Hi folks,
Well I repaired my thrustwasher situation and took the car out for a nice long
country drive with my Son today. So far everything appears to be fine, and
the car is a real hoot to drive. I will have to keep a close eye on the
crankshaft end float though, and I thought I'd let all of you know what I did
to fix the problem. I felt this was worth the effort to find out if I REALLY
needed to rebuild or replace the engine.
The crankshaft had indeed wore into the main bearing cap, but fortunately not
so much that it had wore into the block. I took the end cap to the local
welder and had him build up the area that wore (the area toward the mating
faces that retain the washer) so I could then take it to the machine shop and
have the width and mating face brought back to their original dimensions. I
then ordered two brand new thrust washers at the original width dimension for
starters, placed them into their appropriate place, and did the end float
test, thinking that I'd have to order an oversize washer for the thrust loaded
side. I got a total end play dimension of about .006" which told me that the
crank must not have worn very much. Obviously the end cap casting took most
of the wear.
Now my only concern is how long the thrust side washer will last, rubbing up
against the slightly worn but smooth crankshaft surface. If it does last,
then I've lucked out and will make the end float check a regular practice. I
STRONGLY urge the rest of you to do the same. It could save you lots of down
time and lots of money. The hardest part of replacing these washers is
removing the oil pan and then replacing it, and it gives you a chance to see
what's going on. It's worth the effort believe me...
Scott Helms (sure hope it doesn't rain tomorrow)
Northern Indiana
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