My car ate this for Thanksgiving and it isn't pretty

[NotCoolSteve]

So I was doing some very spirited driving. All the sudden lots of knocking noises from the engine. Nursed it home. I was thinking I did something to the lower end. But inspecting the damage after I took the engine out. I figured out the problem. That little piece of linkage off that weber came loose and ended up in cylinder 4 which smashed itself to oblivion. I've got the parts and plans for rebuilding it this winter.  I thought everyone would like to see weird destruction .

[m42002]

I’m sure you are not happy, but a welcome share. Must be the time of year to check our clips. 

[PapaG]

Thanks for that, everybody who sees this will run out to the garage and quickly check that.

[Dudeland]

I always wondered what it would look like if it fell off and got sucked in. 

 

Shitty deal.  So sorry. 

[TobyB]

hard to tell from that pic on this pooey computer- 

 

is the intake valve broken?

 

t

not convinced that that soft little arm could make all those dents...

[tzei]

Intake valve seems to be intact but i'd check for straightness - both. Just in case.

[NotCoolSteve]

toby... I give you facts you give me your gut... I get it ... its the new America. When i take apart an engine and find a piece of the carb in the combustion chamber it is weird... but it is a fact.

[kbmb02]

Not cool.

 

Interesting, in that it required both the c-clip (or wire) to go missing/fall off and for the arm to 'come off its pressing' on the butterfly shaft. I see either one happen all-too regularly, you got the daily double. -KB

[TobyB]

Ah, you actually found the arm embedded?  There it is, then.

The oil on the intake made it look like the valve had chunked.

 

I've seen that arm loose on the shaft- and since it bounces around

so much on partial choke it does make sense that it could come loose eventually.

 

Bummer that it made its way into the engine, tho.

 

t

 

[Mike Self]

I wonder if the head could be salvaged by a good welder; fill in the divots and then smooth down. 

 

Too bad the errant piece wasn't brass as it wouldn't have caused nearly as much damage.  My Renault swallowed a small brass screw--one of two that held the throttle plate in place--and I didn't know it was gone 'till I removed the carb and saw one screw missing.   Years later when I removed the head there was no impact damage in any of the four cylinders.  

 

mike

[rdeeble]

ouch, this breaks my heart!

[John76]

On 11/25/2021 at 3:20 PM, PapaG said:

everybody who sees this will run out to the garage and quickly check that.

I sure did!

What air cleaner was used when this mishap took place?

I use the stock air cleaner but adapted it to the small Redline rectangular air cleaner base that came in the Weber kit.

This has a cast-in cover for the choke mechanism, so nothing can get sucked into the carb.

 

 

[inkatouring]

On 11/26/2021 at 9:56 AM, Mike Self said:

I wonder if the head could be salvaged by a good welder; fill in the divots and then smooth down. 

 

Too bad the errant piece wasn't brass as it wouldn't have caused nearly as much damage.  My Renault swallowed a small brass screw--one of two that held the throttle plate in place--and I didn't know it was gone 'till I removed the carb and saw one screw missing.   Years later when I removed the head there was no impact damage in any of the four cylinders.  

 

mike

 

A more thoughtful and sophisticated version of my thought: that should buff right out. In all seriousness, I'm with Mike. That head very well may be salvageable.

 

Sorry for the shitty situation.

[2002iii]

Time to have the combustion chamber reshaped for some forged custom high compression dome racing pistons!!!