Reply to "MME ENGINE FAILURE UPDATE"

I'm anxious to hear the results of Jesel's failure analysis. FWIW, these things don't just break. A bad batch of castings is a nice fantasy, but highly unlikely. I suspect there's an interference problem - valve spring coil bind, pushrod length too long, etc. - any of which would be the builder's responsibility as far as I'm concerned.

On the other hand, I've been thoroughly impressed with an engine builder in the LA area who has stood by his work when the engine he rebuilt lost oil pressure and failed within the first couple hundred miles, three consecutive times! Each time he tore it apart to analyze the cause of the problem and rebuilt it again at no additional cost. The owner of the car is a good friend of mine who said (IIRC) that he was only out the cost of the oil, filter, and intake/exhaust gaskets, and the effort to pull and replace the engine 4x after the initial build. That engine now has about 1,200 miles on it and all looks good. Kudo's to the builder for standing behind his work and supporting his customers!

Once the engine is done being broken-in and survives another 1,000 miles (within 1-2 months) I'm sure there will be a follow up post with all the gory details.