Thread: Chipped pistons options

yes but the heat issue is reduced with an IC, and then the chances of that happening are much lower.

Originally Posted by Bio248

the cars do well unless doing long WOT runs, burnouts, etc.

be nice to the car and it will be good in return.

My ex's car received non of these and yet here I sit trying to find a solution.

Originally Posted by matt5112

yes but the heat issue is reduced with an IC, and then the chances of that happening are much lower.

True but in stock form i would think the car should be more then safe to drive, when driven normal(no WOT runs etc)

Originally Posted by blowfishRus6

that ring gap theroy seems very belivable. every chiped piston i have seen is in the same damn place, and if people have multiple chips, they all look the exact same.

detination is the preignition of the sprakplug or fuel in the cylender. if that uncontrolled burst of flame is chiping pistons, why do you never maybe see a crack down the center of the pistion, why is it not chiped in diffrent shapes, so forth.

i dont think the chips are coming from the actuall detination, or it could be the detination is putting alot of stress on the piston when it happens but it seems like it is the ring that is actualy breaking the piston.

the ring gap thing seems very likely and if that was resolved maybe they would not be as prone to chiping.

just my opion.

And too me it seems to be the best and most logical conclusion. If you run 93 octane,take it easy on the car and still chip pistons I feel that a there is something mechnically wrong with them. What is the ring gap settings for the L32? and then for the N/A version? I'm curious if GM specs different numbers????

Originally Posted by blowfishRus6

i couldent tell you the ring gaps, if you figure it out let me know!

I'm gonna look into it

While I have this motor apart what else should I look into replacing?
I plan on re-ringing,honing it,rod and main bearings.

head studs or new bolts?
what about the rod and main caps hardware?
GM gaskets,felpro,zzp?
180 T-stat?

The car will be up for sale most likely after it's up and running,so it won't get any mods. If my ex does keep it I'm debating about headers for piece of mind.

Originally Posted by Bio248

gm gaskets are fine, i used felpro on my car and they work fine as well. if you plan on taking the heads off again, invest now in some head studs. you dont need the thermostat if the car is going to be stock.

I figured I'd be running felpro's,I'm sure they are cheaper then GM. Also aren't the stock head bolts TTY? Scratch the T-stat then. Is there any other options for supercharger oil other then GM?

OK thanks guys. It's the little things that count the most.

Well here is the carnage.







With this being said....what is the difference besides the coating of the L67 and L32 pistons?

I know the L67 pistons aren't coated. What I'm asking is what is the physical if any difference? Basically can I run L67 pistons in my series III motor?

Like I've said in the past I don't think any 87 got into the tank. I've actually tried to trick my ex into this question and she would fire back 93 only! So, I really believe her that she didn't. It started with two plugs being smashed and I was unaware of what was causing it. So I put new plugs in and drove it,the car ran good but was getting poor mileage. During this time I started researching it and found out about the chipped pistons.

For the sake of others this thread or a new thread should be started about chipped pistons and stickied. Many people outside of the GP community have no idea this can happen or the signs to look for, I know I didn't.

Anyways so I told her the pistons are chipped and the motor will have to be pulled or we can try to ditch he car on a dealer(yes I know ****ty and wrong) Actually when the car first smashed the plugs I had a deal lined up for a honda accord and I passed on it thinking the car was worth more. Well a week later more pistons obviously chipped out on a test drive that dealer freaked out and offered me 2K. At this point I was pissed about what was going on under the hood and at my ex(big argument insued) I replaced the plugs and wires(new wires and the boots kept ripping off) but the damage was done it was running rough. I told her she needed to figure something out because I was stuck with a dead car and no means to haul our daughter around(insert argument from hell) She picked up the car the next morning,cranked the radio and drove off. She told me her BF found a wire off and it was running great...I told her the motor was toast and needed to be pulled. A week later she called and the car died on the freeway and was getting hauled to her place.

That's the truth,no racing,no mods,no 87( I'm 99% positive). This car when purchased had just over 100kmiles on it,purred like a kitten and got over 30+MPG on the freeway.It was owned by an old couple that traded it in for a caddy STS. I put pads,rotors,valve cover gaskets,fresh trans fluid/filter,plugs,wires and a fresh oil change in it the night I picked it up. The car ran flawlessly for over 6 months then started running rough.

I personally think heat did this car in. Thinking back the valve covers where warped from heat,thus the gasket change. When I pulled the motor the front bank manifold had white heat checking on it. I also noticed where every there was a chip in the piston it was at the ring gap. So I personally believe the ring gap,heat theories are spot on for this application. It really sucks it's a sweet kid hauler, I actually didn't mind it too much for an automatic Sorry for the epic story just wanted to get all the facts clear.

Originally Posted by Bio248

holy crap, a few of those pistons are pretty bad to be broken in more than one spot. what the hell did that car go through?

Originally Posted by shawngtp

WOW I have seen some bad things but this is crazy. What the hell would cause this? How many miles are on this engine? Was she running this thing at the track on 87? Were there any mods ?

One piston was destroyed the other 3 had chipping only. Also the front bank piston pins are really tight on the rods.