Synth

At least I got a few weeks of driving out the car finally! It started with a faint knock that i really had to listen to to hear, then after driving it home and letting it sit for a week it had become pronounced. The knocking would increase with rpm and was noticeable throughout most of the rpm band. I tried to start it the other day to begin diagnosing it, but it wouldn't turn over. However after i had removed the head I was able to turn the crank with a socket wrench. Also, I noticed slightly lower oil pressure after i started having the knocking.

I had pulled the camtower and head to see if there was anything visible, but i didn't see anything that stood out. The second cylinder from the front of the car did have a little horizontal scoring on one side of it about 1.5 inches down.

The big worry is when i drained the oil the magnet had a ton of very fine metal particles on it. From my searching so far it sounds like this may be from a failed rod bearing.

So, my questions are:

Is it definitely a rod bearing?
What else could it be?
What should my next step be? (was planning to pull oil pan)
What are my repair options?

Thanks in advance!

333pg333

Sounds like a rod bearing. What oil are you using?

xsboost90

yes- time to pull the motor and fix.

Synth

Not even a little false hope? sigh... hehe.

How difficult of a fix is it? I've pulled the motor before so i can handle that. I've never worked on the lower part of the engine though.

What other possible damage may have occured?

Thanks again!

carlege

no need to pull the motor but you will need to remove a bunch of stuff expeically if you dont have a 2 piece crossover pipe and 3 piece cross member.

here is a write up on it http://www.texasblake.com/porsche/tech/rodbearings.html

Chris White

I would have said it could be a lifter until you mentioned a drop in oil pressure...that points to a rod bearings.
You can do rod bearigns with the engine in the car...but it is not the best way. Anytime you have the engine open the cleaner the work area is the better.

carlege

Good thing gravity prevents dirt from going up.

i really dont think it would that big of a deal to do it while in a garage. Keep the doors closed so wind dosent blow stuff inside the engine

lee101315

If youre low on money, I would just pull the oil pan and change the rod bearings.

I hope you didnt drive the car too long with that rod knock, or you really will have to remove the engine and send the crank to a good machine shop.

Chris White

Yeah, but is pretty hard to keep everything as clean as possible when working in a dirty engine bay on your back...