Was out tonight, typical Saturday night, on the way out, i was playing with an RX8, i was in fourth gear about 5000rpm, i heard a strange noise for a very short time, 1-2 secs, then the engine died. I pulled off, opened the hood, checked as many things as i could, there is no oil anywhere or under the car, the oil in the dipstick is clean and the level is ok, the antifreeze tank is clean and the level is ok, also no spark plugs stripped, i had no error codes, and i had absolutely no signs that sth could go bad, the car felt very good and strong. The belt is fine. A few minutes later, i tried to start it, the starter motor works ok, but the engine won't start. The only thing i didn't like was that there was evaporated oil coming off the intake, like white smoke, also from the dipstick and from the oil cap. Tomorrow morning i'll take off the spark plugs. Any ideas what has possibly gone wrong?

A few details. The engine is not stock, oil used Castrol Edge Sport 0W-40, oil changes every 10.000km (about 7k miles), rev limiter 7350! I didn't ever had any problems with the engine.

 

White smoke....might be coolant, but it sounds like you are experienced enough to know the difference!! The worrisome part the "strange noise", followed by engine stoppage...(was it metallic screech, or just a whirr or buzz??)...and the fact you have a 7350 red line.....hope you didn't spin a bearing previously...and just now broke something internally....from oils starvation/stress/wear. Maybe you will get lucky and find out it is an ignition problem, maybe a timing chain....or something...Over my head I'll admit.....But I remember seeing your posts and I feel for ya....sounds like a good car. Good Luck!!

 

good luck nick! Let us know what's the problem

 

White Smoke normally means a head gasket, but that would not normally make the engine stop, odd that no codes were thrown

 

I will upload photos of the spark plugs in a few minutes... they are pretty dissapointing...

 

Any feedback welcome...

 

Looks like a broken valve or a ring broke off in that cylinder :(

 

We'll see when the mechanic will open the engine in the workshop, i really don't know

 

Sorry , wish you were closer I would help you tear it down, good luck keep us informed

 

Really thanks mate, i'll keep you informed with as many pics as i can

 

OUCH....then again....it is an excuse to do more mods to the engine! Mixed blessing if you have the Money I guess. There is a silver lining to everything if you have the right attitude!
Hopefully most of the internals are OK....I'll be watching. Keep smiling, and know it will bet better than ever when fixed!!

 

I wouldn't be very sad if i had a second car to do my everyday jobs, this is my main problem.
I already have a Cooper S engine block, crank and rods, i am just waiting to open the engine and see, then i'll order a set of high compression pistons and build a stronger engine, in theory...

 

The spark plug in cylinder 1 severely damaged :

 

That's not going to be a cheap fix. We just put a motor in a car that had a broken piston.

 

This is also a very good option, and maybe the cheaper. I haven't decided yet what i'll do, really. On one hand i want to build an engine with the R53 block (for the oil squirters), and the stronger rods the R53 has, on the other hand, i am taking a risk again.

 

We couldn't believe in our eyes when we removed the cylinder head with my mechanic...

 

O U C H !!!!!

 

And a few more..

 

Sorry to see this... I had a similar catastrophic failure in a built motor (Non-MINI) many years ago due to an oil pump issue.
From your pic of the #1 combustion chamber it looks like both the exhaust valves broke in different places & the stems are still in stuck in the guides. Check the entire valve train, especially the cam caps & journals for galling/overheating & make sure the cam still turns freely in the head. Your mechanic can also put the cam in a lathe or some V-blocks & check the run-out to make sure it's OK.
Once he gets the bottom end torn down he can check the rod & main bearings etc for signs of lubrication and/or overheating issues.

To get back on the road quickly, can you use Cooper pistons/rods with the S block & crank? Sourcing one OEM piston & rod might be quicker than waiting for a custom piston set. If the S rods can't be used, Cooper rods can always be cracked tested & stress relieved to improve them for not much money. A good machine shop can do this & balance the whole bottom end as an assembly.
You might be able to get additional feedback posting on Motoring Alliance & Mini-Torque. Good luck, let us know how it goes & get the A/F ratio checked after the rebuild!

 

OMG!
Did You have a wideaband lambda ora an EGT???
Does your mechanic think it was due to a lean a/f or it was just something that broke down?

 

Thanks for your help guys, the photos are taken from my mobile phone and are not very clear, i'll take better shots soon with my camera. I don't have egt or a widebang sensor, by the look it seems that the combustion is ok, there are no signs of detonation on the pistons or the head, or on the spark plugs, on the rest of the cylinders, but you never know. My mechanic thinks sth broke down and caused the damage, possibly because of the rev limiter. (7300)
FlyinScotchman, i will check everything you said, to see if it had proper lubrication. The stems are trully still in the valve guides, and they broke in different points. I don't have a clue yet about the block, because it is still on the car and assembled.
Someone mentioned in another thread, that the Cooper S rods are shorter, i will check that. About the Cooper pistons and rod, i don't know how safe it is to use them again and rev high.

 

life is a risk that you won't wake up the next day

 

yes, it may have been a too high rev limiter:here in italy tuners use different valve spings and valves to go over 7000 rpm...
Good luck nick!