That sounds like a good idea. I'll order one.

 

[QUOTE=five7kid;1587533720]"Thicker" oil should. But, 20 weight is thinner than 30 weight, 30 weight is thinner than 40 weight, etc.

I said "weight" rather than "W", because the "W" in 10W-30 stands for "winter", not "weight". If you've been using 10W-30 or 5W-30, a thicker oil would be 10W-40. And a 20W-50 thicker still.

And, there is a point of diminishing return when going to a thicker oil. You can actually starve the bearings with too thick of an oil (especially in cold starts).

The two most common causes of bearing failure are insufficient oil flow, and debris in the oil. The former often leads to the latter.

With 160k miles and sparklies in the oil, I think I'd just pull the engine and rebuild it (since that is your eventual plan, anyway). Wouldn't surprise me at all that you've got some crank journals wiped out.[/QUOTE] Yup.

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I was about to point that out to the OP so he did not get into trouble with a wt oil that was counter-productive to his goals...

At this point to buy some time, seeking a couple thousand more miles,

Here is what I'd do.....and do it ALL !

drain and FLUSH the crankcase. Add 1 qt of ATF (or Marvel Mystery Oil)to the eng oil and drive it 20-30 miles or more and make sure it gets to full operating temp. Let it sit for a while to allow the ATF to soak in and penetrate the sludge so it will drain well.
IF the oil pressure falls off too much during the drive time, just fast idle to maintain at least 5 psi while at stop lites or in traffic. The ATF will dissolve the sludge and gum that's holding the toxic metal shavings. You want/NEED those outta there !
Because if any metal remains the whole deal is a waste of time/money. NOTE: the ATF is a bunch cheaper that a qt of Mystery Oil...

Drain every drop of the 6 qts of oil/atf and metal. Pull the filter and let that drain for a while as well.

Refill with any-brand 20-50 and ADD a $12 can of RESTORE engine oil treatment. The **** works ! Its used to replace metal that's worn away by burnishing in microscopic metal particles to fill the low spots (microscopic level) and level the metal to metal contact surfaces. Seriously, the stuff works! Yessir, it IS a snake oil repair, BUT in a situation like this where you only want a temp fix, that is what this product was made for.
I have used it and I know of a well known,. and recognized builder that has also used it for the same purpose, to buy TIME.
The V8 can is 1 pt I believe it is...about $12 @ walmart.

BTW, you can get the walmart brand full synthetic 5 qt oil jug for $17. They have 5-30, 10-40 and some stores will have a 20-50wt synthetic. Mobile-1 15-50 is what I use summer and that's more in the area of $35-$38 for the 5qt jug.

Add a decent oil filter and start saving for your real rebuild !

If you see silver paint in the engine oil you MUST accept the fact that every bearing and wear surface is now damaged and must be machined and resurfaces. Cam is junk and likely the entire valve train. Guides being made of bronze in some cases are softer and get eaten alive by hard metal particles. Metal particles no matter how small or how little that are allowed to circulate thru the entire oil system have done their damage ! LOTS of damage....nothing is immune.

The more of the 'crud' you remove now, the more time you buy. The wear will continue, the goal now is to slow it as much as possible and to negate any damage that's capable of stopping the engine. You DO NOT want something to come apart and do even more damage at this point ! A rod that's got a hair too much slack in the big end or a main bearing that's so loose that it might spin....well, not good.

The flushing will remove the toxins (for now)

the fresh oil, thicker WITH the dose of RESTORE will certainly slow the wearing and might even reverse some of the damage, temporarily...

Pulling the pan and going thru a BUNCH of grief just for 1000 miles will sour the whole project, and possibly your liking of Corvettes !

I wish you the best of luck and I hope for a good outcome!

Remember, if you do not know, ASK. The only stupid questions are those that were never ask....


OMT...

if you do not have your FSM set YET, start saving. Right now the genuine GM 2 book service manual sets are selling on FleaBay for under $50 used. I've seen as low as $30. I paid $100 several years ago...

There is NO substitute for the detail and the facts that those 2 books contain. NO substitute.

DO NOT waste $19 on a Haynes, Chitlins or Clymers manual. Those are generic and work well for doorstops, not for quality mechanical work. They have little to no detail and their specs are often generic from a SBC book, not a year make and model specific book set like the GM FSM. Its not like a magazine, the mechanical book is more the size of a ph book for a mid sized town...Can't do good work without it !

Good luck !

 

LOL - when referring to "one at a time" I meant one set at a time - one set being an upper and a lower shell/insert. Do one rod bearing, upper/lower set at a time. Then when you've replaced all the inserts in all the rods, then replace one main bearing pair at a time.

Know this - main bearings sometime have an upper and a lower shell/insert. The upper shells have a hole through the bearing shell - sometimes a groove as well. The half with the hole and groove gets installed up into the block - so oil can flow to the mains and then on to the rod bearings.

If you install the solid bearing shells into the engine block, - the ones that have no hole in them – you will starve the mains and therefor the rods from any oil. With no oil, the new bearings will burn up in mere seconds. Not a good thing.

Like other have indicted - best to get some back up here – some experienced help for your first time through.

Welcome to cars!! LOL!

Good Luck -

Jake -

 

10w-40 Mobil one. Done. Sounds like you already pulled it apart though. Like most people said it's most likely cam bearings not bottom end.

 

Wow, thanks for the detailed response!

Here's what it sounds like is the recommended course of action. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Drop the pan, replace the bearings, and swap in a high volume oil pump.
Refill it with 20W-50 oil and 1qt. of ATF.
Run it for 30 miles.
Drain the oil and change the filter.
Refill it with 20W-50 oil and a can of Restore and change the filter again.
Rebuild the motor after I get it smogged.

I got the FSM off Craigslist soon after I bought the car. It's what I'm using to drop the pan and what I've referenced for other work. I must admit, the technicality of the manual is a bit daunting though.

 

So what parts do I need to replace? The crankshaft? Engine block?

Also, I heard that stuff accumulates in the oil cooler. Do I need to flush it out?

 

Thanks for the warning on the upper and lower shells being different! I'll make sure to be careful of mixing them up.

 

Would just heavier oil work?
Well, not totally pulled apart, but I have almost completely dropped the pan.

 

When I pulled off the clutch housing cover, I noticed what looks like motor oil on the bottom inside edge of it. Is this significant?
EDIT: I'm thinking a bad seal on the back of the engine?

 

If it's just the crank bearings (rods, mains), you might be able to get by replacing the bearings. But, if there is excess wear to the crank, as already stated by another member, the new bearing would wear out quickly. The rebuild process is to "turn" the crank, which is a precision grinding of the bear surfaces to an "undersize" - typically .010", .020", or .030" (you don't want to go more than .030" under on SBC cranks).

Yes.

 

Thanks. Followup - what's the best way to flush it out? Is water okay?

 

Like I said from the beginning. If you take the pan down, check a rod and main cap with plastigage to see where you are at. There is no reason to change any the rod or main bearings if it is the cam bearings. You seem determined to change those bearings, but diagnosis is most important at this stage.

Then...Take Leesvet's advice. That is a lot of good info right there. We are all trying to save you time and money.

 

You will use NO WATER

 

The Kid shouldn't be doing this

 

I just got some plastigage so I'll check the clearances. Thanks.

 

Okay, that's what I was thinking. I heard somewhere that brake cleaner works well. Any thoughts?

 

I've built a computer and a gun from scratch, not to mention many other seemingly daunting projects as well as various car repairs and I've managed to complete all of them. I got this car to learn how to work on a car and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I am taking my time and doing my research, and I guarantee I will fix this.
Nonetheless, I appreciate your inspiring words of advice.

 

had an old 74 ford pickup with transplated 351 boss mustang cleveland motor in it. It had a bad crank and id crawl under it at least twice a year and change bearings. Had it down to under 2 hours. To poor at the time to replace the crank. Youd be driving down the road and the oil pressure would drop from 40 to zero right now. Kept an extra set on the shelf all the time. Ended up junking the truck and kicked myself in the but a few years later when i saw the same motor go for 10k on ebay!!!

 

For plastigaging the bearings, it sounds like I just pull a bearing, replace it with plastigage on it, rotate the crank, then pull it again and measure? I want to make sure I have it right.

EDIT: Sounds like you're not supposed to rotate the crank.

 

You need to watch what you remove and where you remove it from. There are factory builds with .001 bearings and also with a different spec flange on the thrust bearing for the mains. Everyone talks about much larger specifications but you just want to watch "what you remove" and "from where"! It wouldn't be unusual to find .001 in a couple locations. Every bearing will have the spec on it, every one.

Patience!

Don't preorder parts(bearings) and be sure you buy locally. That can be a big plus for you. You might confirm with a local before hand that the bearings in standard are either on the shelf or available in a day but I wouldn't rush.