I am looking to see what others are experiencing with engines right now, and some advice on how to make them last as long as possible.
Here is my situation. I had a head gasket start leaking on my engine during a big race weekend, and started losing compression. It was an older engine, so I kind of expect the odd issue, so no big deal. I took a brand new 1250 that I had as a spare, which was broke in on the USLCI dyno and threw it in for the rest of the race weekend. Immediately, it started throwing out oil into my overflow can. After the weekend, I did a leakdown test and found 2 of the cylinders had over 30% leakage. I figured this meant it was not broke in properly on the dyno, and since I didn't have time before the race to break it in, this must have been the issue. So I sent it to be rebuilt. I got it back, and this time I did 3 shop heat cycles, and 6 track sessions where I slowly increased speed, and then allowed the engine to fully cool for at least an hour in between. I got 2 races on this motor until it started throwing oil again. I once again did a leakdown test and had over 40% leakdown in 2 cylinders and over 20% in the other 2. At this point, I was frustrated, and figured there had to be something wrong with this engine, so I bought yet another brand new engine. I replaced my coolers, oil lines, and went with the exact recommendations for filter and cooling system that USLCI suggested. The engine was broke in on the dyno before sent to me. I did 3 shop heat cycles, and rented the track for 2 evenings, putting 8 progressive heat cycles on the engine (about 10-15 laps each, increasing in rpm slightly each time). I allowed over an hour in between runs again to allow the engine to fully cool. I did a leakdown test and all cylinders were 4-5%, so I was happy! First race on it, I got 30 laps into a 40 lap feature before it threw a rod out the side of the block. So 3 engines in 4 races!
Is anyone else having issues, or am I just that unlucky?
Is there perhaps something I am doing wrong that is not allowing these engines to break in properly? According to USLCI, I am exceeding what they suggest for break in.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.