[DeTomaso] For sale, 351C crank...

Mon May 21 23:56:43 EDT 2012

If you had a hydraulic cam I'd guess that you'd hear the valve clicking and see a drop in oil pressure if the pump was sucking air.  I'm not sure when that happens with respect to a spun bearing, but I did experience it, without spinning a bearing, a long time ago.

Ken

From: Asa Jay Laughton <asajay at asajay.com>
To: detomaso at realbig.com 
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 8:41 PM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] For sale, 351C crank...

Will,

I wholeheartedly go with this supposition.  I was much younger then, 
didn't know what I do today, yadda, yadda, yadda.

This engine had a stock non-baffled pan.  I'm sure I probably ran the 
pan dry a few times.  I was in my 20's, driving a smokin' hot Mach I.  I 
won -every- drag race I ever entered (I have -both- trophies), turned 
girls heads and had a bad ass stereo.  I was on top of the world.  
(young and stupid, at least I'm past the denial stage, now I can get on 
with the other 11 steps)

:)

I ran it hard, I abused it and I bet it sucked air a few times even if I 
didn't know it.  I -had- started with Synthetics.  I was an Amsoil 
dealer back then (not that I really sold any, just for my own use).  
Sometime in the early 90's I stopped using it, switching to regular dino 
oil, only the best, only the very latest cutting edge API rated stuff.  
(oh I can hear the laughs starting already).  And I always ran five 
quarts, that's what made it to the full mark on the dipstick.  Don't 
want to overfill a crankcase now do we?

... so yea... I'm pretty sure that's what did it.

Yes, that engine outlasted a lot of predictions.  Had I taken care of it 
though, and knew what I do today, it might still be in the car, 
continuing to boost my ego.

Next.... I'll be pulling the cam... when I can get this silly damper off.

Asa Jay
<I'm so tired of -never- having the right size socket for that stinkin' 
damper bolt, I'm gonna go out and BUY one>

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
&  Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism

On 5/21/2012 7:13 PM, Will Kooiman wrote:
> I've spun plenty rod bearings.
>
> For me it was a 302 revved to the moon with a stock oil pan.  It would suck
> all of the oil out of the pan, suck air, and the bearings would overheat and
> spin.  I thought it was the tiny rod bolts (stupid teenager).  302 Fords had
> rod bolt specs of 19-24.  Boss 302s were 40-45.  It wasn't until much later
> that I realized that I was surely running the pan dry.
>
> I probably spun 5 of them in my youth (Joe Pesci accent).  A couple of times
> I caught them with no major damage.  Once I let it go for a month or two.  I
> didn't have the money to fix it.  When I pulled it, I had to replace the
> crank.
>
> So, my guess is you were pumping air instead of oil.  As long as you supply
> a steady stream of oil to the bearings, and assuming nothing else is wrong
> like a cracked crank, you shouldn't spin the bearings.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
> Behalf Of Chance Dorsey
> Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 8:51 PM
> To: Asa Jay Laughton
> Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] For sale, 351C crank...
>
> Wow Asa Jay,
>
> That is really ugly!!!  On a positive note, 80k on your first engine
> build!!!  I hope I can achieve the same mileage on my new engine.  Mine
> isn't my first build; but it is my first non stock build.  Only time will
> tell.
>
> So what do you think your plan will be, used crank and back to stock or big
> inch stroker?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chance Dorsey
> Austin, TX
>
> On May 21, 2012, at 6:04 PM, Asa Jay Laughton<asajay at asajay.com>  wrote:
>
>> ... turned .010 under, now slightly used.
>>
>>
> http://www.teampanteraracing.com/index.php?option=com_g2bridge&view=gallery&
> Itemid=57&g2_itemId=4898
>> For those who remember I've had an old 351C on an engine stand in my
>> garage because it was making some rattling noises under slight load...
>> I tore further into it today.  The above link shows you what I found.
>>
>> -Now- I know what a spun bearing sounds like.  Lord knows how long it
>> had been that way, but a second one was on it's way as well.  I couldn't
>> tell you why it started, but I can certainly show you the results.  The
>> number 4 rod journal on the crank is now turned -quite- a bit further
>> than it should be, on the thrust side.  The bearings halves are nearly
>> sharp enough to cut meat.  It's ugly.
>>
>> The crank may be salvageable but it would definitely need a good turning
>> and it would be way undersize.  Personally I think it's probably shot at
>> this point.
>>
>> The rod and cap are also both very worn on the bearing surfaces.  I'm
>> not sure it's salvageable or not.  I imagine it can be, but it would
>> need to be bored oversize.
>>
>> This was the very first engine rebuild I ever did.  It was part of my
>> final project in the Automotive Technology degree program I graduated
>> from in 1985.  The engine was in my Mach I and was driven nearly every
>> day until the late 90's.  It had a change of heads from 2V to 4V, with
>> manifold, and a cam change, somewhere in mid-life.  When I finally put
>> her down due to the rattling sound, I figure she had nearly 80,000 miles
>> on her, maybe more.
>>
>> I rebuilt a different engine and made the swap in 2001.  That's a whole
>> other story that you can probably read in the archives of this list.
>> After nearly 12 years, I now know what failed.
>>
>> Enjoy,
>> Asa Jay
>>
>> Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
>> &  Shelley Marie
>> Spokane, WA
>> ******************************
>> http://www.racingagainstautism.com
>> http://www.teampanteraracing.com
>> http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism
>>
>>
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