Hey guys and Pete Bergman, (I hope I got your name right, Pete).
I finally opened up the evo 77 to check for what I thought was a bend con rod. Well, there is good news and bad news. The good news is:
The con rod is not the problem and the overall insides show absolutely no corrosion or rust (always have been careful to use blue blocker after run oil)
The bad news is:
The cir clip on the master rod journal broke and got chewed up in the crankcase (as evidenced by all the nicks and scratches on the journal, rods and case walls). But it gets worse:
The broken pieces then got sucked into the intake ports of the # 2 and # 5 cylinders, destroying the pistons (breaking one piston ring) and eating up the tops of the cylinders and valves.
I have always followed Horizon's recommended fuel, break in, operation and maintenance on this beautiful engine and have around 100 hours on it since new. Unfortunately, I think it just had a defective part ( journal cir clip ) which started the bad chain of events.
I have not called Horizon yet, so I don't know if they will cover this under warranty but at the very least, I am looking at two new cylinder assemblies and pistons.
Anyway, I promised you guys on this great forum that would keep you informed on my misfortune after posting a few pages back that I had a problem.
Any input or advise would be welcome.
Tom