now to start off with, i know my way around my engine :thumbsup
since money and time is tight i need your opinions on how to procede.

history:
1998 engine with 80k on it
heard knocking upon load, used search :+ , bought bearings (clevite 77's) decided to replace while still attached to car, car on ramps now.

here's what i find







i used a mic on all 4 journals and i found that there are no gouges (all positive numbers from factory spec) all journals are within specs except for the smearing. looks like the bearing added material to the crank. no taper, and all are within 0.0001 of round (i can get all mic #'s if anybody needs them)

i am inclined to polish it and put +0 spec bearings back in and drive it for 500 miles then drop the rod caps and see how im doing then.

so do you all think this looks like just a polish job or do i have to remove the crank and have it machined?
if i do remove the crank should i just rebuild it while i have the engine apart?

thanks in advance

hmmm... I'd say to gently scrape off the bearing material and use that stuff (I'm sorry but I can't remember what it's called)...

It's a putty or something that you put in there and it changes color to tell you if it is indeed out of round. Magnaflux?

Somebody else will know what I'm talking about. You probably do too, but I'm drawing a huge brain-fart right now.

i think its plasti guage

Machine it.
Bearing material doesn't stick to a mirror-polished crank, it sticks to a gouge.

Originally posted by streetlightning
i think its plasti guage

Thats the stuff!!!! Thanks!

if the bearing added material the bearign journal would now be out of round. Since it is not out of round that means the bearing material has filled a gouge or groove. You can do what you want with it but if you just install new bearings they will go bad quickly and you will be in the same boat.

If your really going to ignore the proper way to fix this then take fine emery cloth and clean the journal up the best you can and remic it. It will have a low spot but at least it will be smooth. Yes it will still fail quickly even with that done.

Crank machineing and ballencing should cost less than 250.00

Terry

sorry terry i think i misspoke, i meant that i wanted to polish the journals and then put the new bearings in.

i think i also confused people with the measurements
cyl #1
left Lateral - 1.8897
Center (smear) 1.8924
right lateral - 1.8897
the lateral portions with no smear are still round, the only portion that is OOR is where the smear is

i understand that perfectly polished journal wont cause bearing material to adhere to it.
however if i were to polish the center hump down so its 1.8897 across the board why would it still need to be machined?
is it bad to do that?

i just dont see why i should machine off .010 and use an oversize bearing if the lateral portions of the journals are within spec?

maybe im missing it and need to be slaped. . . :shrug

thanks again

Originally posted by foggy45
if i were to polish the center hump down so its 1.8897 across the board why would it still need to be machined?

Because once you're at 1.8897, you still have a gouge or inconsistency underneath that. The crank may be perfectly round and flat but it won't be 100% hard crank, it'll be .003% soft bearing which will eventually melt/burn/attract more soft bearing material and build up your crank again.

If you're lucky it's not too deep of a gouge and can be corrected by machining down the crank.

If you polish it down by hand, you may not see that damage to the metal caused by heat either and that will cause the same result. Machine shops take off given amounts for a reason, if they could remove less metal, companies would def make the size bearings so the cranks could last longer.

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon
if the bearing added material the bearign journal would now be out of round. Since it is not out of round that means the bearing material has filled a gouge or groove. You can do what you want with it but if you just install new bearings they will go bad quickly and you will be in the same boat. If your really going to ignore the proper way to fix this then take fine emery cloth and clean the journal up the best you can and remic it. It will have a low spot but at least it will be smooth. Yes it will still fail quickly even with that done. Crank machineing and ballencing should cost less than 250.00 Terry

Sorry, I don't see good news on this one either. I believe those bearings will fail pretty quickly (and I am a proponent of putting in bearings only when you can).

Now, do you want to waste the cash on new bearings and take a shot? Eh, why not? They're cheap and you're already there. Polish her up and put her back together but don't stray too far from the house. Also, keep in mind that you will get pieces of the bearings (new and old) in your engine. But if you're going to do a full rebuild anyway......... :shrug

Your call; stranger things have happened; but I'm doubtful,

MB

thank you all for your valuable insite and help

i will be rebuilding my engine from bottom up and having the crank ground and polished (along with other work)

again you have pointed me in the correct direction and after thinking had about it, doing it the correct way first will be more valuable in the long run.

thanks again
foggy45