VIR was a wonderful event, no matter what.
But, in the last race my engine quit and the oil pressure light came on. I
got it off the course as soon as possible, and I think the wait for a tow
truck taught me the meaning of the term "eternity".
I completed the teardown today and found that the problem was lack of
lubricant to cyls 2 and 3.
Thisfailure took out:
two Carillos
crankshaft
one piston
one sleeve (in about ten pieces)
one bent valve
one ruined lifter (cam appears to be okay)
This is the first bearing / rod failure I've ever had, and I've been racing
a loooong time.
I don't know what could cause this other than no oil for a short period at
high rpm. I probably did it trying to keep up with the hotshoes at VIR.
I don't have an Accusump but do have an effectively baffled pan and a low
oil pressure light, and I always started the engine by cranking it until
it had had oil pressure prior to turning on the ignition. All that was for
naught, I guess. The failure was caused by a very short period of no lube
at high rpm, and with the aluminum bearings, there is even less tolerance
for that.
Anyway, I thought I'd post this in hopes of helping someone else from
having such a failure. I think if I had installed an Accusump, this would
not have happened, so I have one on order, along with lots of other part$.
Despite all that, VIR was a wonderful event, no matter what.
uncle jack
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