Berkley of the Day

Took my car out for a drive last night on the lovely country roads behind Mosport. Just a leisurely drive since there are a lot of hairpins and the pavement's pretty irregular in places. Since I've been away so much, I haven't really had much chance to drive it, and I've put only about 400 kilometers on the KLZE. Doing about 60 ks on a really narrow road, I'm suddenly aware of a vibration. Which gives way to a full-out knock. Yup. Spun bearing. Had to get it towed home. I'm beyond pissed. The warranty was only good for three months past point of purchase, and the engine sat on a pallet at the shop for that long while I searched for the other parts needed. They won't replace the engine... but offered me $50 off a new one.

I see you got the famous 90-90 warranty. 90 days or 90 feet, whichever comes first. That motor wasn't from that place in Toronto that rips everyone off, was it? Tiger Japanese Imports?

Ouch!!! I was wondering how well that little "have someone else pick your motor" was working out for you.

Will other US version of the KL cranks and bearings fit your JDM motor?

RossD wrote: Will other US version of the KL cranks and bearings fit your JDM motor?

Yep. Might need to go oversize at this point, though. But they're out there.

Really, the worst part about this is having to pull the motor again. And/or paying for labor.

Assuming the motor isn't COMPLETELY grenaded, parts won't be that expensive.

Yes Dr. Hess, it was indeed. I should have asked for lube.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

That's something I didn't consider, whether it's repairable. Really though, it may be cheaper just to find another KLZE. There's one on Kijiji right now, 80,000 kms for $500.

Run 20W-50 and drive only when it's 20 degrees or so, and you'll never, ever hear that knocking. Engine will rev well, and it'll never need to be torn down.

Wow that sucks.

After the rage settles, regroup and start Plan B. I don't know anything on these engines that go by radio station call letters. I know you went through a hell of a swap getting it into the car though. Is this something that has parts commonly available in North America?

Looking at it from the positive side, you have all the little pieces that were needed to do the swap. Worst case, a replacement KLZE from another source, some labor, and you're back in business.

The other option is to tear down the wounded one and freshen it up. Cut the crank, resize the rods, button it back up and drop it back in.

The enabler in me says that now is the time for forged pistons, good rods/bolts/main studs/etc and set the thing up for forced induction, if there's room to squeeze a turbo or supercharger under the hood. Or blister the hood if it doesn't fit.

Now go out in the garage and hug the Dakota.

Awww, thanks. I knew you guys would make me feel better. The Dak deserves a hug, and if I have to go pick up a new one, I will need its help. Don't really feel rage to be honest, it's more depressing than anything. Just talked to my mechanic, he's going to drop the oil pan and take a look. If it's salvageable, we're going to talk about what it's going to take to fix it.

IRRC - Rebuilding an Engine is not all that difficult if you don't mind a bit of crud drifting in from the open garage door. Find a manual for your engine so you know what tools you will need and the order of assembly. Engine stands are nice but not necessary. The kitchen table will do if you work fast. Have the machine shop double check all the clearences then just assemble the parts.

You WILL need a torque Wrench and some antisieze for any bolt threaded into aluminum.

This seems like a good time to grab a Megasquirt PNP, two sets of Triumph ITBs, some 12:1 slugs, KLG4 SLAs, Colt Cams SLA cam regrind, and make 240whp or so. N/A.

While you're at it... the MFactory 28-spline diff that fits your trans will be back in stock on the 17th.

When people say 'spun a bearing', does it explicitly mean a main bearing or can it mean a rod bearing? In my head when I hear 'spun bearing', its the mains we're talking about... I guess Rob_Mopar prompted me to rethink 'my definition' of 'spun bearing'; what with his 'resize the rods' comment.

GregW: No way! Been there, done that. I had a big Dodge 360 on an engine stand in the mudroom off my kitchen for a year. Learned a lot, the best lesson was that I knew when to turn it over to those that knew what they were doing (haunted by visions of bent pushrods and twisted valves and messed up cam timing).

Naaah, I'm quite resistant to enabling right now... as a perpetually broke freelancer, I've already blown my budget. The best I can do right now is get it running again.

If it's only crank bearings, it can be done from down below without pulling the engine.

Once yo get it fired up though, you want to drive it through the showroom of Tiger Imorts.

Sucks Lesley.

Yeah. I was so sad last night dragging it home.

It depends on the block - spun bearings can ruin blocks. I don't want to be a downer, but you aren't necessarily going to fix it by just turning the crank and putting in new bearings...

Often the connecting rod fails at the big end causing the bearing to be destroyed. Iknow this sounds like I am selling snake oil but I have learned that when installing a used engine I know nothing about I always start the car on Castrol GTX oil (you can choose your flavor it is not that different) and a new OE filter, run it until it is hot, drain and replace oil and filter, then add a can of BG Products MOA additive. I have had a few failures but usually for other reasons like fire or Godzilla.

RossD wrote: When people say 'spun a bearing', does it explicitly mean a main bearing or can it mean a rod bearing? In my head when I hear 'spun bearing', its the mains we're talking about... I guess Rob_Mopar prompted me to rethink 'my definition' of 'spun bearing'; what with his 'resize the rods' comment.

Since she heard it knocking that lead me to rod bearing. I haven't heard a main make a knocking noise. In my head that's more of a painful screeching to a halt noise. Or possibly a sound like "Blamo!"

I don't think i've ever heard of a main bearing going in one of these motors unless it's been excessively, and i mean EXCESSIVELY modified.

The rod bearings are somewhat weak, though.

This was a motor with some miles on it already? They used to put sawdust in knocking motors to quiet them down for a few miles for the test drive - pull the oil pan and see what you get.

Lesley wrote: Awww, thanks. I knew you guys would make me feel better. The Dak deserves a hug, and if I have to go pick up a new one, I will need its help. Don't really feel rage to be honest, it's more depressing than anything. Just talked to my mechanic, he's going to drop the oil pan and take a look. If it's salvageable, we're going to talk about what it's going to take to fix it.

Ugh, I know exactly how you feel. That's basically what happened on my S52 E30 swap.

Got everything in, had also rebuilt the coilovers, BBK up front, etc etc etc. Car was running MEAN! Took it to the dyno and it put down 235whp.

4 days later it looked like I was fogging for mosquitoes as the HG let go.

Personally, I'd say rebuild the one you have. You may end up with another motor that eats itself, not likely, but I wouldn't want to chance it.

Thankfully the salvage I purchased (Vines in Alabama) honored the 90 day warranty, 6 months after purchase because I explained to him when I bought it wouldn't be going in for awhile so he understood.

When I called and told them what happened, shipped my a rebuilt head, gasket set and new head bolts.

Sorry to here your supplier cares much less about taking care of the customer.

Did it stop knocking under load? If so, it might be a connecting rod, and not a main, such was the case on the spun bearing on a toyota I had.

Knocking regardless of load or no load is usually main bearing. And by any chance did you see a drop in oil pressure--very often indicitive of a main bearing, not a connecting rod.

You may have gotten away with just having to replace the bearing and connecting rod.

Maybe a tech school nearby that could do the repair for cost?

If it's knocking at idle you can pull the plug wires one at a time, when the knock goes away/changes you've found the bad cylinder.

There was no leaking oil, no hole in the block, no check engine light... none of the stuff you'd expect after a main bearing, no rod through the block. The oil is quite low though, so it could be the rings are pooched. I'm going to remain hopeful. The engine had about 30,000 miles on it. It looked clean inside before install.

When it first started, it was really quiet. Turned the radio off to listen better. It went away, then started up again. Then it totally disappeared, I drove about ten more miles to my destination, by which time it had started again. I turned the car off, and let it sit. Turned it over, loud knocking, but still no CEL, no oil under car, no leaks, all seals look good. Decided to call the tow truck.