Neil Cotty wrote:
> I raised the engine I guess about an inch by placing my trolley
> jack under the bellhousing. I still couldn't get to the front bolts, so
> I decided to use a *revolutionary* <G> (kidding) approach and go at the
> front three bolts from the front of the car, under the timing marks. I
> could *just* start the bolts using a ring ended spanner and then
> switching to the open end to finish off.
Lifting the engine off the mounts only SOUNDS scary, it's really
just opening four bolts. Then you can lift the engine 4-5 inches
and get decent access to those bolts.
Might still be worth it for putting them back. One problem
with tightening bolts in confined spaces is that you never can
be really sure you get them snug, since it's hard to get
a final clean satisfying pull on them.
> I pushed on the conrod of #3 - clack - it seems the bearing
> has disintegrated and it may not be the pin, piston as I thought it was.
> The other rods appear to only have lateral movement (bout a mm if that),
> not vertical so I guess these *may* be ok.
Ouch.
> Should I replace all the rod bearings while I'm here?
Well, absolutely, in fact you have to buy all the bearings
at once so you might is well put them in.
However, in reality, that crank is probably going to
need work. With just worn bearings you can usually just swap
for new, but that poor journal would have gotten slammed
thousands of times by that con rod as the engine ran, and
is probably far from a usable.
As well, there was probably a few hundred cycles involving
partially-out bearing bits, sort of that 20c piece wedged out
partway as it took the full force of compression.
You can inspect the journal by opening the rod. You'll probably
even be able to see damage, and it takes a lot less than visible
damage to ruin any chance of a good surface.
> Is there some way to clean this out whilst
> the motor is still in the car (with limited access)?
The best way I know to remove swarf from an engine is to
hose it down with detergent (washing-up liquid) with a
spray nozzle thing, either the kind that attach to a hose
and feed in soap, or the $5 ones that attach to an air compressor
and feed in soapy water into the airstream.
Hose everything really good with soap, this will degrease
it all so the swarf doesn't stick.
Then hose the whole engine down with a garden hose for
a few minutes. This should blow away all the swarf.
Then be sure to spray oil on all surfaces immediately, the
degreased iron will flash rust before your eyes.
> Fun fun fun! :)
Indeed. But strip it down a bit, and you may find
it requiring some machine work. I'm usually the last guy
to say "pull the engine, forget about it" but if that big
end bearing was actually missing and the engine was running,
the end is nigh for that crank.
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
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