ekoz

So after 3 DE seasons my 3.0 lost the #2 rod bearing so I'm pulling the engine and doing a rebuild. As usual the info on this forum is top notch so thanks to all those who contribute.

I just got the engine out today not much else ( I pulled the pan last week to confirm it was the bearing)

I'm having thoughts of taking this car back to a stock setup (or mostly stock). So if your thinking about doing a 3.0 or bigger (shawns hybrid), PM me, Lart is probably lurking in my garage as I type this. I might just sell the whole long block.

I will post pictures of the crank when I start the tear down. I purchased the engine complete and don't have the build sheet but it is a sleeved block, 3.0 liter crank, JE pistions and carrillo rods.

Regardless of what direction I head, I'll try and post updates and thanks in advance when I have questions.

Really a bummer because engine was not burning any oil and making good power....I was running 14 psi boost and I believe my dyno was right around 360 whp......assume oil starvation on left hand nascar turn caused the failure....should have been paying more attention.

refresh951

What oil were you using? What was your redline? Do you monitor oil temp at the track?

ekoz

valvloline VR1 20W50, redline is 6200, and no oil temp gauge. I definitely think oil temp played a role, I was running a stock oil cooler. Also this track just got resurfaced so everyone was picking up speed on the oval..more G's on a long nascar left hander.

ekoz

Made some progress today. Good news is pistons and cylinders look good. Bearing # 2 was gone and number 3 was damaged too. I'll have to get the crank to a shop and get there thoughts on repair. Also cam tower looks good, I don't see any damage there so looks like metal stayed in the pan for the most part.

Do most of you take your parts to be cleaned? or just DIY...Method or tips appreciated.

I assume there are two options for the crank....weld and regrind or take it down 0.01 and up size the bearings?? I guess the third option is offset grind for stroker with MItsubishi rods. Wouldn't be bad if I could use the existing pistons?? all I know is they are stampedJE4014F and there is another light engraved number 436466 which appears to be a serial number.

Rod number 2 will need fixed/ replaced, I assume I would send it to Carrillo.

Also, I assume a 10mm socket does not belong in the engine....at some point I was rotating the engine and it fell out. (No it was not mine and I assume it was there since the original build)

GPA951s

So you have the short block torn down, you might want to think about putting windage holes under the main bearing journals this is the difference between a 968 block and a 944 block ... And I have never heard of a 968s with no 2 rod issues. Look on Lindsey's website. They offer it as a machine service. Food for thought....

Dave W.

I would not repair the crank if it's being used for racing. I'd recommend a new crank. I'd also get a new set of rods since the rods and crank journal on #2 is discolored and weakened from the heat.

Since metal went through the oil system I'd recommend that you disassemble and inspect the oil pump, get a new oil cooler (they can't be completely flushed) and flush out the entire oil system.

ekoz

Appreciate the comments, I forgot about this mod. I'll call them tomorrow to discuss but seems like good insurance.

rlm328

Cranks are repaired all of the time. They are normally machined down a couple of thousandths and a larger bearing is used, or you can get someone like Pauter to make you a set of custom rods.

ekoz

Thanks for the feedback.

I talked to a local guy that has been rebuilding crankshafts since the late 80's. That is all his shop does....crankshafts...no other machining, And he was has done work on these before so at least I feel like i have a good source. I'm dropping it off next week and he will let me know if it can be salvaged (I will not be racing, just DE's). He is looking at the entire rotating assembly for me and will give me advice on what can or should be done.

If the crank can't be salvaged, I'll have more to consider since I would probably end up going with a stock crank....3.0 cranks seem to be going for a $1,000 but stock can be had for less than $300.

I do plan to send the block to LR for the windage ports. After doing some more research this seems to make a lot of sense and the factory did it too so it can't hurt.

ekoz

two block filler questions.

About how far from top are you guys filling?

Is using paper towels the best method to keep the coolant passages clear? After the filler hardens aren't the paper towels stuck to the filler? how easy is it to clean off?

ekoz

I looked in my torsion tube (where the engine connects) yesterday and found this? Any ideas what this is supposed to be? Looks like 2 halves of a sleeve of some sort. part of clutch?

Block shipped out today for windage ports.

Chris White

I'm a little confused - looks like a 2.5 liter block with 100mm bores. not a Darton sleeved engine as noted in the signature.
What is it?

ekoz

it is an 86 block and it is 104 mm bore. It was advertised as darton sleeves when purchased, but I couldn't say for sure what they are as I don' t have the build sheet. The sleeve is thin and you can see it in the photo.

It does have carrillo rods, and JE pistons. Interesting though they are not a matched set. Not implying they were not balanced just saying they were not purchased together. Pistons have two sets of numbers and rods are not all stamped the same.

dropping crank off tomorrow along with pistons and rod to get the rotating assembly sorted out. Ideally I would like to stay with stock bearing sizes if possible.

Chris White

OK, they might be some of Darton dry sleeves but not the MID sleeves.

ekoz

Thinking about this option.

Go with the Mitsubitshi Rod, 4g63. Grind the 4 crank journals to fit, the question is there a way to use my current piston which has the stock pin? the stock is 24mm versus the 4g63 which is 22 mm. Can I machine the center of 4g63 pin or is that too much material? when I dropped off the crank, my machinist mentioned that a lot of guys are going to smaller crank journals because is reduces the speed between the bearing and the crank. Never really thought about that but it would be true. Maybe this has been thoroughly discussed but it would be another reason to use the mitsubushi rod.

in my case if I need a new rod it is almost as expensive as four mitsu's