Engine Down Challenger 1800

[Jdmak13]

Just redid the top end of one of my engines this spring and got about 6 or 7 long doays out of it with no problems. The last time out I i went for a good 6 mile ride over to a local bar and back. got all the way back to the channel and i was slowing down when the engine made a mellow clunk clunk. Ok i thought it was the starter but i just removed it and it works fine. i took the head off and there were pieces of the rave valve sitting on top of the piston... the pistons move freely with no damage or marks at all on the top of the pistons but when i go to turn it over it gets stuck at certain points, i can get it to move past that point by working it back and forth but it will get stuck again. sound like its time to take the whole engine out? in the hole where the starter went there was some metal shavings but all the teeth are in tact. do you think a bearing went? a rod?

 

[Dr Honda]

Sounds like a hunk of piston, or RAVE is down in the lower half.

That engine has to come out, and be stripped down.

 

[Jdmak13]

Doc, if it is just a chunk of rave and everything else is good can the bearings and everything in the lower half just be flushed and put back together or will I most likely need a rebuild. i dont think it is the piston unless it is the skirt of the piston. The pistons show good burn pattern and the plugs were a good color. it must have shut down as soon as the rave valve came apart because there are no marks of any kind on the head or dome of the piston. im not sure why the rave would come apart like it did, totally eaten in half. i relived them before i installed them, probably even more than i needed so dont think a ring snaged it

 

[Dr Honda]

Cant say until it's opened up.

A rave valve can shatter, and fall into the engine... but more likely, the threads were damaged in the RAVE piston, and it fell out.

 

[Jdmak13]

wow it's like you are in my engines head, looks like that is exactly what happened. it's smooth inside the piston. Can you tell me what is going to happen next after i get this all fixed? so i can fix it before hand

 

[Jdmak13]

I put it up on craigslist to see if someone wanted to take it off my hands as is. someone offered me $3800, is this a reasonable price for what it is? The interior was all redone last year and the hull is in pretty good shape with little blisters here and there.