Hello, i am new to the forums as well as the corvette scene, as i've always been into muscle cars.

So i purchased this 1995 corvette with 150k miles as a commuter car for school. I drove it a year with no problems. At 164k miles i just had to park it. I drove it 6 hours prior to this event just fine going to pick up food. When i started it one morning i heard a "clack" sound sounding like a knock or tick possibly however one decides to describe it. the noise increases with rpms but is not terribly loud but does sound like someone is hitting the engine with another metal object. It has high/normal oil pressure, and it always has. It lost its power though i took it up the road it would not go over 10 mph without the engine feeling and sounding like it will stall. I was told it was a spun bearing, after doing a lot of research yes i am inclined to believe that, but i want the opinions from these forum gurus myself. There is a fair amount of metal shavings in the oil filter upon removing it and cutting it open.

The reason i ask about this is because my engine was great i used it every day and babied the car...i drove it to school as a commuter nothing more, other than taking the car to shows in the corvette club.

one day though it ran hot, and i changed the thermostat, other than that i had no problems with the car. it ran hot about 8k miles before this problem. Oil changed every 3k miles with mobil 1 5w-30. people say these bearings go out when people dog their cars or have low oil pressure. My car looked good oil never burnt, had good pressure and still does, and ran completely great until i started it one morning!

Total Symptom list:

knock/clack/tick sound
no power
sound increases with rpms
high oil pressure
metal shavings in oil filter
overheated 8k miles before this problem

please let me know what you truely think! me and my dad are thinking about pulling the motor and tearing it down but we dont have the time yet, and this was my daily car...do you guys really think its bearings?

 

metal in oil filter? You done spun a bearing, dude...

I bet the over heating killed it... sad to say...

Originally I was going to suggest checking the cats, and I still think that's viable, it would explain the drop in power, but the metal in the filter is bad bad bad.

 

thanks man. So why would overheating cause the bearings to fail? is it because the whole engine is aluminum and it warps and weakens? because i know that overheating usually warps heads and such top end wise, i did not know that my bearings could be affected. that sucks. that motor was good even with those high miles. lol.

 

IMO I would say the overheating thinned the oil enough to heat up the already thinner bearings, due to mileage. Once the bearings have excessive clearance they start spinning, metal in the oil, and you are toast. The good thing is you could put a crank kit and might be alright for a while. The bad is with the mileage and overheating I would be worried with the rings collapsing which wouldn't show up until after you out it back together. Short block, or junk yard, you pull it, would be less expensive.