I really need someone who has done quite a bit of engine work to tell me this, specifically for a Mustang.

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to inspect or see the bearings for a 302 motor that is in the car without removing or loosening the bearing caps? More specifically, if I want to inspect ALL of bearings, wouldn't I need to at least loosen the #3 or #4 caps? I'm under the impression that you would have to.

Also, is it possible for a bearing cap to come completely off while driving the car any other way besides not torquing the bolts on the caps properly? If the cap was laying in the bottom of the oil pan with the bolts fully intact, no stripping of the threads on the bolts, not broken and still IN THE CAP... what are the possible causes for this?

Thanks in advance for the help and expertise.

 

the only other explanation would be stripped threads in the conrod

 

I think he is talking about the main bearing caps. If so, it sounds like the cap that came off was not torqued properly if at all. If this is the case, go back to your engine builder and let him know what happened and that you expect him to make it right which includes the following: Complete engine rebuild (again) with line boring of the main bearing journals and a new crank. The reason for the new crank is because if you ran it like that the crank could very well be damaged due to lack of support at the missing main bearing. It could have bent it or even cracked the crank at the journal from too much flexing. Sorry to bring bad news, but if it were my engine that is what I would do.

 

The original problem with the car was that there was an oil leak at the rear main seal, so I took it to a shop to have it repaired. There were no other problems with the car other than some wear and tear on it, nothing major. I had the same shop do a compression test to see how things looked and it wasn't great but wasn't horrible either. When I took the car back to the shop for the rear main job, the shop owner told me that he looked at the bearings and could see some copper and that I shouldn't "beat on the car" or drive it too hard. Ok, so 300 miles of easy driving later, I'm doing 60mph cruising down the highway and I hear this strange high pitch squeal coming from the engine. My first thought was that it was a belt or something. It got much louder within a couple of minutes and than BANG, I hear something let loose and felt it, it was loud and then came this clanking sound like metal was grinding. I looked out of the rear mirror and saw oil pouring out of the car. When I stopped and got out, and I checked under the car, there were two HUGE holes in the oil pan, torn from the inside. I had no idea at that point what was wrong and had the car towed back to my house. The 300 miles I had driven it was over 3 weeks because I only use the car for work. I didn't correlate the problem as being related to what the shop did. It wasn't until a month later when I had the money to have the engine work done that I brought it to an engine specialist, and when he took the oil pan off, he called me to come take pictures. The #4 bearing cap was sitting in the bottom of the oil pan, with the bolts still in it. They weren't stripped or broken and I could put them back in if I wanted to, but at this point the crank and engine were shot from the cap flying around inside the engine while doing 60mph.

I'm not an expert in engines, and the shop owner tried to say it was the bearings not the bearing cap and the guy who originally worked on my car at his shop is no longer working there (coincidence?). The shop owner never inspected the engine even after I offered him to. He filed a claim with his insurance company, which they never inspected the engine either, but denied based on his claim that "he wasn't at fault because he did not have to remove or loosen the #4 bearing cap to do any of the work that was performed" yet he told me and wrote on the receipt that he inspected the bearing(s), as in plural, and they showed 40% copper. That is why I asked if it is possible in any other way for that bearing cap to have come off.

I spent over $3000 (that I didn't have) to fix the damage, which included replacing the engine. Even after I confronted the shop owner, he denied everything and kept dodging any attempt from me to reconcile the problem. I know he is going to try and use his "expertise" to keep getting out of a situation so I'm trying to find information that will help me fight back. The shop that I had the engine replaced at was firmly under the belief that the cap was never properly torqued and I had the car for a pretty long time with no problems driving it until I left that shop, 300 miles later. It doesn't seem right that he can not only take my money for the job he did without offering a refund or anything, AND refuse to pay for any of the damage. Even the warranty he touted with his work in the first place doesn't cover engine damage, so I was pretty discouraged.

Thanks for at least helping me feel like I'm not insane for thinking he could be in the wrong.

 

Fortunately, you're in CA. One of the nicer things about this state is the existence of the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). Go here and file a claim ASAP. IMO, you have a strong case against the shop for malpractice. It's obvious that the shop didn't torque down the cap properly, causing the bolts to work loose and resulting in the destruction of your engine. You've tried to work it out with the shop directly, now you need to go the legal route.