Fried S38..?

[PorscheH6]

Any chance you could do a shot of each of the other plugs as well? Don't be arty with it, just take 5 more pics please.

Wait, didn't I take pics of all the plugs? There's six total throughout four pics.

Or is there something you want me to take a pic of in particular?

[GumbysE34]

Oh noes...but guess what...


dibs on filler plate, front sway, brakes




...i should be ashamed of myself for being so forward though... ^

[Sneezy]

Wait, didn't I take pics of all the plugs? There's six total throughout four pics.

Or is there something you want me to take a pic of in particular?

I think he wants close up shots of all six.

Oh noes...but guess what...


dibs on filler plate, front sway, brakes




...i should be ashamed of myself for being so forward though... ^

Too soon.

[Binjammin]

Wait, didn't I take pics of all the plugs? There's six total throughout four pics.

Or is there something you want me to take a pic of in particular?

All 6, in focus, close up please. Your focus in the pics seems to be on the oil-fouled plug, I'd like to see the rest.

I think he wants close up shots of all six.

Yep.

[Grim Reaper]

Hmm, I was hoping for the best but plug 4 does not look good in light of the consistency of the others.

I guess a compression check is up next.

[M Quick]

How have you driven the car lately? Hard(high revving), or been staying under 4k rpm? Or mixed?
Have you been driving it soft before the high speed driving?
And has the car been running perfect before this happened? No missfires or anything like that at all?

When was the last time you changed the spark plugs?
And lastly, has it been parked for any longer period?

[PorscheH6]

How have you driven the car lately? Hard(high revving), or been staying under 4k rpm? Or mixed?
Have you been driving it soft before the high speed driving?
And has the car been running perfect before this happened? No missfires or anything like that at all?

When was the last time you changed the spark plugs?
And lastly, has it been parked for any longer period?

Car has been driven just like it was for the last twenty thousand miles or so...no assclownery but if the moment arises I won't hesitate to let it wind out through a gear or four...

Now that you mention it there was a hiccup just a few days ago. I went to floor it, engine was winding up fine until 4K RPM....power just went away and wouldn't rev higher than 4-4250RPM. Instrument cluster also went dim....like some kind of electrical failure... It did this one night and never did it since. I forgot about it since it ran like a top the day after..

Plugs were changed within the last two years, car was never parked for any extended period of time within the last year.

[Binjammin]

That plug means you're going to be spending money. How the rest look will tell hyou how much.

[87shark]

Ouch that does not look good

[sevenphotos]

Sucks to hear. I'd check compression first.

I thought these cars were bullet proof or what's that all hype about ...

No such thing, nowhere in the world.

The closest thing to a bulletproof car is a 100hp honda civic that can only spin one of it's 125/85 bicycle tyres.

[ross1]

#4 didn't get oiled like that on one run. Things have been going south a while and she finally fouled north of 6k.
I'm not familiar with S engines and their idosyncracies but would suggest a bad valve guide if it still idles well. A holed piston will make it idle VERY badly.

[Sneezy]

No such thing, nowhere in the world.

The closest thing to a bulletproof car is a 100hp honda civic that can only spin one of it's 125/85 bicycle tyres.

Truth. This car was (at the time) the fastest production sedan in the world. On the razor's edge of performance <> reliability. I am consistently amazed at how well they DO hold up. Speaks very well for the engineers that designed them.

[T444E]

Truth. This car was (at the time) the fastest production sedan in the world. On the razor's edge of performance <> reliability. I am consistently amazed at how well they DO hold up. Speaks very well for the engineers that designed them.

And for the blokes who hand assembled them.

[NapaBavarian]

Have you tried cleaning the plugs and running the car? It won't fix the problem, but in combination with a compression check will help ya see what's going on, how often is the oil changed?

[PorscheH6]

I haven't tried running the car yet after limping it home the other day. I'm scared to run it again...

Compression numbers are in (cold) :

Cylinder 1 - 172
Cylinder 2 - 169
Cylinder 3 - 168
Cylinder 4 - 0 ---------------------------<
Cylinder 5 - 160
Cylinder 6 - 185

I want to add that when i was tuning over the engine to check compression on cylinder four, it was noticably quieter when cranking...almost silent compared to when I was testing the other five (a continuous noticable sound as the engine turned over). Not sure what this means..

Please understand I am a moron when it comes to engine stuff...is removing the head a DIY and what exactly will I have to...repair?

P.S., After removing valve cover, no noticeable damage, timing is still spot on.

Close up of the plugs, in order from 1-6.

[mottati]

the s38 head is a bit complex, multi piece affair. But that said, the car's not drivable as is, so i'd consider pulling it. Would be easier to just pull the engine and work from a stand. Best case scenario is the damage is limited to the head, burned valve, valve guide issues. Next down the list is piston damage, followed by cylinder damage. A leak down test can help narrow it down. If you pump compressed air into the damaged cylinder, you'll be able to trace the air leak to help determine where it's coming from. At the very least, the head needs to come off, i'd say.

This sounds like the same thing that happened to member davidoli's car on m5board.com (search for 'alpine amy' if you care to see the story). He ended up parting the car, but these cars are dirt cheap in the UK, worth more as parts.

[ross1]

I haven't tried running the car yet after limping it home the other day. I'm scared to run it again...

Compression numbers are in (cold) :

Cylinder 1 - 172
Cylinder 2 - 169
Cylinder 3 - 168
Cylinder 4 - 0 ---------------------------<
Cylinder 5 - 160
Cylinder 6 - 185

I want to add that when i was tuning over the engine to check compression on cylinder four, it was noticably quieter when cranking...almost silent compared to when I was testing the other five (a continuous noticable sound as the engine turned over). Not sure what this means..

Please understand I am a moron when it comes to engine stuff...is removing the head a DIY and what exactly will I have to...repair?

P.S., After removing valve cover, no noticeable damage, timing is still spot on.

Close up of the plugs, in order from 1-6.

I'm baffled how you can have zero compression in a single cylinder and still idle well as you stated.
Rent a borescope and have a looky in that cylinder. Either a valve is hung open, broken/bent or a piston has a hole in it, perhaps a broken ring. Either way it's going to be costly.

[NapaBavarian]

Cylinder 1 - 172
Cylinder 2 - 169
Cylinder 3 - 168
Cylinder 4 - 0 ---------------------------<
Cylinder 5 - 160
Cylinder 6 - 185

Watch yer corn-hole

Please understand I am a moron when it comes to engine stuff...is removing the head a DIY and what exactly will I have to...repair?

Having some mechanical skill and being meticulous with parts, keep track of what goes where, what bolts in what hole, and don't do this in the dirt



you'll be fine and pulling the head will help you figure out if you need to go further, although I like the compressed air idea.

[NikosX]

Dude. Youre better off buying a used motor than repairing that one. Honestly the remainder of your compression numbers arent that great either.

Should be VERY close to 200.

[rams]

Dude. Youre better off buying a used motor than repairing that one. Honestly the remainder of your compression numbers arent that great either.

Should be VERY close to 200.

Why not rebuild if you got the money?!
I know a guy who rebuilt his S38 and that thing is a true "Beast"...

[NapaBavarian]

Dude. Youre better off buying a used motor than repairing that one. Honestly the remainder of your compression numbers arent that great either.

Should be VERY close to 200.

Depends on what's wrong, take a look and figure out what made it go POP pft zzzzzzzzzzz then decide, besides, rebuild gives you the option to turn it into the hand of god

[e30sd]

ouch, i had a similar thing back in 9/08. was pulling nicely on the fwy had the same type of blow out. ended up i spun two rod bearings and a piston stretched slamming into the plugs and valves. my engine still ran, but the thing sounded like it was full of marbles. instead of rebuilding that block (had 150k on it, trashed head and crank), i found a clean long block, refreshed it and replaced. get ready to spend the big bucks.

[5mall5nail5]

Thats not oil - its coolant and gasoline. You probably had a leaking HG or failed injector over time - 0 compression is hard to believe without ringland damage valve damage or piston holez. But, anything is possible.

Pull the head already

[Binjammin]

OP even if what you've got is trashed, please take it apart to inspect it first. I'd wager that at that speed, that load, and that RPM for that long you were starving the bottom end for oil by not being able to drain it out of the head fast enough. Looks like detonation on #4, I'd put money on a holed piston from detonation.

[TouringDan]

+3 for a holed piston.

As stated earlier, pull the head and check out what happened firsthand. As far as a rebuild goes, IF THE BLOCK AND HEAD ARE OK, I suspect that you could get a bore, have the crank turned, check/resize the rods and a new set of pistons installed and be back on the road for $5k or less. Good pistons will be the largest expense - expect about $1,200+/- just for those. The rest is just bearings, machine shop costs, and assembly costs.

I could be completely off-base on this, but if the engine isn't hurt too badly, you may be ok. You didn't mention any knocking, so that speaks of the potential for good things...

There's an S38 on eBay for $4500 - you can probably get it for cheaper.