Polishing crank rod journal while in vehicle
- Thread starter i6pwr
- Start date
- Status
I pulled the pan and took a look at the possible suspect #4 cyl. I could hear a slight knock with the stethoscope near the coil pack and the knock went away when I de-energized that cyl.
Journal looks good, no nicks, bearing material shows wear and explains the slight silver film in the oil.
Plastigage is right at .003 or maybe slightly under, max clearance is .0025.
I will get a mic on the journal tomorrow....have to shove off to work.
Inspection mirror used to see top of journal. What you see on the journal is drips of WD-40 as the vehicle is outside.
Journal looks good, no nicks, bearing material shows wear and explains the slight silver film in the oil.
Plastigage is right at .003 or maybe slightly under, max clearance is .0025.
I will get a mic on the journal tomorrow....have to shove off to work.
Inspection mirror used to see top of journal. What you see on the journal is drips of WD-40 as the vehicle is outside.
Last edited:
Looks like some crocus cloth & some patience will work out. Worth trying, the journal doesn't look too bad
Originally Posted by mattd
The majority of the wear will usually be on the upper bearing. Is that the side you checked? Or did you get .003" on both bearings?
I was needing to head off to work so I only checked that one spot. I can see how the measurements could be different at 60 deg or 90 deg but honestly thought at BDC the readings would be very close if not the same for the rod side as well as the cap side....but makes sense.
As far as using crocus cloth.....never tried it, but can check into it.
Reluctant now to disturb the surface after 289K miles but open to all suggestions. Good points here on what to do, will take everything into consideration.
I would definitely want to ensure nothing is embedded into the journal or stuck on the surface....at least make the journal as clean as possible.
The majority of the wear will usually be on the upper bearing. Is that the side you checked? Or did you get .003" on both bearings?
I was needing to head off to work so I only checked that one spot. I can see how the measurements could be different at 60 deg or 90 deg but honestly thought at BDC the readings would be very close if not the same for the rod side as well as the cap side....but makes sense.
As far as using crocus cloth.....never tried it, but can check into it.
Reluctant now to disturb the surface after 289K miles but open to all suggestions. Good points here on what to do, will take everything into consideration.
I would definitely want to ensure nothing is embedded into the journal or stuck on the surface....at least make the journal as clean as possible.
There does not appear to be any crank scoring that is going to impact the new bearings, if you cant hang a nail on it just clean it. I would however do all the rod bearings, they are worn from use, the next one to start making noise is probably not far behind.
Originally Posted by emmett442
I wouldn't touch the journal. Nothing wrong with it. As nice as it looks, anything you do to it will be harming more than helping.
New bearing in and button it up.
The video doesn't make it sound like a bearing knock...
I agree with all that you said and I'll add that I have had a 4.2 knocking from a scored piston/cylinder.
I wouldn't touch the journal. Nothing wrong with it. As nice as it looks, anything you do to it will be harming more than helping.
New bearing in and button it up.
The video doesn't make it sound like a bearing knock...
I agree with all that you said and I'll add that I have had a 4.2 knocking from a scored piston/cylinder.
Nothing I can really "hang" a fingernail on, there's one faint line that you can almost feel but your nail glides over it but you know it's there.
I don't know for sure if the bearings will cure the noise, but with the labor involved with removing the pan I'm definitely going to replace all the rod bearings.
Could very well be a piston, hard to tell right now. Only thing that really points to the bearing is the noise doesn't start until about 1.5- 2 min after a cold start. Then it's barely audible and increases steadily until it settles to a constant level.
Also had a silver film on the top of the oil sample that I took from the filter about 150 miles into the oil change when testing oil pressure.
I don't know for sure if the bearings will cure the noise, but with the labor involved with removing the pan I'm definitely going to replace all the rod bearings.
Could very well be a piston, hard to tell right now. Only thing that really points to the bearing is the noise doesn't start until about 1.5- 2 min after a cold start. Then it's barely audible and increases steadily until it settles to a constant level.
Also had a silver film on the top of the oil sample that I took from the filter about 150 miles into the oil change when testing oil pressure.
I'll get to the rest of them this week, here's the old vs.new bearings for cyl #4.
Piston slap is also a viable contender in whatever is knocking in this motor. The slap seems to quiet down after about 10- 15 seconds or so when cold then gets quiet.
Here's a view of the #2 cylinder thrust side of the bore. Has some scoring, I had some carbon build up not too long ago from a restricted pcv system. Still a decent amount of scoring but hopefully not too bad.
The plan is to at least get the rod bearings changed out and see what happens. Not much else I can do with just the pan removed.
#2 Cyl thrust side of bore. This is the worst cyl in regards to scoring.
Piston slap is also a viable contender in whatever is knocking in this motor. The slap seems to quiet down after about 10- 15 seconds or so when cold then gets quiet.
Here's a view of the #2 cylinder thrust side of the bore. Has some scoring, I had some carbon build up not too long ago from a restricted pcv system. Still a decent amount of scoring but hopefully not too bad.
The plan is to at least get the rod bearings changed out and see what happens. Not much else I can do with just the pan removed.
#2 Cyl thrust side of bore. This is the worst cyl in regards to scoring.
I'm surprised no one has asked what brand of oil you're using. You know of course if you were running Mobil 1 this never would have happened.
I had a rod bearing sloth apart due to inadequate oil protection in a freshly assembled 400hp Ford 390. I replaced the bearing with another Clevite 77 and drove it like a madman for years. I had access problems due to the windage tray so I applaud your persistence.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/05/full-42963-32703-390_401.jpg "[Linked Image]")
I had a rod bearing sloth apart due to inadequate oil protection in a freshly assembled 400hp Ford 390. I replaced the bearing with another Clevite 77 and drove it like a madman for years. I had access problems due to the windage tray so I applaud your persistence.
Originally Posted by Piston_slap
I'm surprised no one has asked what brand of oil you're using.
Here's some history...for pretty much up to about 200K, I was actually using Mobil 1, I bought it new. A few times I used the M1 SUV, but generally reg 5W-30....OCI about 4-5K miles.
After 200K I was starting to get a lash adjuster going bad and I tried some shorter OCI's of about 2500-3K miles. I also tried some T6, Some PYB, back to T6, as well as some M1.
Around 240K I tried an oil catch can for the heck of it and it would catch about 2-3 oz per 5K miles. Then the last 10K miles it wasn't catching hardly anything, then the noises were starting.
Turned out there was a small screen in the lid of the catch can I didn't see. This wasn't the part that accumulates the oil residue, just a simple round filter.
So after that, I found out the PCV was clogged, the valvetrain is almost spotless, but after pulling the pan it was darker than I anticipated.
I tried some ATF, 1 qt ATF to 6 qts oil, quieted the lifter a little but then I just ended up replacing all of them.
I also tried some BG EPR after the ATF to get the bottom end cleaned up and that could have knocked something loose.
I also had some light knocks before all that, some ticks, taps...you name it. After the lash adjusters were replaced, the exhaust manifold, both idler pulleys, it was running real smooth.
I honestly don't know when the current knock started...could have been after a cleaning, thought it was some piston slap...still could be.
The knock doesn't start until after a min or 2 then slowly gets louder....which points me to the early stage of a rod bearing going bad. Sure looking that way.
I'm surprised no one has asked what brand of oil you're using.
Here's some history...for pretty much up to about 200K, I was actually using Mobil 1, I bought it new. A few times I used the M1 SUV, but generally reg 5W-30....OCI about 4-5K miles.
After 200K I was starting to get a lash adjuster going bad and I tried some shorter OCI's of about 2500-3K miles. I also tried some T6, Some PYB, back to T6, as well as some M1.
Around 240K I tried an oil catch can for the heck of it and it would catch about 2-3 oz per 5K miles. Then the last 10K miles it wasn't catching hardly anything, then the noises were starting.
Turned out there was a small screen in the lid of the catch can I didn't see. This wasn't the part that accumulates the oil residue, just a simple round filter.
So after that, I found out the PCV was clogged, the valvetrain is almost spotless, but after pulling the pan it was darker than I anticipated.
I tried some ATF, 1 qt ATF to 6 qts oil, quieted the lifter a little but then I just ended up replacing all of them.
I also tried some BG EPR after the ATF to get the bottom end cleaned up and that could have knocked something loose.
I also had some light knocks before all that, some ticks, taps...you name it. After the lash adjusters were replaced, the exhaust manifold, both idler pulleys, it was running real smooth.
I honestly don't know when the current knock started...could have been after a cleaning, thought it was some piston slap...still could be.
The knock doesn't start until after a min or 2 then slowly gets louder....which points me to the early stage of a rod bearing going bad. Sure looking that way.
Last edited:
I wanted to start a new thread on this, but it pertains to the sounds I'm hearing. The engine is running, have not driven it, but have let it idle for about 30 min each day to observe and overall it's much quieter.
There is still a slight, hard tapping sound up near the valve cover and this is at cam speed. I don't believe it's a cam issue or cam phaser as the sound is very clear through a stethoscope on the #4 coil pack bolt.
Here's the kicker, I could feel it through the stethoscope....I can feel the tap on the coil pack bolt....none of the other coils or coil pack bolts exhibit this.
My guess is carbon build up and or severe detonation? I did the water injection again, I have Amsoil Pi in the tank now, not sure what to try. I bought a fresh plug just in case.
Also note, my PCV system was restricted awhile back so this could be a result of that.
There is still a slight, hard tapping sound up near the valve cover and this is at cam speed. I don't believe it's a cam issue or cam phaser as the sound is very clear through a stethoscope on the #4 coil pack bolt.
Here's the kicker, I could feel it through the stethoscope....I can feel the tap on the coil pack bolt....none of the other coils or coil pack bolts exhibit this.
My guess is carbon build up and or severe detonation? I did the water injection again, I have Amsoil Pi in the tank now, not sure what to try. I bought a fresh plug just in case.
Also note, my PCV system was restricted awhile back so this could be a result of that.
- Status
Similar threads
