I wasn’t even pushing it hard. Third gear, mid-range RPMs, just feeling the torque curve. Then— crack .
A cracked engine block. On a red engine that I’d babied more than some relationships. red engine cracked
For a few hours, I was angry. Then sad. Then I googled “engine swap cost” at 2 AM like a man pricing out his own heart surgery. I wasn’t even pushing it hard
Turns out, the combination of higher cylinder pressure and a microscopic casting flaw from years ago finally decided to introduce themselves. The crack was on the water jacket—coolant seeping into places it should never go, oil turning into milkshake. A cracked engine block
White smoke. The sweet-sick smell of coolant. And that tiny puddle of green spreading under the oil pan like bad news on a budget.
It was a beautiful morning for a drive. The kind where the asphalt feels sticky and the air smells like opportunity. I’d just finished a few upgrades: new injectors, a slightly aggressive tune, and an intake that growled like a hungry animal. The red valve cover gleamed under the hood.