So my engine had low oil pressure. Dropped the pan and suprise!!! Metal in the pan. So I cussed, and said this time I am doing it myself. Pulled the motor and tore it down. All the main bearings were fine. All the rod bearings were fine. The thrust bearing, not so fine. It wore a groove into the crank almost 3/16's of an inch on the rear surface. In other words, the surface closest to the torque convertor. So I thought "Ballooning" torque convertor. Not one sign of the crank bolts pressing into the face of the convertor. And the torque convertor pushes back into the pump on the tranny just fine. The pick up on the oil pump however was almost 1 and 1/8 inches away from the bottom of the pan. Dumbass that built it over tightened the tube. So the thrust bearing was supposedly clearanced right according to my machine shop, not the shop that built the last one. Got a virgin crank, and have re-built it again. I am fixing to poke it back in and I am re-placing the torque convertor just incase. I am still nervous about what caused this. Oil cavitating from the the pick up maybe? New oil pump and pick up tube, and the tube is 1/4 of an inch from the bottom of the pan this time. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

It may have been suffering some from oil starvation at higher RPM with the pickup that far off the bottom of the pan..... but, why it would only eat the thrust surface of the bearing, and only on one side is a mystery to me.

Did you find out where the metal shavings cam from? Replace the cam bearings?

 

Well normally when a thrust bearing is ate up, and on the side closest to the torque convertor, you suspect something in the drive line pushing the crank forward. The babbit in the main bearings had a little sign of wear which I suspect is from oil starvation at high RPM like you stated. What has me stumped is that there is nothing indicating an issue in the drive line that would warrant the kind of bearing surface wear on the thrust suface of the crank. I'll know soon enough if it was an issue of the torque convertor not being stabbed correctly and this damage was caused on initial start up.