Rod material failure, absolutely. It would be money well spent to have a metallurgist look at the microstructure of the material to determine a root cause and fix it. Attaching a "Blame" name to stuff like this is useless and counterproductive. I'm with you on this one Steve.
Agree 100%. I was going to say something very similar but thought I would read through some posts first. It came to the ultimate maximum capabilities of the material and I think they all disintegrated at the same time since they were of the same batch under the same heat and pressure. They were definitely brittle.
Brittle for sure. Check the ductility or lack thereof against the base material. Aluminum could be affected by work hardening like aggressive machining. The consistency of the failure points to origin of material and/or machining.
@@sirslacks1065 I 99% agree with you. There is one thing that bothers me though. I am sure that engine saw 8500rpm+ on his dyno with likely more than 45lbs boost! All was good and into the car it went. Then, this was the sixth run (I believe he said) on the track, so 8500rpm and track loads were around on prior runs before it blew. Boost was 45lbs. What kind of 'new' evil would enter the engine and trigger 'that' carnage at 'that' exact point in 'that' run?? I believe there will be a lot of guessing and testing (weeping and gnashing of teeth!) before this crash will ever be explained!!..........
99.9% metallurgy, something wrong with the heat treatment on those rods. Never sean AL rods fracture like hard candy. You are a stand-up individual God Bless you.
I love that you show us this stuff, Steve. I've been in the engine building industry my whole life but never on your level. You share secrets, build tips, failures, and everything in between. Such a learning experience for me. I guess two ways to look at this failure. #1...maybe a metallurgy issue with the rods. #2...they always teach you to build the motor to fail every cylinder at the same time, otherwise you are leaving power on the table. Cheers bro! Clearly a good tune up!
@@n.b.p.davenport7066 My whole working life and quite a few years prior working with my father at a young age. I'm surprised you were able to determine my level of experience based on my comment. Do you make it a habbit to troll others on the internet?
@@Sm0keyZeu5 anodising is a process that just treats the surface of the material. Doesn’t involve heating it up, much less heating and quenching that could cause it to become brittle. I could very well be wrong, I don’t know what, if any, treatments that where done to the rods. But seeing all the shattered bits in the oil pan while most all the pistons were still up in the bores, it seriously looks like the rods were made of a "hypereutectic” grade of aluminium. Shattered like ceramic aside from a few large pieces. Crazy.
When he says “If you can’t afford to fix something like this, don’t build it” I can appreciate that. That’s why I have cheap junk that’s around 1100hp and goes 8s. Built for next to nothing. If it breaks. It’s whatever. It’ll hurt. I won’t be happy about it. But I can throw another budget engine in it and go back to throwing 32psi at it 😂
I wish more people followed this philosophy in motor sports. People throw their whole budget on a build without factoring anything going wrong. I’ve seen so many people come out drag racing or drifting with a new build, something breaks, and they can’t afford to fix it so it sits in the garage and eventually gets sold off.
To kinda expand on that - if you can't build the whole car right, don't build it. Seen too many cases where people focus on the engine and when the transmission or rear end fails, they can't fix what they should have done right in the first place.
@@gordowg1wg145 Yeah, auto racing isn't really a place food-stampers should be hanging out at!! Maybe peddle bikes or skateboards might be a better choice?
This video is absolutely awesome and Steve is a fucking treasure. They're out here on the edge of what's possible with materials and engineering, and Steve recognizes that and is happy to find out problems and just keep pushing. Stuff like this wasn't possible 20 years ago, and that's due in no small part to Steve and people like him. Keep up the fantastic work Steve and crew!
Steve. I have a very, very high degree of respect for you sir! You are an amazing engine builder, father, friend and business man. I am 74 and have been building engines/racing since 1967. I can truly say that I have "never" met a person like yourself. I have had carnage in my days but never on that level. Please continue being the Steve Morris we all know and appreciate.
Steve Morris you are a awesome guy!! Your character speaks volumes about the type and kind of man you are… thanks for sharing!!! Keep being you brother!!
Damn Steve after watching the whole video I just figured out I really like you! I don’t know you but I think you are a decent stand up guy with a great outlook on life. We can all learn a few things from you and not just about engines. 👍🏻
Exactly what I just said after seeing how Steve reacted to this whole scenario. He could've easily trashed the company that supplied the rods but he chose to take the high road. That's great, good to see there's still some decent people out there. 👍
When you went to the Bible at 27:50 I understood how you are so patient and calm about this situation. Being a mechanic nearly all of my life I've seen many weird, strange things happen. But never anything at this level.
Steve... You are one HELL of a standup guy! I say that because you're an elite engine builder, where your bread and butter is living the American Dream, doing what you're talented at, and capitalizing on it as a small business. You didn't have to share this video with anyone. Yes your car broke while at the track, and mention of it may have made it's way around, but you didn't have to share this and elude to any carnage this mule motor suffered, but you did.. And I hope everyone watching understands that you're not putting this out there to say that theirs anything flawed with what you've built for others... You're putting it out there to educate, but more so to show the community that you're a hardcore veteran (and that puts it lightly), who's able to know just how far his work can hold up before any potential issues because you're committed to R & D.
With all 8 rods disintegrating, makes me think that something in the process when they were made wasn't correct. A dry sump has a major safety benefit in a situation like this! So glad that you and the wagon are ok! Thanks Steve for all you do, I've learned alot from you and your videos. God bless brother!
You know Steve you could have not said one word or not video it……. But you did…….shows you have nothing to hide……much appreciated your honesty…….👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Steve being as real and as salt of the earth as it gets. You're a good man for sticking up for your supplier. No rant, no crapping on anyone. It's racing and stuff happens. 100% agree with your assessment, it's the raw material. I'm buying a sticker to go with my tee that didn't have a piston in the package.....
im just in awe of how 8 rods can say later , and the crank still spins . parts failure is common but this is just one of those that is just hard to understand . thank you for sharing
John,, you're very obviously correct when you say inertia,, the crank shaft had the inertia to literally RIP the rods off the pistons. Yep,, inertia was among the players leading to that carnage fo sho.
@@justingeturgun yup, cause he had to clearance the rod at the piston dowel to clear the crankshaft. I doubt that had anything to with the failure of the rods, but obviously they weren't up to the task of having 2500+ horse torques, or the injectors hung open and hydroed the cylinders.
First thing I thought as soon as I saw the first connecting rod was “hey, weren’t those from a new rod vendor?”. Sounds like he’s working well with you and I hope he can get his material sourcing sorted out. Thanks for taking us along for the ride
@@iknklst The fact that they all failed at once like that doesn't point at a QC problem so much as an application or design problem. Might be great rods, just not good for 4k HP and 8500RPM for any length of time.
As a fellow engine builder, and a former resident of Muskegon it's really nice to see how much your shop has grown over the years. Keep it up man. Love the content.
I have had similar failures on aircraft parts in 7075-T73. After the analysis it was determined the anodizing caused the failure to micro corrosion. Have the certs pulled from the anodizer. I really appreciate the way you are handling this!! You would be a great customer!
@@wiedehopf9068 at the stress levels these are under it doesn’t need to be all the way through the material. Imperfections at the surface can start a micro fracture which makes an easy start point for bigger fractures. It all escalates pretty fast from there. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was a treatment issue rather than a straight up material issue. The analysis is expensive but would be worth it.
LOVE this content Steve! Honesty, Integrity, Humility, with a healthy side of Gobsmacked. If you aren't breaking stuff you aren't racing hard enough. You and your incredible parts suppliers will learn from this and apply that knowledge to make it better and faster. You can make a snow globe with the shrapnel.
I built and worked on engines for almost 35 years and I never saw a failure like this ever . my only question is when did they start making rods out of explodium it looks like one rod failed and took the rest of them out for a beer .
Well, if one goes, what’s the point in the other 7 hanging around staring at each other like a sausage fest ya know! When the hot looking girl walks out the front door of the bar by herself, you always see all the guys in the house chasing after her! Same story here man, lol That is a good term to use tho, Explodium!! Steve owes you a set of heads for that one, lol
You're a good man Steve I love the attitude "stuff happens" hopefully after you get it all figured out you'll lets us know what happened and looking forward to the rebuild video.
Your attitude and outlook on this whole catastrophic failure has earned my like and follow! Not that I’m anyone, but from one man to another you helped redirect some of my negative thoughts when I’ve dealt with things in racing bikes and now as I start to build a drag truck. Kudos sir keep that positive vibe flowing!
I have heard of "grenading" an engine before and seen many failures. however this is the first and maybe only time I have seen or ever will see what can truly be described as "grenading" thank you Steve, you are a modern day legend! i am very grateful for your content!!!
I've seen some blown engines. This was absolutely the most beautiful extreme failure I've ever seen in person or on the internet. Also way to use this scenario as a teaching moment for your viewers and customers. I'll definitely be curious to see how you fix this!
Connecting rods have left the chat!! Absolutely incredible destruction, kept looking to see if any of the rod journals of the crank had a rod on them before you got the pan off. Huge amounts of respect with how great of an attitude you are handling this with especially the last 5 minutes of the video. Hats off to you sir.
@Alex Good, Yes , the rod journals Do look decent and it appears that there was no bearing failure.... But the real issue was caused by repetitive use of those aluminum rods... They fatigue rather quickly... That pile of aluminum chips at the bottom of the pan was the smoking gun of what really happened..... Those rods, all of them, broke like a glass being dropped on the concrete.... That's metal fatigue... The dark grey color of the jagged chips of chrystalised aluminum indicates that these rods are strictly for temporary use, especially when they are being loaded at the levels they are, and at extreme rpm's .... Only forged steel rods should be used in applications like this... He should also have that $5k crankshaft magna-fluxed.... Just to be sure... An extremely expensive hobby this is... Wow...
Wow. Great testament to the importance of having a drip/catch pan! I'm with you. It's more amazing and curious that they all broke at the same time than the fact your engine broke.
Yes to the importance of having a drip/catch pan but more so a dry sump system where minimal oil is in the pan at any given time. If it had a wet sump and this happened, it would've been really bad at the speed he was going when the rods let go
Hi Steve, looking at that grain structure of the shattered pieces I agree with you on them being way too brittle. Hard luck bro, thanks for sharing and we’ll be looking forward to your next move.
Once again the man is just brilliant pure genius. 4000hp and turned those rods to dust absolutely insane carnage. Sucks to see but I'm sure he will figure it all out and crush his personal best. Can't wait to see next engine build and the disecting of this engine. Stay safe Steve Morris.
Love the video. Like you said stuff happens. I like the fact that the rod manufacturer didn’t blame something, and that y’all will work together to figure out why. It’s so hard to tell, but seems like a material failure. Looking forward to the up dates as you fix the engine and work to figure out what caused it.
Customer states, " I think a rod done got broke?". Fuuuuuuuu? What you have there Steve, is engine soup. A very, very rare recipe. A little humour Steve but I do appreciate how you feel trying to understand why this happened. Also your attitude towards the maker of the rods, such generosity and consideration. I'm thankful that there are people like you. God bless brother.
What an unfortunate situation but I love the way you handle stuff, we'd definitely all be better off if everyone adhered to God's golden rule. You really have a fantastic channel going here and I'm always eager to see your content. Can't wait to see what's next and thanks for bringing us along.
Well done sharing your faith at a point where many of us would have been highly stressed and upset. You can tell a lot about a man based on how he reacts to difficult circumstances. Build-back-better. We'll see you back soon.
I totally enjoyed watching this video. What a great attitude you have Steve! Confucius says turn the rev limiter down 3.4 rpm and you will never have this problem again. More importantly, it is so nice to see that you are looking at the things to be thankful for in this disappointing situation.
You know what is really amazing though? the block, pan and tray contained everything therefore no oil under the tires and stayed off the wall. Testament to the strength and design of the engine and car. 8 rods eject in one go, stunning.
Much Respect ! Sad to see these results , like you said it's racing , stuff breaks , hopefully we can offset some of the cost buying some merch and keep this channel alive and grow ! Glad no one got hurt !
Great attitude. The Rod‘s are the number one high stressed part of your engine. it would be interesting to do a metal analysis and see if there’s any issues there but this is racing. Great video
Not trying to arm chair quarterback, but I would look into sending the rod parts to a testing company. Find out if the material had an incorrect heat treat or some other material processes. It may have occurred before the rod company began machining… in the raw billet stage. I do NDE UT/PAUT/Eddy Current. Billet material should be accompanied by a lot number.
Could be a heat cycle issue that made the material brittle after a certain number of cycles. I’m sure he and the supplier will figure it out. It will make both of them better able to supply their customers with better parts.
Steve did mill the rods to fit the piston’s and crankshaft… at this point it’s going to be difficult to blame anyone unless it’s approved to take material out of the rods
@@93_LXcpe he did, and he modified them, this sucks by any means, but I already thought about the reliability when he had to modify the rods to fit the engine
A complete rod failure, I've never seen that before! It's so cool to see how you're taking this, you have a great outlook, and seem like such a cool person! I hope I get the chance to meet you , and shake your hand!
Understatement of the year, "this is a failure!" OH for an internal slow mo view! Seen hundreds of blown motors but none that shucked all 8 rods without pushing the crank out! Heck, even if you happen to run over your crankshaft there's usually a couple rods standing on it to flip you the bird!
Steve thank you for being a real man about this. You said it so well if you don't have the time and money for it don't do it. Thanks for being up front with us. Sorry to see it tho. Glad it did not get under the tire.
I think the exact same thing about riding a motorbike, unless you are prepared to die on it, don't ride it. It's not rocket science. As Forrest Gump says It Happens.
The most professional guy in the business hands down! So much respect for how you addressed this situation, with such an easy obvious opportunity to blame it on the new connecting rod supplier / Steve takes the high road & I’m assuming is marking it up as a trial & error - we’ll see a rod proven in 4K+HP setups next go round I betcha..
Simply mind-blowing event!!! You handled this event in a way that very few others could. I'm sure your still trying to get your head around what the hell happened. You have my utmost respect for your ability to stay calm, maybe your still in shock like soany viewers. Best of luck in the future and thanks for the honest videos.
Steve, I want to say something profound... Really profound You sir, are a real gentleman. A stand up guy of note. My respect for you has gone through the roof today. I cannot express my respect in the way you have handled yourself. Shock and awe at the destruction, but not once have you behaved badly or used foul language, or threw blame and accusations. I can truly say that whatever your Christian convictions, today you showed you believe and live them. You are a good guy and have proven the good guys are out there. Respect. Keep on keeping on Heads up Eyes open No fear
Wow! Thanks for going through and showing us all the carnage. It was amazing. Never seen rods do that before either. Look forward to hearing the results of the investigation. Really good video. Thank again!
Man! Holy shit do I feel for you. Way to keep your cool about the situation. All logic points to the material the rods were made of. Thank you for the tear down, and walking us through your thought process. Best of luck, get her back on the track. New shirt and hat order going in A$AP! Lol
Man your a humble person. I almost think I can hear the frustration attempting to come out when your discussing everything near the end of the video, but I also hear you keeping calm and not allowing it too make things worse then they are. .
Thanks for sharing Steve. Good example of a cold failure. Great to hear you will be able work with your rod guy, and check the spec on the rod and bolt material, and build it better. P.S. I am not religious, but agree whole heartedly that the 'Golden Rule'... 'covers everything'. ;)
Had it happen with a big Ford motor. G. This was in 2003'ish. R. It wasn't that bad, only took out 4 and 8. P. The company came to the same conclusion, a bad batch of material.
Yes I seen that. That little bit would not have changed heat treatment. I always have anything of a motor parts that are aluminum vacuum heat treatment. It helps.
That is insane! 8 rods left the building in the blink of an eye. It almost seems like an alloy issue. I am not any more then a shade trailer mechanic but I have some knowledge and I am thoroughly impressed by that level or destruction. Love this channel and all that you do SM!
It's great listening to the total disbelief as you continue discovering more and more. That thing is SO blowed up, I think it suffered deep EMOTIONAL DAMAGE TOO! Whelp - yup. There it is! I'm grateful to see you taking it in stride, and appriciating the fact that, you don't HAVE to spend a lot of hard-earned money to vet this thing back to the track, ypu GET to spend a bunch of hard earned money to get it baxk to the track. Good on ya, Steve! Gratitude is it's own reward - and being able to show that to others is priceless. Rock on, Steve! 💪👍🏁
Heartbreaking to see so much carnage! Thank you for showing it all, you are a true blue honest guy. It's incredible that all eight rods apparently fragged at the same time. Consistent to the end? Anxious to see how the heads fared...
Thanks for the Video. I appreciate you showing what happened. I was amazed to see the crank without a rod on it. That has to be the first time I have ever seen that. I also appreciate your response about the rods, it would be easy to point fingers, but it takes a stand up guy to realize stuff happens. It’s part of the game when your pushing the limits of the materials your working with. Big Fan. Thanks
I can only imagine the stress and pressure inside of something like that! I really appreciate how you are taking all of this, to be honest. Hopefully this will all help with tweaking some things here and there...hardening/temper on the rods or whatever it happens to be.
The way the rods look like they just shattered like glass would lead me to believe it's a material or heat treatment issue. I don't really know much about what material is used for billet connecting rods, but I would tend to think it should be more tough than brittle. Edit: Guess I should have finished watching the video before commenting. lol
Much Respect for your cool outlook on this expensive disaster. I raced in the 60's and 70's on the street and fact is when you are pushing your equipment to the max sh** happens. Glad you didn't wreck nor get injured.
With the proper metallurgy, you would expect to see more ductile failures. It was very surprising with that carnage, you would not expect to see all the big ends off the crank throws and 0 pistons shattered in the pan. I don’t think I saw a single bent piece including rod bolts. Tensile strength of those rods could not have been correct
Yeah I thought something must have been up with the rods as well when he discovered all 8 were off, I vaguely recall him saying he was trying a new type of rod with this recent rebuild too.
I'm definitely amazed to see a full evaluation of the connecting rods. I know I'd be devastated seeing that in my motor I'm building, but love how humble he is and continues on. And wonder if he's gonna put some of the connecting rods in orders.
The definition of catastrophic failure... your absolutely right after the shock, disappointment, all you can do it admire the destruction.. learn from it and rebuild.. wish the best and be well.
Yep, I've seen a rod or two tossed out the pan before, but every single one, turned to dust? I'll hand it to ya... when you destroy something, you really destroy it!!! LOL!! Damn Steve, I really, really appreciate your point of view on this. Wish other people acted and felt the same way. It's racing, and shit happens. There's a young man out there right now that could learn a lot from you!!.. maybe even a few young men!!
Steve, I really enjoy how you share your vast knowledge with us in many of the videos you post. This eight rod "exodus" had to have been a material flaw just as you suspected. But I especially appreciated how you remained professional about this entire situation, even to the point of defending the connecting rod supplier. All I can say is, "Well done good and faithful servant" Nice job Steve, you've earned much respect from me for this. I hope I am blessed to visit your shop and meet you one day. Signed, Bob from Maine
Steve, this is one of my favorite channels now due to your humility and technical knowledge. How do you know when to scrap the block and start over or if the block (and other parts) is salvageable after a catastrophic failure?
Wow, I am just as lost for words as you are. Complete devastation and totally rare to have all 8 rods go at the same time. 8500 rpm and 4000 hp, 40 pounds of boost may require a rod made from a material off an alien planet…… Love your work Steve. Cheers Cammy 🇦🇺
Wow, I have never seen an engine break so many rods at one time. Will be very interested to see your forensic investigation into the cause of this massive failure. Not sure many of us truly understand (I sure don’t) the extreme load on the drivetrain of a huge (heavy) car like yours putting thousands of horse pressures down through those huge slicks. The forces involved are just off the chart.
I'm thinking the very same. IF ANYON can come to a valid conclusion it will be Steve Morris. No one need make suggestions,, Steve will go through the motor inspecting every piece carefully. Rest assured, with the wealth of knowledge this man has in his head he'll find the reason and it may not be what many of us would suspect. My first thought was con rod failure BUT,, I didn't say it. I'm just sitting back waiting for the next video Steve uploads once he's come to a conclusion. As he said, THAT WAS A GRENADED ENGINE on a much scaled down level of a hydrogen bomb. Let's all wait and see what Steve finds. A final thought,, we can feel Steve's pain,, the untold hours, the MEGA COST, time loss from the race track. This explosion is/was devastating yet Steve is cool, calm and collected. This guy is AWESOME. I as is the case for most of us,, wouldn't be so calm I guarantee.
Blame can only go so far mate, Steve chose them rods, he installed them, clearanced them, and raced it all himself…. The rod builder cant control ALL those paremetres once he sold them… hes only responsible to a degree, the rest is on Steve or any “purchaser” you cant blame them for things you’ve done yourself
the force those rods were enduring was impressive for all the reasons given, but for whatever reason, since all eight failed, it would seem they were the weak link. Could just be a bad batch of billet used to make them, or slightly light on the design (when making boosted 4k HP to push a full-size woody wagon down the track for a new PB) but that's all a part of R & D: break it, build it better, repeat. Good time to re-engineer the rods & the issues with the piston pin placement from before.
@@jeepnutscotty he did say when he put them in that the rods are from a new manufacturer with a new manufacturing process, so it could also be a manufacturing defect.
@@pieflies "New manufacturing process" wonder if it is a hot isostatic press of powdered metal?... to me that would lead credence to the break up. Much like a frangible projectile... I would have to opine that the process quality control is very good, as the scatter in yield strength was almost nil. Then one rod lets loose, it sends a pulse/harmonic down the crank, and all the others disintegrate. When looking at the parts, the parting lines do not look to have pulling or tears, but mostly fractures on a sand like structure. This is a failure for the textbooks.
Love how you don’t blame this on anyone. After years of engine building and off road racing, high hp mountain snowmobiles, sand dunes with high Hp sand cars, jetski racing, etc, etc most people want to blame someone. And I love the comment, if you can’t afford to fix it, you shouldn’t be doing it. In these sports you can absolutely plan on this happening at one time or another. All you can do is try and find out why and and come up with a solution so it doesn’t happen again. However, chances are it will happen again and round and round we go. And I would bet, if your rod manufacture does find an issue, he will be straight up with you and although yes this sucks bad, he should almost be “happy” (you know what I mean) it happened so they can find a solution and this is happening over and over again. I would hope if there was an issue with my carbon fiber parts someone would find them early so we can get it resolved and made correct asap. Good luck and keep up the good work. Waiting to hear from you on the carbon fiber hood parts.
My first thought, other than "dang thats impressive", was seeing all the rods broken just below the wrist pin suggests you found the fatigue life or RPM limit for the rods. The fact it let go at 8500rpms = spin cycle of carnage. Apart from the financial kick in the nuts, just chalk this one up as some real world R&D, then come up with a new improved rods design and go even faster!
Steve thanks for sharing! if you have a good engineering collage near by with a materials science department, give the wantabe engineers something to do.... I'm sure that you and the rod guy would really like some info on why this happened. i've seen 3 1/2 rods missing but never all 8.
Amazing failure - how lucky for you that that was the limit of the damage (could have been way way worse). I hope the connecting rod guy knows who else bought rods from this batch...
Wow. That's some impressive damage! Thank you for taking us along on this ride and your willingness to share everything. But I really do feel that a knock knock joke was missed on this one.
You and the manufacturer need to get the remaining pieces metallurgically tested to see if the allow matched the invoice. I doubt his material came with certs, but if it did, he can come back on the metal supplier and recall that batch of rods.
Rod material failure, absolutely. It would be money well spent to have a metallurgist look at the microstructure of the material to determine a root cause and fix it. Attaching a "Blame" name to stuff like this is useless and counterproductive. I'm with you on this one Steve.
Agree 100%. I was going to say something very similar but thought I would read through some posts first. It came to the ultimate maximum capabilities of the material and I think they all disintegrated at the same time since they were of the same batch under the same heat and pressure. They were definitely brittle.
Im thinking that as well
Brittle for sure. Check the ductility or lack thereof against the base material. Aluminum could be affected by work hardening like aggressive machining. The consistency of the failure points to origin of material and/or machining.
I was thinking the same thing. Have it analyzed.
@@sirslacks1065 I 99% agree with you. There is one thing that bothers me though. I am sure that engine saw 8500rpm+ on his dyno with likely more than 45lbs boost! All was good and into the car it went. Then, this was the sixth run (I believe he said) on the track, so 8500rpm and track loads were around on prior runs before it blew. Boost was 45lbs. What kind of 'new' evil would enter the engine and trigger 'that' carnage at 'that' exact point in 'that' run?? I believe there will be a lot of guessing and testing (weeping and gnashing of teeth!) before this crash will ever be explained!!..........
Thank you for your Jesus Sermon comment. We all need that constant reminder of our Lords wisdom. May God bless you and all of us.
99.9% metallurgy, something wrong with the heat treatment on those rods. Never sean AL rods fracture like hard candy. You are a stand-up individual God Bless you.
My thoughts exactly. They look to be brittle the way they shattered.
Gallium oil additive ;-p
My thoughts too. Can't tell from the video but hardware or something wasn't up to the task. For everything to just explode is a clue.
@@TheOlsonOutfit nice.
@@TheOlsonOutfit must watch the lock picking lawyer.
Steve I'm AMAZED you quoted Jesus that's awesome that's why I bought my cam from you I sensed you had a good heart.
I love that you show us this stuff, Steve. I've been in the engine building industry my whole life but never on your level. You share secrets, build tips, failures, and everything in between. Such a learning experience for me. I guess two ways to look at this failure. #1...maybe a metallurgy issue with the rods. #2...they always teach you to build the motor to fail every cylinder at the same time, otherwise you are leaving power on the table. Cheers bro! Clearly a good tune up!
I agree, its either a metallurgy issue with the raw billet used for the rods or the anodizing process that weakened then
You have no experience bro by all the comment that you made, your whole life?
@@n.b.p.davenport7066 My whole working life and quite a few years prior working with my father at a young age. I'm surprised you were able to determine my level of experience based on my comment. Do you make it a habbit to troll others on the internet?
@@Sm0keyZeu5 anodising is a process that just treats the surface of the material. Doesn’t involve heating it up, much less heating and quenching that could cause it to become brittle.
I could very well be wrong, I don’t know what, if any, treatments that where done to the rods.
But seeing all the shattered bits in the oil pan while most all the pistons were still up in the bores, it seriously looks like the rods were made of a "hypereutectic” grade of aluminium.
Shattered like ceramic aside from a few large pieces. Crazy.
Absolutely thanks
Holy smokes that is wild!
When he says “If you can’t afford to fix something like this, don’t build it”
I can appreciate that. That’s why I have cheap junk that’s around 1100hp and goes 8s. Built for next to nothing. If it breaks. It’s whatever. It’ll hurt. I won’t be happy about it. But I can throw another budget engine in it and go back to throwing 32psi at it 😂
I wish more people followed this philosophy in motor sports. People throw their whole budget on a build without factoring anything going wrong. I’ve seen so many people come out drag racing or drifting with a new build, something breaks, and they can’t afford to fix it so it sits in the garage and eventually gets sold off.
@DaveCaresForYou takes a lot of boost to make a small block go fast with stock heads in the Rocky Mountains lol
To kinda expand on that - if you can't build the whole car right, don't build it.
Seen too many cases where people focus on the engine and when the transmission or rear end fails, they can't fix what they should have done right in the first place.
Budget builds are great and you learn a ton. Wish I had homies near me that I could help with builds, I have a thirst for knowledge.
@@gordowg1wg145 Yeah, auto racing isn't really a place food-stampers should be hanging out at!! Maybe peddle bikes or skateboards might be a better choice?
This video is absolutely awesome and Steve is a fucking treasure.
They're out here on the edge of what's possible with materials and engineering, and Steve recognizes that and is happy to find out problems and just keep pushing. Stuff like this wasn't possible 20 years ago, and that's due in no small part to Steve and people like him.
Keep up the fantastic work Steve and crew!
STEVE IS A NATIONAL TREASURE
@@patrick111390 Dude, get your priorities straight. It's not as important as you think it is.
@@canlib You jealous bro? You sound jealous.
you couldn't be more right
A living legend for sure
Steve. I have a very, very high degree of respect for you sir! You are an amazing engine builder, father, friend and business man. I am 74 and have been building engines/racing since 1967. I can truly say that I have "never" met a person like yourself. I have had carnage in my days but never on that level. Please continue being the Steve Morris we all know and appreciate.
Steve Morris you are a awesome guy!! Your character speaks volumes about the type and kind of man you are… thanks for sharing!!! Keep being you brother!!
Damn Steve after watching the whole video I just figured out I really like you! I don’t know you but I think you are a decent stand up guy with a great outlook on life. We can all learn a few things from you and not just about engines. 👍🏻
Exactly what I just said after seeing how Steve reacted to this whole scenario. He could've easily trashed the company that supplied the rods but he chose to take the high road. That's great, good to see there's still some decent people out there. 👍
Amen!
When you went to the Bible at 27:50 I understood how you are so patient and calm about this situation. Being a mechanic nearly all of my life I've seen many weird, strange things happen. But never anything at this level.
I dont think being religious has much to do with being calm... It's the exact opposite in my community.
You're a great role model Steve. Thanks for keeping your attitude positive and preaching the good news!
Jesus is the only peace , Steve is a Blessed man and he knows it , God bless you Brother
Steve... You are one HELL of a standup guy! I say that because you're an elite engine builder, where your bread and butter is living the American Dream, doing what you're talented at, and capitalizing on it as a small business. You didn't have to share this video with anyone. Yes your car broke while at the track, and mention of it may have made it's way around, but you didn't have to share this and elude to any carnage this mule motor suffered, but you did.. And I hope everyone watching understands that you're not putting this out there to say that theirs anything flawed with what you've built for others... You're putting it out there to educate, but more so to show the community that you're a hardcore veteran (and that puts it lightly), who's able to know just how far his work can hold up before any potential issues because you're committed to R & D.
Well said said sir.
With all 8 rods disintegrating, makes me think that something in the process when they were made wasn't correct. A dry sump has a major safety benefit in a situation like this! So glad that you and the wagon are ok! Thanks Steve for all you do, I've learned alot from you and your videos. God bless brother!
See the vid
buemi's formula 1 suspension explodes
Aug 24, 2010 Bingov Brat
You know Steve you could have not said one word or not video it……. But you did…….shows you have nothing to hide……much appreciated your honesty…….👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Steve being as real and as salt of the earth as it gets. You're a good man for sticking up for your supplier. No rant, no crapping on anyone. It's racing and stuff happens. 100% agree with your assessment, it's the raw material. I'm buying a sticker to go with my tee that didn't have a piston in the package.....
im just in awe of how 8 rods can say later , and the crank still spins . parts failure is common but this is just one of those that is just hard to understand . thank you for sharing
John,, you're very obviously correct when you say inertia,, the crank shaft had the inertia to literally RIP the rods off the pistons. Yep,, inertia was among the players leading to that carnage fo sho.
Even better is how does the crank still look like new on 3 of those rod journals. Only one looks like it took damage. Crazy!!
I swear his other video before this. He said he’s using some rods he never used before.
@@justingeturgun yup, cause he had to clearance the rod at the piston dowel to clear the crankshaft. I doubt that had anything to with the failure of the rods, but obviously they weren't up to the task of having 2500+ horse torques, or the injectors hung open and hydroed the cylinders.
@@paulcrocker4553 yea that’s some metallurgy problem. Like how do they all fail at the same time… They all failed at the wrist pin U can see the shear
Kudos to you for your great demeanor. You set a fine example to those who look up to you.
27:46 Amen Brother! Stuff happens and you're a role model for dealing with it. Love the channel and all the fine work you do!
Bad metallurgy... The aluminum provider needs to do some explaining. 🤔
So honest and real. Transparency on your UA-cam videos is what people will respect you for
First thing I thought as soon as I saw the first connecting rod was “hey, weren’t those from a new rod vendor?”. Sounds like he’s working well with you and I hope he can get his material sourcing sorted out. Thanks for taking us along for the ride
👍
Yep, pretty sure those were the rods that came from the new guy. Definittely a QC problem somewhere in the process.
@@iknklst The fact that they all failed at once like that doesn't point at a QC problem so much as an application or design problem. Might be great rods, just not good for 4k HP and 8500RPM for any length of time.
@@bradley3549 My bet is on the rods beg made from mis-graded alloy.
@@bradley3549 and 45 psi of boost on top of the RPM.
As a fellow engine builder, and a former resident of Muskegon it's really nice to see how much your shop has grown over the years. Keep it up man. Love the content.
You're so right.
If you cant afford to blow it up, lose it, etc, you should not bring it to the battle.
I have had similar failures on aircraft parts in 7075-T73. After the analysis it was determined the anodizing caused the failure to micro corrosion. Have the certs pulled from the anodizer. I really appreciate the way you are handling this!! You would be a great customer!
Yeah anodizing makes it brittle i think
I saw the 2 tone anno rods and been waiting for this video 😀
@@robotekusa Yea......sure you did!!!!
hard to believe you get it brittle thoughout the piece, the rods are not exactly thin.
@@wiedehopf9068 at the stress levels these are under it doesn’t need to be all the way through the material. Imperfections at the surface can start a micro fracture which makes an easy start point for bigger fractures. It all escalates pretty fast from there.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was a treatment issue rather than a straight up material issue. The analysis is expensive but would be worth it.
I’ve seen windowed blocks before. I’ve never seen every rod disintegrate inside the engine before. Glad you’re safe to race another day!
Wow! 😳😳😳😳😳
Parties over "Everyone Out"! And I mean NOW!
Looks like Rodney and Frank the Crank had a fight and parted ways!
LOVE this content Steve!
Honesty, Integrity, Humility, with a healthy side of Gobsmacked.
If you aren't breaking stuff you aren't racing hard enough. You and your incredible parts suppliers will learn from this and apply that knowledge to make it better and faster.
You can make a snow globe with the shrapnel.
I love the Sno-Globe idea!
I built and worked on engines for almost 35 years and I never saw a failure like this ever . my only question is when did they start making rods out of explodium it looks like one rod failed and took the rest of them out for a beer .
That'd make a good T shirt Explodium Rods, pieces available everywhere!
Well, if one goes, what’s the point in the other 7 hanging around staring at each other like a sausage fest ya know! When the hot looking girl walks out the front door of the bar by herself, you always see all the guys in the house chasing after her! Same story here man, lol
That is a good term to use tho, Explodium!! Steve owes you a set of heads for that one, lol
Lol
Explodium, is a new raw material and also used in batteries. Funny comment 😂
@@camneilsen8234 you make the shirt and I'll buy one,
You're a good man Steve I love the attitude "stuff happens" hopefully after you get it all figured out you'll lets us know what happened and looking forward to the rebuild video.
I thought you said it was more of that, ‘Junk Happens!’
₩
Your attitude and outlook on this whole catastrophic failure has earned my like and follow! Not that I’m anyone, but from one man to another you helped redirect some of my negative thoughts when I’ve dealt with things in racing bikes and now as I start to build a drag truck. Kudos sir keep that positive vibe flowing!
I have heard of "grenading" an engine before and seen many failures. however this is the first and maybe only time I have seen or ever will see what can truly be described as "grenading"
thank you Steve, you are a modern day legend! i am very grateful for your content!!!
I've seen some blown engines. This was absolutely the most beautiful extreme failure I've ever seen in person or on the internet. Also way to use this scenario as a teaching moment for your viewers and customers. I'll definitely be curious to see how you fix this!
Connecting rods have left the chat!! Absolutely incredible destruction, kept looking to see if any of the rod journals of the crank had a rod on them before you got the pan off. Huge amounts of respect with how great of an attitude you are handling this with especially the last 5 minutes of the video. Hats off to you sir.
@Alex Good, Yes , the rod journals Do look decent and it appears that there was no bearing failure.... But the real issue was caused by repetitive use of those aluminum rods... They fatigue rather quickly... That pile of aluminum chips at the bottom of the pan was the smoking gun of what really happened..... Those rods, all of them, broke like a glass being dropped on the concrete.... That's metal fatigue... The dark grey color of the jagged chips of chrystalised aluminum indicates that these rods are strictly for temporary use, especially when they are being loaded at the levels they are, and at extreme rpm's .... Only forged steel rods should be used in applications like this... He should also have that $5k crankshaft magna-fluxed.... Just to be sure... An extremely expensive hobby this is... Wow...
Why do I like and respect Steve Morris...... Character and Integrity! Thank you for leading by example, Steve!!!
Wow. Great testament to the importance of having a drip/catch pan!
I'm with you. It's more amazing and curious that they all broke at the same time than the fact your engine broke.
Yes to the importance of having a drip/catch pan but more so a dry sump system where minimal oil is in the pan at any given time. If it had a wet sump and this happened, it would've been really bad at the speed he was going when the rods let go
@@1973406 hadn’t considered the dry sump role in keeping oil off the track, but makes sense that it also helped.
@@1973406 I live if a low-hp SBC world w/o dry sumps, so I didn't even think about the dry sump. So that helped too. 👍
Hi Steve, looking at that grain structure of the shattered pieces I agree with you on them being way too brittle. Hard luck bro, thanks for sharing and we’ll be looking forward to your next move.
This is when you realize how important that drip pan is. Wow. Couldn’t imagine all that under the tires at that speed.
Engine diapers are an amazing invention and really should be required in more classes.
No kidding
This should be the top comment!
tracks could be encouraged to make them a requirement on the extra bonus of less chance of spill/damage (the dents) on the track
@@masonlittle2089 they should be, and many NHRA classes and outlaw classes already require them
Somewhere near 16:00 ... the views of the oil pan ... that truly is the definition of Grenading an Engine!
Well Done!
The harmonics that go on in an engine at 8500 rpm are hard to fathom.
Crazy respect for your over the top professional attitude. What a legend.
My thoughts also harmonics!!!
Would be interested in adding a dozen accelerometers and knock sensors, and hi def analysis of the crank accelerations
Once again the man is just brilliant pure genius. 4000hp and turned those rods to dust absolutely insane carnage. Sucks to see but I'm sure he will figure it all out and crush his personal best. Can't wait to see next engine build and the disecting of this engine. Stay safe Steve Morris.
This were brand new rods that he had to relieve up near wrist pin!
Love the video. Like you said stuff happens. I like the fact that the rod manufacturer didn’t blame something, and that y’all will work together to figure out why. It’s so hard to tell, but seems like a material failure. Looking forward to the up dates as you fix the engine and work to figure out what caused it.
Customer states, " I think a rod done got broke?".
Fuuuuuuuu? What you have there Steve, is engine soup. A very, very rare recipe.
A little humour Steve but I do appreciate how you feel trying to understand why this happened. Also your attitude towards the maker of the rods, such generosity and consideration. I'm thankful that there are people like you. God bless brother.
Sorry to see this happen, Steve, but your outlook on problems such as this is really admirable. Keep up the amazing work!
What an unfortunate situation but I love the way you handle stuff, we'd definitely all be better off if everyone adhered to God's golden rule. You really have a fantastic channel going here and I'm always eager to see your content. Can't wait to see what's next and thanks for bringing us along.
Well done sharing your faith at a point where many of us would have been highly stressed and upset. You can tell a lot about a man based on how he reacts to difficult circumstances. Build-back-better. We'll see you back soon.
Just do a better job than J.B. 😆 😂
I totally enjoyed watching this video. What a great attitude you have Steve! Confucius says turn the rev limiter down 3.4 rpm and you will never have this problem again. More importantly, it is so nice to see that you are looking at the things to be thankful for in this disappointing situation.
Hey Steve, really appreciate the open/ honest insights and assessment of the carnage. Loving the content and much respect from Australian 👌
I think you and Tim McAmis are the best guys to listen to, appreciate the content and depth you go to Steve
McAmis is really smart but I personally don’t care for his (typical racer) foul language. That’s one thing I really admire about Steve.
@@danmyers9372
Being a typical racer, I sorta like Tim's foul language..makes a feller feel at home & stuff..
😅
You know what is really amazing though? the block, pan and tray contained everything therefore no oil under the tires and stayed off the wall. Testament to the strength and design of the engine and car. 8 rods eject in one go, stunning.
Bin around this stuff 60years have NEVER seen a blow up this bad. Your a good man.
That's pretty cool of you to have the outlook you have about the situation. Most people wouldn't be big enough to do so. Much respect.
Much Respect ! Sad to see these results , like you said it's racing , stuff breaks , hopefully we can offset some of the cost buying some merch and keep this channel alive and grow ! Glad no one got hurt !
Steve, thanks for sharing all this with us, and even more, for showing us what it is to be a good person.
Great attitude. The Rod‘s are the number one high stressed part of your engine. it would be interesting to do a metal analysis and see if there’s any issues there but this is racing. Great video
Not trying to arm chair quarterback, but I would look into sending the rod parts to a testing company. Find out if the material had an incorrect heat treat or some other material processes. It may have occurred before the rod company began machining… in the raw billet stage. I do NDE UT/PAUT/Eddy Current. Billet material should be accompanied by a lot number.
Didn't he put a different rod than normal in that motor? Thought I remember him saying that in an earlier video.
I believe he did, some new company and was grinding on them to clearance them on the small end.
Could be a heat cycle issue that made the material brittle after a certain number of cycles. I’m sure he and the supplier will figure it out. It will make both of them better able to supply their customers with better parts.
Steve did mill the rods to fit the piston’s and crankshaft… at this point it’s going to be difficult to blame anyone unless it’s approved to take material out of the rods
@@93_LXcpe he did, and he modified them, this sucks by any means, but I already thought about the reliability when he had to modify the rods to fit the engine
A complete rod failure, I've never seen that before! It's so cool to see how you're taking this, you have a great outlook, and seem like such a cool person! I hope I get the chance to meet you , and shake your hand!
Much respect Steve. You are one of my favorite UA-camrs. Humble and love big power!
Understatement of the year, "this is a failure!" OH for an internal slow mo view! Seen hundreds of blown motors but none that shucked all 8 rods without pushing the crank out! Heck, even if you happen to run over your crankshaft there's usually a couple rods standing on it to flip you the bird!
Steve thank you for being a real man about this. You said it so well if you don't have the time and money for it don't do it. Thanks for being up front with us. Sorry to see it tho. Glad it did not get under the tire.
Now we know why everyone doesn't treat their nice stuff like crap if they can't afford or want to have to fix it. Respect.
I think the exact same thing about riding a motorbike, unless you are prepared to die on it, don't ride it. It's not rocket science. As Forrest Gump says It Happens.
The most professional guy in the business hands down! So much respect for how you addressed this situation, with such an easy obvious opportunity to blame it on the new connecting rod supplier / Steve takes the high road & I’m assuming is marking it up as a trial & error - we’ll see a rod proven in 4K+HP setups next go round I betcha..
Simply mind-blowing event!!!
You handled this event in a way that very few others could. I'm sure your still trying to get your head around what the hell happened. You have my utmost respect for your ability to stay calm, maybe your still in shock like soany viewers.
Best of luck in the future and thanks for the honest videos.
I love your honesty & great attitude & strong faith, even in a crisis. Honor to subscribe.
There's easier and cheaper ways to put swag in boxes for us all.....😂😂
😄😄
🤣🤣
Dude funniest comment ever!!! Although that's a lot of pieces to give out tho!!😄😄
You win for today lol that’s funny
The way he was looking at all the parts was the same way I looked trying to explain why I’m breaking up with my girlfriend!!!
Steve,
I want to say something profound...
Really profound
You sir, are a real gentleman. A stand up guy of note.
My respect for you has gone through the roof today.
I cannot express my respect in the way you have handled yourself.
Shock and awe at the destruction, but not once have you behaved badly or used foul language, or threw blame and accusations.
I can truly say that whatever your Christian convictions, today you showed you believe and live them.
You are a good guy and have proven the good guys are out there.
Respect.
Keep on keeping on
Heads up
Eyes open
No fear
thanks
Thank you for sharing this Steve! Let's all just be happy that everbody is ok and nobody got hurt.
Wow! Thanks for going through and showing us all the carnage. It was amazing. Never seen rods do that before either. Look forward to hearing the results of the investigation. Really good video. Thank again!
Man! Holy shit do I feel for you. Way to keep your cool about the situation. All logic points to the material the rods were made of. Thank you for the tear down, and walking us through your thought process. Best of luck, get her back on the track. New shirt and hat order going in A$AP! Lol
The fact you are so blown away from the carnage, your reaction has me in stitches. You well and truly found the limit of that rod set.
Man your a humble person. I almost think I can hear the frustration attempting to come out when your discussing everything near the end of the video, but I also hear you keeping calm and not allowing it too make things worse then they are. .
Thanks for sharing Steve. Good example of a cold failure. Great to hear you will be able work with your rod guy, and check the spec on the rod and bolt material, and build it better. P.S. I am not religious, but agree whole heartedly that the 'Golden Rule'... 'covers everything'. ;)
I've seen that before with heat treated billet rods, not vacuum heat treated bullet rods. They literally shatter under heavy loads.
Had it happen with a big Ford motor. G. This was in 2003'ish. R. It wasn't that bad, only took out 4 and 8. P. The company came to the same conclusion, a bad batch of material.
They had to machine a chamfer on the rods to get them to miss the block .
The rods was also anodised
Yes I seen that. That little bit would not have changed heat treatment.
I always have anything of a motor parts that are aluminum vacuum heat treatment. It helps.
That is insane! 8 rods left the building in the blink of an eye. It almost seems like an alloy issue. I am not any more then a shade trailer mechanic but I have some knowledge and I am thoroughly impressed by that level or destruction. Love this channel and all that you do SM!
It's great listening to the total disbelief as you continue discovering more and more. That thing is SO blowed up, I think it suffered deep EMOTIONAL DAMAGE TOO!
Whelp - yup. There it is! I'm grateful to see you taking it in stride, and appriciating the fact that, you don't HAVE to spend a lot of hard-earned money to vet this thing back to the track, ypu GET to spend a bunch of hard earned money to get it baxk to the track. Good on ya, Steve! Gratitude is it's own reward - and being able to show that to others is priceless. Rock on, Steve! 💪👍🏁
Heartbreaking to see so much carnage! Thank you for showing it all, you are a true blue honest guy. It's incredible that all eight rods apparently fragged at the same time. Consistent to the end? Anxious to see how the heads fared...
Thanks for the Video. I appreciate you showing what happened. I was amazed to see the crank without a rod on it. That has to be the first time I have ever seen that. I also appreciate your response about the rods, it would be easy to point fingers, but it takes a stand up guy to realize stuff happens. It’s part of the game when your pushing the limits of the materials your working with. Big Fan. Thanks
I can only imagine the stress and pressure inside of something like that!
I really appreciate how you are taking all of this, to be honest.
Hopefully this will all help with tweaking some things here and there...hardening/temper on the rods or whatever it happens to be.
Yep. Bad batch of rods. The problem now is finding any others...before they find their way out..!
The way the rods look like they just shattered like glass would lead me to believe it's a material or heat treatment issue. I don't really know much about what material is used for billet connecting rods, but I would tend to think it should be more tough than brittle.
Edit: Guess I should have finished watching the video before commenting. lol
I was going to say the same thing until I read your comment, decided to wait lol
Can we just applaud Steve's restraint with the amount of Fucks he could have said, that I said out loud while watching this... lol
Much Respect for your cool outlook on this expensive disaster. I raced in the 60's and 70's on the street and fact is when you are pushing your equipment to the max sh** happens. Glad you didn't wreck nor get injured.
With the proper metallurgy, you would expect to see more ductile failures. It was very surprising with that carnage, you would not expect to see all the big ends off the crank throws and 0 pistons shattered in the pan. I don’t think I saw a single bent piece including rod bolts. Tensile strength of those rods could not have been correct
totally agree
Best bet is to get it tested
Exactly
+1
Yeah I thought something must have been up with the rods as well when he discovered all 8 were off, I vaguely recall him saying he was trying a new type of rod with this recent rebuild too.
@@Mrx1080 Yes new supplier. Would love to hear that conversation.
I'm definitely amazed to see a full evaluation of the connecting rods. I know I'd be devastated seeing that in my motor I'm building, but love how humble he is and continues on. And wonder if he's gonna put some of the connecting rods in orders.
Looks like Steve pulled the connecting rod delete lever !
The definition of catastrophic failure... your absolutely right after the shock, disappointment, all you can do it admire the destruction.. learn from it and rebuild.. wish the best and be well.
Yep, I've seen a rod or two tossed out the pan before, but every single one, turned to dust? I'll hand it to ya... when you destroy something, you really destroy it!!! LOL!!
Damn Steve, I really, really appreciate your point of view on this. Wish other people acted and felt the same way. It's racing, and shit happens. There's a young man out there right now that could learn a lot from you!!.. maybe even a few young men!!
Steve, I really enjoy how you share your vast knowledge with us in many of the videos you post. This eight rod "exodus" had to have been a material flaw just as you suspected. But I especially appreciated how you remained professional about this entire situation, even to the point of defending the connecting rod supplier. All I can say is, "Well done good and faithful servant" Nice job Steve, you've earned much respect from me for this. I hope I am blessed to visit your shop and meet you one day.
Signed, Bob from Maine
Steve, this is one of my favorite channels now due to your humility and technical knowledge. How do you know when to scrap the block and start over or if the block (and other parts) is salvageable after a catastrophic failure?
Wow, I am just as lost for words as you are. Complete devastation and totally rare to have all 8 rods go at the same time. 8500 rpm and 4000 hp, 40 pounds of boost may require a rod made from a material off an alien planet……
Love your work Steve.
Cheers Cammy 🇦🇺
Wow, I have never seen an engine break so many rods at one time. Will be very interested to see your forensic investigation into the cause of this massive failure. Not sure many of us truly understand (I sure don’t) the extreme load on the drivetrain of a huge (heavy) car like yours putting thousands of horse pressures down through those huge slicks. The forces involved are just off the chart.
I'm thinking the very same. IF ANYON can come to a valid conclusion it will be Steve Morris. No one need make suggestions,, Steve will go through the motor inspecting every piece carefully. Rest assured, with the wealth of knowledge this man has in his head he'll find the reason and it may not be what many of us would suspect. My first thought was con rod failure BUT,, I didn't say it. I'm just sitting back waiting for the next video Steve uploads once he's come to a conclusion. As he said, THAT WAS A GRENADED ENGINE on a much scaled down level of a hydrogen bomb. Let's all wait and see what Steve finds. A final thought,, we can feel Steve's pain,, the untold hours, the MEGA COST, time loss from the race track. This explosion is/was devastating yet Steve is cool, calm and collected. This guy is AWESOME. I as is the case for most of us,, wouldn't be so calm I guarantee.
Blame can only go so far mate, Steve chose them rods, he installed them, clearanced them, and raced it all himself…. The rod builder cant control ALL those paremetres once he sold them… hes only responsible to a degree, the rest is on Steve or any “purchaser” you cant blame them for things you’ve done yourself
the force those rods were enduring was impressive for all the reasons given, but for whatever reason, since all eight failed, it would seem they were the weak link. Could just be a bad batch of billet used to make them, or slightly light on the design (when making boosted 4k HP to push a full-size woody wagon down the track for a new PB) but that's all a part of R & D: break it, build it better, repeat. Good time to re-engineer the rods & the issues with the piston pin placement from before.
@@jeepnutscotty he did say when he put them in that the rods are from a new manufacturer with a new manufacturing process, so it could also be a manufacturing defect.
@@pieflies "New manufacturing process" wonder if it is a hot isostatic press of powdered metal?... to me that would lead credence to the break up. Much like a frangible projectile... I would have to opine that the process quality control is very good, as the scatter in yield strength was almost nil. Then one rod lets loose, it sends a pulse/harmonic down the crank, and all the others disintegrate. When looking at the parts, the parting lines do not look to have pulling or tears, but mostly fractures on a sand like structure. This is a failure for the textbooks.
Love how you don’t blame this on anyone. After years of engine building and off road racing, high hp mountain snowmobiles, sand dunes with high Hp sand cars, jetski racing, etc, etc most people want to blame someone. And I love the comment, if you can’t afford to fix it, you shouldn’t be doing it. In these sports you can absolutely plan on this happening at one time or another. All you can do is try and find out why and and come up with a solution so it doesn’t happen again. However, chances are it will happen again and round and round we go. And I would bet, if your rod manufacture does find an issue, he will be straight up with you and although yes this sucks bad, he should almost be “happy” (you know what I mean) it happened so they can find a solution and this is happening over and over again. I would hope if there was an issue with my carbon fiber parts someone would find them early so we can get it resolved and made correct asap. Good luck and keep up the good work. Waiting to hear from you on the carbon fiber hood parts.
My first thought, other than "dang thats impressive", was seeing all the rods broken just below the wrist pin suggests you found the fatigue life or RPM limit for the rods. The fact it let go at 8500rpms = spin cycle of carnage. Apart from the financial kick in the nuts, just chalk this one up as some real world R&D, then come up with a new improved rods design and go even faster!
The consistency between parts is impressive, assuming it turns out they all let go at the same time without interference from other parts.
I agree with it being a combination of fatigue and high RPM.
I'd really like to know what alloy that was? I'm guessing 7071 but i know nothing about heat treating aluminum!!!!
@@8180634 I wonder if there was some secondary vibration involved given the 8K+ rpm??
@@highpointsights The vendor claims "Proprietary alloy that is 35% higher in yield strength than standard performance alloys" - so clear as mud.
When your drip pan has dents in it, that can't be good. Lol! 🤣
Those rods were just so excited to get out and have some time to themselves.
Steve thanks for sharing! if you have a good engineering collage near by with a materials science department, give the wantabe engineers something to do.... I'm sure that you and the rod guy would really like some info on why this happened. i've seen 3 1/2 rods missing but never all 8.
Win like a man lose like a man! You want an honest engine builder here it is. Shows you the great and awful sides of his engines!
Amazing failure - how lucky for you that that was the limit of the damage (could have been way way worse). I hope the connecting rod guy knows who else bought rods from this batch...
My thoughts too.....they just all turned to dust ...someone grabbed the LEGO aluminum by mistake lol
Your immediate guess drive shaft failure was really good. When it comes to engine fails having no connecting rods anymore is pretty much the same.
Every single rod broken is insane
I would definitely let your customers know if those rods are in their engines
That was my first thought.
This was a brand new rod never used before,this is the first and only engine they’ve been used in.
Wow. That's some impressive damage! Thank you for taking us along on this ride and your willingness to share everything.
But I really do feel that a knock knock joke was missed on this one.
You and the manufacturer need to get the remaining pieces metallurgically tested to see if the allow matched the invoice. I doubt his material came with certs, but if it did, he can come back on the metal supplier and recall that batch of rods.