LZ4 3500 tapping noise

[3400-95-Modified]

I feel like people don't search very much or simply don't know of online parts houses...

Drop down next to almost every brand with an Undersized/Oversized option... Yes they use that term interchangeably seeing how the crank is undersized and the bearing is now oversized.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?carcode=1433826&parttype=5212

[jrrtt09]

Thanks for the link Modified!

I forgot about Rockauto, I was too busy google searching "undersize bearing" which didn't take me to any suppliers. I appreciate all of the help.

[jrrtt09]

I got the main crankshaft bearing caps off, the main bearings look good compared to the rod bearings.






This car still belongs to my wife's parents, and my wife doesn't want to risk putting a used motor in it. My wife also wants to buy the new crankshaft for $309 and be done with it. I plan on checking the clearance of #6 rod journal with the best rod bearing (#2) and determining how bad the grinding was. I found a complete gasket set with head bolts made by "sealing tek" for $150, as long as I don't find any horror stories about their products, I'll go with that. I also plan on ordering all bearings and intake manifold bolts from rock auto, and the crankshaft and timing guide (I dropped the timing chain guide and broke it) from cheapest gm parts. I'm still debating on whether I should replace the timing chain for an extra $20.

[hoosierloser]

I would definitely replace the timing chain while your inside. The 3500 i just pulled apart had a pretty loose chain, just over 100,000 but it is getting replaced. Not replacling worn internal engine components is unwise, and you find out being cheap can be expensive in the long run.

[jrrtt09]

I'll replace the timing chain while I have it apart, I'll also inspect the oil pump and piston rings. The crankshaft is out of the block and on my homemade jig ready for transport.

I've looked at the main bearings on Rock Auto, and the Sealed Power and DNJ main bearings show as fitting in engines from 1986 to 2010, while the Enginetech and Clevite bearings show as fitting from 2006 to 2011. The Sealed Power is what is sold at the local auto parts stores, so I'm not sure what's up with this. I might just get OEM main bearings and try to research Enginetech, DNJ, and Sealed Power to find out which rod bearings are the best. They are close to the same price on Rock Auto.

[jrrtt09]

The crankshaft is still at the machine shop, they're busy and one of the machinists is on vacation. I've cleaned both cylinder heads, the oil pump, and the valve covers. I've been mixing boiling water and simple green in a garden sprayer and it seems to do most of the work for me. I've also taken the transmission drain pan off and will change the filter. Is it common practice to replace the intake manifold bolts on these engines? I can't remember if they're torque-to-yield, and the machine shop has my manual.

[3400-95-Modified]

Pretty impressive results with the simple green and hot water. I might have to use that combination more often.

[Purple pit]

Doesn't that stuff leave a slime behind? Did for me on something unrelated to this.

[jrrtt09]

It didn't leave any slime behind for me. I've been letting it sit for 5-10 minutes, then scrubbing with brass brush, then drying with compressed air. I've been at work in Galveston, so I can't put it together right now. The crankshaft is turned, it was running out 5 thousandths, so they turned the main bearings 10 thousandths, and the rod bearings 20 thousandths.


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[jrrtt09]

Well I should be going home soon, going on 30 days away from home. So far I have a new gasket set with head bolts, new water pump, new hoses, new transmission filter and gasket, and 5 new oil filters(closeout). I just ordered a new timing chain/tensioner, 0.010" oversize main bearings, 0.020" oversize connecting rod bearings, new bolts/studs for main bearing caps, connecting rod bearing caps, intake manifold, and throttle body. I'm pretty sure I covered all of the TTY bolts. At this point I'm most worried about forgetting where everything goes.

[jrrtt09]

I'm finally back home, I plastigauged the main bearings and they all read around 0.002". These are the DNJ bearings, the cheapest from RockAuto, they didn't have Sealed Power or Enginetech in stock. I torqued the crankshaft down with new studs and will plastigauge the rod bearings this week. I'm glad I got the new studs, one of the used #4 main bearing studs gave some funny noises when turning the last 77°.

The block has some surface rust on it. Hopefully i can take it off with a wire wheel in my die grinder.





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[Xnke]

I really hope you cleaned out those oil passages in the engine block before you started assembly.

If not, those new bearings will be scored in seconds upon startup. Make sure you are using an assembly lubricant when you are fitting new parts-you will need it.

Do not wire-wheel that block with the crank fitted. You'll be blowing iron oxide and iron powder into the block...where it will contaminate the oil and again, score those new bearings withing seconds of startup.

Cleanliness is godliness in engines. If you wouldn't lick it, it's not clean enough. If you lick it and you get grit or dirt on your tongue, it's not clean enough.

[jrrtt09]

It's been a while, my wife and I recently bought our first home and have been renovating it for the past two months, so that has taken time away from the Malibu, but both projects are almost finished.

I've taken the advice and cleaned everything (I waited until I had a full day to clean and assemble without leaving the bare parts to sit in this dusty old shed uncovered). I used some red assembly lube on all bearings/journals. The engine is bolted in place and most of the electrical connections are made. All that time that I spend labeling the electrical cables came in handy, I didn't know what some of the connectors were, but it was nice to unwrap the tape and read "passenger front" on a connector that I thought needed to be on the drivers side of the engine bay. Most of the wire looms crumbled away so I wrapped them in electrical tape. I'll need to secure the wires in place after I bolt on the catalytic converters, Starter, and Alternator. The torque converter was surprisingly easy to bolt on to the flex plate. I also bolted on the air conditioner.

[jrrtt09]

Everything went back together and the car started right up! (I pulled the spark plugs and fuel pump fuse and turned the key for about a minute to circulate the oil before starting it) I drove it about a mile and parked it so I could add some more coolant; The coolant wasn't flowing through the system freely unless it was running. Then it sat there for a few hours while I installed the hood and loaded all of the tools up in the truck to transfer everything to the new house. I came back with another driver so we could drop the truck off at the in-laws and take the car home, but halfway to the in-laws the battery died on me in the car. It was kind of scary driving without electric power steering. I jump started it to charge the battery so I could drive it to the in-laws and park it there. So I'm assuming that either the alternator died on me, one of the ground connections are loose, or there is an issue with the wiring of the alternator. I have one ring terminal connected to the alternator and what looks like an 8 pin plug, I'm not sure if I need another connection (maybe a ground was supposed to be connected). This is also the original alternator, I'm not sure if these are known to last for longer than 8 years.

[jrrtt09]

Well the battery was bad and the alternator tested good. So I replaced the battery and the battery indicator light was still glowing on the dash. I went ahead and replaced the alternator hoping that the tester was wrong. The indicator stayed off for 10 minutes then went on again and I could tell that the battery was getting weak. So now I need to figure out why the alternator isn't charging the battery. Hopefully I'll be able to dig my multimeter out of one of the moving boxes.


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