Genesis Block Failure

[Ghoughton]

It made a lot of power but not enough to do this!!
This is a 501” Genesis block built for sand drags in a bronco. Spent the summer ironing out issues.
But it only has five passes on it. 16:1, Blue Thunder MR heads raised to HR, sheet metal intake, dual 1180 SV1’s , solid roller, shifting at 8000. My first pass of the year exposed ignition issues, wouldn’t rev past 4000.
Swapped to an old Msd 7 the day before the next race, but didn’t have any rev limit pills. Decided to race anyway because I wasn’t planning on pushing it that hard. That was a mistake. Spit out the pinion on launch and went to 9000. Valve train kept up though, no bent valves or other issues.
Upgraded the rear end and was ready to race in time for Labor Day. This time made several solid passes. Ran fantastic, pulling to 8000 and turning great times even though in 2wd. After my last pass,
Oil pressure dropped considerably, so I decided to be satisfied with the performance and put it on the trailer.
I speculated that perhaps I hadn’t let my oil get warm enough before making passes and wiped the mains. However, when I pulled the engine down today, I found split main caps and cracks in the main saddles that run all the way up the cylinders. Engine makes an honest 850hp based on times.
Could detonation cause this much damage? I ran Sunoco 116 and crank trigger at 32 degrees.
I did find an air leak early on that would create a lean condition but it was never raced this way.
Thoughts please! I tried to attach pictures but I’m too stupid. I’ll see if I can figure that out

[SSdynosaur]

Sort of a known deficiency with Genesis blocks using the original cast main caps. You don't say whether you have billet main caps so pardon any implied assumptions. I have heard of racers dropping a cast cap on the floor during assembly and finding two pieces. Most users that I'm aware of switched their caps to Program Engr. or Genesis' own steel caps long ago. I believe that steel caps were factory installed on the last series prior to Genesis closing down.

[Ghoughton]

I had heard the same thing about the caps. I have what I believe are the second version of the cast iron caps. Much bulkier than the original, but not steel. I wasn’t completely surprised to find broken caps, but the cracks through the main saddles all the way up the cylinder walls, have me scratching my head

[SSdynosaur]

Once a cap cracks only catastrophic failure is in the future in an engine stressed to the levels you describe. I, personally, know of two SuperStock drag racers that suffered similar failures with Genesis blocks, one with cast caps and the other with Genesis' "supposedly" billet replacement caps. Genesis suffered many growing pains as the first, generally available, aftermarket FE blocks but fortunately there are currently several other options, any of which may be superior in both quality and execution.

[Jb427]

Bummer about the failure i use a bbm block worth every dollar

[Ghoughton]

Thanks for the replies. If you know others with the same experience, then I guess it’s “par for the course” with these blocks. Time for a Pond or BBM lol.

[cjshaker]

I, personally, know of two SuperStock drag racers that suffered similar failures with Genesis blocks, one with cast caps and the other with Genesis' "supposedly" billet replacement caps.

Did the one with "supposedly" billet caps also have a cap that cracked? Just curious. My SOG block has billet caps. At least they appeared to be billet steel.

8000-9000 rpm with a long stroke is a lot of force churning inside there. What did the bearings look like, especially the ones at the failed cap? If a cap cracked, I wouldn't expect anything less than total destruction at those rpms. It'd be interesting to figure out what the root cause was.

[SSdynosaur]

The very reason I chose "supposedly" to describe the broken cap was they were supplied by Tim to replace a cap (gray iron) the owner dropped on the floor that broke in half on impact. The "supposedly" caps were machine finished on all surfaces and appeared to be billet, at least to the untrained eye but the new "billet" #4 cap cracked while in service. The result was evidenced by a loss in oil pressure and a destroyed bearing but this carnage was discovered while, primarily, repairing a broken roller lifter. Initial inspection concluded that debris from the lifter's demise had reached the bearing and was also the cause of that damage. After further review, it was determined that the lifter caused the teardown and discovery of the cracked cap was simply a fortunate occurrence. A decision was made to replace the same caps (2,3,4) a third time with Program Engr. and the engine is performing at a high level as of today.

[KMcCullah]

It made a lot of power but not enough to do this!!
This is a 501” Genesis block built for sand drags in a bronco. Spent the summer ironing out issues.
But it only has five passes on it. 16:1, Blue Thunder MR heads raised to HR, sheet metal intake, dual 1180 SV1’s , solid roller, shifting at 8000. My first pass of the year exposed ignition issues, wouldn’t rev past 4000.
Swapped to an old Msd 7 the day before the next race, but didn’t have any rev limit pills. Decided to race anyway because I wasn’t planning on pushing it that hard. That was a mistake. Spit out the pinion on launch and went to 9000. Valve train kept up though, no bent valves or other issues.
Upgraded the rear end and was ready to race in time for Labor Day. This time made several solid passes. Ran fantastic, pulling to 8000 and turning great times even though in 2wd. After my last pass,
Oil pressure dropped considerably, so I decided to be satisfied with the performance and put it on the trailer.
I speculated that perhaps I hadn’t let my oil get warm enough before making passes and wiped the mains. However, when I pulled the engine down today, I found split main caps and cracks in the main saddles that run all the way up the cylinders. Engine makes an honest 850hp based on times.
Could detonation cause this much damage? I ran Sunoco 116 and crank trigger at 32 degrees.
I did find an air leak early on that would create a lean condition but it was never raced this way.
Thoughts please! I tried to attach pictures but I’m too stupid. I’ll see if I can figure that out

Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm curious, what crank you're running? What's the stroke length?

My 504 has the first gen Genesis block. With iron caps. Been bracket racing it for a few years now. Probably has 250 passes on it with 1 re-bearing. I guess I get away with bashing on it because it only makes about 650hp. And I don't zing it past 7000rpm. Steel caps will definitely be part of the next recipe.

[thatdarncat]

Ghoughton if you want I can post your pictures from Facebook here, just say the word.

[Ghoughton]

Yes, please post the pictures! I use my iPad for everything, and I tried converting the pictures to an acceptable format. But it’s still not working. I’m obviously doing something wrong. Thank you for the help.

[Ghoughton]

KMcCullah,  This is a Kryptonite billet 4.125 with center counter weights and GRP 6.8 Rods. Bob weight was in the 1900’s. I’m glad you haven’t had any issues. But it would make me a little nervous. Upgrading to steel caps is probably a good idea if it gets raced much. Sweet trucks by the way

[thatdarncat]

[Jb427]

sheet of glass turn that block into a man cave table  did it damage anything else besides the block?

[Ghoughton]

No visible damage to anything else. Everything was in place intact on disassembly.