| Or anyone with a Z32 in general: be sure to inspect your oil pan for any dents before you start your engine. The oil pickup tube is very close to the bottom of the oil pan, only about 1/4" clearance between the two. If the pan is dented, it will very likely starve the engine of oil and lead to premature bearing failure, as noted below: The culprit: (sorry for the fuzzy image)
 The damage:
 The result: (new bearing at top for reference, damaged bearings below, top bearing on left)
 Fortunately this customer stopped the engine at the first sign of noise and no damage was done to the crankshaft journal. There was barely any copper babbit left on the bearing and one more boosted run would have led to catastrophic failure for sure. Here's the journal; this is the area of the journal that takes the brunt of the power stroke. Note how it has not become galled or compromised: 
New bearings were installed, but the original #2 through #5 bearings showed all the signs of lack of lubrication: 
This guy was lucky: he caught the problem before it damaged the crankshaft. It wont be fully known how successful the bearing replacement was for some time - it seems to be holding up and running well thus far with a few miles on it, but this issue could have, and still may, end up costing several thousands of dollars to fix. If you choose to go the jspec engine route for your conversion or for a TT engine replacement, it would be highly advised to remove the oil pan, remove the bearings and replace them with new. Inspection of the oil pan and repair or replacement can be easily done and you'll have an opportunity to also re-seal the oil pan and install new front and rear seals for the pan. p.s. It would also be a great idea to remove the plenum and valve covers to re-seal the exhaust valve covers and install new intake valve cover seals before installing the engine. Replacement of PCVs and other various hoses that tend to age-harden will save you headaches down the road.
[ ashspecz.com ]
[ agpowers@bellsouth.net ] Enthusiasts soon understand each other. --W. Irving.
Are you an enthusiast? If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.
Albert Einstein
|
PSA: Those doing NA-TT conversions >>>> - 
