Do I Need Rod Bearings?

[rltrbill]

Driving a 94 3.0 MTX with 130,000 miles on it. Been reading all this stuff on rod bearings and became alarmed. My car runs great. No bangs, thumps or tics other than valves when at idle. Oli light never goes on, car runs cool but does use oil at 60MPH and over.

I called my local mechanic to schedule a rod bearing job and was told that the bearings will talk to me when they need replacement.

Question!! What will I hear, what will I notice and how much time will I have to get the car into the shop?

Eager for an answer.

 

[SHOMurph]

Driving a 94 3.0 MTX with 130,000 miles on it. Been reading all this stuff on rod bearings and became alarmed. My car runs great. No bangs, thumps or tics other than valves when at idle. Oli light never goes on, car runs cool but does use oil at 60MPH and over.

I called my local mechanic to schedule a rod bearing job and was told that the bearings will talk to me when they need replacement.

Question!! What will I hear, what will I notice and how much time will I have to get the car into the shop?

Eager for an answer.

for these cars when you hear the rod bearings its too late.

Get them replaced. When they talk to you then you are needing a new motor.

 

[SolidState]

IMHO, if you need to ask the question, you need to change your bearings...

so simple, so worth it.

 

[stangeater]

How simple, how much????

 

[SHOMurph]

How simple, how much????

$250-300.

Then you can run her hard without worry.

 

[somedude_001]

$250-300.

Then you can run her hard without worry.

WHAT!!! i bought my bearings, seals, and plastigauge and it cost my 67 bucks throught RCM, it took 6 hours in my garage with me and my friends goofing around and fighting with the Y-pipe for a hour.

if you have basic hand tools a 6 and 12" entention and a torque wrench (importnat), and some jack stands you can easly do this.

buy them here http://home.earthlink.net/~rcm_automotive/id2.html buy (get the std size)

59.99- 3.0L-3.2L Clevite rod bearing kit
STD, .25mm, .50mm, .75mm under
Includes:
Clevite rod bearing set
Front oil pan seal
Rear oil pan seal
RTV silicone sealant (for pan rails)
Oil pump pickup tube gasket
Plastiguage

then gack your car up and get to work... FYI I did my bearings a 199K because they were starting to make a some noise, the noise is a deep knocking like if you were taking a heavy hammer and tapping the engine block with it. if you pay a shop to do it I would NOT let them charge you more than 4-5 hours for this

i'm not sure how typed these origionaly but thanks

Ideal rod bearing-to-crank clearance is .024mm-.056mm (.0009-.0022")
Max allowable is .08mm (.0031")

Search keys: connecting rod bearing replacement procedure

1.. Disconnect negative battery terminal.
2.. Drain oil, temporarily install new filter.
3.. Remove O2 sensors.
4.. Remove manifold nuts and cat ****** bolts.
5.. Remove Y-pipe.
6.. Remove oil level sensor.
7.. Remove starter.
8.. Remove oil pan bolts and nuts.
9.. Remove oil pan (there are interferences).
10. Remove oil pickup tube.
11. Remove windage tray.
12. Remove bearing girdle.
For each cylinder:
13. Loosen the two rod end cap nuts and unscrew a few turns.
14. With the 13mm socket and extension still on the nut, tap on the socket extension with a hammer to separate rod end.
15. Use non-scratching means to slide bearing halves so they can be removed.
16. Lubricate new bearings where they contact the crankshaft journal with assembly **** or lithium grease.
17. Install new bearings with tabs at the indentions in the rod and rod cap.
18. Gently install rod end cap and torque to specs, 1st stage 22-26lb-ft, 2nd 33-37lb-ft.
19. Rotate the crank to position the next two rod ends.
Reinstall each component that was removed in steps 1-12 in the reverse order with the following exceptions.
20. Add new gasket to oil pickup tube.
21. Install new oil pan gasket and silicone. If reusing a good condition old gasket, use PermaTex Ultra Black silicone.
22. Install oil pan, torque 11-17lb-ft.
23. Clean, sand contact points on starter.
24. Use new sealant on oil level sender.
25. Use new donut gasket on exhaust ******.
26. Use Anti-seize on O2 sensors and manifold nuts.
27. Refill new filter with oil and refill crankcase with oil.
Once everything is back together:
28. Unplug DIS and crank until OIL light extinguishes.
29. Reconnect DIS and start engine.
30. Set idle speed programming.

a better writrup on how to do this WITH pictures
http://www.shophoenixproject.com/rodbearings/rodbearings.htm

 

[SHOMurph]

Most shops charge between $50-$80 an hour.

Price included bearings.

 

[TYSHO]

I tend to find other right-ups pretty lenghty, except this one:

http://www.kurtmetros.com/bearings.html

This is original, blunt, and not as difficult from others to read and understand.

If you're going to take this to a mechanic, I highly suggest that you print the above linked procedure for them to follow.

 

[somedude_001]

I tend to find other right-ups pretty lenghty, except this one:

http://www.kurtmetros.com/bearings.html

This is original, blunt, and not as difficult from others to read and understand.

If you're going to take this to a mechanic, I highly suggest that you print the above linked procedure for them to follow.

I was reading through the one you posted and I do like it a lot I didn't notice any marks on the rod and cap I wonder if I put all of mine back on in the right direction... ahh I must have i've put 25K on it already

 

[SHOGrabber]

Are the ATX SHO's just as important to change every 60K

 

[rltrbill]

Purrs like Kitten

for these cars when you hear the rod bearings its too late.

Get them replaced. When they talk to you then you are needing a new motor.

My mechanic claims I will have time once I hear a noise. I live in NH and cold starts are normal. I hear nothing but the valve tic and some noise at idle from the vibration damper. I can't do the work myself and I don't want to put a bundle into it.

Any idea what the labor should be on pulling and replacing a motor?

 

[Off Road SHO]

Are the ATX SHO's just as important to change every 60K

The ATX's can get to 100k before needing a "service". Depending on the upkeep on the car, you only do the rod bearings when needed.

Tom

 

[rltrbill]

Service on what?

The ATX's can get to 100k before needing a "service". Depending on the upkeep on the car, you only do the rod bearings when needed.

Tom

Are you saying rod bearings need to be serviced after 100K on an ATX? I have a MTX and had the 60K work done but never heard you need rod bearings too

 

[SHOMurph]

My mechanic claims I will have time once I hear a noise. I live in NH and cold starts are normal. I hear nothing but the valve tic and some noise at idle from the vibration damper. I can't do the work myself and I don't want to put a bundle into it.

Any idea what the labor should be on pulling and replacing a motor?

maybe on a V8 motor but TexanTony replaced rod bearings on a crank that had one-thousandths score on the crank and still had rod knock.

When you hear knocking thats damage being done to the rods and crank.

For $300 bucks or so you can safely go bang on your motor all day long without worry.

 

[SHOMurph]

Are you saying rod bearings need to be serviced after 100K on an ATX? I have a MTX and had the 60K work done but never heard you need rod bearings too

Rod bearing failure is all about previous maintenace. If you don't know the complete history of the car then you have no idea how often changed or what kind of oil the previous owners used.

If you have over 120k I would change them. Then you probably can go many,many miles with regular Castrol oil changes.

If I bought another SHO the first thing I would do is change the rod bearings then do the 60k/120k. You can drive a car with oil in the plug wells but you can't drive a knocking motor.

 

[Off Road SHO]

Are you saying rod bearings need to be serviced after 100K on an ATX? I have a MTX and had the 60K work done but never heard you need rod bearings too

No, I'm saying the ATX needs the valves checked at 100k In my opinion. The rod bearings on mere mortal vehicles should be checked and replaced when you see or hear symptoms; low oil pressure light comes on or flickers at idle speeds, slight knocking from lower end of engine.

This is just my opinion, but the way these motors are rev'd on an everyday basis by most people, I would be checking and replacing rod bearings every 100,000 mile or so. It's so cheap to do and it gives you the opportunity to fix other things that might need servicing.

Tom

 

[SHOMurph]

No, I'm saying the ATX needs the valves checked at 100k In my opinion. The rod bearings on mere mortal vehicles should be checked and replaced when you see or hear symptoms; low oil pressure light comes on or flickers at idle speeds, slight knocking from lower end of engine.

This is just my opinion, but the way these motors are rev'd on an everyday basis by most people, I would be checking and replacing rod bearings every 100,000 mile or so. It's so cheap to do and it gives you the opportunity to fix other things that might need servicing.

Tom

Amen brother.

 

[RAYJAY]

^

^

what he said 3 time over .........

Jeff

plus you get to see what in your oil pan

 

[TYSHO]

Any idea what the labor should be on pulling and replacing a motor?

Why are you thinking about that? Why would you be pulling and replacing the motor?

 

[DHMag]

I was reading through the one you posted and I do like it a lot I didn't notice any marks on the rod and cap I wonder if I put all of mine back on in the right direction... ahh I must have i've put 25K on it already

rods and caps are not stamped, they are marked. if your internals are heavily coated with oil residue, it will be difficult to see. all markings go towards the front of the car. also, i believe the tangs are placed on opposite sides. Chevy rods have all sorts of identifiers, FYI.

$250 is what i charge to do rod bearings minus parts. yeah, parts are less than 100, but you said yourself, 6 hours of labor. that where the price goes up.

i would not recommend taking your SHO to a mechanic with no knowledge of working on a SHO motor.