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Wanted to share some pics of my RCF short block replacement.
After a final engine oil consumption test, witnessed by Lexus, at 1 L of oil consumed after 1,000 km driven, the short block is being replaced under warranty.
Damn that took really long. I can't imagine how much of a hassle it's been getting to this point. Congrats on getting it replaced.
I just hope they're shipping the new parts from Japan as assembled as possible since I know too many techs in NA aren't as careful as they should/could be...
Wish you the best with the install. Just like everyone's noticing, the factory headers really make you want to replace them as soon as possible. Everything looks robust until we get to the headers.
First of all thank you all for the kind words. I'm glad a number of you appreciate all pictures of the rebuild as I do, even though it's hard to see my car in pieces.
Now to the fun part. Need some help and ideas from the forum community.
I am very concerned that I found the techs had taken the new short block and the old cylinder heads covered in grime and put them together. Why would they take the chance and contaminate the new part? I was told it would be cleaned up. Not sure how they can guarantee that some of this grime didn't make it's way into the combustion chamber. Now they assure me that all the intake valves are in the closed position so no grime would have fallen into the combustion chamber. I would think that while timing the engine they would need to rotate the crankshaft a number of times. Ok so maybe I'm overreacting with the grime found around the intake tracks.
However, this is where I am really concerned. Take a look at the picture that shows oily grime/grit/dirt/ sand on the INSIDE OF THE INTAKE TRACKS!!!!. I've been thinking about this and this can't be good. How did this grime get there? This is not grime that carelessly the techs put there during the rebuild. Something has gone wrong and allowed this grime to get into the intake tracks before the rebuild even happed. How is this possible?
Is this why my engine has been consuming oil? A good amount of this grime and grit has probably made it's way into the combustion chamber and compromised the cylinder walls/ pistons/ piston rings? This can't be good. The techs claim this will all be blown out at startup? I'm not so sure about that. I'm sure a good amount of the grime and grit will also compromise the new block. And what about the cylinder heads, especially the valves and valve seats that have been exposed to this grime and grit. Initally I told the warranty manager he should replace the whole engine minus ancillary bits (alternator, water pump, ac compressor, etc.) to avoid these kinds of issue. But I guess they want to save money on parts???
Now I'm not so sure I should accept this warranty work. What to you guys think am I overreacting or do I have a legitimate claim?
Here is a picture of the new short block:
Here is a picture of the new short block with the cylinder heads taken from my old block:
Here is the dirt and grime I found around the intake tracks:
Here is the oily dirt and grime I found on the inside of the intake tracks:
It is interesting that they don't do a long block. I would think they would be more comfortable having the engine assembled in a cleaner environment, plus having the heads torqued at the factory. When they used to warranty Viper motors where I used to work they would pull a complete motor and we would install a complete motor ( long block ). Crate one in and crate one out.
06-30-18, 08:11 AM
RCF Short Block Replacement
