Rod bearing pics

[Axianator]

Today was a good day in SHOland for my baby. TexanTony labored 6 hours to replace the connecting rod bearings in my '95 ATX. Below is a picture of the 137k mile bearings taken from my 3.2L.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with what we found. Bearing wear was consistent and (IMO) a little better than some of the other ATX bearings I've seen on the forum. Crosshatch pattern within the cylinder walls was (still) excellent. No scoaring on any of the crank journals. Inside of the oil pan, windage tray, bearing girdle and surrounding mating surfaces were in great shape. Overall, the bottom end was still very healthy and looked very good. Car started up with no abnormal sounds or oil light on the first turn of the key. Seems to run tighter, too. Many thanks to the original owner who I bought the car from- she must have done some good babying to the car before I got it.

I would also like to personally thank Tony for his hard work and assistance in performing this procedure for me today. Both Tony and Scott do excellent, excellent SHO work and I value the help that they have both rendered for me and my ATX. I will try to get some additional and more detailed pictures of the bearings and engine underside within the next few days.

As always, comments and thoughts are welcome on the pic. thumb

 

[91taurisho]

I only hope that mine are as good or better than yours were when I replace them. Why did you replace them? Just to be safe, or were they making a noise?

 

[SHOtimer]

Well, I did the rod bearings in my '95 ATX (acually shojuan did, after I sliced open my finger)the motor was at 144k. What I found was a significantly less amount of wear than you have. My lower bearings looked perfect, the uppers exhibited wear through the first layer and just a little into the second layer, with only the two outer bearings (the one closest to the tranny and one closest to the crank) showing a very small amount of copper. I did notice as you did that the engine is a lot tighter, and I also seemed to have a rather healthy bottom half. Well, congratulations on new rod bearings (the peace of mind they give is fabulous) and hope your SHO is on the road for a long time (and miles) to come.

Doug

 

[oh_SHO]

Hey congrates on the maintence. I will be doing mine when warmer weather comes. Mine are making noise on start-up so I just put her away for the winter. Was the car on a lift when it was done?

 

[Rockledge]

I see from your sig that you have done some other things with your SHO, and now with the rod bearings replaced, that car must really be be running great. thumb Nice looking too.

 

[SolidState]

looks very much like mine that were done at 150k

 

[Axianator]

91taurisho, if I had to pick a reason for getting the bearings changed, it would have to be for my peace of mind. I tend to be a cautious person, so when I started reading through the recent rash of bearing horror stories and considered the mileage on my ATX, I thought it would be a good preventative maintenance move to go ahead and have them changed.

Doug, do you have a pic of your old bearings? I'd be interested in seeing them. I'm glad that you, Teg and myself don't fall into Mark's set of 3.2 bearing nightmares. Looks like the ATX's are good for something when properly maintained. thumb

To answer your question, Matt, no, the car was only on jackstands. Tony used one of his 3-ton "easy lift" jacks to get the car a couple feet up in the air and had it supported by the body behind the subframe. There was just enough room for me to roll under the car on the creeper and snap a few shots of the underside. I think the procedure would be much easier if the car were on ramps or a lift.

Rockledge, thanks for the compliments (if I may say so, that Ranger of yours is pretty tight). And yes, preventative maintenance has definitely been one of the hallmarks for keeping my girl running in tip-top shape. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to "get on it" or take it to redline yet since Mr. Tony has suggested a break-in period of 500 miles followed by an oil and filter change. Even with "normal" driving, though, I still think that the engine feels and responds more tightly than it did before the procedure. IMHO, my ATX has always been quite the boot-scooter, so I'll be anxious to see how it performs after the break-in.

Teg, props on those nice looking bearings. Perhaps Beth or a mod could start a rod bearing photo journal and pin it in one of the forums? Start the thread off when a copy of Scott's (excellent) bearing replacement procedure and then follow it up with pictures and accounts of other bearing swaps?

FWIW, the hardest part of the procedure was probably getting to the bearings themselves. Watching and assisting Tony with the actual bearing change was easy... if I had had full confidence in myself and a good, properly-calibrated torque wrench, then I would have performed the procedure myself. As it was, though, I figured something of this potential magnitude should be left in the hands of someone who had performed the procedure before. That said, though, one should have no problems with the swap itself if you follow the instructions laid out by Scott and Kurt and have the proper tools.

Many thanks to everyone here for their kind words and input. thumb

 

[SHOtimer]

Axinator, I do still have my bearings but I have no way to post them, as I don't have a digital camera or anything of that nature. And thats right, these ATX's are good for something! Again, congrats on the job, the motor (mine at least) sounds a lot tighter and purer (sp?) at full throttle, I'm sure you will enjoy it when you break those bearings in.

Doug

 

[93EmeraldMTX]

your guys' look better than mine, 161k MTX

 

[Bizzy]

LOL mine were worse at 88k But that was also after the convention, solid motormounts, a few passes on the track, and the car was old man owned and lugged before I got it. But at least the body was nice and the interior is really nice

starting from the flywheel as #1

<small>[ January 04, 2004, 10:28 PM: Message edited by: netviper ]</small>

 

[SHOPWR]

i have a 1994 ATX with 100k on it and i was thinking about the rod bearing replacment. what would be some signes that i should replace them or if there worn down pretty bad ?

 

[93EmeraldMTX]

SHOPWR:
i have a 1994 ATX with 100k on it and i was thinking about the rod bearing replacment. what would be some signes that i should replace them or if there worn down pretty bad ?

low oil pressure, possibliy a noisy bottom end. 100k on an atx is assume they wouldnt be very bad, personally id wait a while longer unless there are problums, but it never hurts

 

[SHOPWR]

ok thanks for the information thumb

 

[Axianator]

Man, Bruce, those bearings sure are lookin' purrrty. wink

Was that right after you spun one of your bearings? If so, do I correctly assume it was the #2 set?

 

[RJ-92]

What is the thought on replacing rod bolts while doing this procedure?

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

RJ-92:
What is the thought on replacing rod bolts while doing this procedure?

Just re-use the ones youve got. wink

 

[TYSHO]

RJ-92:
What is the thought on replacing rod bolts while doing this procedure?

If you can find some that are new, be it from another type of car, but the same size as the SHO...go for it! You'd understand after having 2 bolts spin on you and do nothing, like me.