[Shotimes] Rod bearings

[Bruce Malachuk]

Yup. I have a mechanical oil pressure gauge in my car, and my oil pressure
is really good most of the time up till 40psi. I never get too much higher
than that, well at 7000rpm hot my oil pressure is about 47psi. But since I
installed the short shifter I have no center console in place right now, and
i could hear a knocking at 3500+ RPM

My car has 89k on it, it was old man driven before me who bogged the engine
all the time, and I drive it like it's supposed to be driven. Kirk asked me
when we were at Blackhawk what gear I was running, I replied 2nd thru some
of the turns he was listening at. 2nd @ 7000 for about 1/4 of the course,
and I routinely am up there in day to day driving.

Plus I think that my SFB's and kirked mounts mean that when engine braking
or anything that the bearings are taking some added load. Lord knows
trailering 1800lbs or so from FL to NY at 80 MPH in 90F weather with the AC
pumping prolly didn't help matters any

They are getting changed out tomorrow morning weather permitting. I'll have
loads of pictures for ppl to see :-)
Bruce
94 Opal Frost MTX
93 Black ATX - winter beater then parts car :-)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Prochilo" <gr8sho@prochilo.myserver.org>
To: "SHOtimes" <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] Rod bearings


> Rod bearings that are in an impending state of failure are a silent killer
at
> first.  This is why I believe people want an oil pressure gauge instead of
> idiot lights, CMIIW.
>
> This is what I observed on my 3.0L before it gave up the ghost last
> September.
>   1.. After the engine gets warm, and sitting at a traffic light with
> transmission in neutral, the red Oil light flickers slowly.  Give it a
little
> gas and it goes away and usually stays off.  Engine is quiet as usual.  No
> perceived loss of power.
>   2.. Eventually after a few more drives this pattern will get worse and
then
> the light won't go off once the engine reaches idle again.  Engine is
still
> quiet.  No perceived loss of power.
>     a.. At this point I decide to get an oil flush and change oil and
filter.
> No difference noticed.  Duh.  I ask some of the local people what might be
> happening and they don't give much help and can't diagnose the problem.
>   3.. At some point later, starting the car will sound like an old mid 70s
> motor that has bad timing and you hear a knocking sound.  Drive the car,
sound
> goes away.  After engine warms up, you get same as 2.
>   4.. Finally the coup de gras.  You drive the car, knocking sound doesn't
> seem to go away.  It's really loud now but car still moves.  The noise
gets to
> be so loud that you just don't want to drive it anymore.  Now you have a
real
> decision to make about the car.
> I'm not a gear-head, so throughout this whole time I have no idea what's
> happening until it's too late.  You probably read this and say WTF was
this
> guy thinking, but I wasn't using the car a lot at the time and the drives
were
> all in the roughly 10 mile per trip range.  Of course I know better now
but at
> the time it was all new to me.
>
> I don't know if after any point during this sequence if the motor could
have
> been saved if it had stopped being used and the rod bearings were
immediately
> replaced.  I do know that once the crankshaft has been compromised that
the
> repairs get to a whole new level of work.
>
> Cheers,
> Carl Prochilo
> 92 Ultra Red Crimson
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bruce Malachuk" <bmalach1@nycap.rr.com>
> To: "SHOtimes" <shotimes@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 12:59 PM
> Subject: [Shotimes] Rod bearings
>
>
> > Well with my center console out of the car and no sound deadening
material
> in
> > place I can hear a distinct knock at 3500+ RPM in my car when driving.
That
> to
> > me is enough readon to change the bearing, but I need to find the best
deal
> on
> > all that I need to do the job.
> >
> > Price wise is there anyplace out there that carries everything and has
> decent
> > prices? Rockauto doesn't carry the bearings but carries the gasket set
and
> egr
> > gasket to use as an oil pickup gasket.
> >
> > I wanna try and do this over the weekend cause I really hate the idea of
my
> > car knocking like that.
> >
> > Bruce
> > 94 Opal Frost MTX
> > 93 Black ATX - winter beater then parts car :-)
> > _______________________________________________
> > Shotimes mailing list
> > Shotimes@autox.team.net
> > http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes
> _______________________________________________
> Shotimes mailing list
> Shotimes@autox.team.net
> http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes