I've been there too. Take a break, revisit when you feel the need to fix! Use this as an excuse to improve something ... that's always my excuse :Brow:
Done with the pity party.....couldn't stand it! couldn't sleep just thinking about it. I would say some kinda sh*t was in the oil galleys. The mains are well eaten along with the rod bearings. I believe it started the minute I primed the oil pump before running it in on the stand. I will try to post pictures later. Note to self: clean out all passages oil and water. A detail I will not overlook again.
Well...I got it all apart. After looking at all the bearings I really don't know what happened or how it happened.I thought the passages had a bunch of crud in them. If that were the case the cam bearings would have been toast. They are not. All lower main bearings show huge amounts of wear, except for the rear main. Upper halfs of the main bearings show wear but less than the uppers, again the rear main shows none. All rod bearings are shot.
I've brought home freshly machined engines that had cranks full of grinding and machining detritus. Cranks aren't always as clean as we think they are/should be when we get em back. I'm guessing that's what happened here. Looks too like a good cleaning and fresh bearings fitted to proper specs should get it going with minimal cash outlay. Just walk away from it for a while. Come back with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. The damage is done, forget about it. You have nowhere to go, but up....
Just an FYI that has worked for me regarding the thrust bearing. From group 60 of a 69 chassis manual page 60-61 paragraph 15: "If the thrust Bearing shell is disturbed or replaced it is necessary to line up the thrust surfaces of the bearing shell before the cap bolts are tightened. To do this, move the crankshaft fore and aft several times (last movement fore) with the thrust bearing cap bolts finger tight". What I generally do is just what was stated using a block of wood and a BFH to move the crank aft and fore on the snout and back before tightening the crank bolts. The last 455 I did had the proper thrust clearance per the manual of .003"-.009" as stated. In no way do I have the engine building experience of some who have posted here and I in no way directly or indirectly dispute any of their knowledge or advice. Maybe I have just been lucky as JW said, but this procedure has worked for me many times.
Oh well looks like I done for the year here on this project. Got college tuition, and property taxes coming due. Got the motor completely disassembled and put away on a storage rack. At least I have the four speed to play with. But as far as racing is concerned...looks like next year! the convertor wasn't ballooned. Thanks to all who offer help, advice, and parts. Jim
Sorry to hear that.It's a shame when you put alot of time and money into a motor and something bad happens.My gsx dosn't have the best oil pressure at idel if gets any worst i might have to pull it.
Yeah it's disheartening. But it's like a country song....sounds like life to me. I love the dishes on that X. At least you could find yours at the reunion. Great job on getting it ready for the BPG event, I know it had to be a rush. best of luck. Jim
JJ have you thought about racing the 4 speed, like Martin? I hope to see you there even if your not racing. I too am sorry to here about your motor, I know how it feels :rant:
Thanks Jim for the compliment on the dog dishes. I had heard of a few guys that put their trunk keys in the wrong cars at the reunion. I'm glad I had those dishes on there so I didn't make the same mistake. It was a mad rush to get the car done by the BPG. My neighbor was extra careful assembling the motor. It has great oil pressure driving down the road. But at idle it's low. We're going to install a booster plate to see if it will correct the problem. I would like to try to race it if we get the problem fixed. I think it's awsome that you race your Stage 1 cars. That's what they were made for.
