I finally found enough interest to pull the engine, and I found the ugly mess I was expecting:

1) Crank's ruined
2) Girdle's ruined
3) Rods are ruined - too much heat at both ends
4) One piston apparently seized at some point, so the whole custom set is shot.
4) One cylinder wall scored from piston seizure and...
5) The block is worthless anyway since the girdle is no good.

I haven't yet torn down the heads, but I suspect the cams and heads may be gone since they would have been oil starved as well.

The water pump, timing belt, tensioner, flex plate, valve covers, engine mounts, balancer and manifolds should be ok. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I've been waiting for another Diamante SOHC block, thinking I would put the rods/pistons into it, but I haven't yet found one nearby and I now see there's not much to salvage from the last engine.

Also, after promising reimbursement for the last rebuild necessitated by blower failure, no check has been forthcoming from Magnacharger despite 3 months of "reminder" phone calls and further promises. My last call to the "promisor" was on Friday and I gave him 2 weeks to make good on his promise. If there's no satisfaction by then, I suppose I'll escalate the issue and post the results here.

Meanwhile, I'm tired of seeing the truck on the perch and want to put it back on the road. I still have the original Montero block w/pistons, rods and crank that I rebuilt. It has about 7,000 miles on it and has been sitting on a stand since I yanked it when it blew a head gasket from detonation when I was trying to use the rising rate regulator and OE ECU. I think I'll put that engine in it and see if it'll stand up to the blower now that I can control fuel and spark more safely. The only real issue is the cast pistons, but they "should" hold 7 psi OK. Also, the deck could use a light milling, but I don't think it contributed to the blown gasket - more likely the cause was detonation.... so in order to keep from disassembling the block, I'll hope the ARP head studs will provide a good enough seal with the OE composition gasket and keep my fingers crossed.

Anyway, that should buy some time to find another block and build another "better" <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> engine.

Frank