Gt6steve@aol.com wrote:
> Hey Mike,
> The key word is SUDDENLY.
> My theory is that the block developed a hole and then the #1 rod got
> sucked thru it sorta like in the airplane movies. Oddly enough the other
> bearings all show damage too but I'm sure it wasn't caused by going out
> on cooold oil. No, no it had to have been a weak block, couldn't have
> been a weak mind. No, couldn't have been...
<laughing> Well, yeah, I should have picked up on the "suddenly" bit. Suddenly
being in the 10 to the minus -4 second range.
This reminds me, though, of one of our less bright executives. As part of a
contract we had with Dallas Area Rapid
Transit for a bunch of LNG buses, we ended up having to provide them with a
training bus. This guy had been talking to
the LNG tank suppliers and they were touting the "super-insulation" they used
in the tanks (keep in mind that an LNG
tank is essentially a vacuum bottle, like a thermos, and depends upon a pretty
tight vacuum seal between the inner and
outer tanks to keep the LNG from boiling out of the vents), and this executive
said, "it's a training bus--we should
show them what's inside the tank," so he had our R&D bunch cut a hole in the
side of the outer wall of the tank, with a
plexiglas window to show the insulation (which was little more than thin strips
of polyolefin sheeting). Needless to
say, the LNG boiled out of that tank in hours. Since all the other tanks were
connected in parallel, the bus wouldn't
keep fuel in it for more than a day.
I sort of think you'll have the same kind of problem with a window, keeping the
oil in.... *smile*
Anyway, a bummer. The best I can suggest at this point, presuming the block is
otherwise okay, is to consider having it
welded. Talk to your local welder on this, but Eutectic makes an excellent
cast-iron repair rod. I've seen diesel
engines repaired with it that looked and worked well. The only way one could
tell that the block had been repaired was a
slightly different color between the base metal and the repaired area, and the
repair on the one I saw was approximately
the size you describe. Requires thorough cleaning and beadblasting, then
preheating the area, welding, finish grinding,
and then beadblasting the repaired area, but it can be done.
Otherwise, if the block is trashed in other ways, it's probably cheaper and
quicker to find another and prepare it.
Cheers.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM
[mailto:mporter@zianet.com]
Never let anyone drive you crazy when you know it's within walking distance.
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