say no to RTV

[shackwrrr]

I was tearing into my engine and look what I found ugh nice greasey black snot on the pickup

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/shackwrrr/p_00050.jpg

heres what it caused on the #5 main

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/shackwrrr/p_00052.jpg


would it be safe to throw in some new bearings even though the crank has some slight scoring? this is going to be a "for now" engine I am pulling the original engine to rebuild it but i want something to throw in its place but I do want this engine to last


edit:

heres the crank journal

http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e357/shackwrrr/?action=view&current=p_00053.jpg

[jeepjerry]

Good example of over-useing rtv. It doesnt take that much to make a seal.

As for new bearings, as long as there are no big gouges, you would at least want to polish your journals to help from tearing up the new bearings. you can do it yourself with the back side of some emory cloth. I did that on my mercruiser 350 and its been fine.

[addicted]

What jeepjerry said plus make sure you get the right bearings in the chance it has been rebuilt and has oversized bearings in it.;

[letank]

As said above, and use plastigauge to check for proper clearance.

[Gutter]

I imagine there was a'lil more in the pan equaling about a 1/4 blockage,
good info and a lesson to be learned concerning over use!

[Ristow]

if you have a untouched motor,with the odd .001 undersize bearings the factory used you're stuck with a regrind.

[maccj5]

unless you want to trade ive got a set of .001 360 rod bearings but no mains

[bigun]

My dad hated people who glued engines together his thought if it was built right all you needed were the gaskets! Of course in his day all they had was gasket shellac and you ain't had fun till you have spent 3 hours scrapping gaskets that had that on it!!

[billyrb]

it's always best to seal them up with a regular gasket if you can....the problem is that most people either don't clean & prep them right to keep a regular gasket sealed, or they over-torque the bolts causing uneven sealing, and eventually a leak. They figure RTV will seal it, and then use too much.

[james1414d]

it's always best to seal them up with a regular gasket if you can....the problem is that most people either don't clean & prep them right to keep a regular gasket sealed, or they over-torque the bolts causing uneven sealing, and eventually a leak. They figure RTV will seal it, and then use too much.

sometimes the right gasket is RTV. the problem is either, the wrong RTV, or the wrong person applied the RTV. RTV is used in many factory applications with no issues. what you found in your screen is over application, in a rediculous manner. the short of it is, don't blame the product, blame the user. a nice even 1/8" bead will do the trick. if there is a gasket avalible that isn't cork, by all means use that, but, RTV used properly is plenty fine.

with that said, in my 15 years as a mechanic, I have seen some pretty awful RTV jobs as im sure we all have as FSJ owners!

as far as your bearing issue, if you are using this engine for a short while (20000 or less), I would invest in some very fine emory cloth and smooth the crank. new bearings obviously. any gouges at all though, it won't last.

[Mark Wilde]

With a very few exceptions, I always use RTV. A very thin coat on both sides of the gasket is all you need...if it "squooshes" out from between the parts in any substanial amount, you used too much. A light application makes a gasket MUCH easier to remove if necessary but still seals well. I have yet to have one leak where it's critical...but have had "just gasket" (no rtv) (on a timing cover) spring leaks galore.

Your call, I guess. "A little dab'll do ya" serves well.:D

[shackwrrr]

whats this talk of .001 undersize how do i find that out? its a motor from an 88 wag the tag on the valve cover shows 88 but stampings show 83

[engine builder]

whats this talk of .001 undersize how do i find that out? its a motor from an 88 wag the tag on the valve cover shows 88 but stampings show 83

Look on the back of EVERY bearing it will be stamped there & not all bearings will be the same size out of the factory. I have seen .001 on the bottom rod & std on the top. Factory std bearings usually will bear no size markings but the undersizes will be marked. Make sure you check every bearing shell on both rods & mains. As mentioned before if you find even one shell marked with a undersize you need a regrind.
engine builder

[tyrodtom]

I don't think that's got enough of the screen covered to cause a problem.
It almost looks like somebody tried to make a crude standoff for the oil pickup to keep it from getting sucked to the pan. My oil pickup has a big nylon button just a little smaller than that in that area.

[billyrb]

sometimes the right gasket is RTV. the problem is either, the wrong RTV, or the wrong person applied the RTV. RTV is used in many factory applications with no issues. what you found in your screen is over application, in a rediculous manner. the short of it is, don't blame the product, blame the user. a nice even 1/8" bead will do the trick. if there is a gasket avalible that isn't cork, by all means use that, but, RTV used properly is plenty fine.

with that said, in my 15 years as a mechanic, I have seen some pretty awful RTV jobs as im sure we all have as FSJ owners!

as far as your bearing issue, if you are using this engine for a short while (20000 or less), I would invest in some very fine emory cloth and smooth the crank. new bearings obviously. any gouges at all though, it won't last.

Yep, but 95% of folks applying it have no clue how to do it right ;) Usually, a 1/8" bead or less is enough. It's interesting to see newer cars and trucks where they are o-ringed or almost completely assembled with RTV (similar to newer transmissions where they don't use traditional gaskets. When and where I can, I use regular gaskets, and only RTV when I need to.

[710 Burner]

My dad hated people who glued engines together his thought if it was built right all you needed were the gaskets! Of course in his day all they had was gasket shellac and you ain't had fun till you have spent 3 hours scrapping gaskets that had that on it!!
I like your dad.
James, I have never had a problem with a "properly installed" cork gasket.

[shackwrrr]

Well I went to the storage unit today and I just had to tear into it some more. I took the #5 main off again and here the engine got new bearings in 1996 and the crank got turned .010 under. So is it adviseable to turn another .010? I pulled a rod bearing and it wasnt near as bad. I fear the crank is a little too scraped up to just slap some new bearings in.