Spun bearings, damaged crank, SUGGESTIONS?

[throughfaith323]

Hey guys,

Long story short:
1. Lost my oil.
2. Spun the rod and main bearings (one of the rod bearings literally SPUN).
3. Crank is shot. It was already turned down so it is not fixable.
4. Not sure if rod journals are damaged.

Now, what should I do?

==Buy another crank and new bearings and fix it?
- I'm worried that the rods got damaged, or the head or something else.
- Would I need to pull the motor all apart to wash the block and everything else?



What do you guys suggest?

Thanks,
Ed

 

[DynastyLCD]

im sorry man. i've been there, and it really sucks.... even worse when its a built engine.

i would start by pulling the cam caps, to determine if the head was starved enough to cause damage. if the cams ground into the head, then the whole thing is probably a pile of scrap.

if the cam journals aren't too scored, you should be in luck. pull the crank out, pull the oil pump out, inspect the oil pump. any signs of scoring, throw it in the trash. right now, think of it like this: you will need a crank, a set of main and rod bearings, and possibly an oil pump, to begin with. pull the cams and lifters out, clean them throughly. with the oil pan off, and the engine on a stand, get some brake cleaner, and spray out all the old oil within the cylinder head and the oil drains. get some cheap oil, and use that to rinse all the brake cleaner out of the cylinder head afterwards. you dont want solvent in your oil.

i had this exact same problem with the engine that was in 73/1000, and i did the exact same repair. left the head on, the pistons in, etc, and just worked around it. in my case, i managed to spin one bearing, and i ended up having to replace the oil pump, crankshaft, and the main and rod bearings.

 

[5OF2k]

How did you "lose your oil"??

Id say your best bet would be to throw a new shortblock together. You should be able to get away with re-using your block and some if not all of the attachmets with the exception of the crank and rods, sonlong as the main journals are still within spec. If not, it'd be time to get a new block or shortblock.

Just my .02. Dont cut corners, it wont last and will more than likely bite you in the ass!

Hope that helps!

-Jake

 

[alansupra94]

I have a crank and block that spun a rod bearing. However, nothing was damaged besides the rod. You can have it for free if you want.

I would personally take it apart and clean it.

 

[desant78]

Truly sad post /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[EMX5636]

If you get a crank and bearings you should be ok as long as you have that single rod checked. I would still tear down the engine and have it hot-tanked. I have seen metal particles wedged in the block destroy the next oil pump/bearings in a few thousand miles.

 

[throughfaith323]

Thank you for all the input guys! I'm going to start by doing what DynastyLCD recommended; pulling the cam journals and inspecting them. Unfortunately I'm not sure when I will get around to all this though.

I lost my oil because an oil line blew off of one of those clampless -AN fittings. I wanted to put clamps on for extra security (beings that engine oil is a pretty important component) but I forgot to /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif.

I will update this whenever I decide if I'm going to go ahead and fix it. For now I don't have the time anyway.

ALAN: I will definitely contact you if/when I decide to tackle this. I know its not a good idea to cut corners, but i really don't think I want to keep throwing money at this (pull engine, rip it apart, hot tank, possibly new rods, all new engine gaskets that are needed like head gasket, bearings, etc). Thank you so much for the offer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif. For now, don't hold onto it for me.

 

[alansupra94]

Just sitting here. It really isn't worth anything unless it is fully assembled. Let me know if you need it.

 

[transparentdsm]

if there is anything i can do let me know i have good knowledge of these cars and for the price of gas, a 12 pack and a couch to crash on i will come down for 2 days and help in any way possible. i will even bring alans crank down, if i can find anything up here ill grab it and bring it down. let me know. i also have some parts ill donate to the fix. whatever i have that you may need. i have a set of good rods somewhere. i also have a 6 bolt oil pump with balance shaft delete and front case. not sure to the extent of damage and if you oil pump went.


edit: did you get rod knock? where things slapping around like crazy? if not, you may be able to get away with a new crank and pulling the one piston and replacing that one rod. im not 100% sure and id like if someone with more experience could chime in and let me know if im right or stupid...

 

[toybreaker]

^^^ that's how it's done! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DynastyLCD]

Quoting transparentdsm:
did you get rod knock? where things slapping around like crazy? if not, you may be able to get away with a new crank and pulling the one piston and replacing that one rod. im not 100% sure and id like if someone with more experience could chime in and let me know if im right or stupid...




Shane, in my experience, i've spun bearings with a few stock rods, and have had them all but one measure out okay. but in my experience with forged rods, i spun bearings on two, one was okay but the other turned blue, havent measured yet but im sure its no longer usable.

 

[toybreaker]

Some good posts in here!

One quick "tell" on how bad things got hurt is the color of the block webs.

Looks good in the pic You posted, but can you shoot a few more clear pics of the bottom end, especially the mains on either side of the rod that spun?



The rod that spun is *probably* toast.

That rod's big end will make the call for you.

If it's noticeably blackened, I've always considered them yard art.



Even if at all it did was spin a few times, once the tang has made it past the retaining shoulder, it'll tear the over lovin dog sh*t out of the bore of the rod as it spins.

This makes for a rod that has to be seriously ground down in order to be re-sized,

... from deck height to compression ratio to balance. that rod will always be slightly "off"

... enough to matter, (imho,) on a motor that will severe duty.


Phil's suggestion of pulling the cams/caps is a damn good one!

The caps will tell the tale on how bad things got, and of any trash circulated thru the top end.



Be sure to check the turbo, as well!



The parts/technical assistance offers in this thread are off the hook, gentlemen! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif

 

[theevozero]

If it spun, its garbage, unless you enjoy doing redundant work, replace that rod. The rod bearing mating surface is scorn and will likey not allow the bearing to seat properly. You may be able to have the rod cap ground and bored. But I would personally just replace it. It it turned blue, that its defintely trashed.

The longblock should be removed, cleaned and oil pump inspected/replaced to have any chance of surviving the next build. You will be lucky if the head survived. Been there, done that. I started over completely. It took my turbo too.

 

[Hondasi88]

Shane is a good dude!

 

[transparentdsm]

thanks kevin, how is everything coming along with your car?

 

[throughfaith323]

Quoting transparentdsm:
if there is anything i can do let me know i have good knowledge of these cars and for the price of gas, a 12 pack and a couch to crash on i will come down for 2 days and help in any way possible. i will even bring alans crank down, if i can find anything up here ill grab it and bring it down. let me know. i also have some parts ill donate to the fix. whatever i have that you may need. i have a set of good rods somewhere. i also have a 6 bolt oil pump with balance shaft delete and front case. not sure to the extent of damage and if you oil pump went.


edit: did you get rod knock? where things slapping around like crazy? if not, you may be able to get away with a new crank and pulling the one piston and replacing that one rod. im not 100% sure and id like if someone with more experience could chime in and let me know if im right or stupid...



Wow thank you for the suggestions and the offer to help! I have no idea what my plans are with it just yet. Whenever I get a chance I'll examine the cams and journals. If they are toast i'm done....if not then I will consider fixing bottom end.

there was definitely rod(s) knocking. one rod bearing spun completely. put it this way...the oil holes in the bearings...they were filled in with metal :/.

thanks for all the help/suggestions guys! this post will relive whenever make the car one of my priorities again.

 

[transparentdsm]

what do you mean if there toast your done?? alan may also have a low mileage head laying around as well, ask him he offered it to me a few months back. if your done hook a brother up with a good price and i will scoop it up.

 

[alansupra94]

Ah damn, I just sold them all to one kid in southern NJ. He took them all. I still have the block. I wish you told me, I sold them mainly to clear up space for the poopra.

 

[desant78]

^throughfaith has a ton of parts too, i think he is suffering from a broken heart :/