RE: IML: 413 rod knock etc

["Brooks Harkey" <vm.dude@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kenyon,

If you're going to go the route you're planning to go, you've GOT to change
those 2 rods.  To not do that, you're just begging for trouble soon.  Once a
bearing spins in a rod, junk the rod.  It changes the clearance between the
rod and the back of the bearing, which just makes for a mess looking for a
place to happen.

I also bet that if you pull the other rods, you're gonna see a messed up
crank.  And I also don't think you can just buy 2 rod bearings -- you're
going to have to buy a set anyway.

It's not much trouble to yank the main caps and change the main bearings as
long as you're doin' stuff..... I'd do that as well.  I bet you're going to
find them scored as well.  Maybe not, but it sure is easy to look while it's
sitting there.  Be sure to re-torque correctly.  ALSO -- if you remove the
main caps, keep them in order and facing the same way that you took them
out.  Put them EXACTLY back like you found them, since when they
manufactured the block, they probably bored the hole for the crank right
down thru the middle of all of them.  To switch one around at this point is
asking for trouble.

Anyway -- good luck!!  Keep us posted on how it goes.

--Brooks in Dallas


-----Original Message-----
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Steve B.
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2005 4:55 PM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: IML: 413 rod knock etc

 
> What causes this failure?  Engine is comparatively young.  
> Had sat but found no evidence of rust or anything that would 
> hold the piston back when restarted.  Car appears to have 
> been driven sloppily due to some really amazing body damage, 
> like he drove under a drive-thru window.  PO now in jail on 
> 3-strikes law, so who knows what the heck he did with it, but 
> looks like a good, original car till he got to it and banged 
> it up.  Recent brakes/tires indicate someone was taking care 
> of it, and fluids all seemed good, with no particulate and 
> relatively clean from a somewhat recent change (as opposed to 
> going 15k between changes and just pouring more in the top of 
> the engine when low.
>

Three things I can think of that would cause this:
#1  Oiling system failure.  If this were the case you would know it from
looking at the bearings.  

#2  Abuse.  Intentional or unintentional.  Maybe the throttle stuck and
caused a severe over-rev.  Maybe the prior owner was drag racing it. 

#3  Defective bolt.   That bolt might have been weak from the get-go and
only failed when a new owner drove it a little harder than the old owner
did.

I hope others can think of more.   You only mention replacing the four
failed bearings.  You need to replace every bearing on that crankshaft and
it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out the cam bearing either (even though I
probably wouldn't).  I would replace all the rod bolts with correct strength
bolts, new bearings and plastigauge to make sure they were within tolerance.
Bearing are cheap and easy to replace while the engine is out.  Whatever
happened to make that bolt fail could have damaged other parts that aren't
evident to you yet.  

                   My .02

                   Steve B.

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