Last winter I decided to freshen up the engine. It ran just fine but it burned a little more oil than I felt comfortable with, so I thought I would install some new piston rings, reseal everything and inspect the rest. What I found when I pulled off the oil pan changed that plan drastically. The oil pan contained three pea sized chunks of aluminum, a couple small pieces of top cover gasket, and lots of pieces of the original valve stem seals.
I would expect the valve stem seal pieces but not the rest. Upon complete disassembly and inspection it appears that the three oil drain back holes under the camshaft were plugged with casting flash, and someone drove the flash up into the crankcase with a punch from the oil pan side. It also appears that one piston may have been changed at one time and the edge of one lifter had been damaged enough that I could not get it out until I had the cases split.
My question is, if this work had been done at a shop why didn’t they take the oil pan off and clean out the pieces?
What makes it even stranger is that I asked all the previous owners if they had ever had any major work done to the engine. They all had the same answer, "The car always ran perfectly and there was never any major work done." Couple this with the fact that my dad worked at the local dealer and did the new vehicle service. He would have been the one who would have worked on the car, but he didn’t.
The only logical explanation is that this happened at the factory. Could this have happened there? Or is someone lying? We will never know.
Come on over to the 2012 convention and have some fun and see what CORSA has to offer! The car and I will be there and I have pictures so you can see and discuss the mystery!
Jamie Reinhart
CORSA President