If you like destruction -

[jeh]

I feel your pain, I'm in the same boat!!! Fresh BB427, bored, Kieth Black Pistons, Trick Flow alum heads, roller cam, Air Gap intake, etc, etc. Long story short, 515 miles metallic sheen in oil and 9 pounds oil pressure at idle

[cableguy0]

Originally Posted by jeh

I feel your pain, I'm in the same boat!!! Fresh BB427, bored, Kieth Black Pistons, Trick Flow alum heads, roller cam, Air Gap intake, etc, etc. Long story short, 515 miles metallic sheen in oil and 9 pounds oil pressure at idle

OUCH. That sounds a lot like a cam going flat but I see you have a roller. Whatever happened is due to the way it was put together to happen that quickly. If its bearings I would suspect clearances were badly off.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by cableguy0

OUCH. That sounds a lot like a cam going flat but I see you have a roller. Whatever happened is due to the way it was put together to happen that quickly. If its bearings I would suspect clearances were badly off.

I took it to a more "reputable" machine shop after we tore it down, let me back up here a minute, during tear down we noticed the main bearings were scuffed some on the top side some on the bottom side. Then took it to the machine shop to check the line bore, now we found the problem, apparently the "other" shop was having some in house personal issues and the quality of work wasn't up to standards. After a phone call to them to discuss the line bore issue it still ended up being "my" problem. In the mean time they got the block corrected just waiting on the results of the crank, still may have to put a new crank in it.

[cableguy0]

Originally Posted by jeh

I took it to a more "reputable" machine shop after we tore it down, let me back up here a minute, during tear down we noticed the main bearings were scuffed some on the top side some on the bottom side. Then took it to the machine shop to check the line bore, now we found the problem, apparently the "other" shop was having some in house personal issues and the quality of work wasn't up to standards. After a phone call to them to discuss the line bore issue it still ended up being "my" problem. In the mean time they got the block corrected just waiting on the results of the crank, still may have to put a new crank in it.

I have been the person delivering the bad news more times than I ever wanted to. Its amazing how many shops do garbage work. It also reminds me why so many people don't trust shops or mechanics. I hate people that do sh!t work and I hate it even more when they just dismiss it as no big deal. If you take someones money in exchange for your work. Your work should be at least worth the money if not worth more. Often the places that shouldn't even be able to charge for their junk are the ones that overcharge and the guys that go above and beyond don't get compensated for everything they do. I guess it doesn't actually pay to be honest. I sleep ok at night though.

[GRX]

Originally Posted by BossHogg69

I'm open to any ideas or experiences with a valve breaking off like this. Enjoy the pics of carnage.

Ouch. Seeing things like this is never enjoyable. Far as ideas and experiences go ... that type of break is not that uncommon really. Have seen this more times than I can remember.

May have missed it somewhere - perhaps another thread. Are these stock valves?

Stock valves are two piece. The head is force welded to the stem. Right about where that gave way. Which is why I have always been a big advocate for quality one piece valves. Especially in a performance build. Relying on stock units with countless cycles on them is asking for trouble.

[BossHogg69]

The heads are Edelbrock RPM Marine oval ports - the valves are 'stock' to them. 2.25" one pc stainless intakes, 1.89" one pc Inconel exhausts.

[GRX]

I see. Do those valve guides have c-clips on top? If so how does it look in the bad cylinder?

[Ta12sec]

Same failure I had in my story d**t was kind enough to replace one head when the m****y valve did that.

[jeh]

Hey Adam, your probably not going to need that serpentine front runner system now are you!!!! LOL It sucks to have all the time and $$$$ invested in a motor and have this happen, I'm still back and forth with my BB or go Ls

[cg285]

btw you took the engine out incorrectly. do a search on this site and you will see that you have to take all the sheet metal off first :-)

[BossHogg69]

Originally Posted by cg285

btw you took the engine out incorrectly. do a search on this site and you will see that you have to take all the sheet metal off first :-)

I was terrified that I was going to scratch it all to , but I took my time and didn't drink any beer during this operation! The front sheetmetal was such a bear to get lined up right that I knew I'd beat it up more trying to take it off and put it back on, so I just pulled her heart our as she sat.

Now it's just a waiting game until my 532 is finished, probably 8-10 weeks. I'll be back to burning rubber and banging gears this summer.

I did call Derale about the fan issue and as expected, they 'have never heard of or seen this before', so I offered to send the guy the pics, of course he declined my offer, but was happy to give me the part number so I could buy a $130 replacement fan...

[storm9c1]

Oh man. What a mess. Such a small part causing so much carnage. I'm worried your crank/bearings might be damaged from being beat up by the stresses of that event or even the metal bits. Check it for scuffing. I definitely wouldn't trust the connecting rod or pin in that cylinder. But the more you can salvage the better I guess.

As for the fan, yeah, welcome to the world of plastic junk these days. Even GM factory fans have been bitten by this. The Pontiac G8 and Chevy Caprice PPV fans have a tendency to fail like that, eventually shattering the blade and throwing bits into the radiator, poking a hole in it! People talk about it on the forums (and I can't remember if there is a TSB for it). I'll take the old fashioned bulletproof metal factory fans any day for the few HP the electric fans save. I've had too many failures like yours and burned up wiring harnesses, failed relays, etc. Factory clutch fan goes back on my builds. Then again, I don't have any high-rev applications either.

[chevybuldr]

The head can be fixed. A good machine shop that knows how to weld can fix it. The heads are Edelbrock? Did you bolt them on right out of the box? They are notorious for having tight guides, valves assembled with no oil on them, and installed spring heights way off. Looking at your picture of the valve stem stuck in the guide, it looks like the stem is blue from heat. Again that is just from the picture. If that is true then that would tell me that the valve was starting to gall from that above reasons. If this is true I think it hung a valve open and smacked a piston. the 2 piece valve snapped off and left you with the mess you have there. Thats what I see from the pictures.

[BossHogg69]

Yes, they are Edelbrock RPM oval port Marine heads, but not quite bolted on out of the box though. The marine heads don't come with valve springs. They had been ported, put on a flowbench (so I could get the cam spec'd to the heads) reassembled with Crower hardware (spings, retainers, locks) but re used the valves that came with the heads. The work on the heads was done at a shop, so I did not personally check the valves/guides. Once I get some more time, I'll disassemble the heads and try get a better look at the valve and the guide.

[chevybuldr]

Well that is a good thing then. That means that they were looked at and assembled with care (we hope). You made a good choice going that route.

[Marv D]

The short answer.. ABSOLUTELY repairable.
The aluminum head repair is a pretty common thing to upper end machine shops that build drag motors. (we're always bringing in carnage for them to fix) I've had a number of SBC aluminum heads (AFR and Brodix) heads repaired and they come out just fine.

AFR and Edelbock alloy is a tough one to weld from what I hear. If you have issue finding someone more local, PM me and I'll put you in touch with a couple guys who will steer you right. Just make SURE they have experience doing aluminum head repair on aftermarket heads, Just any ol hack with a TIG and a die grinder isn't what your looking for.

[jeh]

Hey Adam, just checking in to see how the BB build is coming along.

[BossHogg69]

Heeeeeey!!! I wish I was as far along as your rebuild is (I'm SO glad you stayed with the big block!!!) Not much as of yet, machine work is complete for the shortblock, final assembly should begin soon. Then all the port work on heads & intake will take some time. I'm looking at probably the end of June. Transmission isn't finished yet either - so I've taken the time to redo some wiring, install a new fan controller and a few other things. Got all the Hotchkis stuff installed too.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by BossHogg69

Heeeeeey!!! I wish I was as far along as your rebuild is (I'm SO glad you stayed with the big block!!!) Not much as of yet, machine work is complete for the shortblock, final assembly should begin soon. Then all the port work on heads & intake will take some time. I'm looking at probably the end of June. Transmission isn't finished yet either - so I've taken the time to redo some wiring, install a new fan controller and a few other things. Got all the Hotchkis stuff installed too.

The Hotchkis goodies should be awesome!!! As soon as my buddy gets his 460 he built for his mud truck off the engine stand we are going to start reassembly on mine. That motor of yours should make some serious horsepower when your done.

[SKT]

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Any updates on this one?

Bummer to hear about the 'fresh' 454 though.

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[BossHogg69]

I finally got the transmission a couple of weeks ago, it's a TREMEC TKO-600, but with a full internal upgrade by Liberty Gears - polished & cryo-treated gears, bronze shift pads, carbon fiber synchros, threaded front cluster bearing support and PRO 5.0 shifter. It's going to be backed up by a RAM 10.5" twin disc clutch with an aluminum flywheel. Both will withstand 900hp. The 532" should be right at 800hp, so I have a little 'wiggle' room. I had to stick with TKO transmission due to how I originally built my frame center section and trans crossmember. Frame is all powdercoated and I really didn't want to have to move anything around, so the upgraded/fortified TKO-600 was about the only option for me over the TKO-500 that was previously in the truck.

[jeh]

800 Hp and a 6 speed, that will be awesome
Any new updates on the motor?

[BossHogg69]

I hate to disappoint but it's only 5 gears. I don't know about awesome, but I'm sure it will scare the hell out of me the first few times I hammer on it after it's all broken in. I'll be putting in a call tomorrow about the engine. It's supposed to be finished this month, as I had time set aside to go pick it up from their shop in TN.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by BossHogg69

I hate to disappoint but it's only 5 gears. I don't know about awesome, but I'm sure it will scare the hell out of me the first few times I hammer on it after it's all broken in. I'll be putting in a call tomorrow about the engine. It's supposed to be finished this month, as I had time set aside to go pick it up from their shop in TN.

My bad, I misread the post. Anyway, it's still going to be awesome!!!!

[James the III]

What heads?? and did you use the correct locks and retainers..
I.E. 10 * retainers with 7* locks..
why it drop a valve??
or did it drop it from valve float.. or coil bind..