M52 Turbo E36 explodes engine. What happened??

2 laps is all she had left for whatever reason. What's the next step?

[@kirilakmadjov8307]

that pump with that wrist pin belongs in a museum lmao

[@Thomas-fc6gf]

That drift clip in the beginning was incredible

[@GEARHEADdezign]

Haha that video with the chain slapping is hilarious.

[@4WDM]

I would love to see a video of you taking the injectors for flow testing, maybe cylinder1 was bit lean?. Should you get separate egt sensors for each cylinder to monitor temps? And by the way, your m5x content is the best in all of youtube, I always look forward to your new video, keep up the good work man!!

[@spankranchgarage]

Thank you! I will be testing the injectors in a later video with some more thoughts on this topic. Individual EGTs would be awesome but I am limited in what I am willing to invest in this car. I feel at these ~420hp levels I shouldnt need all this fancy instrumentation

[@michaelovitch]

Hydro lock if rev limiter is cut spark and no fuel cut,so it accumulates. i know that you can disable fuel and spark separately at different RPM to soften the power cut or promote turbo spool. Cylinder 1 is the reference for spark and fuel,knowing it's quite rich and E85 have 30 % more volume when stochiometric in the combustion chamber,you could think a too retarded ignition timing could cause hydrolock. Also a loose chain can also shake or cause interference between parts when you gain spark back after a rev limiter.

[@spankranchgarage]

All great points! This failure wasnt on the rev limiter like the first one was thats where I am struggling. Several misfires in a row could maybe flood that cylinder out, I could see that a more likely cause

[@michaelovitch]

@@spankranchgarage The first piston broke under the ring grooves. Rings buckle if the ring gap of a NA engine is too small for boosted application. Piston crown will always fly up,pushed by the rings.

[@Freedo70]

the wrist pin having enough momentum to lodge itself into the oil pump would lead me to believe the piston itself let go first. i would flow test the INJ for sure. lmk if you want that m52

[@aaronthomas5355]

Was definitely going to say the same thing !!!!

[@AtMortenJ]

110% that piston let go first when the bottom end of the rod is fine

[@spankranchgarage]

Yeah ill hit you up about that spare motor

[@fmaybach37]

I’ve blown 3 engines (2 oil pump failures, 1 ringland) Got sick of rebuilding the bottoms end and I went JE pistons with eagle rods and have had good luck at 500hp

[@8KGarage]

Loved the video! Probably heading out next week to buy a 2nd motor so I can learn on it. Your video's will be a huge help to me, keep'em coming! Much love from Belgium

[@spankranchgarage]

Thanks for watching good luck!!!

[@bmw316iTurbo]

Good point about rings gap

[@JDCLIQUE]

new favorite youtuber

[@snowblindburd]

Wow I was NOT expecting you to say (and show) it still ran after that carnage lol. Wild!

[@spankranchgarage]

Yup! Isnt that crazy?

[@96mivec]

Agreed, Cyl 1 probably went lean and melted piston.

[@kyletice811]

Lean cylinder or possible detonation? Destroyed piston at wrist pin, slung it into open intake valves next rev and then out the bottom where pin got lodged in pump? Check the injector and maybe cylinder for scar of pinched ring or something? If you can make it out from collateral damage.

[@spankranchgarage]

All good points. I will test injectors. These rings were gapped and I go very conservative (loose) on those. This was only the second run of the (cool) night, I dont think heat was a factor here. This engine was running fantastic in Alabama where I was hot lapping non stop

[@shortbus970]

I feel like you’re right at that sweet spot of power level that the engine can tolerate it, but certainly conditions might test that or fatigue it. A lot of the euro guys love the amp44/maxpp rod combo. They’re making 600+ in aluminum blocks for right around $1100 for pistons and rods. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to throw in new injectors (or at least check yours) fresh fuel filter and maybe even some fresh fuel just to eliminate the easiest and probably cheapest possibility.

[@spankranchgarage]

Ill test the injectors for sure. Maybe just maybe ill drain the tank for the new engine lol.

[@quattrotobbe]

coolest car i ever seen! so nice ! keep going with this video! awsome!

[@spankranchgarage]

Thanks, will do!

[@aaronthomas5355]

I’d say forged piston and oem non vanos rods to keep a budget

[@MoMo-yy2zo]

400 hp for m50 is a limit for m52tu/m54 rods with very good tune. M50NV rods and pistons are 500 hp limited but not for long. if you suspect lean condition just have a look on cylinder wall. It should have some aliminium on it before disaster.

[@spankranchgarage]

Cylinders are looking great I was just inspecting them again last night. I just cant see a rod breaking for no reason thats why I am leaning towards some kind of piston failure

[@MoMo-yy2zo]

@@spankranchgarage kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHWuhn5slriYmLM there is a signs on the counterweight thats indicating a contact with a piston. This i guess happens after rod failure. So the sequense is - during intake stroke Rod separated on 2 half - piston contact crank and separated for a parts. I have seen many M50-M54 with piston failure due to valve contact. Normally piston fails apart at the oil pan but rod and wrist pin remain on cylinder.

[@mrsam5350]

Data is your friend - so with the OEM ecu do you have enough data to diagnose the problem & what happened to cause this failure? If not then maybe an aftermarket ECU is needed. Also as you said these engines arw now getting to 20+ M54 or nearly 30 years old now, so it could be that some failures could be related to fatigue. Injectors is also a strong possibility - are they flowing in spec? Ps just my opinion - I'm watching your video for research on my M52/M54 Turbo build. Great videos thanks 👍🏽

[@dominickbelmont6573]

I think the piston let go again. Maybe it isn't just one thing. Could cylinder 1 be slightly lean causing more heat on the piston to the point where it expands enough to prevent the wrist pin from rotating smoothly then since the casting it weak it pulls away from the rod and it takes itself apart from there. If you didn't have gapped rings you would probably see the piston fail differently from the same scenario. Maybe all this stuff is just getting old, who knows.

[@spankranchgarage]

Good points. Injector testing will tell some of that story I hope. The strange thing is this was a cool night and only my second lap. I was burying the temp gauge in alabama hot lapping in hotter weather for 2 days without an issue.

[@p.s.1515]

Most likely the first cylinder had something in wrong proportion and as a consequence piston got out. Could it be the piston overheating? Is it possible that first fuel injector provide fuel not quite enough for that kind of high output load?

[@spankranchgarage]

I will test the injectors and see whats up. Anything is possible. The thing about that is I would expect that problem to show up when things are hotter (The engine and the weather). This was a cool night and only the second lap, things werent smoking hot yet.

[@kirilakmadjov8307]

I think the piston broke defenitely these m50 rods are nearly indestructible, cast pistons are just not up to constant abuse in my opinion unless u running half bar boost, but it could also be a megasquirt problem aswell, id defenitely go forged pistons on my next m50 build, not worth the hassle

[@spankranchgarage]

I agree with you. These pistons only put up with so much abuse before they call it quits

[@ProjectTrailerz]

Spank-Ranch Build this block back on a budget replace the valves weld up the block, use the dremel tools and remove the burrs Replace the stock piston Rod And my only advise is to keep this low budget just install forged pistons with a lower compression You’re moving right into winter so welding that block up and showing the non believers it can be fixed and rip around the track once more will allow you to win the internet Showing how to face adversity and beat it And at the same time you find another engine to tinker with you can just drop in within 2 hrs if you find yourself really needing to use it

[@spankranchgarage]

Man I love where your head is at with that! It would be super cool to fix this one. Unfortunately time is my most valuable asset right now. I cant afford to play around like that but I wish I could

[@ProjectTrailerz]

@ source a engine, and we just fix engine on the stand and just prove the people it can done,

[@Chris_Lastname]

I'm not too familiar with beemers and 6 pot engines, but most of the 4 cylinder blocks I know about, typically can take around 300 horse on the factory forged rods and pistons. Non-forged obviously less than that. If the maths transfer over, power per pot, then a 6 cylinder engine might be around 450 equivalent ? I'm not sure if it works that way tho. Beyond those limits your spinning the roulette wheel, without aftermarket stuff fitted. Yours is n/a turbo converted isn't it. Maybe the comp ratio is too high, and boost levels are going through the roof ?

[@spankranchgarage]

Its def pushing it on these stock internals. 420whp is probably close to 500 at the crank. Being that this engine is only 189hp stock, it is asking alot of it. But historically people have found reliability at this level. I run E85 to keep it cooler and keep the pistons happy (Or so I thought)

[@nickchristofori9602]

on a serious note, did it feel faster? maybe wastegate line failed and over boost broke the rod, otherwise the only thing i see causing that is hydro lock

[@spankranchgarage]

It didnt feel any faster. I do have boost cut configured and working. Ive had this engine up at 480whp ~18psi before where it runs out of fuel pump and she didnt seem too upset. But who knows. I think these 28 year old pistons are tired of this stuff.

[@nickchristofori9602]

@@spankranchgarage yeah certainly so. I forgot you have a real ecu with boost cut and not ms41. I would definitely say it’s possible your old megasquirt could’ve hung an injector open due to a failing driver? Fuel locked it and cause it to let go. Or like you were saying, spark cut is violent and those old ecus are a constant cut so it’ll always be cyl 1 getting a cut. Could’ve made the piston crack and just blow its load out the bottom.

[@elijaah81]

Forged internals and more boost! That turbo should flow damn near 500hp. Let her eat

[@Freedo70]

commented before the video was over. with the 350hp setup it sounds like you need to copy and paste my stock ecu setup

[@wilska8835]

AMP 44 are good but there have been difficulties getting them because of the war since they are made in Russia.

[@JYates89coupe]

Definitely time for some bad boy pistons

[@spankranchgarage]

I think thats the plan!

[@bmfbbmfb]

if it was your tune, youd have lost a piston conventionally. melted a hole through it until you lost compression sorta stuff. Sudden catastrophic failure is prob rod. 420hp aint much though, rpm is mean to things regardless of power, i dunno how many rs you r'in

[@spankranchgarage]

I only spin it to 6750RPM. This failure was in a very high torque zone maybe 5K rpm or so, I wasnt on the limiter. This engine did see potentially hours of rev-limit time previous to this failure however. Id expect the road race guys that sustain very high RPM would see these failures more often but they dont seem to

[@kielbasakevin]

Needs more beer

[@SCOTTDIESELCRAZY]

It will be a rod failure

[@spankranchgarage]

Ya think? Im leaning towards piston.

[@Vgk36]

No ATI harmonic damper. Is my guess.

[@noahtornlund9642]

Should have changed the oil

[@spankranchgarage]

That would of been a waste because I dont think the oil contributed to the failure.

[@noahtornlund9642]

@@spankranchgaragejust to much boost or did the rod slap the wall? Or you said the engine still ran 🤯, didn’t watch the video fully

[@noahtornlund9642]

@@spankranchgaragesorry only watched like 20 sec before writing that comment then stopped for some reason

[@noahtornlund9642]

@@spankranchgarageyou must be running a lot of boosts because I think the piston blew up thus sending the pin into the oil pump and maybe the rest of the rod flew out of that hole on the side

[@robertfontaine3650]

Hmmm. You are right to be looking for a root cause. Multiple engines same outcome. Time to have a serious look at your tuning. These engines don't grenade under 500 unless you are part of the problem.

[@spankranchgarage]

I am thinking about that... But what in the tune could cause this? Its batch injection/Waste spark. Nothing is cylinder specific. Plus the first engine ran for 8 years at that power level before blowing... this one only 2 years. I would expect a tuning issue to rear its head much sooner.

[@robertfontaine3650]

@@spankranchgarage Damned if I know what's causing the issue. You have an issue that is accumulating over time. Pulling the head and inspecting each season might give you a clue as to what is going on. I don't know if you are accumulating damage from lean condition or overreving or some combination of other shit that is inducing wear until failure. You need to open the next engine up to look for clues before it blow up.

[@MexaHuk_05]

В следующем видео, говори по-русски, простоя плохо понимаю английский. 💂

[@spankranchgarage]

I wish I could speak Russian!

[@nickchristofori9602]

jz and link ecu :D

[@spankranchgarage]

HMMMMMM. Need more beers to think about that...