EVO 6 Engine Failure - What Went Wrong? 

Hey guys don’t let the negative comments get to you most of us love all the content you guys put out especially the engine builds 👍

no learning without a failure. good work guys, keep on going

With disassembly the ARP studs could have rotated with the nuts. Not decking the engine or even checking for warping was definitely the problem, and you may upgrade to a L19 of +625 headbolts kit as the 4G63 is notorious for blowing gaskets. And with that small frame turbo you will produce more cilinder pressure as with a larger turbo. Don't read the comments to much, I love what you're doing! Keep it going. PS: would appriciate that you guys would do a rebuild yourself so people can learn it's possible to fix a screwup and not have to resort to a expensive alternative. 👍🏼

If the block didn't need decking before...it certainly will now.

I love how people who only can prove they have enough intelligence to log into RU-vid and comment think that they are pro engine builders. Guess what? Shit happens. All you can do is move forward- sometimes things work out better than other times. Anytime ANYONE makes a modification, they're rolling the dice; that's why there's so much debate about standard operating procedures. You guys are doing the right thing. Perfection doesn't exist, but the pursuit of excellence does. Love your content and efforts.

Failure is how you learn. I blew up so many motors in my DSM. Learned from each one. You'll get it sorted guys! Coming from a 4g guy, these things happen. Don't give up! Build the next one!

I literally just had this identical issue at a much higher power level, but we both used a JE Pro Seal Headgasket... Ive used them for years on subaru's if you are familiar with my channel. But apparently when it comes to evos they are not the desired gasket. Pulling mine apart today to see my damage as well..

I know you guys don’t want to “play the blame game” and hurt someone’s feelings, but that damage has pre-ignition written ALL OVER IT, the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of PI(Which you can’t hear with knock headphones btw) also, the video showing sparks flying, that is evidence of burning metal or pieces of carbon, not fuel. There are no sparks with normal combustion of fuel. This head was LIFTED, not leaked from poor mating surfaces(lack of decking) wish you guys would’ve though, which would’ve further proven my point. People often over look the fact that PI causes enormous cylinder pressures, well over your expected pressures seen with 30 40 even 50psi of boost. The head was not lifted from 20 psi of boost, just ain’t gonna happen with your ARPs and a proper torque, which I believe you guys did. Also, as far as deck surfaces, there is a good margin of error that you can get away with until VERY high performance levels. You might get a bad seal and pressurize your coolant system, and maybe even a small combustion leak, but you’re not going to lift the head due to poor mating surfaces. Lifting only happens due to improper head bolt torque or excessively high cylinder pressures, that’s it. I’m sorry guys, this sucks! Most of us that have built turbo engines have been there, I know I have. And with that pretty KA24DE-“T”😉 in my profile pic. Rebuilt it twice. Once because I turbo’d it with a stock short block and got greedy with power. And the other, because of bad tuning(my fault).

Please read comments again. It's fun to laugh at these "experts". You guys rock keep up the good work. I have been around since around 9000 followers and your stuff definitely keeps getting better.

Pull/check pistons and bores, the ringlands might be broken/compromised

The people with negative comments have probably never blown a motor before , you figure out why and make it better . I love that you guys are being honest about what happened, you live and you learn .

Haters gonna hate. You guys put out awesome content and I know you'll get it sorted out! I think going the safer route here would be best though.

On any high performance engine after the run in cycle you always check and retorque every single fastener. Even the ones that hold down the confabulator and especially the thingymawahtsit.

Don't beat yourselves up on this one. Happens to us all. It's part of owning and modifying cars. Keep up the great work. Love the videos as always!

Sorry about the other people giving you negative comments. You guys are inspirational and it’s great to see you giving it ago.

You guys are out here doing the lords work in the automotive enthusiast world. Keep it up.

Sometimes forums have improvements they've found over manufacturer directions

Lol at the comments end, you guys will get this back up soon I’m sure. That head gasket was melted good

It's ridiculous to me how many people criticize in the comments for stuff like this. I for one enjoy watching you regardless of the mistakes, and you learning from them. I watch to see your journey, not for you guys to do everything perfectly right every time. That's not reality. Plenty of professionals make mistakes on a regular basis. Can't tell you how many times I've taken my car to "professional" shops and ended up just wishing I would have at least tried to do it myself and saved the myself the hassle of paying someone else to make mistakes for me. It's okay something went wrong, it happens to the best of em. Keep truckin guys.

I enjoy how you guys are embracing the criticism you receive. IT shows us that you care enough to read our commentary, and that you don't take the hate too seriously. Keep keep'n-on my dudes, I'll keep watching and loving the content.

Thanks for sharing what went wrong, including the stripped bolt, I am surprised you didn’t get the blocked decked.. Not to be negative, but maybe the Title should be updated from STI killer to EVO killer! I have argued this with many enthusiasts, I see as many if not more EVO failures as any other car and esp Subies! When you modify, you cant cut corners, always deck, tear that right down, don’t just slap that stock gasket back on and hope for the best, it will def crash and burn, for me you are sharing experiences, nothing wrong with that, just learn from it..show the right steps next time, so we all learn from it and what’s the right way going forward, save others the same pain, Look forward to the next vid. 🤘

I used a OEM HG and +625 head studs on my fully built 4G63 engine, run 650hp all day on a very conservative tune.

Every car guy knows how you both feel! Thanks for showing both failures and successes on the channel!

You guys take your failures in stride and create learning experiences for yourself and us all out of negative situations. The continued positive attitudes as you struggle with difficult things is commendable, you're out there trying things, working hard, and taking risk just to give us this content; for those things you both have my respect. Thank you for making these videos.

Wow, don't they love it when you fail. Making mistakes is interesting for me. I'd go the OEM gasket and deck the block, just to see but a new short block may be cheaper in the long run. There's nothing wrong with you two learning the realities of engine building on your own channel, it's still instructive for an ameteur like me.

Thanks for reading my comment. When I noted appropriate sensors I was referring to a coolant pressure sensor, not just the knock sensor. Like you said, in hindsight, it’s easy to pin point helpful things which could have prevented the failure. However, with existing reservations surrounding the ability for the engine to keep the integrity of the combustion chamber’s sealing, maybe monitoring the behavior of the pressure buildup within the coolant system would have turned a light on in an otherwise dark room? Even setting up an engine limiter protection strategy to limit the pending doom of such instances. Please allow me to wish you all the best moving things forward in a positive direction.

You two have my utmost respect. More than any other channel on youtube, you show true reality. How shit really is. No sugar coating. Shit happens and you show it as is, no bullshit.

Guys it's always disheartening when things don't go as planned but I find myself more anxious than ever to see how this build continues. I like how you guys are doing your fact finding in a very objective way. Looking forward to the next video. 👍👍

Put a machinist straight edge on the block in multiple positions.

Maperformance short block 2.1L. evens the scale vs the sti in terms of displacement at least.

Sorry I'm watching the video a bit late, don't take the negative comments personally. Speed Academy is a place for learning. Sometimes mistakes get made but we can all learn from it with you. This is a great series and it will be so rewarding to get the Evo running again

Guys that was great, especially liked the comments readout. While I’m sure there was lots of swearing behind the scenes, I admire your ability to keep your cool on camera

In some cases i've seen forums correct the torque specs from ARP's manual. I even remember on one of your engine builds (I think the s2000 or SR20) you had to use a different torque spec because the ARP one was too high

am i the only one that would rather watch them pulling the engine in a non time lapse style, i'd watch it if it was an hour long video

I love how they both respond politely to hateful comments and learn from their mistakes.Be greater than the haters and be you guys.Much appreciation from Kenya👍😊

Most plp dont show or admit failures, im glad you guys did. Rebuild the motor and keep learning. Excellent content.

When are you guys coming back to Baltimore to pick up the Celica?

Well its a 4g63... they work or they dont. thats that.

please take care of your health everyone, your channel is one of my favorites on youtube, thank you so much for your great content, and can't wait for the next episode...

Hey guys I have been in your shoes having a new engine go on you is terrible. Keep your heads up, love watching a grown up car channel on youtube. Thank you guys for the content.

Definitely too much timing in the tune for the octane level

Put on the OEM gasket and race it!

I love the realness of your content, please don't let the haters get under your skin, but I did also enjoy you confronting them.

Keep reading the comments guys, love your reactions. Keep up the great work!!!!

ping ping ping .... your tuner is a ding a ling ...... Top of the pistons tell the story.

yeah deffo STI killer xD love the build.

I love the comment reading at the end. It's so easy to be the guy sitting back and watching videos and say "This is what you should have done".

I'm so sorry that you have to be subject to negativity. My Dad always said that the (only Man that never failed was the Man that never tried) don't let a set back stop you from achieving your goals.

Lmao the salty comments got me

Reach out to Magnus

Please dont allow the negative people to ruin any part of your days. Your show is very informative and entertaining, keep up the good work. Ignore negativity!!!

Don't listen to the hate fellas. Its easy to be a master mechanic when your hiding behind your keyboard. I for one appreciate the honesty. Some good learning opportunities here for both yourselves and us the viewer. It's an awesome build and you're sooo close to the end - don't give up, it will all be worth it in the end!

that is a timing to the moon.. i ve seen it from here. that engine goes to your fckin tuner

I'm proud to be a Patreon supporter, just so that I can show those keyboard warrior techs the finger. Engine failures happen. It's 2020 !

Nothing technical to add, but just wanted to say keep up the good work guys. You guys are one of the best motoring channels on RU-vid and its mind boggling that you only have 350K subs.

Everyone one should take a way one thing, a learning experience that is helpful not only to these guys but to the viewers as well. They showed the build and showed the end result. Now we get to see how it gets fixed.

It's easy to throw dirt when you're not the one getting hit in the face. Thank you for being real and showing what can happen. I'd rather learn from a mistake than try to hide a failure, trying to make myself look better on the internets... Looking forward to the battle!

No matter what other people say or comment, these things happen. Being a completely rebuild engine or a bone stock one, pushing it to its limits can give some funky results. It doesn't matter if you are a professional or an enthusiast... But learn from your mistakes and carry on! Keep up the good work!

Do it right the first time. Tear the engine down and measure/inspect each component. The head was lifting from detonation since cylinder pressure spikes 2 to 3 times of normal. I believe in you guys and wish you the best.

Really sorry about the hate mail, it's truly saddening that this type of person enjoy the free content and whine so much...you got my support guys, don't feel let down by those fake, shallow people.

Most painful part of the failure video was seeing Pete before all excited and ready to make power, the explosion, then seeing him just sad and defeated. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster.

Having to defend yourself is unnecessary. Screw those negative commenters. Keep up the good work!

Screw the haters. Keep blowing stuff up and rebuilding it, it's entertaining!

I love watching your videos! I'm fighting stage 4 colon cancer and have been for 4 years these days I find myself spending a lot of time laying in bed and your videos help me get through the day. Thank you for the enjoyment

Loved hearing you guys read a lot of negative comments. It’s tough to hear some, but other are like just stfu and watch this. Keep going, guys!! Excited to see the eventual battle!

I binged watched every episode yesterday and night on this car. Nice job guys new sub

Guy's, don't worry about the bad comments, you are really good working on cars, people always think they are smarter than the others but they never do anything because of fear, keep it up whit the EVO build!

In 4 blowing up the STi motor for maximum RU-vid drama 😂 Lol, keep it up, guys! You guys will bounce back strong and learn plenty from this. All any failure means is to build it bigger, badder, and smarter than the last time. Can't wait to see the rise of Evo Phoenix!

Keep at it guys. No matter what your content is great. Learning experience for everyone. Its really great that you are willing to show everyone the failure and not just fix it behind the scenes.

Big time RESPECT for showing the flaws, not many youtubers that build show that💪💪

GUYS RESPECT, don't let stupid people with stupid comments get you down. We all have to learn from the internet, everyone's an expert but they will never get down and dirty. I have much love and respect for what you guys do. Being humble and opening yourself up to learn something new is a very good quality that not a lot of people have. PUT UP OR SHUT UP INTERNET!!!!

I had an 8 headgasket on my Evo IV with no problems, it was running standard everything else with regards to the engine & turbo though.

You guys make some of the best and most enjoyable car content I've seen. Keep up the awesome work, gents! This hiccup will be behind you before you know it.

Just another opportunity to learn and get better, glad to see you taking it 👍

I am really shocked that the head didn't melt worse. You guys got lucky!

I enjoyed the comment scenes at the end. Keyboard warriors have the best recommendations. You guys are great and doing the work yourself is more rewarding than paying someone to do it for you. I've built a bunch of street and race cars and it has been a lot of fun. Yes I've blown some engines too but that's how you learn.

Bring the Evo 6 back!! My favourite build by far!

All these RU-vid mechanics 😂. The best thing you guys show is honestly. Crap happens and you learn from it to see how you could make it better. Love your channel since day one!

I personally would love to see an engine rebuild on this bad boy. It'd be kinda sad to see such a special engine go to waste.

I really enjoy watching this project. The Evo 6 is always one of my dream cars as s kid. I thank you and appreciate all of the hard work and time you guys put into this build.

Hand tight studs ? That's just crazy . I know some people will tighten it with a ratchet til it bottoms out and some torque it. I'm an amateur mechanic on my car and know you have to get both decked if you want it to sit flush but hey we all learn from this right . That's what the channel is for. Keep it up

Fast cars, built right. You said it guys, no rush. Keep it positive, learn from this experience, and you'll see how things will come out just fine.

I absolutely love how Dave and Pete are lowkey triggered at the end of video. Adds some comedic relief to this unfortunate situation. Good luck guys !

I agree, don’t listen to negative comments. You guys do more than any typical RU-vidr seeking clout while having someone else build their cars. Keep up the good work. From a Newley patron supporter 👍🏻

I don’t think I’d roll the dice. I think a complete tear down, re check and resurface is gonna give you the piece of mind your looking for.

Everyone always hates but not everyone takes real action. You guys are doing something we all can’t do. Make changes. Make progress. And unfortunately, sometimes make mistakes. It’s all part of it. Keep up the great work and great content.

I know it’s frustrating to spend all that time and money building that motor for it to blow up on the dyno. It’s a minor set back. I agree with buying the MAP short block. Maybe you guys can do another video digging deeper into the block to see if any other damage occurred. You guys are still my favorite channel on here and Dave, your day will come my friend..

Long time subscriber here, This is unfortunately part of the motorsports environment, and stop listening to 15 year old keyboard warriors! I respect you guys for building the motor yourself regardless of the failure, other RU-vid channels have engines built. Great job guys, you have my support 100% ❤️

Get them both decked make sure you use an Allen key to make sure the studs are bottomed out completely until they don’t thread anymore not tight just bottomed out and slap it back together with a new head gasket looks like the studs weren’t fully down and that’s why they were able to move other than that really love the build can’t wait to see what’s next

Sadly this seems to be an all to common issue on the 4g63 engine especially those pushing power more than 10-15% above stock. The chances are that as you say minor low spots in the block caused the gasket to lose seal as it heated up, the pre-detonation then crept in and it’s possible it’s killed the pistons as well. As you said the forums are full of mixed messages but the builders here in the U.K. seem to go with the finger right studs (1/4 turn over finger tight with an Allen key for mega power builds) and also go 90 degrees past the quoted torque spec on the nuts when you bolt it down. It seems, so I was told by a reputable U.K. tuner, that it’s because of the differing material spec between head and block and the different warm up rates that even the slightest imperfection in the block or head causes it. Gutted for you guys. Thanks for sharing it though.

From ARP: Do the head studs only go in hand, or finger tight? Yes, cylinder head studs are installed only hand tight. Other than the use of an allen wrench on the hex broached into the end of the stud (to ease installation, not to apply torque), use no tools to seat them in the block. However, it is extremely important to ensure that the studs are fully bottomed out in the hole in the block and not hung up on damaged or corroded threads in the block preventing the stud from being fully seated. This is often indicated when the stud threads extend past the deck surface.

Honestly this channel has so much content and so much R&D it's pretty awesome. Also glad to see the Subie came out the winner.

I wait in anticipation for these videos, thank you for taking us on your journey! Been a fan for many years.

Hi from Australia. Don’t be discouraged by arm chair warriors! These things happen, that’s how we learn! Keep bringing amazing content! Love your work guys!!

I’m happy the motor blew up, it means more awesome content from speed academy! Silver lining! Keep up the great work guys! 👋🏻

Deck new head, deck new block, change bearings, change piston rings, make sure everything is in spec and rebuild properly. You live you learn, get it done boys

I‘d rather wait (and learn!) from you two rebuilding the engine. Mistakes happen. If everything went as planned everybody would repair their own cars. Having built an engine yourselves is already pretty brave!

Evo for life u guys did ur best for a first time build 👍👍

You guys are the best, reading those comments was hilarious. You guys have great attitudes regarding the whole situation 👍

Love the positivity in the face of adversity! Keep up the great work! Love the show!!!