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Old 11-07-2009, 08:53 PM
68grandprix 68grandprix is offline
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Default 1500 mile junk 455 teardown pics

I tore out the 455 and took the pan off today. Pan was full of copper, checked every rod. Every rod bearing was junk. All but one were showing copper. Any ideas what caused this? The engine had oil. The rod caps seemed hard to get off(like the bolts and holes didn't line up right). I'm thinkung maybe the builder ran the clearances too tight? I remember the engine being pretty darn hard to turn over when I installed the valvetrain(even without the spark plugs in). It also seemed like it turned over more slowly and stopped more abruptly (when I turned the key off) than before it was rebuilt. I'm open to ideas, and suggestions on where to go from here. Thanks, Jim.

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Old 11-07-2009, 09:01 PM
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Very hard to answer after the fact. But, it could have been put together too tight.

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Old 11-07-2009, 09:03 PM
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It possibly could have had bad detonation. With bearings down to copper you'd hear that detonation.

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Old 11-07-2009, 09:05 PM
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Forgot the pics
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Sometimes I think about how much more money I'd have if my car got better mileage, but when I hammer the gas and I smell that tire smoke........I remember that I also spend a lot of money on tires.
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Old 11-07-2009, 09:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 68grandprix View Post
Forgot the pics
What's the part number on the other side of the bearings, were the wrong ones used versus what the crank was turned to?

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Old 11-07-2009, 09:46 PM
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Yeah, I agree with last poster..clearances are too tight.

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Old 11-07-2009, 10:00 PM
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The crank is standard, and the bearings say std., but not sure on the part number. I'll check tomorrow(I'm clean now). Jim

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Sometimes I think about how much more money I'd have if my car got better mileage, but when I hammer the gas and I smell that tire smoke........I remember that I also spend a lot of money on tires.
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Old 11-08-2009, 10:34 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 68grandprix View Post
The crank is standard, and the bearings say std., but not sure on the part number. I'll check tomorrow(I'm clean now). Jim
I think they all of "STD" on them, but for example if the crank wasn't turned just polished and you used .010 bearings, that would be a problem. Either way you've got ahead of you getting the crank cleaned up and a new set of bearings, obviously the correct size to match whatever the crank ends up being.

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Old 11-08-2009, 10:36 AM
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How were the Main Bearings?

Assuming Perfectly-good Mains then the Rod Bearing Clearances were totally not checked.

Assuming Bad Main Bearings, then they had a rookie "Learning" on your assy.

Either way, is sounds of an Assy mishap.
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Just 1 more thing: Did you use a Remote Filter or a deep pan?

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Old 11-08-2009, 10:50 AM
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Arrow Get some professional help.........

Hey Jim,

I would take the rotating assembly to the suggested machinist mentioned in your other thread and let the machinist assist in the autopsy. Looking @ your pics w/o the ability to personally examine/mic the parts, is just guessing @ this point.

Les

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Old 11-08-2009, 12:51 PM
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Les, I will have to do that. I guess that machinist is only a few minutes away. I haven't checked the mains yet. It's unfortunate that the builder is in Iowa. I called him to explain what happened and he didn't seem to care much(he knows I'm 2000 miles away). This is what I get for ignoring my instincts (I thought the guy was an idiot) and getting in a hurry when selecting the builder. Well, since I have it apart, I'll get the headers ceramic coated. They already look terrible. I've also been thinking of getting a dish milled into the pistons so I can run regular. This is possible with the Speed-Pros, right. Jim

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Sometimes I think about how much more money I'd have if my car got better mileage, but when I hammer the gas and I smell that tire smoke........I remember that I also spend a lot of money on tires.
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Old 11-08-2009, 01:31 PM
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Were the upper rod bearings cupped to the point they wouldn't stay in the rod. If so, I would say definitely detonation. I went through several engines back before I knew about detonation. Engines all ran good and you could not hear any pinging or rattling. But after a few thousand miles the oil pressure would go away and eventually would start knocking.

Pull it apart and all the bearing would be down to the copper. That was back when I was trying to run 670s on a 406 with pump gas. Not gonna work.

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Old 11-08-2009, 01:50 PM
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What made you think the engine was bad?
Rod knocking?

All the rod bearings look the same?

Looks like it was starved for oil.
What was the oil pressure?

I'd also check the block oil galleys for obstruction, make sure the oil galley plugs are in, also.

What oil filter?

Need a lot more info and pics probably to find the cause.

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Old 11-08-2009, 02:05 PM
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Root cause- clearances were too tight. Could be caused by improper crank machining, or improper rod assy/machining, or improper bearing insert.

Lack of oil would have turned the inserts black and blue from heat.

Detonation kills the uppers, and detonation that bad would have beat up the pistons and rings.

Was the oil pressure crazy-high when this thing ran? Did it run hot? Did it spin over slowly when cranking? Signs of too-tight bearings....

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Old 11-08-2009, 02:11 PM
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If you didn't put it together, who knows what might have been done. Maybe they got the rod caps mixed up.

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Old 11-08-2009, 06:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gearbanger View Post
Were the upper rod bearings cupped to the point they wouldn't stay in the rod. If so, I would say definitely detonation. I went through several engines back before I knew about detonation. Engines all ran good and you could not hear any pinging or rattling. But after a few thousand miles the oil pressure would go away and eventually would start knocking.

Pull it apart and all the bearing would be down to the copper. That was back when I was trying to run 670s on a 406 with pump gas. Not gonna work.
Bearing inserts being loose AFTER meltdown is common. They are deformed under the extreme heat and lose their shape. The rod big end is suspect from the heat. Even if they were perfect before, the rods will probably be "egged" and cause improper clearances with new inserts. I have seen oil starvation cause rods and blocks to blacken from the heat and burnt oil. I would personally consider another set of rods in the next build.

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Old 11-08-2009, 10:13 PM
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If the crank was standard and you just had it polished then there should not be any problems with clearence. I had a machine shop check a set of those rods, I was told the big end was right where they liked it.

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Old 11-08-2009, 10:34 PM
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Riffle brush the oil passages. 1500 miles should not be enough time to get them dirty. If they were cleaned then you should not pull any gunk out of them. Dirty ones can be just like tar.

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Old 11-10-2009, 02:50 PM
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Now you are starting to scare me. I have a set of those rods and they checked out and the engine is still running. The reason I am scared, that is the second engine I have seen pictures of using those rods that had bearing problems. The other was a 400.

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Old 11-10-2009, 10:45 PM
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This is the bottom end on a 400.
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