Quote:
Originally Posted by cpatstone  Thanks Dave. PO's mechanic thought it was a rod bearing. Two questions - for you or anyone else - do you really need to lift the motor and drop the subframe to get the oil pan out? I don't have an engine lift, but I could borrow one. Then again, if we're pretty sure it's bearing material, I'd rather do a post-mortem when the motor is out and the S52 is in.  question #2: thicker oil would be very slightly better in this situation, right? what's the thickest I can go? Suggest any additives? (will put the new oil in after flushing it with clean-but-used oil, and a new filter) BTW, I didn't measure the cam lobes because I just can't believe that any one of them is the source of all that debris. Turning the crank by hand, you know that some parts of the cycle take more effort than others as the cam lobes compress the springs. I did notice that the chain tensioner gets pushed in a little as there's more tension on the timing chain, then goes back to where it was. Gets pushed in maybe 1/8", or less. Point is, I assume this is normal. Timing chain guides looked fine as far as I could see from the top end. I've put the thing back together, with the stock exhaust and not the aftermarket one the car came with, in hopes to pass the state inspection. And ask the guys if the car is subject to emissions inspection. 'cause that might be important... |
If it was cam, I'd expect it to be magnetic material.
It also could be failure of the thrust bearing surface, that might explain the erratic RPM that the noise occurs. Trash thrust bearing would likely be rpm centric, because the crank is moving front to rear. Just a random thought....
Dave