Superdjd24
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2019
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 49
- Reaction score
- 112
- Location
- California
- First Name
- David
- Vehicle(s)
- 16 GT350
- Thread starter
- #1
Some quick background:
Bought the car used w/ 1k miles on it in 2016. Supercharged it (Vortech v3 blower @ 6psi) in 2017. Put about 10k miles on it w/ supercharger installed. Multiple track days per year while supercharged.
This past October, I took the car to Watkins Glen - It was a complete riot! At the end - and I mean very end (pulling into the pits) of the last session, my oil pressure went from perfect to almost 0psi, instantly. I was lucky enough to notice it right away, turned the car off, and had it towed to a shop.
After ripping everything apart, here's what we found:
1) Oil pickup line connector tore, causing the oil pump to cavitate. Likely Cause: extended time at high RPM and/or extended, extreme gforces.
Thankfully, as I said, I got lucky and noticed this right away. As a result, nearly no damage was done. A few bearings were lightly scuffed, but that's about it.
My resolution: purchased a Moroso anti-slosh race oil pan, windage tray, and oil pickup.
2) Plasma coating on two of the cylinder walls was starting to significantly erode and cause warping. Likely Cause: The shop I had tear the motor apart said they've seen this on almost every GT350 they've torn apart. They attribute it to poor design, and inadequate thickness of the Plasma coating. Running the engine under boost likely accelerated this, but wasn't necessarily the reason for it.
My resolution: since the cylinder walls were starting to deform, and the block can't be honed, really the only option is to sleeve it. But, since the cylinder walls were deforming, that means the pistons were likely starting to abnormally wear as well. So, I decided to just replace the entire short block w/ an L&M race-prepped unit.
It was an expensive track day :(
Bought the car used w/ 1k miles on it in 2016. Supercharged it (Vortech v3 blower @ 6psi) in 2017. Put about 10k miles on it w/ supercharger installed. Multiple track days per year while supercharged.
This past October, I took the car to Watkins Glen - It was a complete riot! At the end - and I mean very end (pulling into the pits) of the last session, my oil pressure went from perfect to almost 0psi, instantly. I was lucky enough to notice it right away, turned the car off, and had it towed to a shop.
After ripping everything apart, here's what we found:
1) Oil pickup line connector tore, causing the oil pump to cavitate. Likely Cause: extended time at high RPM and/or extended, extreme gforces.
Thankfully, as I said, I got lucky and noticed this right away. As a result, nearly no damage was done. A few bearings were lightly scuffed, but that's about it.
My resolution: purchased a Moroso anti-slosh race oil pan, windage tray, and oil pickup.
2) Plasma coating on two of the cylinder walls was starting to significantly erode and cause warping. Likely Cause: The shop I had tear the motor apart said they've seen this on almost every GT350 they've torn apart. They attribute it to poor design, and inadequate thickness of the Plasma coating. Running the engine under boost likely accelerated this, but wasn't necessarily the reason for it.
My resolution: since the cylinder walls were starting to deform, and the block can't be honed, really the only option is to sleeve it. But, since the cylinder walls were deforming, that means the pistons were likely starting to abnormally wear as well. So, I decided to just replace the entire short block w/ an L&M race-prepped unit.
It was an expensive track day :(
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