2015 SHO block cracks?

[Jericho]

I bought my 2015 SHO (Non-PP) back in 2017 with 18,000 miles and haven't had any problems with the car since I've owned it. During owing this car, I have meticulously kept up with fluid changes and maintenance. Last Monday, the water pump has went out and I've been replacing it along with the oil pump, timing set, along with a few other things. What concerns me are these cracks inside the block, especially on the number 1 piston side. These look like severe stress cracks, with another crack forming at the top heading back towards the main cap bolt area. Where as the other side has some webbing or casting artifacts with a crack a bit higher. But, both of these are starting right at the corner where the main caps go.

I have not pulled the pan or inspected the other main caps, but I'm hoping a few of you guys have been into the motors and can tell what is normal or if this may be some factory defect. I have ran the car mostly factory for the majority I've owned it. Always ran premium fuel and have never had any drivability issues, mis-fires, or detonation. Sorry if this has been posted before, but I didn't get much on google or using the forum search.

 

[SHOdded]

more than likely casting marks but people who have been hands on can verify. have similar casting marks on naturally aspirated 3.5 engines.

 

[kryptto]

dont have an answer @802SHO might know. tuned the car and who by?

 

[802SHO]

This I don’t know. All my engine work was completed by Max Power Automotive, I haven’t seen the internals myself.

 

[shoblock]

In '15, I had full time inspectors checking for cracks in the block before assembly, and before the main bearing caps were installed. Part of what I see looks like flashing, caused by worn dies, and leaves an excess of material, not a crack. Inspectors were skilled and very conscientious. When a questionable block showed up, we pulled it and studied it. If it was a surface imperfection, it was passed and a green dot was placed in the area.
Now, the tricky part: the foundry ran close to assembly and did not store blocks for more than a few days. Rarely was a block being machined in the engine plant more than two weeks old. On the day your block was inspected, at least 3 or 400 blocks from the same die and date would have passed through the same inspector. Sometimes we would pull over 20 blocks from the same die and date and study them with a flashlight. They would be put back in the line IF THE IMPERFECTION DID NOT GO THROUGH INTO THE CASTING. A surface hairline crack would be a characteristic that could be verified as okay. These features occurred when the hot block was being extracted from the die and were only cosmetic. We had a table saw and would cut through example castings to assure management that we were good. I would take examples into the daily morning quality meeting, which I attended every day for my 8 1/2 years on the job.
No guarantee that assembly didn't stress the block putting in the main bearing caps. (pressed fit measured in microns)
I would love to see more photos but I can tell you that nothing I see in your photos causes me alarm. A through crack would be seen on both sides of the bulkhead. The bottom photo shows flash, which is the result of a worn die, and is okay.
What did your water pump look like? How many miles on the engine?

 

[Jericho]

Wow, thanks for the info! The bottom picture wasn't too concerning for me, the first picture did have me worried.

The motor has 126k at the moment when the water pump went out. I can't upload a picture at the moment but the bearing had quite a bit of play and you hold the impeller and still spin the sprocket and shaft with a little bit of force.

 

[SM105K]

In '15, I had full time inspectors checking for cracks in the block before assembly, and before the main bearing caps were installed. Part of what I see looks like flashing, caused by worn dies, and leaves an excess of material, not a crack. Inspectors were skilled and very conscientious. When a questionable block showed up, we pulled it and studied it. If it was a surface imperfection, it was passed and a green dot was placed in the area.
Now, the tricky part: the foundry ran close to assembly and did not store blocks for more than a few days. Rarely was a block being machined in the engine plant more than two weeks old. On the day your block was inspected, at least 3 or 400 blocks from the same die and date would have passed through the same inspector. Sometimes we would pull over 20 blocks from the same die and date and study them with a flashlight. They would be put back in the line IF THE IMPERFECTION DID NOT GO THROUGH INTO THE CASTING. A surface hairline crack would be a characteristic that could be verified as okay. These features occurred when the hot block was being extracted from the die and were only cosmetic. We had a table saw and would cut through example castings to assure management that we were good. I would take examples into the daily morning quality meeting, which I attended every day for my 8 1/2 years on the job.
No guarantee that assembly didn't stress the block putting in the main bearing caps. (pressed fit measured in microns)
I would love to see more photos but I can tell you that nothing I see in your photos causes me alarm. A through crack would be seen on both sides of the bulkhead. The bottom photo shows flash, which is the result of a worn die, and is okay.
What did your water pump look like? How many miles on the engine?

I was going to tag you, put you beat me too it old friend.

 

[Jericho]

To add, I didn't take much more pictures before putting the timing cover back on. Leading up to the water pump, the car has been a dream and I haven't had any major issues. Only other thing was I rebuilt the PTU with new bearings and seals about 2 years ago. If I decide to pull the engine sometime next year, I'll send its oil out for analysis and tear the engine down to post some pictures to post up and tag you. Thanks so much for the info earlier.

I should be finished with this tomorrow or Wednesday, but on the fence about how to continue with the car. One hand it's paid off and I would like to build another engine for it, but I got a feeling my next problem is going to be the transmission. A reman'd engine and transmission would cost around 9,000 which is close to where the car is valued at. My other issue is I lost access to the shop I did alot of my work in, primarily a lift.

 

[kryptto]

I weighed this same decision on my DD this year. Even if I was looking at a new low cost d4iver say new - easily would of paid more than 2x new. Yes could buy used - then depending on the repairs might be back to the costs of keeping my car where I know it's history.

 

[SHOdded]

To add, I didn't take much more pictures before putting the timing cover back on. Leading up to the water pump, the car has been a dream and I haven't had any major issues. Only other thing was I rebuilt the PTU with new bearings and seals about 2 years ago. If I decide to pull the engine sometime next year, I'll send its oil out for analysis and tear the engine down to post some pictures to post up and tag you. Thanks so much for the info earlier.

I should be finished with this tomorrow or Wednesday, but on the fence about how to continue with the car. One hand it's paid off and I would like to build another engine for it, but I got a feeling my next problem is going to be the transmission. A reman'd engine and transmission would cost around 9,000 which is close to where the car is valued at. My other issue is I lost access to the shop I did alot of my work in, primarily a lift.

if you are a military vet look for a base near you that has a shop accessible for DIY'rs. i know they do in IA, hopefully in KY too.

most times, unless you have heavily modded the engine, keep the transmission you have. regular fluid changes will greatly extend the life. that said, there are a couple of bulletins of concern, but still be a lot less than 9k to fix. you may actually be better off getting a used transmission from lkq or car-part.com etc if it comes to it.