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Question:Myengineburnedapiston.Whatdoesthatmeanandwhy
didithappen?

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Answer:Itmeansthepistonfailedduetoexcessiveheatinthe
combustionchamber.Aburnedpistonwilltypicallyhaveamelted
appearance,oraholeburnedcompletelythroughthetopofthepiston.
Aluminumcanonlywithstandsomuchheat,andwhenitgetstoohot,it
melts.Theunderlyingcauseisusuallydetonationand/orpreignition.
Detonationoccurswhenthetemperatureandpressureinsideacylinder
exceedthefuelsoctanerating.Insteadofignitingwhenthesparkplug
fires,theair/fuelignitesspontaneouslymuchlikeadieselengine.
Thiscreatesmultipleflamefrontswithinthecombustionchamber
thatcollideandhammerthetopofthepiston,producingametallic
knockingnoisecalledsparkknock.
Commoncausesofdetonationincludeabuildupofcarbondepositsin
thecombustionchamberandonthetopofthepistonthatincrease
compression,noEGR(exhaustgasrecirculation),overadvancedignition
timing,abadknocksensor,aleanfuelmixture,lowqualitygasolinethat
doesnotmeetminimumoctanerequirements,oranycoolingproblems
thatcausestheenginetorunhotterthannormal(coolantleak,low
coolantlevel,badwaterpump,stuckthermostat,restrictedradiator,
defectivecoolingfan,evenexhaustrestrictionsthatbackupheatinto
theengine.

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Preignitionoccursifahotspotdevelopsinthecombustionchamber
thatignitestheair/fuelmixturebeforethesparkplugfires.Thehotspot
maybethesparkplugitself,anoverheatedexhaustvalve,carbon
depositsinthecombustionchamber,orasharpedgeinthecombustion
chamber.
Commoncausesofpreignitionincludethewrongheatrangespark
plugs(toohotfortheapplication),carbondepositsinthecombustion
chamberandonthetopsofthepistons,aleanfuelmixture,detonation
oranythingthatmakestheenginerunhotterthannormal.

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parts,equipmentsandservices.

Onenginesthatareturbochargedorsupercharged,toomuchboost
pressureand/ornotenoughfuelcanburnapistonveryquickly.Check
theoperationofthewastegateandboostcontrolsystem.Iftheturbo
systemhasbeentweakedtodeliverhigherthanstockboostpressurefor
morepower,theturbomaybepushingmoreairintotheenginethanthe
stockinjectorscanhandle,causingthefuelmixturetoleanoutandburn
thepiston.
Anoftenoverlookedcauseofpistonburningisaweakordirty
fuelinjector.Ifaninjectorisnotsprayingenoughfuelintothecombustion
chamber,theair/fuelmixtureinthatcylindermaybecometoolean
increasingtheriskofdetonation,preignitionandpistondamage.
Installersmaydiagnostheproblemusingascantooltocheckfor
leancodesandtolookatfueltrimvalues.IfaP0171orP0174code
isfound,orthelongtermfueltrimreadingsare10orhigher(indicatinga
leanmixture),theenginemayhaveoneormoreweakordirtyinjectors.
Theonlywaytoknowforsureistoremovetheinjectors,cleanthemon
afuelinjectorcleaningmachine,thenflowtestalltheinjectorsand
comparetheresults.Anyinjectorthatdoesnotflowwithin5to8percent
oftherestshouldbereplaced.

Question:Whatisascuffedpiston?
Answer:Ascuffedpistonisonethathasbeendamagedbyrubbing
againstthecylinderwall.Themetaltometalcontactsmearsthemetal
ontheskirtonthepistonanddamagesthepiston.
Scuffedpistonscanbecausedbytoomuchheatinthecombustion
chamber,engineoverheatingorinadequatelubrication.Thepistonto
cylinderclearancesinmostlatemodelenginesismuchlessthanitused
tobetoreducepistonrockandnoise.Consequently,ifthepistonor
cylindergetstoohot,theclearancegoesawayandyougetmetalto
metalcontact.
Ininstanceswherepistonscuffingoccurredduetoalossof
lubrication,theunderlyingcausemaybealowoillevelinthecrankcase
(duetoalackofmaintenanceoranoilleak),lowoilpressure(aworn
oilpump),pooroilquality,oroilbreakdown(notchangingtheoil
oftenenough).
Whendiagnosingascuffedpiston,notewherethepistonisscuffed.If
thecauseisoverheating,thescuffingwillmostlybeontheupperring
landsandonthesidesnearthewristpins.
Theremayalsobeoilcarbonandlacquerburnedontotheundersideof
thepistonindicatingitgottoohot.Scuffmarksonthelowerskirt
areaoftenindicatesalackoflubrication(checktheoilpumpand
pickupscreen).Scuffmarksontheedgesorcornersofthethrustsides
ofthepistonmaybetheresultofboredistortion.Scuffingonboth
thrustsideswouldindicatebindinginthewristpin.
Someoriginalequipmentpistonsandmanyaftermarketperformance
pistonsnowhavespecialantiscuffskirtcoatingstoreducetheriskof
scuffing.
Aburnedpistonwilltypicallyhaveameltedappearance,orahole
burnedcompletelythroughthetopofthepiston.
Scuffedpistonscanbecausedbytoomuchheatinthecombustion
chamber,engineoverheatingorinadequatelubrication.
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