I think I just killed my P5

[stealthbob]

Some background first....

I am far from a tuner or after any mods for speed...this was at the time of purchase my wife's car. It has lately lingered on the driveway seldom used....slowly transitioning itself back to the earth. Two years ago I got the use of a company work truck and she moved into using my Jeep Liberty mostly. This spring we purchased a new Enclave (added a few extra passengers) but I have yet to sell either the Jeep or the Mazda, now both were starting to rot. Time to fix some of the things that keep the Mazda off the road and sell the Jeep.

Tonight I decided to fix the e brake (it was stuck) and change the rotors and pads on the front (rotted away from sitting) and decided to take it for a quick romp to warm up the oil prior to changing that....I think you see where I'm going with this. I started to get that noise and quickly saw the oil pressure light, I stopped turned around and headed back. I decided to stop however, just in case. I pushed it back to the house (not far) and I noticed that where it was parked was a nice big oil stain in the gravel. Check the oil level at found none!

I filled it up and said a prayer...stuck. After 25 mins though it did get a full turn over so I decided to wait for a full cool down.

I'm guessing a spun bearing.....uggggh. Edit>>>>Yep she is spun alright, she runs but with the racket.

Can the bearings be changed with the engine in the car? I haven't looked underneath to see if the oil pan removal is enough to see all the bearings. I just got a hoist, just need to assemble it. The engine was good with only 140,000kms on it with no oil burn.

 

[IshSonP5]

I believe you have to remove the main bearing support plate to gain access. As far as doing it with the engine in the car....I am sure you could, just utilize the hoist properly because you will only be relying on your side motor mounts and the lift to do this.

 

[stealthbob]

I don"t know what you mean, are there engine mounts that need to be removed to gain access?

I know I am short cutting here, it should be pulled and properly torn apart and rebuilt but this will be a once a month needed car which I don't want to spend much money and time on. Its pretty much worthless as it sits so I want to try replace the bearings with little effort.

I guess I need to get it up on the hoist and look for myself...if I can get to them easy then fine, if not I may just part his car out.

Parts needed anyone?

 

[Camp-Bell]

Look at it yourself first, find out exactly with vehicle running and hoisted where the noise is coming from exactly. Look for signs of leaks, ticks, knocks, etc that sorta thing. If you bring it to a shop without looking at it your going to be paying for a diagnosis too you need to go in with a good idea of what the problem is. No one will be able to diagnose this properly for you over the forum.

Time to get dirty.

 

[stealthbob]

Well I know what is wrong for sure....it is most definitely a spun bearing. I was just wondering if anybody has replaced their bearings on this engine whilst in the car. I will do it myself but was just curious as to if it was possible with this engine. I recently did this on a 1954 Buick and had no trouble....this is certainly a different setup. I guess I will have to wait to find out, as my hoist has not yet been installed. Looks like a nice winter project....

 

[IshSonP5]

I don"t know what you mean, are there engine mounts that need to be removed to gain access?

I know I am short cutting here, it should be pulled and properly torn apart and rebuilt but this will be a once a month needed car which I don't want to spend much money and time on. Its pretty much worthless as it sits so I want to try replace the bearings with little effort.

I guess I need to get it up on the hoist and look for myself...if I can get to them easy then fine, if not I may just part his car out.

Parts needed anyone?

You will have to remove the front enging mount to remove the lower cross member's to gain access to the bottom of the motor. You will have to release the rear mount because I believe you have to pull the tranny as well for all of this with axles etc...So with just your side mounts holding the motor, working on it can twist it and cause damage, and you'll have to utilize the cherry picker in a manner to stabilize everything...

 

[exalted_one]

I just spun a bearing and will be fixing it soon.

Drop the oil pan and check for metal shavings. Bearing metal in these cars look very much like aluminum (very light in color) and you will find anything from big shavings to a lite dust sprinkled everywhere.

In order to gain access to the bearings you must drop the main bearing support plate as mentioned above. The problem I am experiencing is that in order to do this you must separate the transmission from the engine in order to gain access to two bolts.

Now you have several options from what I have read.

1. Remove engine from car.
2. Unbolt the transmission in the engine bay and try to create just a big enough opening (between trans and engine) in order to reach the bolts.
3. Drill 2 holes in the correct spots allowing access to the bolts.
- A word about this, I have the auto-transmission and I have ruled this option out due to a much larger amount of metal on the underside of the bell housing.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

The Protgs engine is really easy to pull. The electrical connections are 70% of the work believe it ot not. Then it's just a few hoses and some bolts.

If its a rod bearing, you probably could change them in the car. If its a main bearing, how are you going to remove the crank with the engine in the car? You're going to get that far into it, only to discover you need to pull it anyway? Do it right the FIRST time.

 

[stealthbob]

Thanks, I guess I am pulling it then....don't want to mess with a hanging engine and prying a trans.