New to internal engine work.. help needed

[watson86]

Please forgive me for asking some questions that may seem super easy to others. Go easy on me....

I have a 86/87 109 engine that was in my car when it was stolen. After it was recovered I found that it was running just fine and had good oil pressure and all the essential things that an amateur looks at to see if all is well. I put the car away until a later date where I could give it attention. That time has come... I am going to remove the engine and start work on the car now. My questions are this, I found that the turbo had grenaded so to speak... The compressor wheel had severe up and down play and in and out play... I did not know this when the car was recovered... The car was only started and ran for a small amount of time and never on the road so I would not have seen its lack of boost... I then removed the oil pan to discover what I am considering the compressor material... It was an aluminum powdery substance that appeared to be break-up of the compressor. Any ideas on if that may have damaged the internals?

Next question (again, I am an amateur), Ho do I measure the rod and main bearings to see what to replace them with? The build receipts were kept in glove box and theives must have taken them as they aren't there any longer...

Next, After the initial build the car had the torque converter come loose... is this common with 400-500 horsepower builds?

And lastly, When I had the oil pan off I wanted to turn the engine over by hand to get a gool look at the cylender walls... they looked great but while doing so I noticed the crank made a ever-so-slight click sound and moved forward very slightly... It was very very slight but I am wondering if that is to be of concern.

Thanks for any input you can provide

 

[earlbrown]

You need a set of mics to accurately measure the crankshaft. A set of calipers won't be accurate but they will tell you if you're STD, 10,20, or whatever.

No, the HP levels aren't a factor in a TC coming loose, but not properly torquing them is pretty common.

Your crank clicking in and out might be a sign of excessive thrust clearance. The thrust can be measured with a mag base and a dial indicator without taking the engine apart. If it's out of spec, you'll have to take the engine down to see if it's the crank out of spec or if the bearing is beat out.

Since you has been rebuild before, my guess is the thrust bearing wasn't set right when building and the crank make a little extra clearance.


The powder in your pan is most likely timing set or timing cover material (or piston). And compressor parts should either be stuck in your intercooler or spit out the exhaust (or embedded in a piston).

 

[watson86]

Thanks for the reply! Is the timing cover typically an issue? Is it a PITA to change out with the cam sensor and all? Is the thrust bearing also a PITA to fix?

 

[earlbrown]

The thrust bearings is just one of the new main bearings. The only difference is that it keeps the crank from walking fore and aft. If you're lucky the crank is fine and new bearings will set you up. The only way to know for sure is to measure measure measure.

The timing cover is only a PIA to remove if the steel dowels are all rusted up for over 25 years up north. Since you have a rebuild, it shouldn't be a problem. Once the big crank pulley nut is off, the rest is just small bolts. The cam sensor will have to be reset, but that's true no matter what.

 

[TurboTdr3.8]

If your thrust is worn a lot you may have a rod bent also

 

[bpman1234]

so what would be the proper way to set the thrust bearing?when putting in the new one .sorry don't mean to hijack but do all je piston use spiro locks?

 

[earlbrown]

I might write a 'how-to' on the next engine I build when I have time to take pictures. Until then, it would be a major thread jack attempting to put it into words.

 

[hiboom]

also the bearings themselves may have markings on giving you a indication on how much the crank has been turned if any .

 

[watson86]

Thank you for that info! Honestly, I hate knowing that this could be really bad after all the money dropped in it. Hoping for the best

 

[bpman1234]

ok thanks earl.

 

[bison]

Fwiw the stock turbos used aluminum journal bearings and this is probably the aluminum you found in your oil pan.

 

[watson86]

Thanks for the reply. It was a pt66 journal. Could that be it. You don't think that material would most certainly have been caught up by inter cooler?

 

[we4Mateo]

Thanks for the reply. It was a pt66 journal. Could that be it. You don't think that material would most certainly have been caught up by inter cooler?

The bearing pieces shouldn't be able to make it into the intake tract. The IC would only be contaminated if your compressor wheel was severely damaged.

 

[watson86]

I think I understand now. Is bison saying the bearing material from turbo beatings may have made its way thru the oil drain tube on turbo?

 

[we4Mateo]

I think I understand now. Is bison saying the bearing material from turbo beatings may have made its way thru the oil drain tube on turbo?

Yes

 

[Pronto]

I think you should find a TB guru in your area to help you map out what work might be needed and where to have any machinework done. Where are you located?

 

[watson86]

Sc

 

[bison]

Thanks for the reply. It was a pt66 journal. Could that be it. You don't think that material would most certainly have been caught up by inter cooler?

I've only seen stock turbos with aluminum journal bearings. If you have aluminum in the oil it's from something else