[Colin70TA]

Have you ever seen a filter look like this? Has about 300 miles in it since a fresh build. Oil pressure has been fine with no change since fresh but the filter pleats...


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[Bruce Meyer]

Are you running a bronze distributor gear?

[Colin70TA]

Hi Bruce,
No its the plastic type one from BOP.
Pretty sure nothing else would cause this?
I assume thrust bearing as it was a bit tight at assembly, 3 thou but the machinist thought it was fine. And if it was main or rod wouldnt I loose oil pressure by now?

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[STEELCITYFIREBIRD]

Check your thrust clearance/end play now.

Was the thrust bearing seated during assembly.

What was the finish like on the crank thrust, sometimes they are pretty rough and act like a file on the thrust bearing.

Aren't you having a possible t-converter issue?

[steve25]

Well if you did not have the needed .005" to .006" Thrust Bearing to start with , you have it now!

Your machinist is wrong!

I would be pulling the pan if I where you before I spin a main Bearing and run the risk of loosing the Block!

[Colin70TA]

Thanks for the response guys.
Last night we checked the crank endplay and it’s measuring around 0.045 right now.
As far as the crank thrust surface I remember specifically looking that over since I have read its an issue with aftermarket cranks (this is a forged Ohio one) and it was smooth.

I think no matter what I have to pull it at this point as I would assume that trash would have gotten everywhere

I should have questioned my machinist further as I thought it was tight...

As for the torque converter issue, it ended up not being that from what I could tell, I found the throttle cable a bit frayed and was thinking that was doing it. Wont find out now since I need to pull this thing apart.

Once I get it open I’ll post some pictures to see next steps

[steve25]

When you take it down be sure to look up from the main Bearing oil feed holes in the Block into the Cam Bearing feed holes as many times there restricted area collects crap that needs to come out that you otherwise will not see that will chew up new parts!

[74Grandville]

Originally Posted by STEELCITYFIREBIRD

Was the thrust bearing seated during assembly.

This probably wasn’t done. Saw a YouTube video on it and did it on my las build. Probably over looked on many builds.


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[Colin70TA]

Originally Posted by 74Grandville

This probably wasn’t done. Saw a YouTube video on it and did it on my las build. Probably over looked on many builds.


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It wasn't, because I have no idea what seating a thrust bearing is! Explanation?


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[gtofreek]

For one, the Pontiac mains are dowel pinned in place so they won't move much when seating the thrust, but it should be done anyway. The biggest problem is FM and Cleavite bearings have uneven thrust surfaces on the bearing. If you measure the rear side of the thrust flange, you will find that one half is about .003" thinner than the other. This makes it impossible to seat the thrust bearing properly so one half takes all the punishment until it wears to the other. I always have to sand the rear half of the thrust bearings to get both halves the same thickness. I leave the front alone since it really doesn't matter. If you sand the front to match each other also, you will wind up with .010-.015" thrust end play, a little too much.

[Colin70TA]

Okay, we got the motor pulled tonight, new record, under two hours
Here are the pics...
Measured end play, its 17 thou now!
The crank itself looks perfect and the thrust surface on the crank is still smooth.
What are my next steps? I am ordering all new bearings for the mains and rods and will replace them all.
How do I make sure this doesn't happen again? Just more clearence and measure both halfs of the thrust bearing to make sure the are the same/square?
This stuff is a bit out of my wheelhouse.
Also one question, the wear on the main bearing itself, is that of concern or just from trash getting in there?

Thanks again, this stuff sucks but I want to tackle it as best and fast as I can, the season is short here!


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[hurryinhoosier62]

New crank or reground crank? Just because a journal or thrust flange looks “good” does NOT mean it had the correct finish spec.

[Colin70TA]

New crank, again I had them look everything over and told them to make sure it was within spec. Of course this is the same place that said the thrust would be okay.
I will note I put the motor together, they just did the machine work. When I called and told them my initial end play they said not to worry.

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[hurryinhoosier62]

Did they check the thrust flange surface and the journal surfaces with a profilometer?

[Colin70TA]

No idea, I just told them it needed to be checked because I had heard of issues with aftermarket cranks with dimensions and finishes and they said it was all good.
The are open Monday so will call and see what I can find out.

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[KEN CROCIE]

What do the other bearings look like?

[Colin70TA]

I didnt have a chance to pull any more mains. Here are two rod bearings...

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[pastry_chef]

Who was the shop?

[Colin70TA]

D and D....used them before and all good. This time it took more then a year to machine and I had to constantly bug them to work on it, wasn't a good experience.

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[pastry_chef]

Originally Posted by Colin70TA

D and D....used them before and all good.

Yes, they are usually pretty good but not flawless. We've picked up on a few mistakes over the years. I don't think anyone else has a Pontiac torque plate.