brotherGood
Well-Known Member
Just thinking out loud, but maybe they weren't changed (builder was not the most up and up guy, according to Bryan M).
Kostas
I was thinking the same thing
Just thinking out loud, but maybe they weren't changed (builder was not the most up and up guy, according to Bryan M).
Kostas
Did you get the cl ad I sent you? Its close enough to me, id be able to get it and store it for you until you can come get it or whatever.
Bryan:
Just trying to figure out what happened to the engine, not trying to persuade you on a direction to go.
Since you have the main caps off, you should be able to see the main journals, perhaps not all the way around, but halfway at least. From there, you should be able to get an idea of what shape the crank is in. I'm just wondering out loud here, but the idiot engine builder may have changed the 1 and 5 bearings, and not 2, 3, and 4. He also could have put in bearings for undersized journals in 2, 3, and 4, making tolerances really tight, and killing the 2, 3, and 4 bearings.. All this is just by thinking through what could have happened to those bearings, and it is really a mental exercise at this point, but if the problem was just limited to the main bearings, you may be able to get the engine going just by replaceing the bearings with new ones, for now. If the crank journals are also chewed up, you will probably need a rebuild. I know this isn't the right way to do things, but in a very limited budget situation, it may help you get by for a short while.
Probably won't help with the oil consumption though, as that is usually rings and/or valve guides.
I am personally beginning to suspect that the engine was never actually rebuilt, and that the only thing the engine builder guy did was change out the 1 and 5 main bearings (more than likely to prevent oil leaks, which would have given him away quckly). The lack of crosshatching you mentioned in a previous post is also an indication that would lead me to this conclusion. along with amount of crud on the piston tops. But, as I write this, I noted the extra .030 oversized pistons, so maybe he just rough honed the cylinders, and without a crosshatch or final polish, may have contributed to the oil consumption problem due to the compression rings never breaking in properly.
I wouldn't be concerned so much about the engine being overheated, as this is a cast iron block/heads. It is not advisable to do that, but unless for very long periods of time, cast iron stands up to overheating a lot better than aluminum does. There has been a lot more than one LA engine that has overheated, and lived on for a long time afterwards. Usually, the most that happen on an overheated cast iron engine is head gasket failure. Could the crud o the pistons be oil or anit-freeze residue? This could go a long way to explaining the oil consumption.
Again, only trying to help.
Kostas