One of the most unusual stories of the week comes to us from Florida, in the United States of America, discovered by The Drive portal. The V6 engine of a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon was boosted above 50,000 rpm and exploded, with less than 16,000 kilometers on the odometer.
The 3.6 liter V6 Pentastar block is one of the most used by Jeep in its product lineup and has a red line around 6600 rpm. But the owner of the Wrangler Rubicon who stars in this story has forced it to levels where this six-cylinder mechanic has never gone before.
Despite looking “brand new” on the outside, this Wrangler has the engine totally destroyed. after being towed incorrectly.
How did it all happen?
The owner of this all-terrain vehicle wanted to take it on holiday and towed it with his motorhome. So far so good, or wasn't this a relatively common practice in “Uncle Sam's” land, known as flat towing.
But it turns out that this Wrangler was towed with the gears engaged — 4-Low position — designed, as is known, so that “slowly and slowly” one overcomes the most difficult off-road obstacles.
Speaking to The Drive, Toby Tuten, the person in charge of the workshop that received this Wrangler, stated that he was not only with the gearboxes, but also engaged in first gear — that is, the engine was also turning. Note that Jeep recommends when in 4-Low not to exceed 40 km/h (but definitely not at first).
Quick counts, if the motorhome towed it on the highway at around 88 km/h (50 mph), the Wrangler's wheels could have forced the engine to spin at over 54,000 rpm! That's more than eight times over the engine limit.
damage impresses
The damage done is impressive and not something you see every day (or ever!). Two of the six pistons passed through the engine block, the transfer case exploded, and the clutch and flywheel were fired through the transmission case.
According to Toby Tuten, the repair amounts to €25 000 and this is before adding the labor. And since this damage is not covered by Jeep's factory warranty, the insurance company will most likely claim this Wrangler as damaged.