Guys, to make a long story short, i found out today that my rod bearings are going bad. There's an audible knock at low rpms.

Here's the dilema:

I WILL be buying new rods/pistons soon for my turbo build up. Is replacing bearings that big of a deal? Can it cause MAJOR damage if not taken care of right away? THe tech there said i'd be fine for awhile (define awhile) as long as i didnt rag on her too much.

Any suggestions??
SHould i replace them now, or should i wait to replace them when i get my rods/pistons?!?!
Could my block be damaged if i let go too long??
Thanks!

 

They`ll trash your crank.

 

That helps SO much man, thanks!

So what do you recommend me doing?
Anyone else want to give some worthwhile reply's??

 

Listen to the tech then, cockrider.

Btw, in my world, "they`ll trash your crank" is pretty ******* self explanatory.



[Modified by vtecvoodoo, 3:34 PM 2/21/2003]

 

Well add another great post to your 10,000+ postwhore library.

 

Ouch.

 

...enjoy purchasing a new shortblock for your "black beast" lol

 

Seriously, Change them now. Dont drive with your **** knocking. HOnda cranks are good, but if you have a rod bearing wearing out or spun, you will **** up your crank and / or the inside of your rod where the bearing goes. You can replace bearings without taking apart the whole engine. Just lift up the car, remove the header and oil pan, pull off the rod caps and check the rod bearings/ crank ./ rod jurnals. Hopefully you will see some copper on one bearing and the crank will be fine. Then take the bearing code to honda and get the proper bearings. Put them in accordingly and ensure to use torque specs.

 

Thanks for the reply. I thought i'd be a lot more work than that to replace them...
What about ACL bearings, I'm just guessing the honda bearings will cost an arm an a leg?

 

dont keep driving with them. I heard a little knocking too- 2 days later, my rod snapped, and locked up the whole motor. Now im on the search for a motor...

 

how long before you get your pistons/rods to replace your stock ones?

 

Bite the bullet and throw the pistons/rods on the ol` credit card or you`ll be buying bearings twice. Twice the labor, too. Or find a cheap shortblock.

 

Well, i'd say a couple months or so....but it may be looking closer than i thought.

 

Crap, good point... goddamnit..

 

ive ran both generic bearings and honda ones and didnt couldnt tell a difference.. you should look into using .. whats it called.. umm...... I cant think of the name at the mo. Im fixing to walk out the door but, its basically wax that you but in between your bearings and your crank. Then you tighten it and it flattens, then you remove and look at the size and measure with a chart to chek your clearances. Ahhh its called plastige .. You may want to check ito that. Once you have the sizes, you can get the approiate bearings. Just hope like hell its not your main bearings. You can tap the main bearings out of the top of the crank if your very carefull and lucky but, if not, you will have to pull the crank, which means, flywheel, oil pump, t belt everything ...

sorry for spelling/ grammar and ****.. im just on the run.. bbl.. good luck

 

Are there different symptoms between the rod bearings, and main bearings? I suppose you dont know, unless you tear apart the block?? This guy just sat in my car, and thought it sounded like the rod bearings. My car runs as strong as it ever has if that helps...
any thoughts?

 

All depends...

First of all, I doubt if the knocking is coming from your rods. If it is, it's probably from the small end, e.g. wrist pins. The crank side bearings usually 'spin' on you. You don't hear this. It just busts your rod[s] with a bang and a boom, leaving you stranded. My guess would be piston slap, from what you described...

It is was me, and I was going to build a 'new' motor anyway, I'd just pour a couple of cans of STP in it for now and drive it gently until the build.

Really, you ought to go ahead and do your project NOW. However, some ppl are like Harleys - you gotta kick 'em to start. A broken crank might be a good thing in the long run - get you off your ***, you know?

 

I'm no expert, but i've read numerous posts on here, where people said the symptoms of bad rod bearings were "knocking" type noises, which i'm hearing right now. It's been going on for a month or two, but i'm not hard on my car...

So what do you think it is? This guy was from a honda dealership, and right when he heard it, he thought it was a rod bearing...so damn...

 

Well, it might be. The larger point, I suppose, is that you should fix it NOW and fix it right. The longer you wait, no matter what the problem is, the more it's going to cost to fix.

If you're looking for some sort of third-mind collective thought here, or social reinforcement that you're doing the right thing by procrastinating, I don't think you're going to get it. In the end, it's up to YOU...

 

DONT DRIVE IT! Your "tech" isnt much of a tech if he said it was safe to drive on.

Dont even start the motor..push it home.

Ive lost..three motors to rod bearings..and counting. All because old age and one because my oil pump broke. Never the less..once you hear rod knock you have about 20mins of the motor running before you throw a rod.

My first motor i lost to rod knock, i heard rod knock after some intense driving in the country. By the time i got home (10mins) the noise was sooooo loud. I pulled the pan...crank distroyed and the rod.

My 2nd motor i was racing a supercharged mustang with slicks (on the track of course ) at high boost. After i was done with that race (motor had 150,000 miles on it) i hear knock knock knock. By the time i got home...it was REAALLLY loud. Pull the pan..crank distroyed and the rod. (but i stil beat the mustang )

My 3rd motor i lost to rod knock was a motor i had just rebuild. Had 320 miles on it. The oil pump failed and the bearing got hot and failed. Broke the rod in 1/2. It didnt blow out of the side of the block tho!

Yes i have about a billion miles on my car...and im a cheap bastard and dont want to spend any money on it. All the motors above i paid free->$100 for. Get what you pay for.

My current motor is an unknown milage jdm sohc with a vtec head swap. So far so good!

liam


[Modified by liam821, 4:35 PM 2/21/2003]

 

Let me go over my symptoms: because what you just said, has some inconsistencies to what i'm experiencing..

My "sounds" ONLY happen, when:
1. the car is fully warmed up
2. when my car is in gear (auto)
3. the sound gets worse when we put the air on (more load)
4. when i rev from idle(500rpms) to about 1000 rpms in gear, you hear it.
5. above 1000rpms, you dont hear ****.
6. ive been driving it this way for a couple months now, sometimes "spirited"
7. car runs strong as ever.
8. maybe my "tech" is wrong
9. ****
10. ****

 

11. wake up and smell the coffee, you gotta big project in your lap, its here NOW and not going anywhere soon, just like you. Get some nice walking shoes or a busspass and save your cash for the rebuild / buildup.

 

I donno, i guess i've got too many things to think about here.
As far as installing the pistons/rods, wont they have to take the whole engine out to do that? (labor$$$) If so, maybe i should just buy a diff block, and have them build that right away?
As far as cash goes...i've got enough to buy pistons and rods and bearings right now. I just dont know how much the damn labor is going to cost me...
Man, i shoulda waited to buy my hondata...Grrr

 

only when its in gear? Is that what you said?

An engine with a problem with rotational componets will always make the noise when rotating. Now, when its in gear and moving, this is applying more strain / friction on the bearings ( generaly the rod bearings in specific ) but you should still hear a litte noise even in neutral. but, please, dont blow your engine trying to fine the noise. Bottom end noises can be a pain in the ***. Ive been through about 12 motors in my 5 year honda carrer and I will tell you its not fun. I know what rod bearings sound like when there going out. I have nightmares of the sound some times. hell, once I heard a knocking so, I got paranoid and replaced the rod bearings and the main bearings. Lowered the car off the lift, crunk it up and the same ******* noise existed :S

But, all jokes aside;

The best daily driven setup you can go with is a factory junkyard engine pulled from a factory car. gsr, type r, civic si etc. I wouldnt suggesting making a fully built motor my daily driver. Ive been there and done that. It really gets expensive when you have no way to work.

Good luck.

 

It sort of sounds like you are talking about the "mains" and not the rod bearings. If the mains are going out its a good deal to change them..but you can drive on them for awhile when they are bad. I drove for two weeks with bad mains..when i pulled them out they [the main bearings] were pretty distroyed but the crank and journals were fine.

liam