So...my engine is making a horrible racket and a reputable Evo mechanic said it sounds like a rod bearing, and at 106K miles I would be best off ordering a new short block and rebuilding the motor that way. He also recommended I stick with stock internals unless I want to go over 400whp. Makes perfect sense to me, but I just wanted to know...what would you guys would do if you were in my situation? I was thinking maybe a 40K mile motor from Japan? I don't plan on making a horsepower monster, I just want my engine running like it's supposed to be with a *little* room for imporovement, possibly a FP Green or something...

 

I would take the motor apart and find the issue before you start ordering parts and assuming.

Thats an expensive project to assume without facts


Good luck man =-)

Cheers!

 

Thanks. Anyone else have any advice/solutions?

 

Bump for more advice...

 

First off, before proceeding, you need to drop your oil pan pronto. Don't take your mechanics word. Don't assume anything. Drop your pan, and have a look and confirm your assumptions. Could be a bad balance shaft bearing and nothing more. If the engine is toast, GO FORGED, you won't regret it. It costs more, but in the end, its better to do the job right THE FIRST TIME. Take the engine out, and have it re-bored .020 over, and have the crank checked out. I recommend going with eagle rods and wiseco pistons, its a very affordable setup, and its WAY stronger than stock. While your at it, have your head re-milled, and get a valve job with new valve guide seals. All said and done, you will be a happy man with a engine capable of way more power (if you decide to go with a larger turbo in the future).

 

Yeah I guess it could be the balance shaft bearing, although the knock-knock-knock seems like it would be something with the actual pistons/rods/crank/crank bearings instead. If I drop the oil pan, what would I be looking for? I would assume I should grab onto things and give a yank, and if they move, they are bad?

 

If it is indeed a bad bearing, you should be able to find a whole lot of shavings in the bottom of the oil pan. If its really bad, you even find the entire bearing chewed up and sitting in the bottom as well. Give a tug on all the rods, if one seems super loose, you will have found the culprit. Try to visually inspect everything, there should be something very obvious. If you cannot find anything, try rotating the crank by hand and look and listen for anything knocking. If you still can't find anything wrong, you will have to unbolt the connecting rod caps, and then move onto the main bearing caps. Good luck!

Remember to keep everything labeled and in order. Don't mix up any parts or bolts. Draw out a diagram and number everything, and have bags to keep all the relevant parts in (with a label on the bag).

 

^^ Yeah that's what's strange, I did an oil change and looked at the drip pan after I drained the old oil out of it, and there were no residual metal flakes. I even drug a magnet through it to make sure.

 

Draining the oil won't prove anything. The metal is sitting at the bottom of the pan, because metal is heavier than oil. Some small flakes are usually noticed in the oil drain though, so that is a bit strange. Depending on what happened, it is possible for the smaller flakes to have been filtered out by the oil filter. The larger metal pieces will be sitting in the oilpan still.

 

you won't find anything that way, cut open the old oil filter and look for metel shavings.

 

^^ Damn, the oil filter is long gone I didn't even think of that!