Turbo Slug's 3800 rebuild (Page 1/3)
Frenchrafe NOV 19, 02:47 AM
Hi everyone,
So after destroying my 3800 at the track, and lamenting about it for a month or so...:

https://youtu.be/-ntGyh9gKVk
https://youtu.be/5whnnISWNrM

I am in the process of rebuilding the engine. Here's the processus of getting the engine out of the car and stripping the thing down:

https://youtu.be/2soKocY14AY
https://youtu.be/q7fNBxS3Iho
https://youtu.be/TXsih99T46g

A couple of photos of the engine partially stripped and some badly worn shell bearings!




I spent all my birthday and Christmas money on new parts and a much needed new crankshaft!
Yes the crank was too far gone to be reground. I had it checked by a machine shop who said, like I thought, that the thing was "dead". He even said that the oil starvation was not a new thing, looking at the state of the journals!

The progress is going fine and I recently completed the block prep (honing etc....):

https://youtu.be/1RkEWWIwt5A



The next stage is to modify my oil pan to never ever have an oil starvation again! I'm adding 5cm of depth to the pan and will be including baffles etc...
I'm doing this before refitting all the new parts because I need the block and the oil pickup in place to adjust my metalwork. And I don't want to risk damaging the new parts. I haven't got what you would call a white/clean room for engine rebuilding! So the dirty/dusty work needs to happen now before assembly.

I'll post some pics soon and the next vid, when it's ready. I'm no pro youtuber and making a video takes some time.

Regards,
Rafe


------------------
"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France!
https://www.youtube.com/cha...1wZvWQlkYxTjivW_0XNg

[This message has been edited by Frenchrafe (edited 11-19-2021).]

Blacktree NOV 19, 01:08 PM
That's a lotta damage!

I think the oil pan baffles are a good idea. Also, you might want to look into an AccuSump setup.
Frenchrafe NOV 19, 03:04 PM
Yep! All the mains and rod bearings suffered.
It was quite depressing to see what had been going on at each sharp bend!
The accu-sump has been suggested before by La Fiera (Rei).

------------------
"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France!
https://youtu.be/c4Cu7_2OgYc
https://www.youtube.com/cha...1wZvWQlkYxTjivW_0XNg

DimeMachine NOV 20, 06:46 AM
Curious - did your oil pressure gauge show low to no oil pressure at times where the g forces were causing oil starvation?

Good luck on the rebuild and oil pan mods /accusump to solve the issue!
Frenchrafe NOV 20, 08:57 AM

quote
Originally posted by DimeMachine:

Curious - did your oil pressure gauge show low to no oil pressure at times where the g forces were causing oil starvation?



The oil pressure gauge moved a little when cornering hard, but nothing alarming (it seemed🤔).
No warning light or anything reading in the ECU.
However, it is clear that there was intermitent oil pressure loss that the gauge was not sensitive and/or fast enough to register.
Over time, the "micro" oil starvations led to excesive wear...., and then bang!

------------------
"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France!
https://youtu.be/c4Cu7_2OgYc
https://www.youtube.com/cha...1wZvWQlkYxTjivW_0XNg

pmbrunelle NOV 20, 09:32 AM
The stock oil pressure gauge is very damped. You might need an aftermarket gauge to confirm that your new setup will be effective.
claude dalpe NOV 20, 10:21 AM
Frenchrafe

Sorry for turbo slug, you did a lot of work to get it where it was.
In your video you mention that you did an afternoon of passage to the bench and I imagine that there was (ECM) tuning in his tests? (The worst thing for engine oil)
After, you didn't doing an oil change.
I think the problem is mainly because of this negligence and after "the oil starvations" did the rest of the job. In your videos we can see the oil pressure is good and drops slightly in the curves, but since the time that you are racing with turbo slug the oil pressure should have dropped gradually because of the gradual wear of the bearings.
But the 3800 has resist an afternoon of passage to the bench without giving up the ghost.
This is what I think, engine oil is like our blood, it is very important! Before and after a passage to the bench the oil should be replaced!


Désolé pour turbo slug, tu as fais beaucoup de travailler pour le rendre ou il était.
Dans ton vidéo tu mentionne que tu as fais une après midi de passage au banc et j'imagine qu'il y a eu du tuning d'ECM dans ses essaies? (La pire chose pour l'huile moteur)
Après tu mentionne que tu n'as pas fais de changement d'huile, moi je pense que le problème est surtout a cause de cette négligence et après "the oil starvations " a fait le reste de la job.
Dans tes vidéos on voit bien que la pression d'huile est bonne et baisse légèrement dans les courbes, mais depuis le temps que tu fais de la course avec turbo slug la pression d'huile aurait du baisser graduellement a cause de l'usure des coussinets
Mais le 3800 a résister a une après midi de passage au banc sans rendre l'âme.
Voila ce que je pense, l'huile moteur c'est comme notre sang c'est très important! Avant et après le passage au banc , l'huile devrait être remplacer!
Frenchrafe NOV 20, 12:07 PM
Merci Claude😉
Oui, tu as raison.
Toujours faire la vidange entre les évènements !😁
Sinon, on pleure 😭

Thanks Claude😉
Yes, you're right.
Change your oil between each race!😁
Otherwise we cry😭

------------------
"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France!
https://youtu.be/c4Cu7_2OgYc
https://www.youtube.com/cha...1wZvWQlkYxTjivW_0XNg

[This message has been edited by Frenchrafe (edited 11-20-2021).]

La fiera NOV 23, 11:04 PM
Rafe and I had some conversations (emails) about what caused the damaged and we kind of agree with Claude. Fresh hi quality oil is paramount before demanding 150% from any engine. Oil serves various different purposes. Oil is a shock absorber, a cooler and a lubricator. If the oil gets diluted, which happens a lot on turbo cars due to the extra fuel tuners add to cool the combustion chambers; it'll loose life its efficiency. Oil won't be able to cushion, lubricate or cool.
This past weekend I took my car out on my driveway to test a new tune. I started the car and let it warmed up and after about 15 minutes I noticed a pool of liquid on the concrete that came out of the valve cover breather hoses. I was alarmed and ran my fingers in it and proceed to smell it. It smelled like pure alcohol !!!.
My conclusion was that since I was running the engine hard on the dyno to break it in, I made a tune to be on the rich side to protect it. That pool of "alcohol" was in fact moisture drawn by the E85 on the humid and cold days and also the safe enrichened tune I was using at that time. Right now the oil does have a smell like alcohol but it looks pretty clean but for me that means that if I'm going to do hard driving, dyno testing or track time I have to change the oil.
My habits have always been change the oil before a track day and then change it right after that.

[This message has been edited by La fiera (edited 11-23-2021).]

claude dalpe NOV 24, 10:20 AM
As I already said above engine oil is like our blood "very important" in an engine as you mention it so well Rei in your message and especially during a tune made on dyno. Very good info Rei in your message.

I always pay attention to my oil changes (use with the engine / seasons / KM).
What many people neglect especially today when the builders tell us that we can do our oil changes every 15,000KM or 1 year

Comme je l'ai déjà dit plus haut, l'huile moteur est comme notre sang, "très important" dans un moteur, comme tu le mentionne si bien Rei dans ton message et surtout lors d'un tune fait sur dyno. Très bon info Rei, dans ton message.

Je fais toujours attention à mes vidanges d'huile (utilisation avec le moteur / les saisons / KM).
Ce que beaucoup de gens négligent surtout aujourd'hui quand les constructeurs nous disent qu'on peut faire nos vidanges tous les 15 000KM ou 1 an