Engine disassembled. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Crank/bearing inspection. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Tolerances measured for machining. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yup, it sure did. Except it's more like P-R-I-C-E-Y, not merely pricey. But there's really no good choice. It has to be right. I don't plan to sell the car any time soon - or at least until I get too old to shoehorn myself into the car. So while it's painful, and a bit disappointing, it's not a crippling feeling. I sure as hell hope that it can be polished, but they do make bearings 0.010 over. I know that Superformance sells them. I'm sure others do as well.
I'm still trying to digest how a 44K mile car can show this much engine wear. Was this car raced? Was it serviced regularly? I've had engines with 100K on them apart and most didn't exhibit this much wear. At least your car is in good hands and you can hopefully enjoy many worry-free miles.
It's definitely odd. No other parts of the engine exhibit the wear (e.g. valve guides, cylinder walls etc); just the lower end bearings. And I believe it's more the crank bearings than the rod bearings, though Dan can chime in if I'm incorrect. Dan and I spoke about it before the 4th holiday. The car doesn't appear to have been raced, though could've seen some track days. It could've been serviced with the incorrect oil, though I'd be surprised if that alone would cause this much wear, or even if the wrong oil were used enough times to cause premature wear. It could've been deferred service, except that the car came with a 3-ring binder of service history. So the cause remains a mystery right now.
Sounds good Ken. I'll probably also bring the car to the Ponte Vedra Auto Show in Nocatee. It's mid-September.
In my experience, racing has nothing to do with bearing wear. The oil is at it peak performance with plenty of pressure to keep those bearings fully oiled. If there was any metal on metal contact, you would inevitably spin a bearing immediately No, bearing damage comes from lack of adequate oil, usually at start up. I'd much rather have an engine thats been started and driven a few times a week, rather than one with a fraction of the miles thats has sat for weeks without a starting. Just imagine how dry the bearings are after a month or two with out driving? The oil may even drain out of the pump causing a few additional seconds of metal on metal. (<--not sure if the 355 is vulnerable to this, but many engines are depending on the location of the pump.)
Lots of Midwest / East Coast cars will sit for 4 months or more having never been started until the weather warms up. I try and start mine once a month and let it come to temp during the winter....but damn it gets cold in the garage when I do that.
I would rather -not- have a car that's been started and ran a few times a week, unless properly warmed up every time (especially before heavy throttle/rpm). When I took apart the engine from my 59 Cadillac that was sitting for 35 years it was seized due to cylinder rust but there was still oil on all of the bearings. My thought on it is, not enough people place importance on oil temp, especially with a high capacity dry sump engine. I've seen so many people throwing revs/going to redline on an ice cold engine and I think that is the more likely cause of accelerated wear. Would not expect to see that from racing.
I fully understand the thought process on lack of oil on start up causing bearing wear but I don't agree thats what caused this. We have cars that have sat for 20-30 years that still have oil on every bearing, coolant/water just eats the motors alive. I'm wondering if someone dragged in dirt around the oil filter housing when changing the oil. If you look around the filter contact area theres always sand and grime built up.
Main cap and crank measured. Notice the marks on the oil squirters from light impact. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Rebuilt steering rack. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Crank scratch polished out. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Worn sleeve replaced. This is the same cylinder with very high leak down. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login