Changing rod bearings and need help.

[djacks222]

I have never dropped an oil pan in my life..... then again I haven't done a lot of things to a car that I have done recently.
Anyhow, Google and YouTube are up my straight talk data, so video is out of the question .

So.....

How do I replace the rod bearings? I don't want them to go bad on me because that would mean my crank needs machined,... which is more money.

I know the basics. Like the rod cap and putting sleeves over the threads. But like is it a p.i.t.a? Then they mention something like an oil flow notch. I have seen this on a new bearing.. so I just put pre assembly **** on the bearings and ensure that it goes in the same way it came out?

Then the top bearing.. this is what I am confused about.... how in the world do I get it out and back it?? Does it just come out like the bottom one?


Please.. any help or directions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[E1]

Depending on rust conditions in your area, taking off the Y pipe might be the hardest part. One 'CAN' get the oil pan off with a un-removeable Y pipe, and I have done it, but it is not recommended.

Oil pan itself has no gasket. It is sealed with a gray silicone. I have used Permatex Ultra Gray RTV for reassembly with good results.
Oil pan has two well hidden bolts up under the black rubber inspection cover by the transmission bellhousing end.
Between oilpan and connecting rod ends is a windage tray. Pretty straight forward.

Rods use bolts through the cap ends - more about the bolts in a bit. They are captive bolts and come out with the caps. Rods are cracked cap style meaning the crank end of rod is bored and honed, then scored and literally broken into two parts. The cap mating surfaces are a rough cracked casting surface, not smooth machined. They only go together one way, but when you get them right, the fit is perfect.

To get the top bearing on a rod? rotate the crank until it is pulling the piston down in its bore, then take off the cap making sure to note the cap orientation. Push the piston up a little bit in the bore and you should be able to get at the bearing from the side. Comes out just like the bottom half and each rod will assemble a little differently due to the cracked style manufacturing process - you'll see when you get one apart.


Rod bolts. Rod bolts are listed in the manuals as TTY - Torque To Yield. Single use. So are many bolts in this engine. Some folks would die before using TTY bolts a second time. Others have used them successfully. It is not my intention to restart that argument here.

The 2.5 Duratec uses the same rod bolts as the 3.4. When I want to change rod bolts, I lock up an old deepwell socket in my bench vise open end up. I hold the cap and set the bolt into the socket and knock out the bolt with a small hammer.

Reassembly is straight forward. Just get everything super clean before closing it up.

Good luck!

 

[djacks222]

You @E1 are amazing! I really appreciate you and thank you for the help and advice so in depth like that. I know that it is possible to do.. and yes I'm nervous lol.. but I'll do this on my next day off. It's probably going to take me some reasonable hours to do.. but in the end it will be worth it.

I'll also just buy new bolts lol save me the stress and worries of things

 

[99sho-time]

Hey this is funny tomorrow or next few days ill be dropping my oil pan initially to reseal it but i'll inspect the bearings. Im going to take alot of pictures for the forum.
Anyway E1 since you seem knowledgeable bout the engine I always wonder are the piston and rods forged?

 

[E1]

pistons are hypereutectic and I thought the rods were powdercast.

Either way the answer is no and no. They are pretty tough little critters in their own right, however. Due to camfailures, I've seen the pistons and rods take ungodly amounts of abuse with relatively low catastrophic damage.

I mean yeah, the rod is bent and a new piston is needed, but for heavens sake - when there are two valve heads sticking sideways out of the piston and it STILL didn't put a window in the block. That's pretty good in my book.

Dropping the oil pan to reseal it? Factory original unopened pans don't leak in my experiences. Why are you doing this?