94StinkinLincoln

yes, i knew the bearings were toast. im just want to know why so i can fix the problem and have this motor put together the right way so i do not have any more problems.

i put the motor together, it was my first endeavor, and im finding out that it was a little over my head at the time since i had no experienced engine builds to help me out.
i checked one bearing w/ a plasti guage but i know now i should have checked them all and i do not remember the clearance i got on that one.

im either going to talk to the machine shop i had the block work done (bore,hone, and balanced) and the stroker kit ordered from or a local place and find out the cause of the bearing failure.

ok if yal can help me out on a couple things...
1. i have been told that it is ok for the connecting rods to touch one another when they are connected to the crank, also been told its not ok.
2. i used Rotella T 15w-40 oil, 650 miles on the motor; is the bearing wear because of the oil being to thick. i know im going to get reemed for using such thick oil, i listened to an old timer and i didnt know better myself.

3. is the bearing wear caused from the above two and/or a crank from eagle not being polished or any work done to it?

its just been one thing after the other, 400 miles on a brand new rebuilt aode and it sounds like the pump in it is toast. and when i pull the motor i saw what my $375 torque converter looked like, i was f******** pissed...it had gouge marks in the side of it and the weld quality looked like crap. all the pictures are on my photobucket, the converter pics and video are in the tq. converter folder.

my77stang

1. yes, the rods are going to touch, they are machined on the sides so they can rub against each other. when both rods are tightened down you should be able to move them side to side a small amount.

2. rotella 15w40 is fine, these 5w30 guys are a bunch of pussies who belong driving civics. thick oil FTMFW

3. not caused from the above two, my first guess would be contaminates from building. could be clearances though.

btw, that converter looks fubar. who did the work?

94StinkinLincoln

a local tranny shop did the tranny rebuild and a company does the converters for them. i had a couple people say they did good work, but really im not thinking so myself.

94StinkinLincoln

thanks for your input my77stang.
i could see one or two bearings messed up by contamination, but all of them, only one had just light wear marks, the #1 cap. i used lots of marvel mystery oil and tried my best to keep it clean, im sure its a possibilty though. im tending to lean more toward the clearance side of things. im just hoping my crank isnt hosed.

my77stang

use STP/oil (dino w/eweight it doesnt really matter) mix for assembly lube on all the bearings, cylinder walls, etc.

2 kwik

if I'm not mistaken you didn't even prime the engine correct? were you sure you even got the right size bearings? also checking side clearance is a must as you now know....so with your crank isall but gone it maybe cheaper to go with a 331 kit if the cyl walls are in good shape if not $hit can it all and find a nice 351 you could even leave it a 351 with no stoker and it will be a nice set up...if you need help just ask

tinman

From what I can see in the pics thee was not only dirt on the bearings but it looks to me like the crank had some taper in it too...

94StinkinLincoln

yes i primed the engine, i took a oil pump shaft and welded a bolt to it to fit in the drill and made it straight, damn near close, couldnt do it again if i tired lol and spun oil all inside the motor.

the bearing issue is prob from not checking clearances, not getting the crank polished, and im starting to think the mains were not lign honed. so what im going to do is get a local guy to look at my bottom end and tell me whats going on and what to do about it. chances are the crank will need to be polished at the least or ground .010 and mains lign honed and bearings to match. when i pull the heads im going to make sure the walls are ok, it kinda worries me that the connecting rods touch eachother on the crank. eagle sais side clearance .015 to .025, but it doesnt say for what. im going to get someone experienced to check this thing out.

92GreyGT

Why is running thin oil bad? If the clearances in the engine are correctly machined all the thicker oil does is take away power. My dad's professionally built 900 horsepower 522 only uses 5w-30. At idle when up to operating temperature,he only has about 7-10 psi oil pressure. When he called the engine builder and asked if there was a problem the engine builder told him that was allhe needed. My dad has been turning it 8000 rpm for tow years with no problems.

94StinkinLincoln

i just didnt know to use thin oil, my dad uses the 15-40 in every vechicle we have ever owned so i just went with that. i got 10w-30 for when the rebuild is done and i might go 5w-30