KABOOOM - Rod question

[Drifting Dane]

okay...I am now the owner of a blown up 5sfe in the rear of my car. i checked it out and there is a hole about 2 1/2 inches by 4 inches in my engine block. i was thinking that i must have broken a connecting rod and thrown it through the side of my block
i can look into this hole with a flashlight and see my crankshaft. I am doing a gen 3 3S swap in the spring (probably april - may) but need transportation at school until then. How hard is a connectin rod to replace? any advice on what to do? and what about the hole in my block- any way to fix that without buying a new block alltogether? Thanks guys

[MR2Jedi]

thats major rebuild and new block. just gotta disassemble and assess the damage. pistons, rings, crank scoring, cylinder wall scoring, all real possibilities. bummer

[MRQtwinturbo]

how did u blow your motor??...

[jackcannibal]

I'm guessing it was 6k rpm too many.

As for what to do...

Visit www.uneedapart.com It's a great site to locate some used stuff, including engines. That's gonna be yer cheapest way out. Find a used one and swap it. If you're gonna do a swap in the spring, it really wouldn't matter if the temporary replacement smokes and rattles a bit.

[karugs]

Before you undertake that I'd have the entire engine internals checked for damage from the pieces ricocheting inside. If I were you I'd get a used engine instead of trying to salvage that, unless you're pretty sure that the insides are OK.

[MRQtwinturbo]

to blow a hole in the side of the block...he would have had to have some serious detonation....one too many redlines wouldn't cause this...he'd have head problems if he did....my guess...is either too much nitrous...or his 5SFE is boosted.....

[Drifting Dane]

no nitrous and no boost... in all honesty i did drive it pretty hard. head problems might not be out of the question since i pulled off my throtle body (to clean it before my engine blew) because there was a WHOLE BUNCH of black crap caked around eveything... even inside the intake manifold as far as i can see (but not in my intake piping). I didnt know what to think so i cleaned it all off (as far into the intake manifold as i could reach) and after a few months of driving, it was still clean as a whistle. perhaps a problem the previous owner fixed, then neglected to clean?

[jackcannibal]

Nah, that's not uncommon. After you shut off the engine, the byproducts of combustion need to flow out. The easiest way for hot gas to escape is up...which means out the intake. Over time, you'll see a buildup of gunk. It's quite normal to need a cleaning every 30-50k miles, sometimes less, depending on the engine's condition and age.

I'd say you just drove the crap out of it. And too many redlines or too far past redline WILL throw a rod in any engine. There's only so much that little critter can take. Ususally, ping damages pistons before rods. However, I'm fairly new to the MR2 stuff, so don't take my word for it. I've been building a 240sx for a while and have just recently stepped into an MR2 Swap car (with stupid problems from the people who did the swap...flippin' idiots).

I'm interseted in hearing other people's input on this one. I know that it really doesn't matter at this point, but speculation as to the cause of the thrown rod would be a good thing.

[VVT-i Owns]

You want to repair an engine block with a hole that big in it?

Seriously dude, get a replacement engine. Or at least a different block.
GL!

[Pineapple]

Buy an used one cheap to boot around. See if any local has part car with running engine.