2013 FRS Engine Died
 

My FRS just died on me one morning. I had gone about 2 miles, doin around 25 mph and it shut off. It made a metal clanging noise and I immediately pushed in the clutch, rolled to a stop and tried to start. The starter freely spins but will not engage the flywheel. I only have a few ideas...Battery, starter are good. Not sure why starter will not engage flywheel. Hoping something came loose that would cause starter to be unable to engage. Something shut down the engine. Any thoughts? Catastrophic or something manageable?

Your description sounds like broken rod/rod-bearing, camshaft, or timing chain. Broken timing chain is less likely. I would just get it towed to a reliable shop and diagnosed. Is this stock engine?

The starter disconnects once the engine is started, so it wouldn't make sense for a starter to be the cause of the to engine shut down. Starter won't start the engine if the engine is seized or internals are destroyed.



How was oil level? Last oil change? Was the temp good? Any sign of overheating? Was car driven hard? Did you miss 3rd?

Welcome to our forum, there, Jamesallen45 ……. :clap:

Too bad your FR-S is acting up......:(

As asked before, do you have any power mods .. ??

If you have a code reader, does the engine show you any codes .. ??

As asked before …… does the engine have oil in the crankcase .. ??

Like said, sounds like it's time to take it to a shop ….. :sigh:

Please keep us posted.


humfrz

Oh that does sound good. Anything with a metal crunching then a dead engine is not good.
By the sounds of it could be a broken rod, or cam.

As humfrz said any mods to the engine?
That could point us to what happened.

That's odd that the starter spins but doesn't engage the flywheel though. I've never heard of something like that happening.

Sorry to hear that too. Is your transmission manual or automatic? If it is manual, does it start with the clutch pressed in? Does it stall when you release it?



If all that is good, then perhaps this is an opportunity for an engine swap! I would be considering the same... :thumbup:

Ya that is not usually a symptom of a bad bearing or rod. We really need more info instead of just pissing into the wind with guesses.


Ummmmmm see above.

Oh, yes …… that can happen ……. just ask ol @Tcoat …… with all those clunkers he has had in the past, I'm sure that has happened to him ….. :D


humfrz

Yep, we need to hear back from @Jamesallen45 with additional information.

Also, @KDad2 …...have another cup of coffee …….. :)


humfrz

Sorry guys. Yes, I do need coffee, running on about a few hours of rest and thought I refreshed the page when work stuff happened during my post.

You let "work stuff" get in the way of your posting on the forum ….. :confused0068:

Talk with @Tcoat ……. he must have a workaround for that ……. :D


humfrz

Easy. Get into a career you like. Slowly grind your way up the ladder. Eventually get to a point where you can get others to do much of the heavy lifting. It only takes about 30 years or so.

And contrary to appearances I get a shit load of work done every day.

Keep working for more car parts. Save up to exit my current profession and move on to one I enjoy!

Many mods...Engine was just redone because of a spun baring. We put in better rods and piston. A brand new crank shaft. To help with FRS's oiling issue, we put in an oil cooler and oil sump system. It has an after market turbo. All this was done less than 10k ago. I was hoping it was something easy, but was afraid it was catastrophic. It shouldn't be with all the work that's been done.

You're still pushing the engine past what it was originally designed for, despite better rods, pistons, new crank... etc.

Lol 30 years he says. Slacker. ;)

How is that working for you …….. :eyebulge:


:D


I did that once …….. shoveled pig shit back on my father's farm, till I made enough money to get enough car parts out of the junk yard to fix up my old Chevrolet ……… ran away …….. and never went back ….. :burnrubber:


humfrz

I've paid my dues cleaning up after more than just animals. But, I've done okay in my career exploring oil and gas reserves despite the ups and downs. Crude is up right now, and hopefully it will be for a few more years. I'll ride this one out one more time. Then, I owe it to myself and family a stress free life before I fully retire without the 24/7 insanity.

Smart move, running away and not looking back. The black hooooooole....
:burnrubber:

Ahhh ……..ha …….:eyebulge:

The "rest of the story".

Now, tell us about how you drive it …… track much ..??


humfrz

With that kind of noise it is pretty safe to just assume you will be pulling that motor anyway. You can try using a long screwdriver as a stethoscope(pointy end towards the motor :bonk:). Check against both heads and the top of the block at idle and see where the noise seems to be the loudest to isolate where it could be coming from.

I've been babying it since the repair 10k ago and the clutch has been slipping so it really has been run easy. I don't believe in coincidence...i think the work that was just done was somehow done wrong. With this conservative setup (running around 300hp) and having parts that can withstand almost twice that, it should not fail. I'm taking it back to the shop that did the work. If it is mechanic error, hopefully they will be honest and fix it.

Flywheel out of whack? Would explain the starter not engaging and the slipping clutch.

Just for future reference this sort of info is important up front. Can change the whole idea of what is going on and save chasing ghosts.