Back in April, one of the baffles in my aftermarket oil pan broke loose and blocked the oil pickup, which starved the motor of oil. You can read the original thread here: link I have finally finished removing and tearing down the motor and I thought I would share my findings and ask for some advice.

Here's the root cause of my problem -- the broken pan baffle and how it blocked the oil pickup.


A sample pic of the camshaft lobes. I measured the largest portion of each lobe and each one was within spec according to the Helms.


Pics of the valves after removing the head:



And the cylinder walls:





The rod bearings:





The main bearings:






And the crankshaft:






Aside from trashed main bearings, there is what looks like a scratch on the crankshaft in the pic below. I can't feel it at all:



My plan right now is to replace:
1) all main bearings
Bearing codes:



#1 C3 = Green/Brown
#2 C3 = Green/Brown
#3 C4 = Brown
#4 D4 = Brown/Black
#5 D4 = Brown/Black

2) all rod bearings (all rods had #2 sizing)

#1 B2 = Yellow
#2 A2 = Pink
#3 B2 = Yellow
#4 B2 = Yellow

3) oil pump -- for peace of mind, since I know it's been blocked
4) crankshaft oil seal -- not leaking just a 'while I'm in there' thing
5) intake and exhaust valve retainers and keepers -- again, a preventative thing
6) replace the clutch friction disc -- it only has 21k on it, and measures about 30% worn, but it's easy to do when I put it all back together.



Now, I'm a complete rookie at tearing down and building an engine, so I have a few questions:
1) Have I read the bearing codes correctly?
2) Does the crank look ok, or should I replace it?
3) I've been told that I should remove the pistons and rods to get the rod ends checked out and verify that with the caps installed, they are in-spec. Good idea or not?
4) If I pull the pistons out, should I replace the rings while they're out? Compression and leakdown numbers before tearing the motor down were all good.
5) Am I missing anything obvious from the pictures?
6) Is there anything else I should be considering for replacement?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

To be honest, if you are a rookie to engine building, get the help of a mechanic atleast to let you know you are on the right track.

 

Everybody has to start somewhere, right?

 

good luck man.

 

For having the balls to attempt this on your own. Most people would drop a chunk of change to have other people do it for them!

-Will

 

I would replace the rod bearings as well. They look a bit gauled (sp?). Also, I would have the crank polished too. The rest of the motor looks fine to me. The rest of the changes you have planned look just fine.

Now, I'm a complete rookie at tearing down and building an engine, so I have a few questions:
1) I think so, but I would have to look. SlowS2k would be whom I would listen to on this. Also, you should plasticgauge the bearing when you install them to insure they are the right ones.
2) NO, just have it polished. 50 at the most to have this done.
3) They should be fine, but checking them can't hurt.
4) Why now? I think you need to get the block honed and finding a shop that can do it right may be a problem.
5) Nope, looks like you found all of hte issues. You got luck that the bearing are the only problems.
6) The Valve seals and have the valves relaped. So basically a valve job at the local machine shop. About 200 or so would be my guess.


Since you are in NASCAR country you may be able to fine a good machine shop without too much trouble. One the Cylnder bores and honing them is differant them most other motors. As long as you supply the spec's you would be fine.

 

Thanks, Jeff.

I definitely plan to do both the rod and main bearings.

 

Since you caught the damage early IIRC, I'd leave the rings and bores alone, as long as your car wan't a big oil user before. Most local machine shops can't correctly hone FRM bores. None in my area can do it right and provide accurate measurements of the work in metric. Almost no one can hold Honda's tolerances putting an engine together.

I'd replace all main and rod bearings, both crank oil seals, oil pump (for the same reason you listed) Valve retainers and seals. The cylinder head isn't as tricky as FRM bores, and most places can replace the seals and lap the valves without an issue.

I'll have to break out the SM and decode your #'s later, It's been a long week.

 

Bump. Shots of the bearing matricies:









All rods are stamped with #2

 

The way I read the manual, you have the bearing color codes right. You will really only know for sure once you install them and plastic gauge them. Since you will have made the crank and rod journals smaller by having the crank polished, you made need to increase the bearing size one step.

So the following table is one step thicker.

Mains
Brown to Brown/Black
Brown/Black to Blue
Green/Brown to Brown

Rods
Yellow to Green
Pink to Yellow