Rod Bearing replacement?

[gustavohuber]

Hey everyone- so I posted in the parts shed looking for rod bearings, which means ta da more work for the "cheap" subaru! How rod bearings could start to go after 63k miles, I have no idea.. maybe a previous owner wanted to see just how good synthetic oil is, and did the drained-engine test where you forget to change oil for 40,000 miles. Who knows. Either way, the symptoms match up with previous descriptions of rod bearing trouble.. and I have only minimal experience rebuilding an engine for my one-cylinder Yamaha SR250.. The noise is really gentle still, and kicks in around 2500 rpm when the engine is decelerating or coming off load (or "crusing" at highway speeds w/ cops present).. Since its not so so bad, I'm tempted to try to do the three accessible bearings from underneath, so as to avoid pulling the whole engine, and having to really throw money at it. I would entertain the possibility of driving it into the ground, and then trying to swap in an EJ22T, but it seems like such a shame to kill a beautiful engine which has just now, at 12 years of age started to be driven regularly.. Any ideas or suggestions on what to do/ what the real problem is/ where to find bearings/ etc are welcome. Thanks to everyone again for helping a noob hit the ground running.
/Gus

[evolutionmovement]

You won't be able to get #1. I use subaruparts.com for all OEM stuff. Very strange for the bearings to be gone. Mine were practically mint at 246k.

Steve

[gustavohuber]

here's a question.. after dropping the pan, can you unbolt the back half of the rod and take off the bearing, or do you have to actually remove the whole crankshaft? Are these literally bearings, or more like semicircular bushings?
Thanks!
/G

[gustavohuber]

Anyone?

[professor]

they are semi-circular bushings. I don't think you should seriously consider trying to do this with the engine in the car, you should be able to pull it with an assistant in less than a day.

you may want to consider a good short block, which might be available for about the cost you'd pay for the parts alone

[professor]

read this

http://remanufactured-engines.com/page4.htm

[dzx]

I was looking at mine the other day, you'll need to take the engine out of the car and open it up to replace the bearings.

[evolutionmovement]

You can only do 3 rods and I don't know how you'd do it with the engine in the car. I had my heads off when I played with it, too.

Steve

[gustavohuber]

so here's where it gets ugly.. I have no garage here. My workspace is the warehouse at work, which I can only really use from 5pm friday until 7am monday.. on the bright side, it includes lots of space, a machine shop, and forklifts. Also, from that absolutely GREAT site, I'm less convinced that it is a rod bearing.. I need to figure out a way to isolate the water pump and check that.. though the way the noise increases on deceleration would suggest the prior, uglier option.