Ba Xr6T Thrown A Rod - Options?

[Belac]

Hi,

This morning my 118,000km stock BA XR6T threw a rod. Took off from the lights and it went crunch, smash, bang, bang, bang then proceeded to dump its oil on the side of the road. I give the car a bit of a kick in the guts every now and then but I certainly do not thrash it. I didn't flog it off the lights this morning.

It's been on a hoist at a local mechanics and it has a nice hole in the side of the block, and the sump is destroyed.

It's 2 months out of extended Ford warranty, I have been in touch with Ford Customer Relations Centre and they have requested the vehicle be towed to my dealer for assessment.

Local mechanic called one of his engine suppliers (not sure who) and they quoted $4.5k for a used engine. Ford dealer has roughly quoted between $6 and $8k.

2 years ago the car had major overboosting problems. Ford dealer had it for over 3 weeks and replaced throttle body, plugs, leads, distributor, tps, cat, had the turbo checked and rebuilt, tried retarding the timing but it was still happening. It turned out the turbo had a slight twist and was leaking boost between itself and the wastegate. (I'm going from memory here so forgive me if its not mechanically correct).

I am hoping I can attribute the thrown rod to damage that was caused at time of overboosting, or due to the work that was carried out so they will honour the 3yr/160k warranty that ran out in october. I have been advised this could only happen if it was overboosting or if it had no oil. I can assure you there was oil, as its currently everywhere!

I have some questions;

1. Do you think the previous issues could of contribute to this happening?

2. If Ford deny the claim, where is the best place to get an engine? I'm in Victoria.

3. What is it worth as a wreck/project? It is black, leather, sunroof, premium sound, side airbags, towbar and in excellent condition.

Thanks for any help in advance, and sorry for the long post.

[seduced]

I would start with an independent assesment on the cause of the failure. There is another user on here with a failed rod which turned out to be a faulty piston connecter bolt (forgive my lack of part terms...) and it had nothing to do with running lean due to overboost etc.

Find exactly what failed and go from there.

[dashturbo]

its seems unlikely that it is due to over-boosting two years ago.. I tend to think it is more likely gudgeon pin problem or something like seduced suggests...

rods don't go through blocks unless something went wrong.. that is not considered normal wear and tear.. unless it was massively over-revved.

[icer]

did u have under 1/4 tank fuel while booting it when it popped? Exactly same thing happened to me. oil and all. but no hole in blovck... just the piston came out completely! wiered one...

[Ganxta]

Get a third party inspection to verify what has happened.

its not difficult tracking what went wrong.

Anybody in the industry that knows there stuff should be able to diagnose what and why it occurred.

[dashturbo]

  On 15/12/2009 at 5:33 AM, Belac said:

1. Do you think the previous issues could of contribute to this happening?

2. If Ford deny the claim, where is the best place to get an engine? I'm in Victoria.

3. What is it worth as a wreck/project? It is black, leather, sunroof, premium sound, side airbags, towbar and in excellent condition.

1. not really, I've been told vehicles really only throw rods if the big end bolts come loose, or snap.. if they snap it can be from extended periods of high revs, but not over powered/boosted.

2. no idea, I'm sure our sponsors could help you out, Nizpro supply savage motors I think. FTG autosalvage have some interesting stuff (2nd hand)

3. Ring FTG Autosalvage, they might offer you something, but it would be worth heaps more with a working motor in it, which they could supply. if you wanna sell the thing.

[ms700]

Before you even bother taking it to Ford, have all the services been done, to the dot?

I dont like your chances of Ford ext warranty covering it. If you have a good relationship with your local dealer this may work in your favour, but if he hasnt seen or serviced the car in a while, id say you'll be buying a short engine out of your own skyrocket.

[01txr]

Mine let Number 6 rod go, big end intacy as well piston still intact moves freely in bore.

No damage to block just hole in sump.

On inspection of the rod at big end it appears to have had a small porus big in the middle.

This may have been why mine failed.

Not to mention I'm running TO4z, on custom Manifold and plazmaman intake, HDI Cooler.

Didn't really expect mine to last long.

If your Top end escaped damage just go buy a FG F6 Bottom end, I was Quoted $2700 but may be

a cheaper price as they always usually give me discounted prices.

Good Luck

PS I'm still chasing a Good Rod & Piston to fix mine, so if anyone has one please PM me.

[Belac]

Thanks guys. It was taken to the dealer late monday afternoon. They have inspected it and told me it has a large hole in the side of the block (which I already knew).

They have denied it could have been caused by any previous issues and advised me it is not covered by warranty. They are currently chasing a 2nd hand short motor to give me a better indication of the costs involved to repair it.

Depending on this I might call FTG auto salvage and see how much its worth to them like it is. I've already called them for a price on an engine and they have none at the moment.

Edited 16/12/09 10:33 PM by Belac

[seduced]

Sounds like Ford.

Mate, its not a big deal. You could grab a short motor from atomic, get it all installed and tuned up nicely and it would be a better car than what it was before. Its worth alot more with a new engine than just letting it go for scrap and parts.

I'd still get an independent inspection done. I wouldn't let it rest until I knew what caused it. If you grab a short motor and bolt it all up, you may have the same problem if there is a fuel issue, or computer issue.

Plenty of guys have thrown rods before, they all are up and running again.