If we were talking about a couple bent pushrods or stuck valve, maybe some broken valve springs, there would have been no opposition to warranty work. But....there were too many failures going on. By the time I pulled the heads I guessed the engine was destroying itself. Add to that some denials, differences of opinion and outright poor logic proffered for some conditions, I opted to walk away.
Here's the current punch list. There are more items coming.
1. An intake manifold that detached from all head ports, enough to allow crankcase
oil invasion. When reinstalled, it detached from 6 head ports within 75 miles. When reinstalled the 3rd time it detached from 4 ports within 15 miles of driving. However, this intake had been mounted on my prior engine for 15,000 miles without exhibiting any issue of this type.
2. 18 heavily chafed pushrods (2 complete sets had been installed); the result of 7/16" diameter pushrods installed in an intake originally designed for 5/16" diameter pushrods. The pushrod tubes of the intake had not been modified to accommodate the larger pushrod. I was advised repeatedly that pushrod rubbing is ok and contributes to pushrod alignment.
3. 9 quarts of
oil consumed in 900 miles.
4. Measurable valve guide wear.
5. All 8 cylinder sleeves seated .005" - .0065" below the deck of the block. The head gaskets didn't show evidence of leakage, yet.
6. Severe compression ring wear. The resulting high crankcase pressure caused
oil belching from breathers and created other damage.
7. All bearings contaminated and impregnated with compression ring wear debris.
8. All piston skirts contaminated and impregnated with compression ring debris.
9. 85% of the oil-retention cylinder wall cross-hatching is scrubbed off in every cylinder. The cylinder walls are scuffed with vertical marks by the prematurely worn compression rings. However, in an attempt to rationalize my engine's wear, I was advised by the assembler that he inspected a circle track race engine in late September. That engine of reference had endured an entire season of track time. The circle track race engine's cross-hatch had worn off. I was advised my engine's loss of cross hatch during 903 miles of street driving should be of no concern.
10. The cam gear teeth exhibit .030"+ wear, all teeth.
Its been an education.