I'm with you Joe,
the TR I bought had no smoke, plenty of power (It had been reasonably
recently been rebuilt), and as I later found out, 0.041 crankshaft end float.
Fortunately the machine shop says they can fix the crankshaft. It's going to
cost me the same as a refurbished (I guess that's what they're going to do).
I too had gray sludge at the bottom of the pan.
On 11/05/98 11:46 PM Joe Curry said...
>
>Trevor,
>Unless my memory fails me the description in the original post leads me
>to the conclusion that there is a substantial amount of this deposit in
>the oil pan. If this is so, (at least a quarter of an inch layer), I
>don't think that it is jumping to conclusion to suggest a rebuild.
>
>My policy is that if you wait too long before an engine is rebuilt; by
>the time you do, you might just find the engine no longer capable of
>being rebuilt.
>
>This is especially true in the case of thrust washers and main
>bearings. Anybody who has experienced thrust washer failure and had to
>buy a new crank and block can readily understand this policy.
>
>True, trace amounts of the material may identify normal wear and this
>may be the case here. But that is not what my mind's eye saw from
>Wayne's description.
>
>Regards,
>Joe
>
>Trevor Boicey wrote:
>>
>> Joe Curry wrote:
>> > It's probably time for a complete rebuild.
>>
>> I must say something here, and that is I think
>> a lot of people on the list have hair triggers
>> for engine rebuilds.
>>
>> "Powder in oil pan" is not, IMHO, just cause
>> for a $2000 expense. It is an indication that the
>> engine might not be in as-new condition, but that's
>> a long way from unusable. It might go for tens of
>> thousands of miles without a hiccup.
>>
>> Perhaps the engine has problems, but in my
>> view, rebuilds are only necessary when it
>> blows smoke or lacks power, and even then a quick
>> refresh is often cost effective.
>>
>> Rebuilding an engine should really be looked
>> upon as a last resort. Almost anything is rebuildable. If
>> the engine is fine, who cares what's in the oil, drive
>> it. If it later REALLY starts showing it's flaws with
>> clouds of smoke or intolerable power, THEN rebuild.
>>
>> Too many people end up making WAY expensive repairs
>> to cars to completely rebuild assemblies that frankly
>> work fine. This is where those cars come from that
>> say "for sale, TRx, asking $5000, invested $25000 have
>> receipts".
>>
>> I missed the first post, but if you have gas in your
>> oil it is usually carb related like a stuck float, or
>> a holed diaphragm in the mechanical fuel pump which
>> leaks into the block.
>>
>> --
>> Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
>> Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
>> ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
>
>--
>"If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort."
> -- Dave Weinbaum in National Enquirer
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