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Resolved Main Bearings Scratches and Debris

  • Thread starter Thread starter bleedinggreen
  • Start date Start date Jan 17, 2022
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bleedinggreen

5 Year Member
Aug 13, 2018
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Humble, TX
Jan 17, 2022
#1
  • Jan 17, 2022
  • #1
Let's start with some back story...
Me and my son are rebuilding the engine out of his 89 LX. We had the block at the machine shop where the cylinders were honed and a line hone was done. They also polished the crank and honed the connecting rods. The line hone and connecting rod hone was done due to upgrading to ARP bolts in both. Anyway, we washed the block with soap and water, and cleaned all of the crankshaft oil holes with nylon brush using WD40 and then brake cleaner. We installed the camshaft and crank shaft, and began installing the pistons.

The issue...
When I was installing #2 piston, I noticed a mark on the crank journal. I wanted to have somebody look at it, so we pulled the crank to take it to the machine shop. After I lifted the crank out of the block I noticed some debris on the #1 main bearing and a scratch. I looked at all of the rest of the bearings and all but one had similar scratches. This is my first engine rebuild, so I'm looking for some advice, if you guys would be so kind.

1. Is it normal to have some debris when rebuilding?
2. Should I pull the cam and rewash the block?
3. Is it worth it to buy another set of main bearings?
 

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evintho

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 12, 2003
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Jan 17, 2022
#2
  • Jan 17, 2022
  • #2
Is that a new bearing in the picture? If so, and there's scratches in the other new bearings, strip it all down and take the block in for a hot tank. Something caused those scratches so it's obviously not clean. Did you use an engine cleaning brush and run it through all the oil holes in the crank? Also, get a new set of bearings......they're cheap.
 
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bleedinggreen

5 Year Member
Aug 13, 2018
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Jan 19, 2022
#3
  • Jan 19, 2022
  • #3
@evintho I was afraid that was going to be the response. I ordered a new set of bearings and we'll be giving the block and everything else going in a good wash again.
 

limp

wrap a little cheese around it and its a done
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#4
  • Jan 19, 2022
  • #4
Wash and use some compressed air to blow through all orifices...
did you run a brush through the cam galleries?
 
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bleedinggreen

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Jan 21, 2022
#5
  • Jan 21, 2022
  • #5
@limp we washed the block and everything going in there with detergent, water, and bottle brushes. I thought we got everything pretty good. We also went through all of the crankshaft oil passages with brushes, wd40, brake cleaner, and compressed air.
 

evintho

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 12, 2003
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#6
  • Jan 21, 2022
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bleedinggreen said:
@limp we washed the block and everything going in there with detergent, water, and bottle brushes. I thought we got everything pretty good.
Click to expand...
Obviously not. Spend the $100 to have it hot tanked. Sometimes there's crud imbedded in the casting pores that works it's way out and wreaks havoc. The chemicals in a hot tank bath will dissolve said crud and wash it away.
 
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bleedinggreen

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Jan 22, 2022
#7
  • Jan 22, 2022
  • #7
I found the culprit today. The edges in a few of the crankshaft oil holes have high spots. I tested some of the old bearings on the journals where the bearings were scratched, and sure enough, it scratched them in the exact same spot. I also found curled up bearing material in one of the holes. Looked like it peeled it like a carrot. Guess I’ll be taking the crank back in to get it smoothed out.
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
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  • Jan 22, 2022
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Have the oiling holes chamfered, I thought all machine shops did this
 
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7991LXnSHO

wanna catch the space herp
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#9
  • Jan 22, 2022
  • #9
General karthief said:
Have the oiling holes chamfered, I thought all machine shops did this
Click to expand...
All the more reason to check the rest of the work and have it hot tanked. What else did they not do right?
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
20+ Year Stangneter
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#10
  • Jan 23, 2022
  • #10
Y'all remember the trouble Mike (Carmichael Angelo)and @a91what had with machine shop work? Things ain't like they used to be.
 

limp

wrap a little cheese around it and its a done
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#11
  • Jan 23, 2022
  • #11
General karthief said:
Y'all remember the trouble Mike (Carmichael Angelo)and @a91what had with machine shop work? Things ain't like they used to be.
Click to expand...
Unqualified's in every field, Doctors, lawyers, plumbers, MECHANICS, and lets not forget POLITICIANS........
 
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bleedinggreen

5 Year Member
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Jan 23, 2022
#12
  • Jan 23, 2022
  • #12
Apparently the place I took it has been doing this for a long time. Maybe he wasn’t too enthused with working on a stock rebuild instead of a high performance race engine.
 

a91what

SendMeUrDataLog
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#13
  • Jan 24, 2022
  • #13
Perhaps, I had a he'll of a time finding a shop that took my low budget builds seriously.
 
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manicmechanic007

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#14
  • Jan 25, 2022
  • #14
Polished the crank did they?
They owe you a new set of bearings
Chamfer the crankshaft oiling holes yourself
Massage the oil drainbacks yourself too
 

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands
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#15
  • Jan 25, 2022
  • #15
I've seen way too many issues with machine shops lately. I think it has to do with the old guys retiring and the younger guys being swamped with LS after LS engines. Ford Windsor engines aren't as popular as they once were. The little tricks are slowly being forgotten. Chanferring oil feed holes should be basic knowledge though.
 
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bleedinggreen

5 Year Member
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Jan 28, 2022
#16
  • Jan 28, 2022
  • #16
I called a couple of engine shops and they both recommended a guy that works on only crankshafts. It's at his shop now. He's going to chamfer the oil holes and give it another polish after making sure that it's straight and the journals are not out of round. I could go back and forth with the original shop, but I'd rather just not deal with them anymore.
 
Reactions: 90sickfox, limp, General karthief and 1 other person

manicmechanic007

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#17
  • Jan 29, 2022
  • #17
Great news,
Ask them about knife edging your crank
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
20+ Year Stangneter
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#18
  • Jan 29, 2022
  • #18
manicmechanic007 said:
Ask them about knife edging your crank
Click to expand...
have not heard that term in a long time.
@Noobz347 whadda ya think? Candidate?
 

Noobz347

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor
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Jan 29, 2022
#19
  • Jan 29, 2022
  • #19
General karthief said:
have not heard that term in a long time.
@Noobz347 whadda ya think? Candidate?
Click to expand...
Needs some more time in the oven.
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 25, 2016
27,924
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polk county florida
Jan 29, 2022
#20
  • Jan 29, 2022
  • #20
Noobz347 said:
Needs some more time in the oven.
Click to expand...
EZ bake or conventional?
 
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