Help Please :)

[CoreyGSX]

I bought my 98' GSX about a month ago. I was having fun just driving something new besides my 99' Hyundai Accent(slowest car i have even been in. I've been beat by Prius's) that's besides the point. I had the car all of three days before i took a right corner and accelerated to about 4k and went to shift and the RPM's slammed down to zero and the car hasn't started since. i took it to my mechanic. We checked the end play on the crank .0078 (.002-.007) is proper end play, meaning it crankwalked by .0008. Now im saving up for a lower end rebuild. I'm having problems deciding weather to go with a 6bolt or rebuild a 7bolt. Everybody says go with a 6bolt that i know but 6bolt's can walk also. I'm nervous about spending all the money and then having it walk on me again. But i've wanted one of these cars since i was little and now that i have one i dont plan on giving it up . i've read article after article about crankwalk and i just want to get your guy's thoughts on the matter weather it be, setups you have that have been good to you, advice on how to avoid crankwalk, or any help you think of. Thanks guys

 

[DSMpimpin]

1g's\6 bolts have more n\t horse power and higher compression ratio's besides worrying about crankwalk the 6 bolt is better proformance wise and is less likly to walk but my 6 bolt in my 92 eclipse gs had crankwalk from a bad thrust bearing. im going to keep the 7 bolt in mine and use the money on a 2.2 stroker kit

 

[FLASH1970]

Doesn't sound to me like crankwalk is the reason your car suddenly died... When in the rare case an engine does suffer from crankwalk, people are able to move their crank 1/8"-1/4". I think you've read too many "crankwalk" threads and your mechanic is taking you for as much as he can. I would stick with the engine in the car if it was me. .0008 is such a small amount. How many miles are on the car? Auto or 5 speed? What's the compression on the engine? Did the timing belt break? Is it getting spark? Is it getting fuel?

If your dead set on getting a bottom end rebuild, find out if you have a split thrust bearing block. They came in most 98's and all 99's and are about as likely to walk as a 6 bolt. It's the same bearing design used in EVOs.

 

[Laggg]

if you got the money to play with then go 6 bolt, but you can have fun 7 bolt if you use it right. But i agree completely with flash

 

[CoreyGSX]

Doesn't sound to me like crankwalk is the reason your car suddenly died... When in the rare case an engine does suffer from crankwalk, people are able to move their crank 1/8"-1/4". I think you've read too many "crankwalk" threads and your mechanic is taking you for as much as he can. I would stick with the engine in the car if it was me. .0008 is such a small amount. How many miles are on the car? Auto or 5 speed? What's the compression on the engine? Did the timing belt break? Is it getting spark? Is it getting fuel?

If your dead set on getting a bottom end rebuild, find out if you have a split thrust bearing block. They came in most 98's and all 99's and are about as likely to walk as a 6 bolt. It's the same bearing design used in EVOs.

111,xxx miles on the car, 5 speed, not sure on the compression(first no no, i just bought the car and was having fun. lesson learned) Timing belt is fine, it has spark and is getting fuel. I'm hoping it's not crankwalk i really dont want to spend 2k+ on a rebuild if i dont have to. I've been using my mechanic for years and he has 4 dsm's so maybe im trusting him to much and should get a second look at it.

 

[FLASH1970]

I'm hoping it's not crankwalk i really dont want to spend 2k+ on a rebuild if i dont have to.

Your end play is .0008 out of spec on a car with over 100K on it... a piece of paper is .004" thick. You think your car crankwalked because the end play is out of spec by 1/5 the thickness of a piece of paper... dude, IT'S NOT CRANKWALK! As I said before, cars that get crankwalk have endplay enough to notice. Usually people are able to pull on the crank pulley and wiggle it back and forth 1/8" (.125") or more.

Rotate the engine by hand and see if all the timing marks line up, then check compression. Maybe the timing jumped.

If you are paranoid about crankwalk, then don't sit at stop lights with the clutch pressed in. Just shift it into neutral and let the clutch out. That's what puts the most strain on the thrust bearings. Change your oil regularly and check it often.

 

[CoreyGSX]

Your end play is .0008 out of spec on a car with over 100K on it... a piece of paper is .004" thick. You think your car crankwalked because the end play is out of spec by 1/5 the thickness of a piece of paper... dude, IT'S NOT CRANKWALK! As I said before, cars that get crankwalk have endplay enough to notice. Usually people are able to pull on the crank pulley and wiggle it back and forth 1/8" (.125") or more.

Rotate the engine by hand and see if all the timing marks line up, then check compression. Maybe the timing jumped.

If you are paranoid about crankwalk, then don't sit at stop lights with the clutch pressed in. Just shift it into neutral and let the clutch out. That's what puts the most strain on the thrust bearings. Change your oil regularly and check it often.

I hope you're right. This is my first car that im going work on. I love cars but im not that mechanically savvy yet. what am i looking for with timing marks and compression?

 

[FLASH1970]

Hope I'm right...? Well, I hope you're not still hung up on the thought that your car has crankwalk.

Visual Frequently Answered Questions - Home Page

Under the engine section there's a timing belt "how to"... it'll have the timing marks and where they are located in there. With 111k on it, I'd just do a timing belt/water pump job on the car. It should be done every 60k and you're almost there. It's the first thing I do when I buy a used DSM unless I have records stating when it was last done. A couple hundred dollars a few hours of work is worth the peace of mind for me.

Without taking everything apart and checking the marks, you can...

1. remove the spark plug from the #1 cylinder. That's the one closest to the driver's side.
2. Take off the upper timing belt cover. It should be a couple 10mm bolts on the valve cover, and a couple on the side.
3. Now your timing belt should be exposed along with 2 gears. Those are your Cam gears. They have 2 little marks on the outer edge. (see vfaq timing belt procedure for pic)
4. Put a long screwdriver or a 9" extension down the spark plug hole in the #1 cylinder.
5. Rotate your engine by hand using the nut on the crank. This will be easy if you take off the driver's side front wheel. Remove the wheel well plastic cover. You should be looking at the crank pulley and there should be a big nut in the center of it. Use that nut to rotate the engine.
6. Rotate the engine until the screwdriver or whatever you put down the spark plug hole comes up as much as it can. If you rotate it too much it'll start to go back down. This is how you know the #1 piston is at TDC (top dead center).
7. Now look at the marks on your cam gears. They should all line up or be a half tooth off. See the VFAQ article for pictures. If they don't line up, your timing is off.
8. If they line up, proceed with a compression test.

 

[CoreyGSX]

Hope I'm right...? Well, I hope you're not still hung up on the thought that your car has crankwalk.

Visual Frequently Answered Questions - Home Page

Under the engine section there's a timing belt "how to"... it'll have the timing marks and where they are located in there. With 111k on it, I'd just do a timing belt/water pump job on the car. It should be done every 60k and you're almost there. It's the first thing I do when I buy a used DSM unless I have records stating when it was last done. A couple hundred dollars a few hours of work is worth the peace of mind for me.

Without taking everything apart and checking the marks, you can...

1. remove the spark plug from the #1 cylinder. That's the one closest to the driver's side.
2. Take off the upper timing belt cover. It should be a couple 10mm bolts on the valve cover, and a couple on the side.
3. Now your timing belt should be exposed along with 2 gears. Those are your Cam gears. They have 2 little marks on the outer edge. (see vfaq timing belt procedure for pic)
4. Put a long screwdriver or a 9" extension down the spark plug hole in the #1 cylinder.
5. Rotate your engine by hand using the nut on the crank. This will be easy if you take off the driver's side front wheel. Remove the wheel well plastic cover. You should be looking at the crank pulley and there should be a big nut in the center of it. Use that nut to rotate the engine.
6. Rotate the engine until the screwdriver or whatever you put down the spark plug hole comes up as much as it can. If you rotate it too much it'll start to go back down. This is how you know the #1 piston is at TDC (top dead center).
7. Now look at the marks on your cam gears. They should all line up or be a half tooth off. See the VFAQ article for pictures. If they don't line up, your timing is off.
8. If they line up, proceed with a compression test.

I really don't believe i have crankwalk. i bought a 98 because of the thrust bearings because i didnt want to have it walk on me. but when someone who does this for a living tells you it happened and you're not that mechanically savvy you tend to believe them but maybe im too trusting to someone who is seeing dollar signs. which is why this forum helps becuase you're not making money of telling me anything.

Thanks Flash you've been a real help/ eye opener

 

[FLASH1970]

No problem. 7 bolts aren't the plague like some people think. My 7 bolt just turned over 244k and I drive it 120 miles a day. For a stock block dd car with some pep, maybe around 300-350whp, I prefer the 2g 7 bolt. It has higher compression for better off boost power, lighter rotating assembly... Just spend some time searching on here to see if your problems have come up before, if you can't find anything, start a thread, be as specific as you can, give as much info as you can whether it's videos or pics and people on here will help you out as best they can. Check your timing and then compression and post up what you find. BTW...

CRANKWALKED? 7-bolt teardown 1080HD - YouTube

Fast forward to just after the 10 minute mark. That's crankwalk... the crank moves back and forth .125"

 

[CoreyGSX]

I'm towing the car home tomorrow in the morning and Saturday I'll start trying to diagnose the problem. so you're saying I should start with the timing? or where would be the best place to start?

 

[18795gsx]

I would go with a 6 bolt but if you do want a 7 bolt get one made on or after 1998. Those 7 bolt were made with a 4 piece thrust bearing which were less likly to have crankwalk.

 

[CoreyGSX]

Gsx start up problems - YouTube

Took this video today. Just figured it will explain better than what i can in words.
Watch it and get back to me please.