Matt Graham
Registered
Experts,
I run a 1400cc '07 Busa in a Radical SR3. At my last race I had the coolant hose come off and pump all of the coolant out of the motor. Ran about 2-3 minutes that way before the gauges started to show funny numbers and I parked the car.
I let the engine cool, filled it back up with water, and ran it for maybe 30 seconds in the pits. Everything seemed fine, but I wasn't convinced and pulled an oil sample from the dry sump tank. After letting the sample site for an hour or so I could see a little coolant at the bottom, so figured I had at very least roasted the head gasket and decided to pull the plug on my racing season.
I pulled the motor out of the car and pulled the head off. Using a straight edge I can clearly see the head is warped. It's also already been skimmed once, and can't be machined true anymore, so I'll need a new head (and gaskets, of course).
My question has to do with the main and rod bearings. Having had a bit (and it wasn't really all that much in the end) of coolant in the oil, and having heated up the engine pretty good, should I split the cases and replace the main bearings? Only about 6 hours on this engine so far, and everything I can inspect without splitting the cases looks brand new. This includes the one rod I can get to that I pulled the cap/bearing off and inspected. I'm trying to avoid opening up what is basically a new engine even further, but at the same time I want to avoid spinning a bearing or throwing a (not all that cheap carillo) rod out the side of the case.
Thanks in advance for any/all thoughts and opinions.
-Matt
I run a 1400cc '07 Busa in a Radical SR3. At my last race I had the coolant hose come off and pump all of the coolant out of the motor. Ran about 2-3 minutes that way before the gauges started to show funny numbers and I parked the car.
I let the engine cool, filled it back up with water, and ran it for maybe 30 seconds in the pits. Everything seemed fine, but I wasn't convinced and pulled an oil sample from the dry sump tank. After letting the sample site for an hour or so I could see a little coolant at the bottom, so figured I had at very least roasted the head gasket and decided to pull the plug on my racing season.
I pulled the motor out of the car and pulled the head off. Using a straight edge I can clearly see the head is warped. It's also already been skimmed once, and can't be machined true anymore, so I'll need a new head (and gaskets, of course).
My question has to do with the main and rod bearings. Having had a bit (and it wasn't really all that much in the end) of coolant in the oil, and having heated up the engine pretty good, should I split the cases and replace the main bearings? Only about 6 hours on this engine so far, and everything I can inspect without splitting the cases looks brand new. This includes the one rod I can get to that I pulled the cap/bearing off and inspected. I'm trying to avoid opening up what is basically a new engine even further, but at the same time I want to avoid spinning a bearing or throwing a (not all that cheap carillo) rod out the side of the case.
Thanks in advance for any/all thoughts and opinions.
-Matt