Failed piston ring?

[MPNick]

if the rod bearings look that bad I wonder how the mains are doing!!!???

can go either way. If the dirt was the crankshaft, the oil flows into the crankshaft from the main bearings. Then it would push the dirt out of the crankpin oil holes. If the dirt was in the block oil galleys then you would have both the mains and the rods looking like that.

But as it stands now the whole engine will have be cleaned out.

 

[KzA]

so is this all just chalked up to the proper care not being taken when the engine was built up? Did the builder just not keep it clean?

 

[MPNick]

so is this all just chalked up to the proper care not being taken when the engine was built up? Did the builder just not keep it clean?

Other then Dana dumping a cup full of sand into his engine, I do not see any other reason for the bearings to look like that.

Keep in mind that the engine was not done by an engine builder. I think it was done by PerfWorks/Andy.

 

[TurfBurn]

Keep in mind that the engine was not done by an engine builder. I think it was done by PerfWorks/Andy.

ROFL

 

[CustomMSP]

Well,

I'm not sure if I should say this, but only the #1 and #4 piston rod bearings were scored like that with #4 being the worse of the two.

 

[MPNick]

Well,

I'm not sure if I should say this, but only the #1 and #4 piston bearings were scored like that with #4 being the worse of the two.

My guess would be the oil feed holes for both crankpins had a small amount of dirt in them, or the bearings got dirt on them when it went together. The horse is out of the barn now anyway. I am sure it will be very clean this time around.

 

[Brian MP5T]

lol, sleeves are for hondas. Anything more than a slight hone, the block has to come out of the car. When I twisted my rod we rebuilt the engine in car. Let me tell you it's a hell of a job. The only major hickup was removing the oil pan. They did it without removing the tranny, by drilling a little access window to get to two bolts.

Good idea, but won't that allow s*** into the Clutch?

 

[Bigg Tim]

Could the foriegn object that scored those bearings be a piece of the Piston? Since they cracked, couldn't a very small flake fall and get cycled in the oil and end up in between the bearing and crank?

 

[TurfBurn]

Good idea, but won't that allow s*** into the Clutch?

Not really... there is a vent hole on the bottom already that is about 1/8" diameter.. most plug the holes with putty or plugs of some sort after doing this... but they "can" be left open... it's at the bottom and actually for the most part BEHIND the flywheel so you are ok. gives you a good heads up if you start leaking tranny fluid or oil out of the rear main seal.

 

[Kooldino]

Sorry I guess I should look before I post. How do the other bearings look?

2 & 3 look fine. 1 is a little beat up, but 4 is more worn than all of them combined.

This one does not look to be wiped from an oil problem. It looks like damage from dirt. I am not talking about oil in your oilpan or by not doing an oil change or two. I mean from when it went together. How is the crankpin surface?

Crankpin meaning the crank?

 

[Kooldino]

Could it be due to crank-walk?

It could be.

 

[Kooldino]

Dirt huh?? Who built your motor dude? Whoever it was, they need to learn how to keep s*** clean and use some assembly lube.(dark)

Maybe you can get them to help out with the cost, if it was their problem.

I built that motor with a reputable guy. We used assembly lube, and everything was VERY clean. We spent more time cleaning than we did anything else.

 

[Kooldino]

What did the main bearings look like? Are they fine?

I didn't pull the crank out.

 

[Kooldino]

Dana, putting in stock bearings without them being sized or clearance checked can result in major issues.... Pro5 ran into that this week and his bearings are fried as well after only a few thousand miles. It's really important that you run a good bearing clearance.

How the hell do I check that?

a dial bore gauge and if necessary that all the caps (both mains and rod) are hand lapped to the right clearance.

A dial bore gauge? How much/where do i get one?

 

[Kooldino]

Keep in mind that the engine was not done by an engine builder. I think it was done by PerfWorks/Andy.

Incorrect. It was done by myself and Andy COOMBS, not to be confused with Andy Wagner.

 

[Kooldino]

Well,

I'm not sure if I should say this, but only the #1 and #4 piston rod bearings were scored like that with #4 being the worse of the two.

#1 was nowhere NEAR what #4 was. It is not grooved at all, just more worn thand 2 & 3.

 

[Focus]

#1 was nowhere NEAR what #4 was. It is not grooved at all, just more worn thand 2 & 3.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it the exhaust manifold glowing on cylinder #4 ?

That may have been a contributing factor.

 

[Kooldino]

Good idea, but won't that allow s*** into the Clutch?

No.

 

[Kooldino]

Could the foriegn object that scored those bearings be a piece of the Piston? Since they cracked, couldn't a very small flake fall and get cycled in the oil and end up in between the bearing and crank?

I was thinking that, but #3 was the cracked piston ring land. It still could be tho.

 

[TurfBurn]

How the hell do I check that?


A dial bore gauge? How much/where do i get one?

You need a dial bore gauge... a mitutoyo I think runs about 160-400 depending... you need one that is accurate to .00001" Then you have to also have a micrometer that can read to .00001" as well which will run you about 80-120 bucks. Then you also need rounded anvils possibly. You basically take and compare three measurements all at "6 and 12" in the seat. Take a measurement with the caps torqued and no bearing in place. Take a measurement with the caps torqued and the bearing in place (very important), and take a measurement of the crank pin surface itself for that particular main. The important difference is the difference in diameters between the crankpin diam and the bearings install diam. This is your bearing clearance. It should be about 2.0-2.6 thousandths of an inch or .00020-.00026" otherwise if you have too big of a tolerance you'll get oil starvation possibly due to too much seepage and you'll see excessive wear, and if you have it too tight it can make it impossible to turn the motor over, wear the bearings, and risk wiping and spun bearings.

EDIT: And the no bearing in place measurement can sometimes be used with a bearing thickness measurement to double check the clearances as well. And you need to make sure you have ball end anvils for the measurement tools for doing some of these measurements.