Loud knocking, Low oil pressure, choppy boost, Spun Bearing?

[Knight2040]

also posted on 3si

well it all started about a week ago when I drove to school and when i parked i noticed my engine was ticking, I was like, oh god not the lifters agian. Well I drove it and the next day i noticed i wasn't boosting very hard (my blitz gauge sed around 5-6 psi) Well the day after that my oil pressure is real low (stock gauge sucks i kno) and the ticking earlier had evoloved to a louder and deeper clunk that was random at idle and steady and loud while revving. So today i drove it to my autotech class to take a look at it and as i drove up, it sounded like my pistons were slapping all over the place and it was pretty much knocking now. My teacher told me it might have a spun bearing and i told him it's pretty common on thease cars so he told me to drop the oil pan (pain in the ass as i found out)

well i only have an hour and 45 mins in class to work so i dont get much done everyday. but today i just finished removing the crossmember, front of the drive shaft, drained the oil and tcase fluid, and took all the tcase bolts out. all thats left for me to do tomrrow is pull the tcase and starter then i can drop the pan and wiggle the rods around.

But as of right now, do yall think i spun a bearing(s)? If so what has happned to my motor. I havent thrown a rod or anythin yet and the car still ran and idled smooth..just noisy. I kno I shouldnt of drivin it so much when the "light ticking" started. But what am i lookin at now? is it as simple as replacing the bearings and any out of round rods? or is my motor pretty much toast? I'll take pics and report tomrrow after class

Also, the Transfer case seems kinda of difficult to remove. I took all the bolts out but it still wont budge. Do i Just pry it off?

The car is a 91 VR4 with 119,689 Miles on it and I was just about ready to do the 60k service till this happned.

i did search but i couldt find anything of diagnosing spun bearings. I'm kinda dissapointed right now, as i Just finished my 99 conversion. My cars like a hot girl with aids and it sucks!

Thanks guys!

[Hotshot8792]

yes, it sounds like a spun bearing to me. If you threw a rod YOU'D KNOW IT! Just dont drive it anywhere else, driving it will possibly increase the chance of throwing a rod. As far as damage done, you are probably looking at getting a new crankshaft as usually spinning a bearing will tear destroy it. Don't get a remanned crankshaft, i've heard bad things about them. Also, whichever bearing you spun, check the rod. That rod may have some damage to it, and if its damaged you will need to replace the rod and the bearing. However, if its not damaged and its just scuffed a little on the inside, you can always take the option of having all of your rods bored out and go with oversized bearings, and which for the cost, you probably just want to replace the rod. Anyways, that should give you a general idea on what your looking at.

[Knight2040]

alright cool, thanks for reply. I'm kind of dissapointed to hear negitive feedback on a remanned crank like the one on 3sx, new ones are like twice as expensive. Do you think rockville would have a new crank for cheaper? As for bearing replacement, given my block and crank is fine, could i actually replace the bearings while the engine still installed? like could i pop the heads off and beat the pistons out from the bottom while its in the air with the lift? also, i'm still confused at the Tcase, i got all the bolts off but it's still snug, do i just pry the bitch off?

[Hotshot8792]

3sx can be overpriced on a lot of items, so yes, get you a brand new crankshaft from rockville. You can replace the crankshaft with the engine still in the car, but the tranny will have to be disconnected from the engine. The bearings can be replaced while the motor in the car as well, however if there is damage to a rod, the rod will have to come out and be replaced. Look in the center hole of the rod for any kind of scratches. If you can get the piston out without pulling the shortblock, then do it, its possible, i've just never tried it. As far as the transfer case goes, i dont have an AWD car so i'm not 100% sure, i've only helped pull the tranny off an AWD car but one of my friends had already had the transfer case off of his car. Its on a spline, so i'm not sure exactly how you are supposed to pull it off. Someone else around here should know.

[Knight2040]

Well I dropped the oil pan today. and while i reached over to put the oil pan down on the side my arm scraped the oil strainer and i got a bunch of little cuts from tiny bits of metal stuck in it. I'm just like oh god....spun bearing, and sure enough i wiggle the #2 rod and its loose. I take the rod cap off and i see one bearing overlapping the other. The bearings are real thin and flared and smashed on the ends and the crank suffered a good amount on the journal.

I called rockville today and ordered new bearings but i'm sure thats not all i'm gonna need. So I need a new crank right? Rockville has brand new ones for $694, but my question is, will replacing the bearings, crank, and possibly any out of round rods be all I have to do? Is my block okay? What else should i go about doin? I'll try to take pics of the bearings tonight. Thanks guys!

[Hotshot8792]

Originally Posted by Knight2040

Well I dropped the oil pan today. and while i reached over to put the oil pan down on the side my arm scraped the oil strainer and i got a bunch of little cuts from tiny bits of metal stuck in it. I'm just like oh god....spun bearing, and sure enough i wiggle the #2 rod and its loose. I take the rod cap off and i see one bearing overlapping the other. The bearings are real thin and flared and smashed on the ends and the crank suffered a good amount on the journal.

I called rockville today and ordered new bearings but i'm sure thats not all i'm gonna need. So I need a new crank right? Rockville has brand new ones for $694, but my question is, will replacing the bearings, crank, and possibly any out of round rods be all I have to do? Is my block okay? What else should i go about doin? I'll try to take pics of the bearings tonight. Thanks guys!

you might want to go ahead and replace the main bearings as well, as they are dirt cheap just like the rod bearings are. Also, like i said, check the rod where the bearings sit, if its scraped, just go ahead and order a new rod, if you can just pry one piston up, you should be able to do it with minimum work. You will obviously have to take your piston and rod to a machine shop get them unpressed, and the piston pressed back on the new rod, and you will also probably need a new piston ring for when you put the piston back in. Also, if i were you, while the oil pan is off, i would go ahead and replace the rear main seal as well because thats a common place for an oil leak, the seal is somewhere around 20 bucks, and you might as well do it while the oil pan is off.

[Knight2040]

yea i plan on doing all my maintanice while i have my car at tech. The rod journal does have gashes in it just like the crank. I can pop the pistons off the rods myself as our class has the machines to do that as well as anything else i may need. also, will the newer forged cranks drop right in on my 2bolt main 91 motor?

[AutostradaVR4]

year and a half old ><