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On 1/20/2020 at 8:19 PM, GeneralDisorder said:

The shadow at 5 o-clock means nothing really. The "skirt" doesn't come up that far..... whoever you talked with is talking out their a$$ and has no experience with Subaru engines. 

The cylinders look fine. Put rings in it and call it good. If there is piston skirt scuffing then send me the pistons for knurling. 

Every EJ turbo we build has forged pistons and they fit quite loose and "slap" when cold. Doesn't have any real effect and they still don't burn oil. 

GD

I checked all the old rings and they're all at .50mm. the limit is .35mm. So, new rings it is.

Should I still worry about the copper color in the wrist pin bearings?

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31 minutes ago, nelstomlinson said:

 If we're having the mains line bored, we need bearings bigger on the outside, and if the crank is ground, we need'em smaller on the inside, too!

Years ago with cast iron blocks, when we couldn't find oversized bearings we used bearing shims with new standard bearings. They came in a sheet of what ever thousandth over size you needed. The bearing half was placed in the block with the crankshaft. The shim was placed in the bearing cap and then the bearing half and plastigauge added and was torqued then removed and the plastigauge was measured to see what the clearance was. Sometimes the shims had to be changed several times and measured each time. The first step was to place the bearings on the crank to make sure there was a little end gap between the two halves.

I really don't want to do all that with an aluminum split block. I know they still do this with old tractors.

 

Does anyone remember the really old machines using leather for bearings?

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12 hours ago, nelstomlinson said:

GeneralDisorder, is it even possible to get oversized bearings for these older subie engines?  If we're having the mains line bored, we need bearings bigger on the outside, and if the crank is ground, we need'em smaller on the inside, too!

No. You have to deck the block half (the smooth one), then run a line hone through it. You only get to do this once before you get into problems with oil pump fitment. But we do it all the time. 

I believe there are also oversized OD bearings being made now also. At least for the #5 thrust engines. The #3 thrust engines can have the thrust moved also and use a phase II crank. 

GD

Edited by GeneralDisorder
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On 1/27/2020 at 7:11 AM, GeneralDisorder said:

No. You have to deck the block half (the smooth one), then run a line hone through it. You only get to do this once before you get into problems with oil pump fitment. But we do it all the time. 

I believe there are also oversized OD bearings being made now also. At least for the #5 thrust engines. The #3 thrust engines can have the thrust moved also and use a phase II crank. 

GD

So the smooth half ends up with a deck height a few thousandths lower.  I guess in a gas engine that's a total nonissue.  Good to know what's possible, for in case I wind up taking one of these to a machine shop.  Thanks!

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On 1/19/2020 at 4:03 PM, Zip Tie said:

Any idea what these mean? I know LKQ is a auto dismantler, but does this mean there's a warranty on this engine? The sticker is on top of the block and the coin thing is on the back of the passenger side head.

KIMG0397~2.JPG

KIMG0399~2.JPG

The "coin thing" is a heat tab. If the engine reaches a certain temperature (~280F I think), the center falls out. We used these on our engines for years. Hell, it may even be one of our old rebuilds.

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27 minutes ago, ccrinc said:

The "coin thing" is a heat tab. If the engine reaches a certain temperature (~280F I think), the center falls out. We used these on our engines for years. Hell, it may even be one of our old rebuilds.

Well that's good to know that it probably hadn't been overheated.

I got the pistons out and cleaned and new rings installed. Man, putting those pistons in and lining up the wrist pins and rods is no fun. Sill waiting on the heads to be done getting washed, resurfaced and pressure tested. Time to start cleaning the old head gaskets off the block. Any tips or tricks? 

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11 hours ago, nelstomlinson said:

So the smooth half ends up with a deck height a few thousandths lower.  I guess in a gas engine that's a total nonissue.  Good to know what's possible, for in case I wind up taking one of these to a machine shop.  Thanks!

Not really - you can deck the other case half off the cylinder head surface to compensate that side similarly. Not that it really matters. Only talking a few thou. It's essentially a non-issue though.

GD

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8 hours ago, Zip Tie said:

Well that's good to know that it probably hadn't been overheated.

I got the pistons out and cleaned and new rings installed. Man, putting those pistons in and lining up the wrist pins and rods is no fun. Sill waiting on the heads to be done getting washed, resurfaced and pressure tested. Time to start cleaning the old head gaskets off the block. Any tips or tricks? 

Subaru (and my shop) uses the 3M white bristle discs for gasket surface prep. 

GD

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On 1/18/2020 at 6:08 PM, GeneralDisorder said:

Don't mess with the bottom end - or if you do have it professionally line honed and assembled by a proper Subaru experienced engine builder. Trust me you don't want to attempt a block split without any experience. The chances of it ending up better than not touching it at all are extremely small. 

GD

Well, It just didn't feel right doing all this work on the heads and not knowing what was going on in the inside of the case. So, I split it last night. And it looks like a good thing I did. It's going to the machine shop this weekend.

KIMG0416~2.JPG

KIMG0418~2.JPG

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The light scuffing and flaking is only a mild concern really. That would likely have ran out the remainder of it's life without issue. Think about it - what problem would that cause? I have actually seen that quite a few time. Found bits of the thrust bearing surface in many oil pans. Never seen it cause a failure. 

Regardless - you're stuck with the decision now. Line hone it and undersize the crank. DO NOT touch the cylinders, and DO NOT just polish the crank. Regardless of what the machine shop says. Have the rods resized to the crank. Get ACL tri-metal race bearings.

GD

Edited by GeneralDisorder
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9 minutes ago, GeneralDisorder said:

The light scuffing and flaking is only a mild concern really. That would likely have ran out the remainder of it's life without issue. Think about it - what problem would that cause? I have actually seen that quite a few time. Found bits of the thrust bearing surface in many oil pans. Never seen it cause a failure. 

Regardless - you're stuck with the decision now. Line hone it and undersize the crank. DO NOT touch the cylinders, and DO NOT just polish the crank. Regardless of what the machine shop says. Have the rods resized to the crank. Get ACL tri-metal race bearings.

GD

That's only a mild concern? That's crazy that something like that wouldn't bother these engines.

KIMG0421~2.JPG

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Look at the bearing - the surface that's still intact - there's no significant damage. The oil film that the crank rides on was not critically comprised by the loss of that small amount of surface.

No question that this isn't ideal. But the reality is that the EJ22 makes 135 crank HP. These bearings can support about 500 HP and last quite a long time doing it. I have not seen a single failure that could be traced back to this type of surface flaking and I've probably seen damage exactly like that and found those little pieces in the pan or stuck in the pickup screen a dozen times over the years. The first few times I found those pieces I tore down the engine and found exactly that type of damage. But really considering the effects of that damage and not seeing any collateral damage that can be attributed to it.... I have since ignored that symptom. 

GD

Edited by GeneralDisorder
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On 2/1/2020 at 9:36 AM, GeneralDisorder said:

The light scuffing and flaking is only a mild concern really. That would likely have ran out the remainder of it's life without issue. Think about it - what problem would that cause? I have actually seen that quite a few time. Found bits of the thrust bearing surface in many oil pans. Never seen it cause a failure. 

Regardless - you're stuck with the decision now. Line hone it and undersize the crank. DO NOT touch the cylinders, and DO NOT just polish the crank. Regardless of what the machine shop says. Have the rods resized to the crank. Get ACL tri-metal race bearings.

GD

I talked with the engine builder the other day and he said that he cleaned and measured everything and it's all within standard spec. Do I still need to have the block line bored, and why? Also, Why would I need to have the crank undersized?

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