RickB Posted March 17, 2001 Share Posted March 17, 2001 I created a new thread for this topic for the benefit of the rest of the board...RB ----- Quoted from RossC... >> Rick, as I've never had to do any bearing replacement I'd love to hear a lowdown on procedure you went thru to R&R your rod and main bearings? I wasn't aware you can do all that from underneath/motor still in/heads on etc. I've only popped off main caps to inspect bearings before. I assume you had to remove your crank and thus front cover as well? or can you lower crank slightly/angled to access all bearings and how does rod removal happen just for starters of what I'm wondering...bearings are only thing I've never done on an engine I guess let alone in the vehicle (that and freeze plugs). thanks for any info (I'd feel a lot better if I felt it was something doable myself.....I've ALWAYS panicked when I thought I might have a bearing problem) >> OK Ross I'll relive the pain for you I will go ahead and post this as a new thread for the rest of the HybridZ brethren. The V8 Z makes it much easier as the only bolts I needed swivels for was the front two oil pan bolts and the front main cap (which makes it a little tough to get an accurate torque reading). BTW, no you do not have to pull the crank out or even take the timing cover off... 1. Disconnect battery cables. 2. Pull starter loose (remove or bungee cord out of the way.) 3. Drain oil and remove pan and filter for inspection. 4. Remove oil pump. 5. I started at the back rods (7 & 8) by rotating the crankshaft so the rod caps are at the bottom. I pulled one cap at a time. Push the piston up into the bore so as to remove the bearing. Rotate new bearing into place however works best. A hard piece of flat plastic will help though I carefully used a long slender flat blade screwdriver (CAREFUL!). Pull the rod back against the crank and reinstall the cap with new bearing. Remember "tang to tang"... NOTE: Use moly lube on bearing wear surfaces or I prefer trans gel. Inspect as required as you go and remove light scratches or burrs with a strip of emory cloth. When using the emory cloth rotate the crank frequently until you are worn out and then do it some more this will insure a good 360 degree finish. 6. Repeat procedure until all rod bearings are replaced. I torqued both rods after each sequence (i.e. 7,8 then 5,6 etc.). Now comes the fun part (the main bearings... 7. First I loosened all caps so the crank could "sag" a bit. Then I used a combination of the above mentioned screwdriver and a hard slender piece of plastic I borrowed from a trimmer (for working with glass) to rotate each bearing out. NOTE: Rotate the "tang" side of the bearing out first! You will be wise to get assitance at this point as one person can rotate the crank while the other pushes the beearing around and out. The front and rear main can be a real pain! In all honesty after inspection I decided to leave the rear main in as the additional surfaces would have made that a real fight. It could be done though. 8. Torque all main caps to spec. 9. Replace oil pump and torque to spec. (I highlt suggest a new pump and pickup at this time!) 10. Replace oil pan and filter. 11. Replace starter. 12. Fill with oil. 13. Connect battery cables and start engine. 14. Determine a moderate amount of break in time for the bearing surfaces and clean and bandage any wounds from the above mentioned procedure. Hope this helps someone, it was my first time (hopefully the last too...!). I have access to lifts and plenty-o-tools as I have friends at a large dealership that are MOST helpful!!! ------------------ RickB@DragRacer.com 280V8 http://www.rickb.racemail.com [This message has been edited by RickB (edited March 17, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modern Motorsports Ltd Posted March 17, 2001 Share Posted March 17, 2001 Originally posted by RickB: I assume you removed all plugs to make rotation easy? trans in neutral I guess? How does one rotate the crank at this time? from leverage on front crank pulley by hand/ratchet? 7. First I loosened all caps so the crank could "sag" a bit. Then I used a combination of the above mentioned screwdriver and a hard slender piece of plastic I borrowed from a trimmer (for working with glass) to rotate each bearing out. Then did you remove the main's one at a time? (or can bearings be slid out of them 'loosened'? I assume removed and this should be done one at at time to help ensure crank aligment is best kept as per original? Thanks for a great post that makes me feel better knowing it's not the end of the world if I need to service bearings for some reason or another. I just wish my xmember/steering rack provided the clearance yours does as I'd have room and front two caps at a minimum would be out of bounds assuming my pan would come off clear. PS how do you find out what size bearings to buy for replacement? ID numbers on the old ones? or the handy caliper? ------------------ Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickB Posted March 17, 2001 Author Share Posted March 17, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Ross C: Originally posted by RickB: I assume you removed all plugs to make rotation easy? trans in neutral I guess? How does one rotate the crank at this time? from leverage on front crank pulley by hand/ratchet? No, I didn't remove any plugs. Trans doesn't have to be in neutral with a torque converter. And, I used a flywheel "turner". It's kind of a spanner wrench that grips the flywheel teeth. These are good questions... 7. First I loosened all caps so the crank could "sag" a bit. Then I used a combination of the above mentioned screwdriver and a hard slender piece of plastic I borrowed from a trimmer (for working with glass) to rotate each bearing out. Then did you remove the main's one at a time? (or can bearings be slid out of them 'loosened'? I assume removed and this should be done one at at time to help ensure crank aligment is best kept as per original? I loosened all the mains and then removed them one at a time, replaced the bearings and hand snugged. Then I torqued them all to spec. Thanks for a great post that makes me feel better knowing it's not the end of the world if I need to service bearings for some reason or another. I just wish my xmember/steering rack provided the clearance yours does as I'd have room and front two caps at a minimum would be out of bounds assuming my pan would come off clear. PS how do you find out what size bearings to buy for replacement? ID numbers on the old ones? or the handy caliper? stamped .010 on the Federal Mogul bearings, I replaced them with the preferred Clevites. Hope that helped too... ------------------ RickB@DragRacer.com 280V8 http://www.rickb.racemail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted March 18, 2001 Share Posted March 18, 2001 As for the subframe - if you really wanted to that puppy could probably be dropped out of there too. It's only 4 bolts plus the motor mounts to drop it down. You'd want to support the motor obviously but a crane could work or something could be built to span the shock towers and support the front of the motor. (shrug) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 18, 2001 Share Posted March 18, 2001 To remove the upper main bearing shell, get an aluminum rivet(s) and stick it in the oil hole in the crankshaft, then rotate the crank and the rivet head will push the bearing shell out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
383 240z Posted March 18, 2001 Share Posted March 18, 2001 I tried the alum. rivit trick once but I perfer to use a large cotter pin with the craftsman strap wrench around the front pulley. ------------------ rx7260z@yahoo.com Speed Power Performance& Style. What else is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickB Posted March 19, 2001 Author Share Posted March 19, 2001 Man...you guys are cool! Those are great suggestions (why didn't i think of that?). remember folks, this was written (and performed) by a first time amateur! ------------------ RickB@DragRacer.com 280V8 http://www.rickb.racemail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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