6G Celicas Forums

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

New crank, main, and rod bearings...roughly $1,700 (mind as well do a rebuild while you're at it)...if you don't want to do the cash, then sell.

when you say scratched... what exactly do you mean and where?

he has not gone into detail he said someone prior to me had opened the area up and saw what was there and put it back withouy fixing it i have put 10,000 miles on the car since i bought it from the previuos owner.

Ask your mechanic for details (how deep, where, what scratched it, and can it still be balanced) before you make any major decisions.

How did ur mechanic find that out with just changing the belts ?? i thought u need to drop the oil pan in order to inspect the crank ...

Engine Swap! But yeah he found that out by doing the belt? Haha

You can also just het another another 5SFE or ST motor. They are pretty cheap.

This post has been edited by 99GT: Mar 28, 2008 - 7:08 AM

That's a very strange thing for a mechanic to say. Are oyu having any problems with the car? If it spun a bearing it would score or gouge the crank shaft, which might be "scratch" in another language. But you'll know if that happens, the motors will sound like a diesel truck and be rocketing to it's doom.

Thanks for all the responses here is what happened the car had been playing like it was going to overheat a few times and last week it finally did i opened the hood and the coolant was gushing over when he went to do the timing belt and radiator he checked the crank because he was looking at the oil pan,etc.the car has not been making any noise or having any problems except the temp. issues.

cranks probably fine a scratch on your crank won't make your car over heat.

This post has been edited by playr158: Mar 28, 2008 - 9:48 AM

Ask your mechanic for more details.
It sounds like he went to do your front main seal, and noticed that the crank is scratched from some who incorrectly changed that seal out before. If thats the case, you should be able to get a new seal and use form in place gasket sealer to fill in the gaps from the scratch.

Your overheating was probably due to a leaking water pump.

wow u guys have been great thanks a million i just told the mechanic to put some gasket sealer in..

This post has been edited by SUPERPAC: Mar 28, 2008 - 11:58 AM

If there's a burr on the crank near the seal, it'll just eat up the new seal and leak out again...right? Is the timing belt near that seal? If oil gets on the timing belt, the belt is liable to snap early and that's no good.

A scratch doesn't necessarily mean a burr....
If it is burred it needs to be smoothed out, and possibly replaced, depending exactly where the damage is.



Wait, what?!!

You can't put FIPG on a rotating surface like the crank, it won't seal....
The housing is a whole different matter, but he said the crank itself is scored...

if it is a scratch then the sealer is only a temporary fix. you do this by smoothing it down with crocus cloth and then filling the scratch and it'll be OK for a while.

a more permanent solution, and this sounds just as bad....is to use a good epoxy to fill the scratch and then polish it down smooth with the surrounding metal. this will give the seal a smooth surface to ride on and will probably seal OK for a while, certantly longer than the gasket maker. i'd suggest an epoxy like JB weld or something that sets up ROCK hard such as a marine hull repair epoxy.

This I could see.


This I wouldn't trust, even short term.

This post has been edited by alltracman78: Mar 29, 2008 - 5:08 PM

yea, sealant will limp you to the shop or the junkyard, but i would not daily drive a car sealed like that. especially if its behind the timing cover.

As long as the scratch isnt on one of the journals the its just fine. If it aint broke dont fix it. I think the mechanic wants more money.

I think you need to learn a bit more about cars before you make judgements.
If it is scratched where the crank seal sits, it can leak oil onto your timing belt.
I would consider that broke, and certainly not "just fine"....

Though maybe I'm looking for more money too. :shrug:

SO I JUST DID THE TIMING BELT IF IT IS LEAKING HOW LONG IS THE CAR LIKELY 2 RUN BEFORE THE BELT SNAPS OR THE ENGINE GOES!!!