Demon 170 that blew up lives again

[Under-Pressure]

Blew up in bowling green top of the track. Thinking ethanol r which is 96% ran it out a fuel or too much timing what we gathered

That could turn a 170 engine into “junk” quick.

 

[Speedy!]

Could have saved a bunch of money and put a engine in a hellcat instead of a 170

How do you mean?

 

[vortecd]

How do you mean?

If he wants to go fast he could have built a Hellcat instead of paying big bucks on a 170 and replacing the engine. He should have put the replacement engine back into it, sold it and built a Hellcat. I'm sure he has more money then what he knows to do with so probably doesn't matter

Seems silly to have a 170 without the stock engine

 

[Jack_Toepfer]

Check your plugs guys. Buddy of mine just pulled his, gap looks .015 bigger than it should be.

 

[Speedy!]

If he wants to go fast he could have built a Hellcat instead of paying big bucks on a 170 and replacing the engine. He should have put the replacement engine back into it, sold it and built a Hellcat. I'm sure he has more money then what he knows to do with so probably doesn't matter

Seems silly to have a 170 without the stock engine

I believe this guy paid quite a bit over MSRP, which is silly, but at sticker price a Demon 170 was about the same money as a Redeye when I was shopping last September. It was a no brainer at MSRP for someone that likes to race. I don't think you can build a Hellcat for the same price and be as fast and presumably reliable. A Redeye gets you closer, but I've not seen a lot of those live long below 9.50 either, lots of claims that they do though, but then you're back to being the same price anyway assuming MSRP.

I don't think anyone expected 170 motors to have these failures so people buying them would rightfully think it's a low 9 second high 8 second car with a warranty that based on previous models they'd likely never use and the car would have full OEM drivability. These unfortunate owners are put in a bad spot, and probably soured a bit, deciding to drop in the exact same motor they had problems with, or upgrade something to prevent it from happening again. Having one let go at the top end of the track at 140+ MPH is a huge safety issue and definitely gives me some concern.

My opinion is that lack of QA on these has led to machining/assembly issues and you just have to hope you're lucky enough to get a good one. Unless there's a recall of some sort, we'll never know for sure. I just hope mine is a good one. If it blows up I'd probably do something different and put the replacement engine in the corner of the living room as a display piece unless Dodge could show me official documentation that the replacement had been improved in some way.

 

[Under-Pressure]

Check your plugs guys. Buddy of mine just pulled his, gap looks .015 bigger than it should be.

Was he having any issues?

 

[Jack_Toepfer]

Was he having any issues?

I don’t believe he was.
If I recall some guys were getting misfire codes, wonder if their plugs just need to get clamped down.

 

[DRAGRCR]

I believe this guy paid quite a bit over MSRP, which is silly, but at sticker price a Demon 170 was about the same money as a Redeye when I was shopping last September. It was a no brainer at MSRP for someone that likes to race. I don't think you can build a Hellcat for the same price and be as fast and presumably reliable. A Redeye gets you closer, but I've not seen a lot of those live long below 9.50 either, lots of claims that they do though, but then you're back to being the same price anyway assuming MSRP.

I don't think anyone expected 170 motors to have these failures so people buying them would rightfully think it's a low 9 second high 8 second car with a warranty that based on previous models they'd likely never use and the car would have full OEM drivability. These unfortunate owners are put in a bad spot, and probably soured a bit, deciding to drop in the exact same motor they had problems with, or upgrade something to prevent it from happening again. Having one let go at the top end of the track at 140+ MPH is a huge safety issue and definitely gives me some concern.

My opinion is that lack of QA on these has led to machining/assembly issues and you just have to hope you're lucky enough to get a good one. Unless there's a recall of some sort, we'll never know for sure. I just hope mine is a good one. If it blows up I'd probably do something different and put the replacement engine in the corner of the living room as a display piece unless Dodge could show me official documentation that the replacement had been improved in some way.

This latest one flat out had assembly mistakes. I can tell you one thing to check. Retorque all the accessable main cap cross bolts. I was told 25 Foot pounds. I will be checking mine next time I have the car up in the air. Not going to tell you what to do if they are loose.

Now I am more inclined to believe that one engine was claimed to have a main bearing missing. Not sure how the rods would live that long with a huge oil leak on the feed to them. Splash and centrifigual feed maybe?

I think folks are ignorant or maybe forget. I was told that plenty of 440 SIX Pack engines threw rods back in the day. I have not fact checked this but you might just have to talk to an insider to verify this. Maybe Patrick Rall could find this out for us.

 

[Demon Dan]

This latest one flat out had assembly mistakes. I can tell you one thing to check. Retorque all the accessable main cap cross bolts. I was told 25 Foot pounds. I will be checking mine next time I have the car up in the air. Not going to tell you what to do if they are loose.

Now I am more inclined to believe that one engine was claimed to have a main bearing missing. Not sure how the rods would live that long with a huge oil leak on the feed to them. Splash and centrifigual feed maybe?

I think folks are ignorant or maybe forget. I was told that plenty of 440 SIX Pack engines threw rods back in the day. I have not fact checked this but you might just have to talk to an insider to verify this. Maybe Patrick Rall could find this out for us.

66 street hemis had bottom end issues caused by weak main caps. That's why their 5/50 warranty was changed to a 12/12 warranty beginning in 67.

 

[Speedy!]

Engine issues like this on these cars is unacceptable period. They were built in 2023 and cost way too much for these kinds of problems. So far they've appeared to all be straight up QA/assembly issues. This engine SHOULD have had designated engine builders rather than mass produced assembly line work. Dodge better hope no one gets injured as a result of one of these failures. It's too bad as this will follow the 170 around for quite some time.

This silver car could be an outlier if it was tuned but still there have been way too many others problems.

 

[hell on wheels]

That’s a lot of counterfeiting
Counterfeit parts

 

[DRAGRCR]

Engine issues like this on these cars is unacceptable period. They were built in 2023 and cost way too much for these kinds of problems. So far they've appeared to all be straight up QA/assembly issues. This engine SHOULD have had designated engine builders rather than mass produced assembly line work. Dodge better hope no one gets injured as a result of one of these failures. It's too bad as this will follow the 170 around for quite some time.

This silver car could be an outlier if it was tuned but still there have been way too many others problems.

FYI, I am not talking about the Silver D170.

 

[Speedy!]

So another has failed after the silver one?

 

[Octanewide]

@Speedy! I'm interested in seeing how your 170 does when you lean on it especially when weather cools and DA gets better. Hopefully you have a "good one".

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[Speedy!]

We'll find out lol

Track prep will be my nemesis to running a good time. Mine had the MPH earlier this year but wouldn't hook for crap. I'm hoping they do a private rental this fall where I can see what it'll do.

Seeing one blow up at the top end regardless of cause is un-nerving I gotta admit.

 

[Jack_Toepfer]

I’m no engine builder, but if a main bearing was missing during assembly, that motor is toast on startup.

 

[Under-Pressure]

Seeing one blow up at the top end regardless of cause is un-nerving I gotta admit.

That incident is a good wake up call about safety & very happy to see a parachute on the car now. A fire extinguisher within reach & engine oil containment are good ideas at these speeds also. The chute can save your azzz when the danger comes from the other lane also.

https://www.hellcatforum.org/threads/finally-have-a-belly-pan-option.14255/

 

[Speedy!]

Those things are a bit invasive for a street car IMO. The parachute install pics I've seen left me cringing and I think an engine diaper probably wouldn't work on the street. Good safety items for a race car though if that's the goal. The pan might be a good compromise to take on and off for the drag strip though, but I doubt I'll get one.

If mine blows up and someone gets hurt it'll be called Speedylantis by the time the lawsuit is done and I'll bring the Hellcat platform back!

 

[DRAGRCR]

I’m no engine builder, but if a main bearing was missing during assembly, that motor is toast on startup.

Honestly if it was a LOWER main bearing you would not even know it. Which I think it was. Not certain though. Not sure what the whole story was or why the engine was taken apart in the first place.......Because I do not watch those videos. Not like it would be true or reliable info anyway.......

 

[ButterDaGreat?]

If he wants to go fast he could have built a Hellcat instead of paying big bucks on a 170 and replacing the engine. He should have put the replacement engine back into it, sold it and built a Hellcat. I'm sure he has more money then what he knows to do with so probably doesn't matter

Seems silly to have a 170 without the stock engine

This 170 is one of a trio from the Mac Haik soldier incident I was involved in and none of the customers affected paid a markup. Plus he has a replacement stock engine sitting...

Engine issues like this on these cars is unacceptable period. They were built in 2023 and cost way too much for these kinds of problems. So far they've appeared to all be straight up QA/assembly issues. This engine SHOULD have had designated engine builders rather than mass produced assembly line work. Dodge better hope no one gets injured as a result of one of these failures. It's too bad as this will follow the 170 around for quite some time.

This silver car could be an outlier if it was tuned but still there have been way too many others problems.

Oh there are more I have that I haven't covered yet. I have videos of cracked 170 blocks and snapped crank shafts. Even a 170 replacement crate engine that someone stripped the spark plug threads on and it was for the car with the bearing issue, so it has to sit even longer.

Honestly I think an engine check at a power broker and every 170 getting an extended warranty wouldn't be out of the question with the wide range of failures. I already know of some owners they gifted extended warranties to in the background. The CDK hack and Microsoft glitch delayed me getting mine checked for smoking for a month, so I'm still grounded at the moment