Metal Shavings In The Oil?!?

Project_Legacy · Post by **Project_Legacy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:51 am

o wow we took the oil pan off the ej22T motor that we are rebuilding, and we found............ metal shavings. shit. there were also some stuck on the screen in the pan. some were pretty big my friend said... if i rolled it up into a ball it probably would have been at least 2-4 millimeters big. we found that the walls next to where the crankshaft "almost" touchs. it feels a little "rough" compared to where it isnt. everything else is smooth feeling.

Could this be "main bearings" going bad?

Also, my friend and i are wondering if we have to split the motor in half to take off the pistons?

Thanks a lot for any input you can share.

douglas vincent · Post by **douglas vincent** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:52 am

You don't have to split the casing to get the pistons out. They are easy. But I fear for your bearings.

Project_Legacy · Post by **Project_Legacy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:20 am

so thats a "most probably" on the main bearings? in that case... i would have to split the case to do that then... any other input??

Thanks

Matt Monson · Post by **Matt Monson** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:10 pm

You cannot split the case until you have removed the pistons. But those shavings do not sound good. I am going to guess your thrust bearing is fried. Better safe than sorry.

Also, take a real good look at your cylinder walls. Even if the cross hatch is still visible, you can often see the signs of rod knock on the wall. They will need to be honed if there is wear...

Project_Legacy · Post by **Project_Legacy** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:02 am

ok. thanks for the replies matt and doug. is it really hard to replace that thrust bearing? the news of this has certainly made me depressed. i feel discouraged to go on more with this.

what i am trying to say is... is it worth it to do all that work for it? ill be willing to do it, and most likely will anyway but... i would like your honest opinions.

P.S. i smoked a 92-96 prelude on the way home from work... with my N/A AUTO!! LoL

Matt Monson · Post by **Matt Monson** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 12:29 am

Well,
replacing the bearings themselves isn't too hard, but you will want to have your crank measured and it might require machining. And then you will need oversize bearings for it. But don't despair. The bearings (do them all, not just the thrust bearing) are not too expensive. Just buy Subaru bearings. I have heard nightmare stories from people trying to cheap out and buy less expensive non OEM bearings...

Project_Legacy · Post by **Project_Legacy** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 5:05 am

ahhh ic. yea i figured if i was changing bearings i might as well do them all. oversized bearings huh? ic. thanks a lot for the info. i will be splitting the case as soon as i can then.

o and another thing. is there a special tool you have to buy to put the motor back together?? a subaru shop told my friend who asked for me that we would need one. it was like 100+ dollars or something... some type of hammer or what not. ill have to ask my friend again. but yea thanks a lot!!

Don

gnuman · Post by **gnuman** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 7:13 pm

Project_Legacy wrote: o and another thing. is there a special tool you have to buy to put the motor back together?? a subaru shop told my friend who asked for me that we would need one. it was like 100+ dollars or something... some type of hammer or what not. ill have to ask my friend again. but yea thanks a lot!!

Don

A rubber or plastic mallet should do the trick if it is a hammer type thing. Perhaps the Subaru shop has also been doing work for the military?

Project_Legacy · Post by **Project_Legacy** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:16 am

i dunno if it is an actual hammer. i mite have mis heard from my friend over the cell phone. because what the heck would you need a hammer to put a block together for??

i have no idea. anyway thanks for the reply.

Don

Project_Legacy · Post by **Project_Legacy** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 6:20 pm

ok yea. my friend says its a "slide hammer" that is used to take the crankcase apart and apparently put it back together. the subie shop said to get it from the subie dealer.

anyone with experience of splitting the crankcase can confirm this?? would be much appreciated. or if you used a different method?? thanks a lot!

Don

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:58 am

I split the crankcase without removing the pistons. Just remove the block bolts (may take some man power) and pull it apart. The only time I can think of a hammer's use would be a mallet to tap the pistons back in.

Steve

Project_Legacy · Post by **Project_Legacy** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:54 am

ahh. well everyone has told me that i would HAVE to take out the pistons BEFORE splitting the crankcase. did anything bad happen when you did that?? anyway i'll be getting to splittin it soon... i've been real busy with work and all.

should i just follow haynes directions to split the case?

anyway thanks for all the info!

Don

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Sun May 01, 2005 6:25 am

Nothing bad happened, but I didn't plan on reusing the engine. I set the crank so the pistons were all either TC or BC and removed as many rod caps as possible before pulling the case apart, but I think you could pull it without doing that. Either way, you have to remove them to do the bearings. Main thing is that you can do the bearings without pulling the case apart far enough that the pistons come out. Getting it back together is down to you, but it's not really a big deal to remove the pistons to begin with.

Steve

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Metal Shavings In The Oil?!?

Metal Shavings In The Oil?!?