Yeah that crossed my mind but as you can see from the pic it would take a bucket of bolts to do that to both heads......and I'm careful about not dropping stuff down intakes, won't say it can't happen to me but again the pic says this was no nuts dropped in
I was very tired, still am and felt so bad for my son, lack of sleep makes things seem far worse, however I do appreciate all the encouraging words, thanks all....I'm off to ship some parts to a fellow and then gonna pull the motor rest of the way out......talk with ya'll later
Sounds like either the crank key or camshaft pin has sheared. Offset key ways are weak and prone to failure.
I wish I was closer to you,I have some parts & would assemble it for you for nothing.Sometimes over looking the simplest things can be catastrophic,it takes time & a lot of patience as everything has to be checked & rechecked through the entire build.DON`T give up & GOOD LUCK TO YOU.
First time out with my motor I threw a push rod. Found it in the back of the intake. Bent three others and blew a lifter. Kinda sucked cause I had just got the car running, and it sat for like 3 weeks cause I didn't have the money to fix it. Wish I was closer I'd help you guys work on it. Echo what everyone else said. As bad as I've gotten frustrated with things breaking at times I realize what a unique car I have in the grand scheme of things. Kinda keeps me from totally giving up I guess. Big time important, don't burn yourself out on it. Take breaks when you start getting overly frustrated. Something I had to learn the hard way....
This is the only thing that seems plausible, when I went to remove it I didn't pay attention to how tight it was I was in a hurry to get it off to see what had happened but when we built the motor it was torqued proper with correct bolt/washer and Loc-tite
You know now that I'm thinking about it I read something the other day about timing being too advanced and firing before the piston reaches TDC, and that if it's too advanced it can force the piston back down with too much force and break a rod. If that happened is it not conceivable that when that happens it could lock the can and break that pin? Its just a thought. I may be way off. But it sounds like a possibility that could explain all of your damage. I'll look for the website. Vaguely remember what it was saying...
Sorry it's so long: Cracked Piston Detonation is the most likely cause of a cracked or broken piston. The hammer-like blows of detonation can literally beat a piston to death. The causes are similar to those that can burn a piston: a lean fuel mixture, over-advanced spark timing, a bad knock sensor, low octane fuel or anything that causes the engine to run hotter than normal. Loss of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a common cause of detonation (spark knock) because EGR has a cooling effect on combustion temperatures. Consequently, if the EGR system isn’t working, combustion temperatures may exceed the octane rating of the fuel causing the air/fuel mixture to ignite spontaneously before the spark plug fires. The knock sensor should detect the rattling noises produced by detonation and signal the PCM to back off spark timing. But if the knock sensor isn’t working, or the PCM fails to retard timing, detonation may continue unchecked and eventually damage the engine. Possible causes for loss of EGR include a bad EGR valve, loss of vacuum to the EGR valve (due to a leaky hose or EGR vacuum solenoid) or carbon buildup under the EGR that restricts exhaust flow back into the intake manifold. If you suspect an EGR problem, check the operation of the system and remove the EGR valve to inspect the intake manifold passageways for carbon buildup (clean as needed).
The other thing that can result in bolts backing out and other weird things like shearing keyways and dizzy gear pins is engine imbalance. I learned the hard way back in the 70's with an FE BBF. You won't necessarily feel it shaking. That is one of the reasons that I have every engine balanced since.
