I am in the middle of tearing down my CRX and I have found a very troubling spot on my engine where one of the main bearings tore up the bearing surface on the engine side. I need to know what to do now because this is my first time rebuilding an engine; furthermore, I have already bought a new crank with bearings I can't return and just rebuilt the head, put new rings in her, and a new distributor within the last several months.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16447846@N03/29853672127

 

that really doesnt look to bad
what you should be looking at is the other side
the peace where the other half of the bearing goes
if it spun at the block then it must of spun on that cap
good news is that the cap can be resurfaced at a machine shop
once thats done and you put your new bearings on it shouldnt spin anymore


its the same thing when a rod bearing spins also
its the same fix

 

Thanks for the reply. I guess I have lucked out then because there was absolutely no damage to the bearing cap assembly surface. From what I know from before and have seen since the original post the cap side bearing spun down into the block after the other side disintegrated because the engine side bearing was a mere sliver of what it was supposed to be yet still exactly where it should have been. Given your response I assume that I should take the metal burr off the block and put her back together because neither side is out of shape or damaged beyond what is seen in the picture.

 

I think you should consult a machine shop before you get too excited. Load it up and take it to the experts, they'll tell you if it's salvageable. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Marcos, that doesn't look good to me.

 

I've built 3 engines so far...I wouldn't run it. I'd get a machine shops opinion or get arp main cap studs and get it line bored in hopes of the line bore fixing it.

 

I sent the picture to the two local machine shops here in central Kentucky I could find that actually work on autos along with the pertinent information and one told me that these kind of Honda engines are throw away's when damaged and the other told me that no shop within 100 miles has the specialized tools to work on these small engines and if I did find someone to send it to they would charge me around $500. The vehicle is not worth that kind of money even though I have most recently sunk around $400 in parts in her. I had already tried over the past month to source a reasonably priced block and I have had no luck at all until today. Should I just pick up a rebuild-able block from out west for $225 shipped because I can't seem to source any local, chase after this mess, or does anyone out there know of a better option for my situation? For that matter can I use just any 1.6 block from a civic/crx in my 90 rexy. I do know that there are several swaps I could've done had I not gone down this road but I don't currently have the ability to back up and take a new path. Sorry for all the questions but I am a very poor college student who really can't afford any of the options mentioned and if I do I certainly can't afford to end up with the wrong thing. Especially for what I thought should have been a relatively small issue to fix.

 

when rebuilding a engine theres about 90 things that can go wrong
but that doesnt mean that you shouldnt still try

the blur on your block
if it feels smooth to the touch with your finger you shouldnt have anything to worry about
yes it looks bad and you might be scared that if you put it back together it will only be for a short while till it breaks again

but if you dont take the chance then we will never know

oh and where do you live? a d series engine cost less than 100 bucks pretty much anywhere
except california and arizona

i sold my jdm d15b for 6 bucks after no one wanted to buy it
so you can always think about that option also

 

Sadly, I must report that after cleaning up the surfaces and putting the matched bearings on the block side the center of the crankshaft doesn't settle into place like it should. Essentially it's like a teeter totter. I guess that I will be buying a different block after all.

 

did you install the thrush bearings?

 

That won't affect a see-saw'ing crank. The bores are out of alignment. Not worth the investment to fix - just get a new block.