Rod Bearing problem, My car knocks....and my mechanic said i spun the rod bearing.. Options

[BeefyT]

I starved my engine of oil and now i spun my rod bearing ....does anybody know how much or what u have to do to fix it?

[alltracman78]

Well, if you didn't damage the crank you just need to replace that bearing.
You also need to find out why it was oil starved and make sure it doesn't happen again.

If you damaged your crank either engine rebuild or slap a new/used engine in.

[BeefyT]

Well, if you didn't damage the crank you just need to replace that bearing.
You also need to find out why it was oil starved and make sure it doesn't happen again.

If you damaged your crank either engine rebuild or slap a new/used engine in.

how much do you think it would cost to replace the rod bearing?

[alltracman78]

The bearing shouldn't be that expensive.
You can order them singly from Toyota, somewhere around $20 each IIRC?
You'll also have to get
exhaust gasket
FIPG [sealant for your oil pan]

Total parts anywhere from say $40 - $60 [VERY rough guess]

Labor I would guess to be 2 - 3 hours x whatever the labor rate of the shop is.

[BeefyT]

The bearing shouldn't be that expensive.
You can order them singly from Toyota, somewhere around $20 each IIRC?
You'll also have to get
exhaust gasket
FIPG [sealant for your oil pan]

Total parts anywhere from say $40 - $60 [VERY rough guess]

Labor I would guess to be 2 - 3 hours x whatever the labor rate of the shop is.

oh ok thanks dude ur a great help

[alltracman78]

You're welcome

[stephen_lee]

or you can do it yourself!
i would! im rebuilding an engine now. its not too hard.

[needforspeed]

I starved my engine of oil and now i spun my rod bearing ....does anybody know how much or what u have to do to fix it?

im putting a new engine in my car because of the same problem. i drove my car with a rod knock for 9 months and i just now parked it, while i come up with some money to make the swap. you could rebuild it but most shops i talked to said it would be cheaper to just have a used engine put in.

[hurley97]

The bearing shouldn't be that expensive.
You can order them singly from Toyota, somewhere around $20 each IIRC?
You'll also have to get
exhaust gasket
FIPG [sealant for your oil pan]

Total parts anywhere from say $40 - $60 [VERY rough guess]

Labor I would guess to be 2 - 3 hours x whatever the labor rate of the shop is.

2-3 hrs to replace a piston rod bearing Jeremy??

I don't know about you but if I were to change out a rod bearing I'd have to either take the head off or the crank out to get the piston out. And if you're only taking out one piston it's easier to just take the head off so the other pistons have something to stay connected to. but if you're going through all that you may as well do them all, and since you're going that far into the engine you may as well rebuild the whole thing.

the Toyota dealer I work at, that is definitely not a 2-3 hr job. just pulling the head off pays about 6-8hrs of labor.

This post has been edited by hurley97: Mar 16, 2008 - 10:38 AM

[6G96GT]

Plus if you scored the crank than it's another 200 just to turn and polish it again plus the additional HIGHLY EXPENSIVE labor hours to pull the engine, crank, and other misc. work that's involved. I spun bearings on a prior vehicle I owned and the parts were about 100 bucks plus the 200 dollars crank repair...no big deal...but the labor costs was $1,700.00 (I only did it because the engine only had about 1,500 miles on it so it was worth the money to fix it).

[alltracman78]

The bearing is FULLY replaceable as long as the crank isn't scored and the rod is undamaged.
If it JUST started knocking there's a good chance the crank and rod are ok, situation depending.
You can drop the pan and inspect for relatively little money.
Saves the hassle and $$$ if they are ok.
It's not a guaranteed fix, but it's doable, and rather common [or used to be before labor got as expensive as it is now].

The bearing shouldn't be that expensive.
You can order them singly from Toyota, somewhere around $20 each IIRC?
You'll also have to get
exhaust gasket
FIPG [sealant for your oil pan]

Total parts anywhere from say $40 - $60 [VERY rough guess]

Labor I would guess to be 2 - 3 hours x whatever the labor rate of the shop is.

2-3 hrs to replace a piston rod bearing Jeremy??

I don't know about you but if I were to change out a rod bearing I'd have to either take the head off or the crank out to get the piston out. And if you're only taking out one piston it's easier to just take the head off so the other pistons have something to stay connected to. but if you're going through all that you may as well do them all, and since you're going that far into the engine you may as well rebuild the whole thing.

the Toyota dealer I work at, that is definitely not a 2-3 hr job. just pulling the head off pays about 6-8hrs of labor.

Not piston rod bearing, connecting rod bearing.
Drop whatever is in the way of the pan, drop the pan, remove bearing cap, inspect crank journal and rod, replace bearing if both surfaces are good, reseal pan, reinstall whatever was in the way.

This post has been edited by alltracman78: Mar 16, 2008 - 6:52 PM

[BeefyT]

what happens when i keep driving the car....what will happen?

[hurley97]

Not piston rod bearing, connecting rod bearing.
Drop whatever is in the way of the pan, drop the pan, remove bearing cap, inspect crank journal and rod, replace bearing if both surfaces are good, reseal pan, reinstall whatever was in the way.

yes, piston connecting rod Jeremy, I'm talking about the same thing you are.

I figured you would come up with some crazy way to do it. But if you spun a rod bearing chances are it's not just the bottom one on the cap. so you would still need to push the piston up and get to the other bearing that goes on the rod side itself. and I can see how cutting corners like that would potentially cause way more of a hassle than it's worth. and I can tell you if you went to a Toyota dealer, there is no way in hell they would do it that way. and if you're taking it anywhere else (like a PepBoys or something) to do that kind of job, good luck having your car run again. Jeremy's idea is a better way to check the condition of the crank yourself and try to replace that one bearing yourself that way.

Point being to whoever started this thread, it's time to either get a used engine and drop it in or rebuild this one yourself. It's not as hard as it sounds.

[alltracman78]

It's not some weird, unusual fix, it used to be pretty normal. And not just done in half assed shops, it was done at the dealer as well. Most half assed shops won't touch engine work today anyways.
It's not as common anymore because shops have [mostly] moved away from fixing parts and moved to replacing the entire component.
Do you think your dealer is going to rebuild a bottom end?
How about a transmission or rearend?
It's all sent away to specialty shops to be done, or brand new components installed.
Most reputable shops don't rebuild things, they swap in a used/remanned one. There are plenty of exceptions, but they're exceptions, not the rule.
It's easier to gaurantee a brand new [or factory remanned] part than one rebuilt by a tech. Plus it's more money and less work.
As far as a used engine, as long as the crank and rod check out; IMO my used engine is more trustworthy than one from I don't know where. At least I know what's been done to mine and how it's maintained.

You don't have to pull the piston out to check the top bearing.
Rotate the crank out of the way and pull the rod down [if you can't imagine this working, just imagine how far the crank pulls the rod down; look at the crank throw at its lowest point; the piston/rod can drop at least that far safely] to check the rod and replace the upper bearing. While the crank throw is down, you can also check the journal.

If you doubt me, go ask the experienced techs at your shop. If their daily driver spun a bearing [assuming the car and engine are in decent shape], would they replace the entire engine or just swap bearings?
I bet most of them wouldn't even check the crank/rod [aside from a quick finger ran over it, maybe a plastigauge], they'd just throw the bearings in [cheap for them, and not a whole lot of work] and see if it ran ok.

Point being
1-It's not a 6+ hour job to do, it can be done correctly [if the shop is willing] in 2 - 3 hours.
2-This isn't his only option, but it's his cheapest viable one. If he shut the engine off as soon as he heard the knock there's a pretty good chance the journal is ok. If that is the only problem with his engine, and he shut it off right away, IMO he's better off going with his current engine than a questionable one.
If he decides to drive around on it, that's a whole different story, and if he can afford a brand new or factory remanned one, that won't hurt either, but I doubt he can.

what happens when i keep driving the car....what will happen?

You will damage/ruin your crank, and eventually throw the rod [destroy the entire lower end].

[BeefyT]

thanx for all the help you guys are helpfull

This post has been edited by BeefyT: Mar 17, 2008 - 3:48 PM

[hurley97]

It's not some weird, unusual fix, it used to be pretty normal. And not just done in half assed shops, it was done at the dealer as well. Most half assed shops won't touch engine work today anyways.
It's not as common anymore because shops have [mostly] moved away from fixing parts and moved to replacing the entire component.
Do you think your dealer is going to rebuild a bottom end?
How about a transmission or rearend?....................................................................
..........................................................................................................

it's not worth arguing with you Jeremy, you type almost as much as you talk

I don't even feel like reading all that... You know I'm aware you aren't stupid and it's not like I'm doubting that you know what you are talking about. But on the other hand I'm not stupid either and I may be a girl but I do know what I'm talking about.

My point is that, yes, there are ways around doing it the 6hr way, there is always a way around things. Problem is finding a shop willing to do it that way nowadays, and if you do I would be very careful in choosing who does it. If it were me (assuming I knew nothing) I would sooner learn how to do it myself or find a friend or someone I trust to teach me or learn with me and rebuild it myself.

And to answer your questions, yes my dealer has and does rebuild anything possible before buying anything new or used. They used to rebuild transmissions but we don't anymore because Toyota recommends straight replacement.

[lagos]

Jeremy is talking about the "quicky an dirty" method. That kind of bearing swap ends with more problems in the end.

Your better off swapping in another used motor from a wrecked car.

[alltracman78]

So does anyone have any basis why my suggestion is the wrong way?
Something other than "it's not the right way to do it". A REASON why it's not the right way?

it's not worth arguing with you Jeremy, you type almost as much as you talk

That's because I try to take the time to explain things.

But on the other hand I'm not stupid either and I may be a girl but I do know what I'm talking about.

No, you're not stupid, and being a girl has nothing to do with it.
But I don't think you do in this particular case.
You obviously don't [or at least didn't] know anything about the procedure, so how can you say it's the wrong way to fix it?

Jeremy is talking about the "quicky an dirty" method. That kind of bearing swap ends with more problems in the end.

Your better off swapping in another used motor from a wrecked car.

This coming from the guy that thinks a vacuum leak on a 5SFE will cause the idle to drop.
From your posts you appear to be a pretty intelligent guy, you've come up with some interesting ideas, but you don't know as much about cars as you thing you do, your knowledge is far too narrow.

The BEST way to do this is to replace it with a brand new [or at least a factory remanned] shortblock, plain and simple.

Barring that, as long as your crank and rod aren't damaged, repairing your current engine is safer than an unknown engine.

Dropping the pan to access the bearing is one way to do it.
You can inspect the crank journal and rod end just as well that way as when you tear the engine all the way down, and you don't run the risk of warping your head or damaging anything else, and you also don't break the original seal on your gaskets [minus the pan].

There's nothing wrong with the owner replacing it as long as they have competent help, I never said that.
Their next door neighbor that does oil changes isn't competent help though. You had an experienced tech help you.

[97lestyousay]

I spun a main in a 2.5 ltr pontiac pulled the pan pulled the crank had it reground
put in oversized mains, put it together and it ran great for a few years until I
ran it low on oil and destroyed the timing gears. I think what alltracman is describing
is done more often than you might think.

There is obviously a problem with the oiling or it wouldn't have spun in the first place.
Until you figure out why it happened fixing that motor would be a waste of time.imo

[soulshadow]

A buddy of mine did his Nissan RB22 (redtop?, fuc im not nissan person) Anyways, he repaired his rod bearings without ever taking his motor out of the car and with that half ass lazy work like tat brought him back to square 1 since he could never get his car to even run right.

Swapping in a new motor is a quicky if u need to be back on the road again, Repairing ur motor would be a long process and lots of time and money invested especially if u need to shave, clean and replace broken parts.