Examples of spun big end bearings

[macca]

So more of my collection of engine mishaps, this time one of my own. This is a set of spun big end bearings from a 1st gen 3S-GTE engine. These spun due to oil starvation (my own fault). The car still drove and the engine ran fine, albeit with a very loud knock on the bottom end that you could hear from quite a distance!

http://www.i-macca.co.uk/stuff/bugbear1.jpg

http://www.i-macca.co.uk/stuff/bugbear2.jpg

You can see on the shells themselves where the top layer of soft metal has been worn down by the metal-to-metal contact and down to the brass that shapes them. Also on the 4 big end caps, there are burn marks from the heat generated by the shells spinning where they shouldn't have. Lots of nice score marks for the same reason.

Unsuprisingly the crankshaft from this engine was also scrap!

[AndysR]

A knocking bottom end now that's something that makes me cringe! You know its going to be costly from the moment you hear it.:(

I've seen Impreza's actually spin one shell over onto the other shell due to oil starvation and still been running but then in fairness probably wouldn't have run for much longer!!

Since working in the motortrade and seeing first hand what occurs when level checks are neglected I have religiously made an effort to check the levels in the engine bay on car's I drive, However before that I was under the impression that if there are no leaks then the oil level should be fine!

How wrong was I :no:

Another worrying thing is how much more often oil level checks are neglected especially as average annual mileages grow and service intervals increase...

[macca]

I'm pretty good at checking my oil level, not so at tyre pressure though which I really should be.

I also don't agree with these longer and longer service intervals. Like the Audi's that run this extended servicing program. Modern oil is good but not that good. Nothing is a substitute for an oil change in keeping your engine fresh and clean inside.

[AndysR]

I'm pretty good at checking my oil level, not so at tyre pressure though which I really should be.

I also don't agree with these longer and longer service intervals. Like the Audi's that run this extended servicing program. Modern oil is good but not that good. Nothing is a substitute for an oil change in keeping your engine fresh and clean inside.

Definately don't know about you but I do mine every 3 or so thousand miles which makes for atleast two seperate oil changes in between the usual 10k interval that the car has. Always use a genuine filter too! :)

[Ang]

Do you know what really gets me with engine damage :no:

All damage starts off small and turning up the music does not make it go away, stop driving it and you can probably salvage it often with just a reshell, sometimes the crank may need a polish (£50) and now and then a complete recondition £150 ish. Ok not always. We now always check the crank and shells on any engine we buy that's not been driven or heard by us. Even then it's not a guarantee. Though on some cars its easier to replace the engine.

Why is it people drive their cars when it knocks, yes we've done it when the engine is beyond saving as its funny to see the flames and bits come out of the engine ;) Nothing better than throwing a con rod out, impressive. More impressive when it still drives with a hole in it.

Why is it people think cars are ok to sell when they've had the engine warning light come on and just dumped a load of oil at 70mph but its a cheap repair they always say! :tosser:

Another one when you get a car with a reconditioned engine why is it that people think they can bed the shells in by keeping it a 4500 revs for 30 mins or sitting in heavy traffic in the baking sun? Why is it they seem to think that after 500 miles they can then belt around at 140mph at high revs and think all is fine.

Oh and why is it reconditioned engine, or not, people never check their oil!! Why is it they drive their cars overheating and why is it people thrash their cars from cold and never give their cars a chance to cool down after a long trip.

One last thing is when you recommend people get a cambelt changed or tensioner bearing done why do their ignore you and then ask for help when their cambelt has snapped. If you are not sure replace the cambelt, its a good thing to do if you think the engine may well have been replaced, no gurantee its the same one in the car.

We all make mistakes but some don't take advice, some don't learn. I can remember damaging engines through my own ignorance, once that mistake was made, never again.

Oh that was quite good fun letting that all out :D

[macca]

Do you feel better for that? :D

[Ang]

Do you feel better for that? :D


Yes lots better now :thumbs:

You have to laugh or you would cry. Just heard of another car, not one of our old ones, that James recommended cambelt change. They ignored it and you can guess what? Cambelt snapped and now needs another engine as easier and cheaper than rebuild.

Our personal experience is if cambelt has snapped its not always easy to just replace bent valves.

Do you remember that prelude vtec, non runner, that we bought where the owner insisted it was not the cambelt (thanks to the AA saying that)? I still can't believe with the lack of servicing that car made it well over 165000 miles and still going round race tracks. That car we tried to jump start, bump start on the way home whilst towing..............:innocent: and it turned out the cambelt had just slipped, new belt and tensioner bearings and it started and ran without any problems. Very lucky.

[AndysR]

Do you know what really gets me with engine damage :no:

All damage starts off small and turning up the music does not make it go away, stop driving it and you can probably salvage it often with just a reshell, sometimes the crank may need a polish (£50) and now and then a complete recondition £150 ish. Ok not always. We now always check the crank and shells on any engine we buy that's not been driven or heard by us. Even then it's not a guarantee. Though on some cars its easier to replace the engine.

Why is it people drive their cars when it knocks, yes we've done it when the engine is beyond saving as its funny to see the flames and bits come out of the engine ;) Nothing better than throwing a con rod out, impressive. More impressive when it still drives with a hole in it.

Why is it people think cars are ok to sell when they've had the engine warning light come on and just dumped a load of oil at 70mph but its a cheap repair they always say! :tosser:

Another one when you get a car with a reconditioned engine why is it that people think they can bed the shells in by keeping it a 4500 revs for 30 mins or sitting in heavy traffic in the baking sun? Why is it they seem to think that after 500 miles they can then belt around at 140mph at high revs and think all is fine.

Oh and why is it reconditioned engine, or not, people never check their oil!! Why is it they drive their cars overheating and why is it people thrash their cars from cold and never give their cars a chance to cool down after a long trip.

One last thing is when you recommend people get a cambelt changed or tensioner bearing done why do their ignore you and then ask for help when their cambelt has snapped. If you are not sure replace the cambelt, its a good thing to do if you think the engine may well have been replaced, no gurantee its the same one in the car.

We all make mistakes but some don't take advice, some don't learn. I can remember damaging engines through my own ignorance, once that mistake was made, never again.

Oh that was quite good fun letting that all out :D


I agree! It never fails to amaze me how people can drive a car to the red line on a stone cold engine then complain when it uses oil or suffers with a noisy lifter! As you say half the engines that are replaced are probably replaced due to "drive on" damage rather than as a result of the original failure. :no: