I have a Professionally Built 2.4L LR Engine in my Evo built by a very well known shop and I think it already spun a bearing after only 900 miles of driving - need to be sure. I haven't even had the chance to race the dang car yet! So disappointed!

Anyway, took my car out of storage to give it a drive this week and topped off the fluids, etc.. After driving for about 20 min and coming to a stop at a light, noticed a tapping coming from the engine, kinda like a lifter tick but louder.

Had the car towed home just to be safe. Proceeded to pull the valve cover and check the valvetrain for any strangeness.. looked normal to me. Didn't see any stuck lifters, etc..

I then put everything back together and took out my mechanic's stethoscope to see where this noise was actually coming from. Started it up and It was loudest on the block.. Not what I wanted to hear. Proceeded to test for a spun bearing by pulling all the spark plugs and then putting each piston at TDC and then slightly on the down stroke stopping each. Then taking a screw driver and see if the piston would push down due to a bearing failure. All of them were fine except #3. Which had a nice thump when I pushed down on it. GREAT.

Drained the oil - Looked like it had glitter in it.

What do you guys suggest I do next? Cut open the oil filter - What would I be looking for? About to do that now..

I have had weird issues with this motor since I took delivery of my car.. Oil consumption - 1/2 QT every 100-150 miles or so.. Smells like it's burning oil all the time. I have done everything from replacing the valve seals to checking the turbo, putting a catch can system in to let the engine breathe.. I am at a loss on this one. Now this apparent spun bearing. I have already dumped over $10k into this car last year alone.

 

Contact the shop that built the motor, hopefully they do something for you.

 

I did.. So we will see what happens. Just wanted to make sure it really is a spun bearing without having to pull the oil pan.

 

Was the motor built with tight or lose clearances? What weight oil are you using?

 

Here are the specs from the build..
Main Bearing Clearance = .0015"

All cylinders:
Piston ring gap 1 = .019"
Piston ring gap 2 = .023"
Bearing clearance = .0012"

I am using the reccomended oil that they told me to use, Amsoil Dominator 15w-50 race oil.

 

You are going to be caught in no mans land.

Most shops will not warranty an engine after so much time has passed (it sounds like this was built last year).......especially if they didn't install the motor. They don't know how it was installed if the correct amount of oil was used......etc.

If you installed it......thought something was wrong and didn't contact them immediately.......its kinda on you at this point. I know you don't want to hear that and hopefully they work something out with you.

I've learned from experience that if you have a shop build a motor its almost always in your favour to have it installed by them and tune by them (its going ot more expensive but think of it as insurance).....if something goes wrong they can not place blame on anyone but themselves.

I hope it turns out good.

 

The motor was built, installed, and tuned by the shop. I didn't do any of the work at all.

I basically dropped my car off to them and 2 months later got it delivered back to my house ready to go.. I paid extra to have it all done by them because I didn't want anything to not be done right and to have a reliable, built evo. I am sure they will stand by their work, the owner is a stand up guy and has been very helpful since I have had the car back on any questions I have had..

Sometimes these things happen and new motors fail because of defective parts or whatever.. I understand that.

 

I think you'll be good to go, and they'll take care of you. Normally when people post stories like this, there's 500 little oddities like Smurf mentioned that sound fishy.

How long was it in storage, and did you do anything to prime it before startup. Or heat up the oil pan if it was freezing cold?

 

Oh, I know what you are talking about! Not the case here. I am meticulous with my car. Anything out of the ordinary gets fixed or replaced.. My wife hates it. Just the way I am.

When I say storage, I mean like a storage property where you can rent a 20' enclosed garage.. It wasn't in long term storage or anything like that. I have two cars and rotate them by driving one every other week. The evo was just in the storage garage I rent for about a week. Don't have enough room at my house for my wife's SUV and my two cars, so they take turns on getting driven. This also keeps the mileage down on the evo..

 

Got the oil filter taken apart.. What do you guys think?

 

Damn........Thats a lot of metallic flakes in there.

Sounds like you did it the right way. IF its been a while at worst I would hope they cover labor to re-do all of this again and have you pay for parts at their cost.

I was in a somewhat similar situation but the shop I deal with standing behind their work despite a lot of time passing (To be fair I constantly was taking it back since the issue presented as something else).

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

If those are the true tolerances of the bearings that seems kind of tight to me. Who knows though, like you said there could be a number of things that caused the failure. My last engine setup I hammered out #4 rod bearing due to a hairline crack in the bearing journal right near the oiling hole, but I had more like 4k miles on it making over 800hp.

 

Tighter clearances need thinner oil. Another thing that can effect things is if it was cold where you are. It can definitely be something mechanical but oil weight is definitely important and should be used according to clearances. Tight clearances and cold temps can prevent thicker oil to lubricate properly which can lead to spun bearing.

 

It wasn't cold out, like 65 degrees. In any event - I always wait to drive the car until it's at temp and even then I gradually get on it. I am very careful with it. I have invested a BUNCH of money in the car and wanted to enjoy it.. I used exactly what my engine builder recommended in engine oil - which I am sure he would know best. The motor is only 5 months old and I only had 900 miles on it. That is why this sucks.

 

Dang, that sucks. I even spent the extra $1400 and had him put in a Manley Billet Crank in my engine.. I hope that is not ruined too.