Bad detonation event? Low speed pre-ignition (How low-speed pre-ignition can damage your direct-injection turbo engine ? The RPM range would be in the right ballpark, especially if your revving set up the conditions for it when you got back on throttle at 2k RPM.

 

Could have even been from free revving the engine, even with the balancer doing its thing free revving an engine isn't that great for it. Have a search about primary and secondary forces on a piston engine, I've had experience with this from my dirt bike days as you free rev all the time

I also agree with OppositeLock, LSPI is a killer of these engines and experienced it with mine. I think it bent Cyl 3 as well! Just means now you can get a better block and make more power!!

 

The std rods just aren’t up to the job when increasing cylinder temps and pressures, which you’ve done by having the w400 package.
It was always going to let go at some point imho

 

Ford, now uses a different connecting rod. Which may of survived!??

 

2016 35000km on the clock:
-e30 tune
-tuneplue w400 package

-driving in 4th gear 60kph, i clutched into neutral and rev'ed engine 3k- 6k rpm twice to hear the pops and burbles then slowly let the clutch out to re-engage at 2000rpm.

-on clutch re-engagement-> instant knocking sound and quite a bit of vibration in the clutch pedal. I thought the clutch had disintegrated.
-i was 1km from home so slowly nursed it home.

-finally got the engine out and disassembled at the engine shop-> bent rod on cyl 3


-the engine shop was unable to give me a reason for this
-no water leaks on headgasket that was done under warranty yrs ago, valvetrain intact, balance shaft mechanism intact.


-the bent rod caused an indentation to the bottum of the cylinder wall

-scuff mark on the piston's 3 top was from removal


as the engine builder was unable to give me a reason, i'm posting to see what others thought about this .

I think you're going to have to take the heat for this catastrophe... And be grateful that it isn't worse!
Can your pistons and block be saved?

 

New block and forged pistons and rods best way forward

 

Most builders are using the 2.0 block with an aftermarket stroker kit and with a lot of success. And that's probably the way I would also go.
But I'd try to keep as much of the original motor as possible, even if you just wrapped it in plastic and put it in storage. The RS is getting rare and collectable and some guys (not me), just like everything factory.

 

I had a new short block under warranty about year and half ago, still went with forged internals to make sure it can handle the extra power

 

i had taken it to the ford dealer. Dropped it off in the morning, came back at the end of the day to be told by the head tech they didnt even checked the engine. He listened to the knocking noise and said engine is stuffed and gave me an invoice for $18k AUD for a replacement engine installed
needless to say i wasnt impressed

anyway ordered some parts
i'm going to put in:
-manley pistons 637000c-4
-darton sleeves
-brian crower rods bc6415 with arp2000
-arp head studs and mains, massive balance shaft delete kit
-ford performance cams 2015-2021 2.3L ECOBOOST HIGH PERFORMANCE CAMS
-single plate ceramic clutch kit
-• Xtreme-DI HPFP-35 High Pressure Fuel Pump
• Xtreme-DI XDI-i010-50 +50% DI Fuel Injector set
i'll stay with stock turbo for the time being for daily drivability

Anything else to recommend ?

 

i had taken it to the ford dealer. Dropped it off in the morning, came back at the end of the day to be told by the head tech they didnt even checked the engine. He listened to the knocking noise and said engine is stuffed and gave me an invoice for $18k AUD for a replacement engine installed
needless to say i wasnt impressed

anyway ordered some parts
i'm going to put in:
-manley pistons 637000c-4
-darton sleeves
-brian crower rods bc6415 with arp2000
-arp head studs and mains, massive balance shaft delete kit
-ford performance cams 2015-2021 2.3L ECOBOOST HIGH PERFORMANCE CAMS
-single plate ceramic clutch kit
-• Xtreme-DI HPFP-35 High Pressure Fuel Pump
• Xtreme-DI XDI-i010-50 +50% DI Fuel Injector set
i'll stay with stock turbo for the time being for daily drivability

Anything else to recommend ?

I would honestly recommend the Mountune MRX Turbo, EFR 6758, over the OEM one if your going "all out" on the other parts. I was a bit skeptical on it at first as I do daily mine but so far it's really nice for drivability. Yes boost doesn't hit hard until later in the rev range and a fair amount of pedal but how the power comes on is quite controllable and honestly it gives the accelerator more of a rubber band feel i.e. the more you press the more exciting it gets

Yes it is an expensive venture but I would recommend it since you have it all apart anyway, the only drama it may be a very long wait to get one, took mine 6 months to get here through Pro Speed.

It was the only thing I regretted not doing when I got my engine done last year, I just didn't have the funds to afford it at the time.

 

Speak to Tuneplus about the NX2 turbo they replied and shipped to the UK
NX2 they are good for 400 to nearly 700 and if you have a good tuner it’ll drive like factory so perfect for a DD
As for OEM rods and pistons, once you mod the engine and get near to or surpass 400hp you have lit the fuse to a ticking time bomb, even with reduced torque.
As for the Headgasket go the latest version of OEM forget all the other overpriced brands the factory one will work just fine.

 

Speak to Tuneplus about the NX2 turbo they replied and shipped to the UK
NX2 they are good for 400 to nearly 700 and if you have a good tuner it’ll drive like factory so perfect for a DD
As for OEM rods and pistons, once you mod the engine and get near to or surpass 400hp you have lit the fuse to a ticking time bomb, even with reduced torque.
As for the Headgasket go the latest version of OEM forget all the other overpriced brands the factory one will work just fine.

I disagree. The Ford "C" head gasket is your typical design geared compensate for Fords pathetic deck and head machining quality. The "C" gasket still weeps oil between the layers around the oil drain back galleries and needs additional sealant at the front of the block to stop oil leaks. Personally if I was building a new engine I'd use the latest Mountune MLS gasket and machine the head and deck to the required RA for an MLS gasket, IE a LOT better than Fords machining efforts. Of course those who's primary expertise is choosing parts from a catalogue and then getting someone else to actually build the engine might disagree.

Phil

 

Not yet on mine no leakage whatsoever and running a mere 24-32psi giving five hundred ++ of WHP and TQ’s
It’s basically the tuners headgasket of choice UK👍
PS
Don’t 100% of people choose a part from a catalogue ???? How else can you choose a part even yourself must of pursued a catalogue on line to know the mountune item was available lol and I’d say a good 95% of people get someone else to fit that part, so I really don’t get your point at all.

 

If you're running anything other than the stock clutch you'll have to upgrade the synchros in the transmission. Might as well put in a LSD while you're in there.

edit: if you're going full forged with sleeves, not going big turbo would be a shame. That setup would be way overkill for a stock turbo.

 

update:
build parts:
- Manley Ford 2.3L EcoBoost 87.5mm STD Size Bore 9.5:1 Dish Piston Set (637000C-4)

-darton sleeves DARTON 700-130

BC6415 CONNECTING RODS - PROH2K (FORD ECOBOOST 2.3L)
ARP MAIN STUD KIT 151-5407
ARP Ford 2.3L Duratech cam sprocket bolt kit (151-1001)
ARP HEAD STUD KIT FORD MUSTANG & FOCUS RS 2.3LTR ECOBOOST TURBO 151-4301

Supertech For Ford 2.0T/2.3T Beehive Valve Springs Set of 16 (SPRFE20BE-16)

-massive speed balance shaft delete

• Massive Speed Crankshafts and Drive Gears
• MSS Trapped Oil Control Pan Baffle

-ford performance cams 2015-2023 2.3L ECOBOOST HIGH PERFORMANCE CAMS

Radium Engineering PCV Baffle Plate

-• Xtreme-DI HPFP-35 High Pressure Fuel Pump
• Xtreme-DI XDI-i010-50 +50% DI Fuel Injector set
from High Flow Direct Injection Fuel System Upgrade Focus RS 2.3L

mountune high-flow induction kit and Mountune 2536-llc2-aa lower intake pipe
mountune triple pass upgraded radiator
mountune Sound Suppression Chamber
boomba racing bypass valve

w400 kit- ets intercooler , cobb charge pipes, air filter , turbosmart iwg-75
mishimoto oil cooler
mishimoto oil catch can

xforce high flow cat downpipe ES-FRS16-KITB
xforce 3in exhaust ES-FRS16VMKSB-CBS

ngk ltr7ix spark plugs gapped to 0.026

gearbox- carbon synchros


Finally car is all back together and on the dyno: with 98 RON
-however on the dyno even after about 10 revisions, we are seeing a lot of black smoke
-afr from the cobb in the car is about 11.9 and at the tailpipe its reading ~12.4- consistently ~0.5 difference
-the amount of black smoke coming out would feel like afr in the 10s however this is not the case from the 2 different sensors

the spark plugs dont indicate that the car is running rich either


any thoughts on the black smoke ?
tuner and mechanic are unsure of the cause
wondering if the injectors could be faulty and not spraying properly ??

 

These Ecoboost 2.3 things not always but generally puff a bit of black soot as I know mine does whether or not I have Methanol in the tank.

 

FYI If you have the same exhaust system on when you blew it, there is likely crap in the system that needs burnt out. Just keep driving it for a bit.

 

No it's a new dump pipe and exhaust.

 

@fireball

What turbo did you end up going with?

 

still stock turbo for the moment. probably an nx2 in the future

 

Ok. Only asked bc some with the EFR turbos have experienced a varying degree of blow by, some less than yours while others (myself specifically) almost exactly like yours.

 

tuner thinks it related to the xdi injectors. so have gone back to stock injectors for the time being to see if the exhaust is that black

 

Definitely interested in hearing the result. How’s it been running now on the stock injectors?

 

had the xdi injectors tested today - they came up good. flow and the spray pattern were good according to the guy. so still doesn't explain why with the xdi in the car the exhaust is so black. With the stock injectors the exhaust does not look black at all .

 

Would think those injectors are over flowing for that particular tune, the xdi injectors are preferred for high boost and power applications as I understand it

 

had the xdi injectors tested today - they came up good. flow and the spray pattern were good according to the guy. so still doesn't explain why with the xdi in the car the exhaust is so black. With the stock injectors the exhaust does not look black at all .

Good to hear re: injectors despite the bigger question still going unanswered. I admittedly wondered if my Xdi injectors have added to my smoking issues (not that your update confirms they aren’t).

So what’s next? Reinstall the injectors?

Pls keep us updated as you can.

 

as i'm on stock turbo still i'll stay with oem injectors currently. when i'm sick of this power level i'll switch to the nx2 and back to the xdi injectors

 

Xdi injectors will require a specific tune are you running xdi pump too

 

Yeah I gave Ryan@Pdtuning all the xdi injector and xdi pump calibration data

 

Did Ryan have any additional input re: xdi injectors being the (definitive) cause or not, esp after switching back to OEM and not having any continued smoking?

 

sorry ryan was the one that suggested that it might have been the xdi injectors. currently in discussion with xdi to see their thoughts on this.

 

The reply from xdi

guess I won't know whether the above is true till I get around to an e85 tune