scottyp99

Nah, you really need a puller. Be careful removing the cam, you don't want to nick the cam bearings. What I like to do is, after you remove the timing chain gear, screw a long bolt, 6-8 inches long, into the cam, so you can use it as a handle while removing the cam. Works good for installing a cam, too.


Keep the shiny side up!
Scott

hugie82

Well that motor certainly doesn't look stock
Hone it!
Cam it!
And get a nice set of aluminum heads when money is available

hugie82

Why are you rebuilding this engine? If oil pressure and compression was good I would just clean the deck carefully, check it for straightness and invest your money in a set of heads and a cam. Just from the pictures it looks like a low mileage performance motor. Someone took the time to use an aftermarket crank, pistons and have the engine assembly balanced!
Nice base

FatCat

I tore it down because I had problems that needed adressed. Did you see the picture of the plug I put in and drove 50 miles or less and that is what it looked like. The balancer had also slipped had a detonation and it smoked.
There were too many unknown problems. I am just trying to get it to a good running place now. If it doesn't need rebuilt, I am all for that. SBG and Scott as well as many of you have just been helping me out. I also pulled it to clean and fix a few things in the engine compartment.

FatCat

There was also some pretty glitter in the oil when I drained it! Haha

hugie82

I guess it's time to start popping bearing caps. Detonation sometimes can hammer the top of the bearing.
The balancer slip is pretty common but the problem comes in when people still try using it to time the motor.
You might get lucky and the bearings might be in the beginning stages of wear but if not, it looks like a new crank with plenty of meat for the crank to be ground.
You can handle this with no problem, just keep posting pics and questions!!!
Good Luck

FatCat

Prob dumb question. Hahaha what are the bearing caps? Got a pic and is there anything I should know before doing that?

Ibanez540r

...just messing with you.

The bearing caps are actually the "main" caps. You may have heard of "4 bolt main" and "2 bolt main". They are what hold the crankshaft in the bottom of the block. When the engine is on a stand and upside down with the oil pan off, the crank gets layed into the block which have half of a bearing in each race. Once the crank is in, the "caps" with the other half of the bearing get placed over the crank and secured into the engine. Each cap either has 2 bolts or 4 bolts... You have a total of 5 main caps. 1 at each end of the engine and three in the middle.

To answer your question, you should number them to orient which came from where and do not spin them. Basically, if you pull them off, make sure they go back on exactly the way they came off, and torqued to the proper rating in the proper sequence. ...by the way you are looking for any "copper" looking metal areas or grooves in the bearings.

johnt365

You have 4 bolt main caps. You need to buy a numbering punch kit and number each main cap. Then if you remove the rods and pistons number the cap and rod as set. If you don't you may end up having to get extra machine work done. Basically just try to number and arrange things so they go back exactly as they were.

You may have already been doing this but I just wanted to support the importance as mentioned above.

FatCat

Curiosity is killing me. Is it ok to pull caps even if Balancer isn't off yet?

scottyp99

As long as you flip the engine upside down, otherwise the crank will fall out and hit the floor!


Keep the shiny side up!
Scott

FatCat

HHHMMMM! I think all these but one look pretty good...The other picture is at the bottom of a cylinder.

SuperBuickGuy

steel crank, forged rods, bearings look good.

As for the scoring - see if you can catch a fingernail on it.... if not (and probably not from that picture)... re-ring away

... and get some decent heads

... and you can pull the crank without pulling the balancer.... but it's a PITA because you have to take the timing cover with it

SuperBuickGuy

.... Scott - I'll mention this to attach to the end of the cam discussion. I've moved towards getting a lot more help on my engine builds because there is a huge amount to know when building 2500 hp - to the point that I'm part of a team that's assembling my latest motor. When we designed the motor, we seriously did start with the cam, and one of the Yodas* told me that bit of knowledge about the cam. Most times, even with what I know, most times I feel like my best contribution is coffee and donuts.

*they're all really smart, short, and I swear have a green hue around them

FatCat

that is the deepest scratches I have found and they will not catch a nail. SBG, is there a place I can watch a video or something on how to re-ring? Do I need to hone the cylinders? I am going to get a puller in the morning, I also have not figured out where the metal in the pan came from.

Can I get ring at a local part store (anything special) or do I need to order them?

scottyp99

Close-up flash photography can make things look a lot worse than they are. You can still see the cross-hatching through the scoring, and you say you can't catch a fingernail on it, I would be awfully tempted to not even re-ring it. Those bearings look almost new, too, I'd be tempted to re-use them. Key word there is tempted. The smart thing to do would be to take it to a machine shop and let them clean and magnaflux the block. They can also measure the crank for you and tell you what size bearings you need to order, and get some recommendations from them. Or, you could roll the dice! Get some Plasti-gauge, and see what the clearance is on the main bearings. I think most bearings will say what size they are on the back, if you want new ones of the same size. And you still haven't looked at the rod bearings. Who knows what might be going on there! It's looking good so far, though! I'd guess that since the main bearings look so good, you can be reasonably confidant that there hasn't been too much grit flowing through the oiling system. What did the bottom of the lifters look like? Any wear there?

BTW, don't get to thinking I am any kind of expert at all! I have had a hand in re-building maybe a half dozen engines in my whole life (not counting two-strokes, but they are a completely different animal) and they have all been kinda half-assed, (some more than others!)compared to what some of the guys on this forum are used to. Like SBG, for instance. When people start talking about 2500 horsepower engines, it's time for me to leave the room!

You'll probably want to order your rings and bearings as a package. Here's a link to a place that has some hard-to-beat deals:

http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...uctModelId=381



Keep the shiny side up!
Scott

AirborneSilva

I'd have the rods magnafluxed as well, had one break on me not long after a rebuild, will never make that mistake again, I did drive the car hard but it still shouldn't have broken...

hugie82

Maybe you can narrow down the metal in your pan. Take a magnet and see if its alum or steel. If its steel it may have been left over from the machine shop. If its alum you may have a cracked ring and considering the detonation that motor went through it would be a good idea to check all the pistons anyway! A summit re-ring kit is cheap and you'll get all new bearings,ring, gaskets,ect...
I hope you keeped all those bearing caps in order. It's a MUST!!!

hugie82

If you are reinstalling the caps, they only go on one way but you can force them on wrong. Look and you'll see the cap for the rod is slightly offset. The mains have arrows pointing to the front of the engine.

Fatcat, there is NO STUPID question when you're learning !!! Ask anything that come to mind or before you try tackling something new...

FatCat

I pulled them 1 at a time, marked and replaced before I took the next one off. 100% sure on that. I will try the magnet this morning and give you guys a report.