Originally Posted By: OilMeBob
I didn't quite realize what a poop-storm this thread would have caused. I guess I should have found out first whether or not the problem was lubrication related before posting. And for not doing so, I apologize.
What follows is some pictures. It does not look like any kind of lubrication failure. It looks like something got in the engine. I don't know what or how. I must have fraked up doing some of the mods.
That said, it doesn't look *that* bad to me, I'm no expert. I asked my shop what they think would have happened if we just changed the oil and called it a day. They say it would have seized up and thrown a rod for sure. I'm not so sure. I think if we dropped the pan, sprayed some cleaner from the bottom, changed the oil, maybe a couple of times in close succession, it probably would've been fine. But, I don't know. I do know, as per the other Speed driver here attests to, these cars are known for throwing rods, so, maybe it is for the best that I'm getting it built.
Though, I don't think I have any complaint about SynLube, I will not use it in the future. If for no other reason, if, hypothetically, I have another problem in the future, then the oil will always be a question, as I can see in this forum.
At the time I bought the product, I was not familiar with this site. Had I read some here about the product, I probably would not have gone with it. But, I can't say I had any problem with it either.
Again, since this is not a lubrication issue, I don't think this thread serves much purpose anymore. Here are the pics. The mods can lock or delete this thread if they so choose. Or maybe wait for a few comments about the pics and then lock it. Whatever. Here's the pics:
I'm no expert on bearing wear, but that looks like both lubrication and filtering failure. While the big streaks look like foreign material damage, the rest of the surface looks like it had a lack of lubrication. I wonder if that Synlube 5w-50 is just too thick at start up.
I have seen bearing wear like that before, but it was usually some long suffering Briggs that went half a decade without oil changes. While lubrication may not have been the direct cause, it played a definite role.
EDIT: Wait, is that the actual bearing surface on that con rod? Or is that just the aluminum con rod? If it is the latter then it looks like the bearing was starting to spin. The Speed 3 DISI engines are also known to have fuel dilution issues known to all DI engines. I wonder if accumulated mileage and fuel dilution do not bode well for lifetime crankcase oil fills. Something still seems fishy here.
