Just finished removing the heads and oil pan on the original engine we removed from the camaro. Didn't take long to find the cause of the knock. The rod bearing on the number 6 piston is pretty much trashed. It looks like it has been sqeezed out over the main caps on both sides. Back side has oil marks on it and the inside is do scared you can feel it with your finger nail. Same on the crank for that piston. I could actually see the play on the end of the rod when turning the crank with a ratchet. Everything else feels good and tight. Hopefully the crank can be cleaned up and reused.

 

You spun the rod bearing. You will need to get the crank turned down and use undersize bearing. You should also do a complete disassemble of the block because that bearing material and some of the crank is now in the oil passages. You do not want to do a nice rebuild and then have that stuff come out and wipe out your CAM bearings.

 

Don't forget to replace the rod, or at least get it resized. A spun bearing streches out the big end of the rod, and if it is not taken care the bearing will spin again in a short time.

 

Ok, when I get some time, I am going to finish tearing the motor apart. Kinda curious as to what the rest of the bearing are going to look like. This is going to be my first attempt to rebuild. I don't want to spend alot of money but a good block cleaning, cam bearings, rod bearings and have the heads checked and a valve job, new lifters or reuse? . Wrist pins? Replace them as well? I want machine shop to clean and inspect, but I would like to do the final assembly of the bottom end. They can do the heads. What else would you recommend. This is not going to be a hot rod just a daily driver.

 

Do you have any friends that have done this before? There are some special tools involved. You will need a ridge reamer just to get the pistons out. During this type of rebuild you should inspect everything as it is disassembled. That inspection will tell you what needs done and what is ok. Check with your local machine shop but I think you will find the price of a real valve job is pretty high. I would think a set of pistons and a cylinder bore would be more bang for the buck. You could hand lap the valves and see how good they are. If he is setting the crank up for grind anyway ask him to quote the regrinding all rods journals and resize all the rods. Don't skim on the rod bolts it is one of the most important parts of the motor!

If you have no support think about this
http://smartflix.com/store/video/504...ngine-Building

 

I have ridge reamer. I removed the one piston but I am beginning to think that the engine was apart not long ago or attempted rebuild by someone. There is no ridge at the top of the cylinders. You can push the rod and the piston comes right out the top, no catch or anything. All the gaskets seemed relatively new. Did notice that the piston with bad bearing looks like it has hit the valves a few times. It is worn on the top outside edge on one side. Thanks for the link. I am reading the Haynes manual as I disassemble it. That video looks like something I could use.