Need to tear into it more still but #2 was sloppy. Here are pictures of the bearing. Right side is the rod end, left is the cap.

 

Any idea WHY it trashed the bearing?

 

No clue yet. I should have the motor out tonight or tomorrow night. Then I can look at everything else and get a better idea what happened.

 

Well, I still don't know what happened with this bearing. I got the motor out and upside down last night and pulled a few caps off just to look. I'm seeing a little more wear than I should for only having 12,??? miles. All the mains look great.
With the pictures, upper is on the right, lowers on the left.

Rod #1. Some trash from #2 embedded, otherwise looks good.
Rod #5. Typical of all so far. Clean and smooth, but more wear I think than should be there on the rod end.
#3 main bearing. Rear thrust face is polished, but not showing any wear. Main surface has a slight polish on the outside edges.
#3 main bearing. Front thrust face has hardly even been touched. Need to remember to check run out on the crank.
#7 rod bearing. Same wear pattern as #5. Bearing was installed wrong (upper bearing on bottom, lower on top)... Oops.

 

Frank,
Bummer dude I am real sorry about this. I am still in hold pattern on mine now that winter has hit. We already have snow on the ground and it is been between 25-40 for a high and in the teens for a low all week. So I can't do any work in the garage until spring now.
I am hoping to be assembling the engine come spring because in June I am going into the hospital for surgery to have my lower right leg amputated. So I've got to get the work done before then or wait until 2019 to finish the Jeep.

Good luck on figuring out what happened and I hope it isn't too serious. If you need any of the tools I have just let me know and I'll be happy to ship them down to you.

Rick

 

Got the crank out last night and found the problem... I'M AN IDIOT!!!
I didn't check which way the chamfer on the rods were facing. Some how I got one right, the rest were pointing the wrong way. Costly mistake, but it can be fixed thankfully.
I'm getting setup with my machine shop today to get the crank turned. I'll update when I'm going back together.


That's a b**ch about your leg Rick. If you need some extra umph this spring let me know. I'll take some vacation time and come give a hand. I want to see that Jeep run.
I appreciate the offer for the tools. I think I've got it covered but if I find something I'll check with you. Stay warm and safe.

Frank

 

Frank,
I don't know what to say other than WOW............ That is one heck of an offer. My plan is to get all the machine work done this winter and have the engine block, crank, heads and everything else back and sitting wrapped in plastic bags so come spring I can start putting it back together.
It is going to take time because I am using the gapless rings so I have to make sure everything is PERFECT. I am going to take my time as I put it together. I appreciate the offer and as time gets closer I'll let you know. If you need my SnapOn scanner again let me know. Or anything else you need to help.

Thanks Rick

 

It's mobile again. Need to run it to double check the original double check, but everything sounds good so far.

 

So Frank,
Glad it is back together and running. Keep us posted as it gets broke in on how it runs and if there is any differences from before.

 

Well, good news... It's still running strong. I haven't driven it much over the last couple of years, but I've still managed around 20,000 miles. Still gets around 9 to 10 mpg, and since it pings on mid-grade (89 octane) gas the costs add up quick running premium (91 octane).

​​​​Just for a little life update, I blew a steer tire on an empty dump truck on Halloween which pulled me off the road. I managed to keep it upright, but broke my right ankle/leg in the process.
3 weeks after that, and 2 days after getting out of hard splints and into a support boot, I hit a deer in my daily driver 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI... Which was totaled. So now the dodge is again my daily runner.
With all of that, life has still been treating me fairly well. Definitely glad for my county job because this has been an almost 2 month paid vacation (hahaha).

I noticed that the cost breakdown link on the first page was broken, so I added a new link. I'm not as chatty as I used to be, but I do still sneak in and lurk around pretty often.