
WOW! Never seen a mess like that. But as you said, it happens- now let's find out WHY it occurred and WHAT can be done to prevent it in the future for you, or anyone!
I remember you having to machine the rods (chamfer a angle on every rod) for clearance away from the block when you rebuilt the motor . Did the alloy heat expand and hit the block . Also the rods was black anodised.Did this make the alloy brittle ?
Christ I've seen a lot of engine teardowns but that was definitely one of the most completely destroyed engines I've ever seen. Doesn't look like bearings got particularly hot and spun or anything, it seriously almost looks like it just exploded suddenly for seemingly no reason.
I remember going to speed shops, when I was in my mid 20's to late 30's and just look in awe at all of the cool stuff the owner of that shop had in that place... Among some of the cool stuff he had there, was a box of used forged aluminum connecting rods, that came out of a top fuel dragster that had a supercharged Chrysler 392 Hemi. He was selling them for $1 a piece!!! Complete with the caps and ARP bolts... I bought 2- of them... They were my pride & joy !!! I asked the man why they were being sold so cheap... They were in perfect condition, or so it seemed... Mr. Gotelli (the owner of that shop), told me he was off-loading extra stuff that he had since the early 60's. Those rods were among those things... He also told me WHY he had so many of those beautiful used rods for the 392's... He explained that after 10 pass's down the strip, the aluminum rods were automatically replaced, to avoid destroying an engine worth $10k. (1963 price). He said that the aluminum rods were very light which gave an advantage to them. But they always have been known to experience metal fatigue... This is something that happens to aluminum, that has been put to extreme cyclic stress, more than what that material was designed to handle, for extended periods of time... His machine-like yours, generated tremendous power & torque, because of the fuel injection of nitromethane & methyl-alcohol and supercharged with manifold pressures approaching 40 psig... He told me that for cars that have to last for more than just a few pass's down the 1/4 mile dragstrip, do what the stock car racers do... Use FORGED STEEL Connecting rods... The good ones are capable of very high levels of cyclic stress... The reason that ALL of your rods failed at once, is because ALL of them were fatigued... The failure of one, set-off a chain reaction because of the intense vibration and uneven cyclic stress applied to the other rods... Those small shavings of aluminum at the bottom of your pan, is the crystalized aluminum fragments of the rods that literally shattered (like breaking glass). And because of the huge amounts of cyclic stress placed on the Aluminum rods, they became brittle, and loaded with internal cracks... How is it that I know so much about aluminum, you might ask? I worked on aircraft for several years... A lot of them use aluminum as their primary construction material... We are given basic training aids, to determine potential structural issues, on the planes, before they become major problems in flight... Go to 'H' beam steel rods Amigo... You'll thank me for this advice... BTW, Gotellis Speed Shop was off of El Camino Real, in South San Francisco, Ca. It was close to where I worked at that time, San Francisco Intl. Airport at the maintenance base for United Airlines... I hope you can get that machine roaring again, and I hope this advice can be of use to you... Sincerely, Mike Martinez...
Mad mad MAD respect for being real. Crap happens. It’s racing. Don’t always have to go blaming someone and out for blood like most people are. Good stuff man. Love it.
I am an 07 federal firearms licensee and manufacturer, I assemble parts that are made by someone else. I can build 10 rifles of the same identical parts and still can have issues with any given rifle, luckily they don't blow up usually. We are dealing with man made parts, maybe imperfections impossible to detect, who knows? Its just part of doing business. What differentiates businesses is how we treat the customers after the sell!
I have seen damage like this before, it happened when we made the mistake in the fuel department. I asked my intern to put our usual race fuel in it and by mistake he filled it to the top with black powder. Soon as I hit the key, scrambled rods and Pistons everywhere!!! I really do hope that nobody takes this comment as any form of truth at all..
At least the oil was clean! One less thing to consider as to "what happened"? Though the carnage does look rather like the outside of an East London pub at closing time - perhaps worse! Maybe the rods exceeded the "only guaranteed for 6 runs" limit? Best wishes for finding the cause, and I have learnt something today - 'high output i/c engines can use aluminium for connecting rods'.
I like the fact your looking for the cause of the problem and how to correct it. your gonna go into metallurgy. I like that your working with the (connecting rod guy) to make you both better.
That drip pan probably saved your bacon Steve. Tires blown out at that speed would be a wee bit tricky. Ya need some Criptonite connecting rods!! Glad you're ok Buddy.
I'll match you with this one. "I Do Cars" episode: Taking "Blown Up Engine" To A New Level! Kia Sorento 3.3L GDI V6 In Shambles. I AM IMPRESSED! There's definitely carnage in the crankcase.
Had a 327 come apart, it was missing most of the crank, the rear drivers quarter of the block, all rods gone, three pistons on the ground, cam broken, water pump broke by the balancer. Was pulling a truck out of a ravine. Have fun all.
Obviously you're an experienced, intelligent, and very talented engine builder. It's also nice to see you understand poop happens and didn't "go off" on the rod maker. It's amazing to see how they just disintegrated. Possibly due to bad billet metallurgy? Did the billet supplier have a different source due to supply chain issues? Or maybe the rod wasn't designed to withstand that much power and vibration? I dunno, just guessing lol. I don't claim to know - I'm just guessing and I'm sure you'll share your findings as soon as you know what happened. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with me. Love seeing you working on your car and watching it run down the strip.
How much did that set you back?? It reminds me of John Force and what he could do to an engine was Amazing the destruction.Good luck be safe and set some. New speed records . Jerry Rapid City South Dakota USA
What was the outcome of your crankshaft in the station wagon? I did not see if you had it x-rayed or if it was cleaned up undersize or if you had to use a new crank. I liked your video and subscribed-
Any way it may have dumped so much fuel , that it hydra locked ? Could the fuel pressure spike , injectors stay open ? ignition fail ? I can't see all 8 rods failing at the same time , even if there was a flaw. Thanks for sharing with us.
And you thought it had put a rod through the block........................ fucking hell! Never seen or heard of all eight rods going for a mass exodus break out. Talk about Steve Mc Queen and the great escape!
It would be interesting if you had a spare rod from the original order to put on a stress test machine. It seems like those rods are made from the most brittle aluminum I have ever seen.
at your power level, why would you deviate from something like a forged aluminum rod like the BME? I think the grain structure of a forging would be far superior to any billet. A machined billet rod will leave exposed grain ends at the rod profile, whereas the forging will alter the grain structure to be more in the direction or shape of the profile of the rod
I had a customer come in several days after an oil change on their VW turbo diesel claiming I screwed up the oil change... must not have put oil back in the engine. Car was outside on a flatbed... so went out to see and looked under the car with it still on the tow truck... you could see the oil still in the pan through the windows in the block left from when the rods all existed the engine... Only possible reason that would happen was a money shift. Owner's son was out 'just driving' when it died. The rubber on the front fenders indicated along with the holes in the cylinders that he was doing more than 'just driving'. I suspect he went for third and hit first... deisels don't like hitting 7-9k rpm. Oops.
Only other time I've seen something like that was when a team and GM were looking to see just how much power they could get out of a Ecotec 4 cylinder and they kept increasing a nitrous system until failure, when they got over 200hp of nitrous all the rods let loose at exactly the same time. I think they eventually got over 700hp out of a 2.2l with a stock block... had to add girdles and o-ring the head along with aftermarket studs etc to keep the head on it. The rod failure was expected, but the way they all failed instantly at the same point was determined to be due to the design of the powdered metal rods... they were just so equal in consistency that they failed exactly where the engineers put the safety margin at. I doubt your aftermarket rod supplier can gaurantee that level of consistency or has the equipment for testing rods under the stresses you are pushing, they most likely are 'just' building them as strong as they can under software simulations that make them so that they can physically fit in the engine.
I would like to know the material of the rods because everything else looks good beyond a million pieces going through it. I wondering harmonics in the motor not like a vibration due to building but just forces upon the rods themselves going 8600 rpms with the boost. If its a bad batch which from that I'm sure it its but to have all rods shatter??? Hopefully another vid will come showing the rest of the block
thoughts. 1 or two rods let go, got bound between the block and the crank counterweights causing enough of a shock to shatter the rest of the rods.then your counterweights along the crank acted like the blades of a ninja blender... chopping up all the parts in the pan. Guess it will blend!
I love that you show us this stuff, Steve. I've been in the engine building industry my whole life but never on your level. You share secrets, build tips, failures, and everything in between. Such a learning experience for me. I guess two ways to look at this failure. #1...maybe a metallurgy issue with the rods. #2...they always teach you to build the motor to fail every cylinder at the same time, otherwise you are leaving power on the table. Cheers bro! Clearly a good tune up!
@@n.b.p.davenport7066 My whole working life and quite a few years prior working with my father at a young age. I'm surprised you were able to determine my level of experience based on my comment. Do you make it a habbit to troll others on the internet?
@@Sm0keyZeu5 anodising is a process that just treats the surface of the material. Doesn’t involve heating it up, much less heating and quenching that could cause it to become brittle. I could very well be wrong, I don’t know what, if any, treatments that where done to the rods. But seeing all the shattered bits in the oil pan while most all the pistons were still up in the bores, it seriously looks like the rods were made of a "hypereutectic” grade of aluminium. Shattered like ceramic aside from a few large pieces. Crazy.
When he says “If you can’t afford to fix something like this, don’t build it” I can appreciate that. That’s why I have cheap junk that’s around 1100hp and goes 8s. Built for next to nothing. If it breaks. It’s whatever. It’ll hurt. I won’t be happy about it. But I can throw another budget engine in it and go back to throwing 32psi at it 😂
I wish more people followed this philosophy in motor sports. People throw their whole budget on a build without factoring anything going wrong. I’ve seen so many people come out drag racing or drifting with a new build, something breaks, and they can’t afford to fix it so it sits in the garage and eventually gets sold off.
To kinda expand on that - if you can't build the whole car right, don't build it. Seen too many cases where people focus on the engine and when the transmission or rear end fails, they can't fix what they should have done right in the first place.
@@gordowg1wg145 Yeah, auto racing isn't really a place food-stampers should be hanging out at!! Maybe peddle bikes or skateboards might be a better choice?
This video is absolutely awesome and Steve is a fucking treasure. They're out here on the edge of what's possible with materials and engineering, and Steve recognizes that and is happy to find out problems and just keep pushing. Stuff like this wasn't possible 20 years ago, and that's due in no small part to Steve and people like him. Keep up the fantastic work Steve and crew!
Damn Steve after watching the whole video I just figured out I really like you! I don’t know you but I think you are a decent stand up guy with a great outlook on life. We can all learn a few things from you and not just about engines. 👍🏻
Exactly what I just said after seeing how Steve reacted to this whole scenario. He could've easily trashed the company that supplied the rods but he chose to take the high road. That's great, good to see there's still some decent people out there. 👍
Steve... You are one HELL of a standup guy! I say that because you're an elite engine builder, where your bread and butter is living the American Dream, doing what you're talented at, and capitalizing on it as a small business. You didn't have to share this video with anyone. Yes your car broke while at the track, and mention of it may have made it's way around, but you didn't have to share this and elude to any carnage this mule motor suffered, but you did.. And I hope everyone watching understands that you're not putting this out there to say that theirs anything flawed with what you've built for others... You're putting it out there to educate, but more so to show the community that you're a hardcore veteran (and that puts it lightly), who's able to know just how far his work can hold up before any potential issues because you're committed to R & D.
When you went to the Bible at 27:50 I understood how you are so patient and calm about this situation. Being a mechanic nearly all of my life I've seen many weird, strange things happen. But never anything at this level.
Rod material failure, absolutely. It would be money well spent to have a metallurgist look at the microstructure of the material to determine a root cause and fix it. Attaching a "Blame" name to stuff like this is useless and counterproductive. I'm with you on this one Steve.
Agree 100%. I was going to say something very similar but thought I would read through some posts first. It came to the ultimate maximum capabilities of the material and I think they all disintegrated at the same time since they were of the same batch under the same heat and pressure. They were definitely brittle.
Brittle for sure. Check the ductility or lack thereof against the base material. Aluminum could be affected by work hardening like aggressive machining. The consistency of the failure points to origin of material and/or machining.
@@sirslacks1065 I 99% agree with you. There is one thing that bothers me though. I am sure that engine saw 8500rpm+ on his dyno with likely more than 45lbs boost! All was good and into the car it went. Then, this was the sixth run (I believe he said) on the track, so 8500rpm and track loads were around on prior runs before it blew. Boost was 45lbs. What kind of 'new' evil would enter the engine and trigger 'that' carnage at 'that' exact point in 'that' run?? I believe there will be a lot of guessing and testing (weeping and gnashing of teeth!) before this crash will ever be explained!!..........
im just in awe of how 8 rods can say later , and the crank still spins . parts failure is common but this is just one of those that is just hard to understand . thank you for sharing
John,, you're very obviously correct when you say inertia,, the crank shaft had the inertia to literally RIP the rods off the pistons. Yep,, inertia was among the players leading to that carnage fo sho.
@@justingeturgun yup, cause he had to clearance the rod at the piston dowel to clear the crankshaft. I doubt that had anything to with the failure of the rods, but obviously they weren't up to the task of having 2500+ horse torques, or the injectors hung open and hydroed the cylinders.
What an unfortunate situation but I love the way you handle stuff, we'd definitely all be better off if everyone adhered to God's golden rule. You really have a fantastic channel going here and I'm always eager to see your content. Can't wait to see what's next and thanks for bringing us along.
Once again the man is just brilliant pure genius. 4000hp and turned those rods to dust absolutely insane carnage. Sucks to see but I'm sure he will figure it all out and crush his personal best. Can't wait to see next engine build and the disecting of this engine. Stay safe Steve Morris.
I have had similar failures on aircraft parts in 7075-T73. After the analysis it was determined the anodizing caused the failure to micro corrosion. Have the certs pulled from the anodizer. I really appreciate the way you are handling this!! You would be a great customer!
@@wiedehopf9068 at the stress levels these are under it doesn’t need to be all the way through the material. Imperfections at the surface can start a micro fracture which makes an easy start point for bigger fractures. It all escalates pretty fast from there. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was a treatment issue rather than a straight up material issue. The analysis is expensive but would be worth it.
You're a good man Steve I love the attitude "stuff happens" hopefully after you get it all figured out you'll lets us know what happened and looking forward to the rebuild video.
Not trying to arm chair quarterback, but I would look into sending the rod parts to a testing company. Find out if the material had an incorrect heat treat or some other material processes. It may have occurred before the rod company began machining… in the raw billet stage. I do NDE UT/PAUT/Eddy Current. Billet material should be accompanied by a lot number.
Could be a heat cycle issue that made the material brittle after a certain number of cycles. I’m sure he and the supplier will figure it out. It will make both of them better able to supply their customers with better parts.
Steve did mill the rods to fit the piston’s and crankshaft… at this point it’s going to be difficult to blame anyone unless it’s approved to take material out of the rods
@@93_LXcpe he did, and he modified them, this sucks by any means, but I already thought about the reliability when he had to modify the rods to fit the engine
First thing I thought as soon as I saw the first connecting rod was “hey, weren’t those from a new rod vendor?”. Sounds like he’s working well with you and I hope he can get his material sourcing sorted out. Thanks for taking us along for the ride
@@iknklst The fact that they all failed at once like that doesn't point at a QC problem so much as an application or design problem. Might be great rods, just not good for 4k HP and 8500RPM for any length of time.
LOVE this content Steve! Honesty, Integrity, Humility, with a healthy side of Gobsmacked. If you aren't breaking stuff you aren't racing hard enough. You and your incredible parts suppliers will learn from this and apply that knowledge to make it better and faster. You can make a snow globe with the shrapnel.
Steve being as real and as salt of the earth as it gets. You're a good man for sticking up for your supplier. No rant, no crapping on anyone. It's racing and stuff happens. 100% agree with your assessment, it's the raw material. I'm buying a sticker to go with my tee that didn't have a piston in the package.....
With all 8 rods disintegrating, makes me think that something in the process when they were made wasn't correct. A dry sump has a major safety benefit in a situation like this! So glad that you and the wagon are ok! Thanks Steve for all you do, I've learned alot from you and your videos. God bless brother!
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
Holy smokes that is wild!
99.9% metallurgy, something wrong with the heat treatment on those rods. Never sean AL rods fracture like hard candy. You are a stand-up individual God Bless you.
My thoughts exactly. They look to be brittle the way they shattered.
Gallium oil additive ;-p
My thoughts too. Can't tell from the video but hardware or something wasn't up to the task. For everything to just explode is a clue.
@@TheOlsonOutfit nice.
@@TheOlsonOutfit must watch the lock picking lawyer.
Steve. I have a very, very high degree of respect for you sir! You are an amazing engine builder, father, friend and business man. I am 74 and have been building engines/racing since 1967. I can truly say that I have "never" met a person like yourself. I have had carnage in my days but never on that level. Please continue being the Steve Morris we all know and appreciate.
I totally enjoyed watching this video. What a great attitude you have Steve! Confucius says turn the rev limiter down 3.4 rpm and you will never have this problem again. More importantly, it is so nice to see that you are looking at the things to be thankful for in this disappointing situation.
Steve Morris you are a awesome guy!! Your character speaks volumes about the type and kind of man you are… thanks for sharing!!! Keep being you brother!!
I built and worked on engines for almost 35 years and I never saw a failure like this ever . my only question is when did they start making rods out of explodium it looks like one rod failed and took the rest of them out for a beer .
That'd make a good T shirt Explodium Rods, pieces available everywhere!
Well, if one goes, what’s the point in the other 7 hanging around staring at each other like a sausage fest ya know! When the hot looking girl walks out the front door of the bar by herself, you always see all the guys in the house chasing after her! Same story here man, lol
That is a good term to use tho, Explodium!! Steve owes you a set of heads for that one, lol
Lol
Explodium, is a new raw material and also used in batteries. Funny comment 😂
@@camneilsen8234 you make the shirt and I'll buy one,
Customer states, " I think a rod done got broke?".
Fuuuuuuuu? What you have there Steve, is engine soup. A very, very rare recipe.
A little humour Steve but I do appreciate how you feel trying to understand why this happened. Also your attitude towards the maker of the rods, such generosity and consideration. I'm thankful that there are people like you. God bless brother.
The harmonics that go on in an engine at 8500 rpm are hard to fathom.
Crazy respect for your over the top professional attitude. What a legend.
My thoughts also harmonics!!!
Would be interested in adding a dozen accelerometers and knock sensors, and hi def analysis of the crank accelerations
Hey Steve, really appreciate the open/ honest insights and assessment of the carnage. Loving the content and much respect from Australian 👌
Much Respect ! Sad to see these results , like you said it's racing , stuff breaks , hopefully we can offset some of the cost buying some merch and keep this channel alive and grow ! Glad no one got hurt !
Simply mind-blowing event!!!
You handled this event in a way that very few others could. I'm sure your still trying to get your head around what the hell happened. You have my utmost respect for your ability to stay calm, maybe your still in shock like soany viewers.
Best of luck in the future and thanks for the honest videos.
What a stand up guy. Love the fact you didn't trash or blame anyone. Was on best pass of my life a cpl yrs ago and rearend exploded, ppl were trashin dude that built it for me except me and ended up being a parts failure just as yours was and they were awesome about helping solve the problem.
Steve, this is one of my favorite channels now due to your humility and technical knowledge. How do you know when to scrap the block and start over or if the block (and other parts) is salvageable after a catastrophic failure?
Man! Holy shit do I feel for you. Way to keep your cool about the situation. All logic points to the material the rods were made of. Thank you for the tear down, and walking us through your thought process. Best of luck, get her back on the track. New shirt and hat order going in A$AP! Lol
The guy who made the rods is doing what is proven to be good. I would have to say in my opinion that the people making the aluminum messed up the recipe. but what do 'i know. You must be a bit angry inside, but kudos to your calm and collective demeanor. Thanks Steve for sharing.👍
Your right. Never seen such destruction in one motor! Hopefully yall get it sorted out so it doesnt happen again.
As soon as that pan came down and seen literally 0 connecting rods... I thought my eyes were fooling me. Wow.
WOW, interesting how all the rods broke at basically the same place! Like you, I have never seen anything like it in 55 years of racing! Thanks for sharing and best of luck Bro.!!
God loves this man and Steve knows it’s just materialistic nothing that’s going to change him or his life except for the fact of racing. God bless you Steve ❤
My first thought, other than "dang thats impressive", was seeing all the rods broken just below the wrist pin suggests you found the fatigue life or RPM limit for the rods. The fact it let go at 8500rpms = spin cycle of carnage. Apart from the financial kick in the nuts, just chalk this one up as some real world R&D, then come up with a new improved rods design and go even faster!
The consistency between parts is impressive, assuming it turns out they all let go at the same time without interference from other parts.
I agree with it being a combination of fatigue and high RPM.
I'd really like to know what alloy that was? I'm guessing 7071 but i know nothing about heat treating aluminum!!!!
@@8180634 I wonder if there was some secondary vibration involved given the 8K+ rpm??
@@highpointsights The vendor claims "Proprietary alloy that is 35% higher in yield strength than standard performance alloys" - so clear as mud.
After my 8th engine I am super glad to be back to watching drag racing as a fan. Hated racing, breaking, spending more money than anyone ever should spend for nothing.
WOW! Never seen a mess like that. But as you said, it happens- now let's find out WHY it occurred and WHAT can be done to prevent it in the future for you, or anyone!
I remember you having to machine the rods (chamfer a angle on every rod) for clearance away from the block when you rebuilt the motor .
Did the alloy heat expand and hit the block .
Also the rods was black anodised.Did this make the alloy brittle ?
That was up on the pin end, that's still attached, up inside the piston, iirc.
I doubt that's it, but I expect we'll find out.
mmmm 🧐
Thanks for showing this Steve, just keeping it real.
So wild to hear “it’s making 3-4 thousand horsepower but I mean we’re not leaning on it super hard.”
You build some badass engine man!
Love the smile , always smiling, the hats are so cool , helps me find you in the crowd , I'm a big fan , SMX for life
Christ I've seen a lot of engine teardowns but that was definitely one of the most completely destroyed engines I've ever seen. Doesn't look like bearings got particularly hot and spun or anything, it seriously almost looks like it just exploded suddenly for seemingly no reason.
I remember going to speed shops, when I was in my mid 20's to late 30's and just look in awe at all of the cool stuff the owner of that shop had in that place... Among some of the cool stuff he had there, was a box of used forged aluminum connecting rods, that came out of a top fuel dragster that had a supercharged Chrysler 392 Hemi. He was selling them for $1 a piece!!! Complete with the caps and ARP bolts... I bought 2- of them... They were my pride & joy !!! I asked the man why they were being sold so cheap... They were in perfect condition, or so it seemed... Mr. Gotelli (the owner of that shop), told me he was off-loading extra stuff that he had since the early 60's. Those rods were among those things... He also told me WHY he had so many of those beautiful used rods for the 392's... He explained that after 10 pass's down the strip, the aluminum rods were automatically replaced, to avoid destroying an engine worth $10k. (1963 price). He said that the aluminum rods were very light which gave an advantage to them. But they always have been known to experience metal fatigue... This is something that happens to aluminum, that has been put to extreme cyclic stress, more than what that material was designed to handle, for extended periods of time... His machine-like yours, generated tremendous power & torque, because of the fuel injection of nitromethane & methyl-alcohol and supercharged with manifold pressures approaching 40 psig... He told me that for cars that have to last for more than just a few pass's down the 1/4 mile dragstrip, do what the stock car racers do... Use FORGED STEEL Connecting rods... The good ones are capable of very high levels of cyclic stress... The reason that ALL of your rods failed at once, is because ALL of them were fatigued... The failure of one, set-off a chain reaction because of the intense vibration and uneven cyclic stress applied to the other rods... Those small shavings of aluminum at the bottom of your pan, is the crystalized aluminum fragments of the rods that literally shattered (like breaking glass). And because of the huge amounts of cyclic stress placed on the Aluminum rods, they became brittle, and loaded with internal cracks... How is it that I know so much about aluminum, you might ask? I worked on aircraft for several years... A lot of them use aluminum as their primary construction material... We are given basic training aids, to determine potential structural issues, on the planes, before they become major problems in flight... Go to 'H' beam steel rods Amigo... You'll thank me for this advice... BTW, Gotellis Speed Shop was off of El Camino Real, in South San Francisco, Ca. It was close to where I worked at that time, San Francisco Intl. Airport at the maintenance base for United Airlines... I hope you can get that machine roaring again, and I hope this advice can be of use to you... Sincerely, Mike Martinez...
Bingo
Mad mad MAD respect for being real. Crap happens. It’s racing. Don’t always have to go blaming someone and out for blood like most people are. Good stuff man. Love it.
I am an 07 federal firearms licensee and manufacturer, I assemble parts that are made by someone else. I can build 10 rifles of the same identical parts and still can have issues with any given rifle, luckily they don't blow up usually. We are dealing with man made parts, maybe imperfections impossible to detect, who knows? Its just part of doing business. What differentiates businesses is how we treat the customers after the sell!
I saw a lot of carnage as a car mechanic but 8 conecting rods obliterated ("pulverised") in a fraction of a second is very impresive. 👍
As a former mechanic, one thing is sure when it comes to mechanical anything….things break.
I have seen damage like this before, it happened when we made the mistake in the fuel department. I asked my intern to put our usual race fuel in it and by mistake he filled it to the top with black powder. Soon as I hit the key, scrambled rods and Pistons everywhere!!!
I really do hope that nobody takes this comment as any form of truth at all..
At least the oil was clean! One less thing to consider as to "what happened"? Though the carnage does look rather like the outside of an East London pub at closing time - perhaps worse! Maybe the rods exceeded the "only guaranteed for 6 runs" limit? Best wishes for finding the cause, and I have learnt something today - 'high output i/c engines can use aluminium for connecting rods'.
Hell...even when they are running perfectly they are essentially trying to self destruct. Stuff breaks.
I like the fact your looking for the cause of the problem and how to correct it. your gonna go into metallurgy. I like that your working with the (connecting rod guy) to make you both better.
That drip pan probably saved your bacon Steve. Tires blown out at that speed would be a wee bit tricky. Ya need some Criptonite connecting rods!! Glad you're ok Buddy.
All the rods give up, it's like engine skipped leg day😆
A true professional has just taken us all to church
In the words of VGG " I just can't believe it.... But I got to I'm looking right at it'
Real engine builder here guys.. box performance needs his help
Wow!! Impressive!
I've never seen a V-8 that cleared out all 8 rods before... 😳
I'll match you with this one.
"I Do Cars" episode: Taking "Blown Up Engine" To A New Level! Kia Sorento 3.3L GDI V6 In Shambles. I AM IMPRESSED! There's definitely carnage in the crankcase.
The Connecting Rods have left the building!
After watching the whole video, I think something may have gone wrong with the engine. Hook up the good old ODB-2 and see what code pops up.
I'd call that fubar...
Just for thought, but do ya think the big ends exploded when they all reached a certain frequency?
Had a 327 come apart, it was missing most of the crank, the rear drivers quarter of the block, all rods gone, three pistons on the ground, cam broken, water pump broke by the balancer.
Was pulling a truck out of a ravine.
Have fun all.
Putting new rods on that crank would be such a sick story lol
Obviously you're an experienced, intelligent, and very talented engine builder. It's also nice to see you understand poop happens and didn't "go off" on the rod maker.
It's amazing to see how they just disintegrated. Possibly due to bad billet metallurgy? Did the billet supplier have a different source due to supply chain issues? Or maybe the rod wasn't designed to withstand that much power and vibration? I dunno, just guessing lol. I don't claim to know - I'm just guessing and I'm sure you'll share your findings as soon as you know what happened.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with me. Love seeing you working on your car and watching it run down the strip.
When you are running these engines at the MAX you can expect failures. Maybe not from Steve Morris engines.
that engine was not having it that day XD
How much did that set you back?? It reminds me of John Force and what he could do to an engine was Amazing the destruction.Good luck be safe and set some. New speed records . Jerry Rapid City South Dakota USA
That's really crazy. Fun to watch this autopsy though
When all 8 cylinders leave the chat 🤣
What was the outcome of your crankshaft in the station wagon? I did not see if you had it x-rayed or if it was cleaned up undersize or if you had to use a new crank. I liked your video and subscribed-
Insane amount of destruction, these conrods just got pulverized!
Well everyone else has said what me and the rest of the world are ready thought!, man that's a rough deal.
Almost seems like the studs came out of some of the connecting rods.🤷♂️
Any way it may have dumped so much fuel , that it hydra locked ? Could the fuel pressure spike , injectors stay open ? ignition fail ? I can't see all 8 rods failing at the same time , even if there was a flaw. Thanks for sharing with us.
That's a lot of mortgage payments.
Time for a set of carbon fiber piston pushers
And you thought it had put a rod through the block........................ fucking hell! Never seen or heard of all eight rods going for a mass exodus break out. Talk about Steve Mc Queen and the great escape!
Didn't the rods start smacking on a piece from inside the oil pan several days before?
It would be interesting if you had a spare rod from the original order to put on a stress test machine. It seems like those rods are made from the most brittle aluminum I have ever seen.
46lbs of boost?!... Maybe a little bit too much 🤭
When you take blowing an engine to the next level.
it seems whoever made your connecting rods mistook cheese for aluminum. 😕😕
*Cleetus listening to the intro*
Bet? Hold my beer and watch this.
at your power level, why would you deviate from something like a forged aluminum rod like the BME? I think the grain structure of a forging would be far superior to any billet. A machined billet rod will leave exposed grain ends at the rod profile, whereas the forging will alter the grain structure to be more in the direction or shape of the profile of the rod
9 minutes in and the carnage looks like the results of a money shift.
I had a customer come in several days after an oil change on their VW turbo diesel claiming I screwed up the oil change... must not have put oil back in the engine. Car was outside on a flatbed... so went out to see and looked under the car with it still on the tow truck... you could see the oil still in the pan through the windows in the block left from when the rods all existed the engine... Only possible reason that would happen was a money shift. Owner's son was out 'just driving' when it died. The rubber on the front fenders indicated along with the holes in the cylinders that he was doing more than 'just driving'. I suspect he went for third and hit first... deisels don't like hitting 7-9k rpm. Oops.
Only other time I've seen something like that was when a team and GM were looking to see just how much power they could get out of a Ecotec 4 cylinder and they kept increasing a nitrous system until failure, when they got over 200hp of nitrous all the rods let loose at exactly the same time. I think they eventually got over 700hp out of a 2.2l with a stock block... had to add girdles and o-ring the head along with aftermarket studs etc to keep the head on it. The rod failure was expected, but the way they all failed instantly at the same point was determined to be due to the design of the powdered metal rods... they were just so equal in consistency that they failed exactly where the engineers put the safety margin at. I doubt your aftermarket rod supplier can gaurantee that level of consistency or has the equipment for testing rods under the stresses you are pushing, they most likely are 'just' building them as strong as they can under software simulations that make them so that they can physically fit in the engine.
Any updates on the carbon fiber connecting rods Steve?
Never seen a engine detonate like that. And I say detonate because I can't think of better way to describe it
I would like to know the material of the rods because everything else looks good beyond a million pieces going through it. I wondering harmonics in the motor not like a vibration due to building but just forces upon the rods themselves going 8600 rpms with the boost. If its a bad batch which from that I'm sure it its but to have all rods shatter??? Hopefully another vid will come showing the rest of the block
That wagon is SOOOOO BAD AZZ!
Any tips for an individual who is about to do a post fuel fire rebuild? Main focus points due to excess heat?
thoughts. 1 or two rods let go, got bound between the block and the crank counterweights causing enough of a shock to shatter the rest of the rods.then your counterweights along the crank acted like the blades of a ninja blender... chopping up all the parts in the pan. Guess it will blend!
I love that you show us this stuff, Steve. I've been in the engine building industry my whole life but never on your level. You share secrets, build tips, failures, and everything in between. Such a learning experience for me. I guess two ways to look at this failure. #1...maybe a metallurgy issue with the rods. #2...they always teach you to build the motor to fail every cylinder at the same time, otherwise you are leaving power on the table. Cheers bro! Clearly a good tune up!
I agree, its either a metallurgy issue with the raw billet used for the rods or the anodizing process that weakened then
You have no experience bro by all the comment that you made, your whole life?
@@n.b.p.davenport7066 My whole working life and quite a few years prior working with my father at a young age. I'm surprised you were able to determine my level of experience based on my comment. Do you make it a habbit to troll others on the internet?
@@Sm0keyZeu5 anodising is a process that just treats the surface of the material. Doesn’t involve heating it up, much less heating and quenching that could cause it to become brittle.
I could very well be wrong, I don’t know what, if any, treatments that where done to the rods.
But seeing all the shattered bits in the oil pan while most all the pistons were still up in the bores, it seriously looks like the rods were made of a "hypereutectic” grade of aluminium.
Shattered like ceramic aside from a few large pieces. Crazy.
Absolutely thanks
When he says “If you can’t afford to fix something like this, don’t build it”
I can appreciate that. That’s why I have cheap junk that’s around 1100hp and goes 8s. Built for next to nothing. If it breaks. It’s whatever. It’ll hurt. I won’t be happy about it. But I can throw another budget engine in it and go back to throwing 32psi at it 😂
I wish more people followed this philosophy in motor sports. People throw their whole budget on a build without factoring anything going wrong. I’ve seen so many people come out drag racing or drifting with a new build, something breaks, and they can’t afford to fix it so it sits in the garage and eventually gets sold off.
@DaveCaresForYou takes a lot of boost to make a small block go fast with stock heads in the Rocky Mountains lol
To kinda expand on that - if you can't build the whole car right, don't build it.
Seen too many cases where people focus on the engine and when the transmission or rear end fails, they can't fix what they should have done right in the first place.
Budget builds are great and you learn a ton. Wish I had homies near me that I could help with builds, I have a thirst for knowledge.
@@gordowg1wg145 Yeah, auto racing isn't really a place food-stampers should be hanging out at!! Maybe peddle bikes or skateboards might be a better choice?
This video is absolutely awesome and Steve is a fucking treasure.
They're out here on the edge of what's possible with materials and engineering, and Steve recognizes that and is happy to find out problems and just keep pushing. Stuff like this wasn't possible 20 years ago, and that's due in no small part to Steve and people like him.
Keep up the fantastic work Steve and crew!
STEVE IS A NATIONAL TREASURE
@@patrick111390 Dude, get your priorities straight. It's not as important as you think it is.
@@canlib You jealous bro? You sound jealous.
you couldn't be more right
A living legend for sure
Damn Steve after watching the whole video I just figured out I really like you! I don’t know you but I think you are a decent stand up guy with a great outlook on life. We can all learn a few things from you and not just about engines. 👍🏻
Exactly what I just said after seeing how Steve reacted to this whole scenario. He could've easily trashed the company that supplied the rods but he chose to take the high road. That's great, good to see there's still some decent people out there. 👍
Amen!
Steve... You are one HELL of a standup guy! I say that because you're an elite engine builder, where your bread and butter is living the American Dream, doing what you're talented at, and capitalizing on it as a small business. You didn't have to share this video with anyone. Yes your car broke while at the track, and mention of it may have made it's way around, but you didn't have to share this and elude to any carnage this mule motor suffered, but you did.. And I hope everyone watching understands that you're not putting this out there to say that theirs anything flawed with what you've built for others... You're putting it out there to educate, but more so to show the community that you're a hardcore veteran (and that puts it lightly), who's able to know just how far his work can hold up before any potential issues because you're committed to R & D.
Well said said sir.
When you went to the Bible at 27:50 I understood how you are so patient and calm about this situation. Being a mechanic nearly all of my life I've seen many weird, strange things happen. But never anything at this level.
I dont think being religious has much to do with being calm... It's the exact opposite in my community.
Rod material failure, absolutely. It would be money well spent to have a metallurgist look at the microstructure of the material to determine a root cause and fix it. Attaching a "Blame" name to stuff like this is useless and counterproductive. I'm with you on this one Steve.
Agree 100%. I was going to say something very similar but thought I would read through some posts first. It came to the ultimate maximum capabilities of the material and I think they all disintegrated at the same time since they were of the same batch under the same heat and pressure. They were definitely brittle.
Im thinking that as well
Brittle for sure. Check the ductility or lack thereof against the base material. Aluminum could be affected by work hardening like aggressive machining. The consistency of the failure points to origin of material and/or machining.
I was thinking the same thing. Have it analyzed.
@@sirslacks1065 I 99% agree with you. There is one thing that bothers me though. I am sure that engine saw 8500rpm+ on his dyno with likely more than 45lbs boost! All was good and into the car it went. Then, this was the sixth run (I believe he said) on the track, so 8500rpm and track loads were around on prior runs before it blew. Boost was 45lbs. What kind of 'new' evil would enter the engine and trigger 'that' carnage at 'that' exact point in 'that' run?? I believe there will be a lot of guessing and testing (weeping and gnashing of teeth!) before this crash will ever be explained!!..........
im just in awe of how 8 rods can say later , and the crank still spins . parts failure is common but this is just one of those that is just hard to understand . thank you for sharing
John,, you're very obviously correct when you say inertia,, the crank shaft had the inertia to literally RIP the rods off the pistons. Yep,, inertia was among the players leading to that carnage fo sho.
Even better is how does the crank still look like new on 3 of those rod journals. Only one looks like it took damage. Crazy!!
I swear his other video before this. He said he’s using some rods he never used before.
@@justingeturgun yup, cause he had to clearance the rod at the piston dowel to clear the crankshaft. I doubt that had anything to with the failure of the rods, but obviously they weren't up to the task of having 2500+ horse torques, or the injectors hung open and hydroed the cylinders.
@@paulcrocker4553 yea that’s some metallurgy problem. Like how do they all fail at the same time… They all failed at the wrist pin U can see the shear
What an unfortunate situation but I love the way you handle stuff, we'd definitely all be better off if everyone adhered to God's golden rule. You really have a fantastic channel going here and I'm always eager to see your content. Can't wait to see what's next and thanks for bringing us along.
Thank you for your Jesus Sermon comment. We all need that constant reminder of our Lords wisdom. May God bless you and all of us.
Once again the man is just brilliant pure genius. 4000hp and turned those rods to dust absolutely insane carnage. Sucks to see but I'm sure he will figure it all out and crush his personal best. Can't wait to see next engine build and the disecting of this engine. Stay safe Steve Morris.
This were brand new rods that he had to relieve up near wrist pin!
I have had similar failures on aircraft parts in 7075-T73. After the analysis it was determined the anodizing caused the failure to micro corrosion. Have the certs pulled from the anodizer. I really appreciate the way you are handling this!! You would be a great customer!
Yeah anodizing makes it brittle i think
I saw the 2 tone anno rods and been waiting for this video 😀
@@robotekusa Yea......sure you did!!!!
hard to believe you get it brittle thoughout the piece, the rods are not exactly thin.
@@wiedehopf9068 at the stress levels these are under it doesn’t need to be all the way through the material. Imperfections at the surface can start a micro fracture which makes an easy start point for bigger fractures. It all escalates pretty fast from there.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was a treatment issue rather than a straight up material issue. The analysis is expensive but would be worth it.
You're a good man Steve I love the attitude "stuff happens" hopefully after you get it all figured out you'll lets us know what happened and looking forward to the rebuild video.
I thought you said it was more of that, ‘Junk Happens!’
₩
Steve I'm AMAZED you quoted Jesus that's awesome that's why I bought my cam from you I sensed you had a good heart.
You're a great role model Steve. Thanks for keeping your attitude positive and preaching the good news!
Jesus is the only peace , Steve is a Blessed man and he knows it , God bless you Brother
Not trying to arm chair quarterback, but I would look into sending the rod parts to a testing company. Find out if the material had an incorrect heat treat or some other material processes. It may have occurred before the rod company began machining… in the raw billet stage. I do NDE UT/PAUT/Eddy Current. Billet material should be accompanied by a lot number.
Didn't he put a different rod than normal in that motor? Thought I remember him saying that in an earlier video.
I believe he did, some new company and was grinding on them to clearance them on the small end.
Could be a heat cycle issue that made the material brittle after a certain number of cycles. I’m sure he and the supplier will figure it out. It will make both of them better able to supply their customers with better parts.
Steve did mill the rods to fit the piston’s and crankshaft… at this point it’s going to be difficult to blame anyone unless it’s approved to take material out of the rods
@@93_LXcpe he did, and he modified them, this sucks by any means, but I already thought about the reliability when he had to modify the rods to fit the engine
First thing I thought as soon as I saw the first connecting rod was “hey, weren’t those from a new rod vendor?”. Sounds like he’s working well with you and I hope he can get his material sourcing sorted out. Thanks for taking us along for the ride
👍
Yep, pretty sure those were the rods that came from the new guy. Definittely a QC problem somewhere in the process.
@@iknklst The fact that they all failed at once like that doesn't point at a QC problem so much as an application or design problem. Might be great rods, just not good for 4k HP and 8500RPM for any length of time.
@@bradley3549 My bet is on the rods beg made from mis-graded alloy.
@@bradley3549 and 45 psi of boost on top of the RPM.
LOVE this content Steve!
Honesty, Integrity, Humility, with a healthy side of Gobsmacked.
If you aren't breaking stuff you aren't racing hard enough. You and your incredible parts suppliers will learn from this and apply that knowledge to make it better and faster.
You can make a snow globe with the shrapnel.
I love the Sno-Globe idea!
This is when you realize how important that drip pan is. Wow. Couldn’t imagine all that under the tires at that speed.
Engine diapers are an amazing invention and really should be required in more classes.
No kidding
This should be the top comment!
tracks could be encouraged to make them a requirement on the extra bonus of less chance of spill/damage (the dents) on the track
@@masonlittle2089 they should be, and many NHRA classes and outlaw classes already require them
Steve being as real and as salt of the earth as it gets. You're a good man for sticking up for your supplier. No rant, no crapping on anyone. It's racing and stuff happens. 100% agree with your assessment, it's the raw material. I'm buying a sticker to go with my tee that didn't have a piston in the package.....
27:46 Amen Brother! Stuff happens and you're a role model for dealing with it. Love the channel and all the fine work you do!
I’ve seen windowed blocks before. I’ve never seen every rod disintegrate inside the engine before. Glad you’re safe to race another day!
With all 8 rods disintegrating, makes me think that something in the process when they were made wasn't correct. A dry sump has a major safety benefit in a situation like this! So glad that you and the wagon are ok! Thanks Steve for all you do, I've learned alot from you and your videos. God bless brother!
See the vid
buemi's formula 1 suspension explodes
Aug 24, 2010 Bingov Brat
There's easier and cheaper ways to put swag in boxes for us all.....😂😂
😄😄
🤣🤣
Dude funniest comment ever!!! Although that's a lot of pieces to give out tho!!😄😄
You win for today lol that’s funny
The way he was looking at all the parts was the same way I looked trying to explain why I’m breaking up with my girlfriend!!!