Guest bastaad525 Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Finally got the parts and time I need to try to do this... minus some sleep but that's nothing new. So let the Z gods let something go my way this time and let me get these bearings out and in w/o needing to pull the engine... please but if not well hey no prob I'll have everything I need right there to get it out if I have ta. After speaking with technicalninja I'm pretty sure this is doable... not the most fun ever I'm sure, but doable and hopefully in a day. And then I'll have my Z back again... been missin my baby! Well, I'll you guys know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I think that you should edit your topic title to "Wish me GOOD luck!!"....since luck in your case generally means BAD luck! Hope all goes well for a change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 well congratulate me I"m the proud new owner of a set of newly installed main bearings First off maaaaaan it was WAY easier to do w/o removing the engine than you guys had me thinking. All of the caps including the center one came out without much difficulty... the center one was easy, just threaded a bolt on there and thru a large flat piece of metal to act as a 'T-bar' then used to large screwdrivers to wiggly-pry it out... it came out so easily and unexpectedly fast that it popped me in the nose... OUCH! The bearings actually proved a little trickier though... I had forgotten technicalninja's advice to loosen ALL the caps (minus the rear) a tad first to kinda let the crank 'sag', so ended up having to fight a bit with the bearings to get them out, but a little rotating of the crank back and forth and judicial use of a screwdriver and out they came. The front-most one ended up being the most PITA.... the half of the shell in the block did NOT want to come out... anyways none of them really looked bad except for the thrust, a few had a scratch or two but nothing severe... I've seen MUCH worse... All told the job took about 8 hours... BUT, this was partially because I screwed up a couple times and had to go back and undo some stuff... otherwise I'd probably have been done in about 5 hours. It wasn't the easiest thing to do on my back, but if I had to choose again between doing it that way or taking all the extra time to pull the engine, I'd do it this way. Only real disadvantage is not really being able to replace the rearmost bearing... The rear surface of the thrust bearing was TOAST... only about .5mm left on it's wear surface... forgot to save them to take pics to show you guys... really scary looking. The crank itselt was thousandths of an inch from rubbing up against the cap. Unfortunately, the damage was enough that I'll most likely not be able to run this engine as long as a fully rebuilt engine should be good for, not nearly so. The thrust wear surface on the crank is kind of 'grooved' and will probably wear out the new thrust bearing relatively quickly. Also, seen from below, with the bad thrust bearing and the crank pushed fully forward (pretty much it's normal operating position when it was running) the small ends of the rods did appear to be right up against the sides of the pistons... so I can only imagine that had been dragged on a bit and maybe have done some damage... will do a compression check at some point. BUT... seeing the extent of the damage I find it very hard to believe that the engine got like this in the relatively short amount of miles I've put on it... and at least I did get a good look at the cylinder walls when I had to replace the head gasket just months ago and they looked great... so I doubt much scuffing has happened in the even fewer miles I've put on it since then... but who knows... things can get destroyed awfully fast in a running motor. Guess it was better that I had the clutch done when I did and they just happened to find out about the crank moving... apparently just in time for me to do something about it, before the crank started grinding. So she's back on the road and running good. Still a bit of a misfire at idle that seems to be getting worse... making me worry about possible scuffing and compression losses (but most likely, just the 20+ yr old wiring and EFI components aging even more), and of course, still SO much to do... and now I gotta keep my eyes open for another engine as well I guess... to have one around as backup for the more-likely-when-than-if eventual failure or deterioration of the current one. Ah well... such goes the life of a Z enthusiast, eh? Guys, question: would a lost of compression make sense for being the culprit in my increased pop-pop-popping at idle? Is that even misfire... it's very erratic, like when your'e popping microwave popcorn, those last few moments when the last few pop... kinda sounds just like that too, coming from the exhaust at idle. I know it used to run a lot smoother than this, though the popping has always been there.. just seems to be getting more frequent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 And I know I'm probably imagining this but it DOES seem to be running... well.. not stronger or better, per se, but it seems FASTER... almost like it felt with the lightened flywheel in there... seems to accelerate faster. Maybe the friction of the worn bearing, and rods rubbing on the pistons, and now it spins more freely? Feels like it freed up lost power or something... would be interesting to dyno and check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 You mean something actually went right for you!!! Sorry I couldn't help you out! Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 That's cool man, glad it worked out. Having pulled those caps off with the block upside down with no pistons, rods, clutch, and flywheel, they were a bitch. I can see now that you've explained it how the weight of the rotating parts would help. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 Tim240z - no worries bro, you've helped me out plenty of times and never asked for anything in return... It's more appreciated than you know. No one can help ALL the time. Hey, either way I got it done and she's back on the road and it didn't cost me more than the price of parts and a good days labor. Next stop, bushings and I/C installed (I HOPE!!)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 Congratulations on the successful bearing swap. As for the idea that low compression is causing your mis-fire at idle, it doesn't make sense to me. I'm thinking your idea of 20 year-old electronics is probalbly more likely. Let us know the results of the compression test. I bet it comes back just fine. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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