Hey guys. I recently purchased an LS1 out of a 2001 vette w/ 5k miles and threw it in my TA. I wasn't getting good oil pressure so we shimmed the pump. I drove it for about 900 miles with no noises before the oil pressure took a big turn for the worst. I put it in a shop in Amarillo, TX (where it broke down) and they pulled the oil pan. This guy from the shop is telling me that there were 2 main bearings missing. Completely gone, no trace. He said the other halves were spinning around and burning up. He also said that the crank LOOKS fine, and he's going to just put new bearings on and see how it turns out. This sounds like total BS to me. If there were no bearings, would I have even a little oil pressure? Would it have lasted 900+ miles? Wouldn't the crank/block be screwed!? Would it not make even the slightest noise. This just does not make any sense to me. Can someone please tell me how this is possible?

 

No bearings would have sounded like a sledgehammer at higher rpms. Also the crank would have been scored to worthlessness, not salageable. What was the reason for the motor removal from the vette? What kind of oil pressure did it have before shimming, after shimming, and at time of shop service?

 

vette was totalled. It had about 18 psi idle before shim, about 23-25 afterwards. Oil pressure read 0 at idle and 20 at 2k rpms when it went into the shop.

 

Also curious of oil pressure both before and after the shimming. Not calling BS on any shop here, but something sounds fishy. A bearing doesn't just disappear.

Unless of course your engine builder is David Copperfield.

 

Was it knocking at all. How about running, did it stumble all over the place? Amarillo shop wouldn't happen to be down an alley style street within a white service building would it?

 

I guess you posted while I was posting there. Your crank would most likely be junk, if you sustained low to no oil pressure for a prolonged period of time. Secondly was there any audible noise when it ran, even at idle or into the rpm a bit.

 

There was no audible knock whatsoever. I really have no idea what to think. The shop is behin a Pontiac dealership is is named "Dwayne's Auto Garage" I believe. Also ran fine.

 

sorry, but engine bearings do "just disappear". If you are running an engine with almost no oil, or the bearings arent getting oil, they will get so hot, they will burn up and just become little metal shards in the oil pan. I have done 2 bearing jobs on LS1's now and the 2nd one, the bearings were just gone, only traces of them were in the oil pan.

Also, it is possible to drive around for a while, debris or anything could get stuck in the little spaces and seem normal for a while. I doubt 900 miles, but maybe they didnt go REALLY bad until the very end. Sounds like you had bearings and problems with oil and it didnt really have much affect until you got to amarillo.

Just my .02

Makes sense to me. If the crank isnt scored at all, just put new bearings in there but REMEMBER TO REPLACE THE ROD BOLTS AS THEY ARE TORQUE TO YIELD. If you keep the same rod bolts, they will stretch and you will have the same problem all over again.

 

There definitely should have been a knock. My bearings went bad, started to make a knock, so I towed it to my autoshop. It sat there for a couple weeks while I was deciding what to do. We started it up after the couple weeks, and it was fine for about 5-10 miles. I could even get on it and run it hard, then it started to knock HORRIBLY and so I knew that it really was a rod bearing.

 

No knock at all (that I could hear over the cutout) and the oil level was perfect. At WOT I was only getting about 45 psi though : /

 

Didn't you swap out the rod bearings once yourself & have an issue? Then you took it to O'Conner and he had to do it twice?

 

Any opinions on this? What should I say to this guy? I mean, this sounds like absolute bullshit.

 

unless someone had some grease in the engine or some sawdust to quieten it down it should have been very loud

 

How should I go about explaining to this guy how I think he's full of ****?

 

no .

 

if they were literally gone, you should have at least SOME markings on the crank, well, normally there would be. There really should have been some sounds. I dont know what to tell you, if the crank is clean and the bearings are gone........I dont know what you could do to tell him he is full of ****.

 

Ah ok. Guess people "in the know" just made that **** up.

 

Two things here. IF the bearing spun so bad that it just dissappeared the crank would be blue due to heat and you would most deffinitely have bearing transfer onto the crank.

Secondly, when I stated that bearings just don't disappear I meant just that. If they were chewed up they would be in the oil filter or the pan.

Also what bearings were they? My question for this is pertaining to the thrust in #3. If that went away the possibility that your crank had excessive endplay and knocked around is also possible. In that event the block and the crank could be damaged.

If you ask me the only proper resolution is to go over to the shop and have this guy show you what he feels is wrong, and take pics. If your oil filter is still attached to the pan take it off and pour it out on a piece of white paper. You should see a good amount of bearing material in the oil, or at the very least traces of shiny bearing material.

I think you are best served to completely pull her down and inspect everything in the motor. Depending on the mileage a re-ring and re-bearing might not be a bad idea. Good Luck

 

Well he finished it up and it came up to about 800 bucks. The engine is only 5000 miles old. He didn't tear it down, but said the crank looked fine. It has great oil pressure now (better than ever), so I hope it turns out well.

 

Was it a warranty engine that had been stripped down for inspection and then thrown back together, the intention being never to see it fitted into a vehicle?