need help!! how to remove main bearings while engine in car?

[adrian2627]

just like what my title says, i already took the oil pan out and the crank bed due to my 7 bolt walking. good thing i caught it early and no visible damage to the block or inside except for bearing wear(excessive) anyways, i took the bed out with the lower bearings, how do i remove the upper bearings? can i just slide them out or what? im getting new bearings to and i have to take the old ones out. thanks

 

[adrian2627]

ok heres the deal, i finally got the upper bearings out, i was inspecting the crank and it has some scratches on them, not all the way around but just some spots, not too many either. Anyways, the motor is in the car and i just need to put new bearings so i can drive to KS and do a full rebuild(about 900 miles). Can i use a super duper fine grit of sand paper and lightly...super lightly make it a little more rounded so it doesnt scratch up the new bearings im about to put? this is just a temp solution. thanks guys

 

[luvmygst]

You better get a trailer and start hauling. A crank is not somthing that can be "close enough" Its either correct or it fails. I doubt you would make it 9 miles much less 900. Your profile says you have a NT car if you do you dont have a 7 bolt. But if it got bad enought to trash the bearings ususally "like 99% of the time) the crank needs worked or replaced. Sorry. Just my .02 its still your car. Good luck

 

[adrian2627]

damn that sucks ass. the thing is im low on budget, i just finallu got the thing up and running and now this. by the looks of the bearings, it seems that they were starved of oil, i dunno. by the way, i do have a 7 bolt now, the profile was old. so there is no way to kinda smooth things out a bit? the scratch is not that bad and by the way its in the middle main journal. i just have to get the stupid car to ks so i can drop my built motor. i just came back from iraq and this is what i come home to? damn 7 bolts!

 

[Marc91GSX]

Thanks for your service!!!

Sorry to hear about the your bad news but like the previous poster said, you do not want to put the new bearings in if your cranks is galded(sp?) in anyway. It would just lead to another failure sooner rather than later. If you do feel that you need to just put bearings in, then you need to make sure that you have the correct oversize. Go by your local parts store and pick up some plastigauge. Once the pastigauge is curshed between the cap and the journal on the crank it will tell you exactly what oversize you will need. If you did not by this engine new then there is a chance that the previous owner could've had the crank replaced and if that is the case standard bearings may not be the proper size. Just my .02 it is your car and I feel for you having to take it somewhere else to be able to rebuild it. Good luck and again thank you for serving our country.

 

[adrian2627]

thanks for your support!

well the thing is im on leave and i have 2 weeks here then i have to drive back to ks and im taking the car with me that i left with my parents while i was gone. I bought it from a guy that said he already put new main bearings on. i dont think he replaced anything else but i looked at the bearings and they say "clevite" on them (std) i just noticed the knocking 2 days ago and since then i knew i had to pull the oi pan to see whats up. i saw very little shavings of copper i guess. i inspected the journals of the crank and 1 out of 5 of them have this "line" and when i ran my finger through it i felt it, not too deep, just a light scratch. i talked to my parts store and they said if im not cutting the crank then i should be good with std bearings, then when i get to where im going, tear the engine down for a full rebuild. i know for a fact that if i put new bearings in with that scratch then ill just end up with the same wear. i just have to get this thing to KS so i can go to the craft shop and have at it. i think this happened to the previous owner too and he just put new bearings in and then boom, now im the owner and this happens to me. another alternative that im thinking is pull the motor, take the crank out, get it machined and put it back on, but im guessing by the time i do all that, id be better of putting the car on a flatbed i need opinions, help, whatever. thanks again guys

 

[AllWheelGrip]

The previous owner might of had the crank grinded if he had previously crankwalked. Espesally if he had clevites in there. You should really trailer that puppy home, dont torture it .

 

[Jcanapa]

you could put a set of bearings in your car and probably drive it 900 miles but I would garentee your crank to be any good. You could spin one too. I'd think that yout block could get messed up maybe? but definetly a new crank would be needed. Just my thought after 20 years of motors.

 

[adrian2627]

im reALLY not concerned about this "puppy" since im tossing this engine away(well atleast most of it) since i already have a build motor waiting for me back in KS. My mission in life is to drive this sucker from louisiana to kansas and thats it. im not going to sandpaper the whole journals, im just wondering which would be a better option for my situation? put the new bearings as it is? or kinda take that line out(bout 2 mm long) and take my chances. again, this engine will not be used again. just need to go from point a to point b, is it possible? thanks

 

[Steve_P]

do the plastigauge check first. If it is within spec then put in new bearings of the same size and drive to your destination. Some light scoring is normal on crank journals for an engine that has miles on it, but that is light scoring by my definition; I don't know what you have. From your description it sounds like it is minor.

 

[Openoner]

just go for it...itll be fine..well be at my house tonite around 6 or so..

 

[Jcanapa]

so many answers when you know the correct one