Do you think there is enough room in the engine bay to spread the transmission far enough (after disconnecting flexplate) to drop the crank out?

I was thinking of doing the rod/mains bearings because I have a slight knock on decel and idle and get some more out of the car, and while I was in there, possibly replace the rings.

Ryan A wrote:Do you think there is enough room in the engine bay to spread the transmission far enough (after disconnecting flexplate) to drop the crank out?

I was thinking of doing the rod/mains bearings because I have a slight knock on decel and idle and get some more out of the car, and while I was in there, possibly replace the rings.

I haven't done it on the 2.2 particularly, but I don't believe you'll have to worry about disconnecting the crank. Once you've dropped all the main caps, the crank will drop down and hang by the pistons/rods, and the rear main and front main seals. To get out the bearing shells on the top half of the crank, you'll need to get something soft but stiff like a dowel rod. Tap the bearing shell on the side opposite the bearing tang and the shell should come loose enough for you to slide it around the other side of the crank journal. If it's uncooperative, you can carefully put a small flat blade screwdriver blade in the tang and by working it up/down you can get the bearing shell out. As they say, assembly is the reverse of dis assembly.

One issue if your engine is old enough and the crank seal have hardened. Doing this will create an instant oil leak at both ends, especially the rear main seal.

Before you get to putting parts in, your symptoms may be indication of a broken wrist pin or broken piston. They knock on decel.

Dennis

Previous post is partially true. In frame bearing replacement can be done in most any motor so long as there is room to remove the pan. However i would NEVER remove all of the main caps at once and dont let the crank hang by the main seals otherwise you may very well end up with leaking seals.. Pull one at a time and loosen the one(s) next to it and never spin the crank with loose main caps. Use something gentle to push out the old bearings and slide the new ones in with assembly lube. I have an old putty knife that i use for this, it is flexable and bends to follow the curve of the journal but is strong enough to push the bearings out. At the same time inspect the journals for signs of wear.

Thanks for the posts.


I will have to put my ear in the engine bay to figure out where the noise is, top or bottom.

Ryan A wrote:Thanks for the posts.


I will have to put my ear in the engine bay to figure out where the noise is, top or bottom.

You may want to inspect the oil pump while you have it apart. New ones are relatively cheap compared to doing it over. M98 pump from earlier models has better pressure.
dennis

Jordan wrote:Previous post is partially true. In frame bearing replacement can be done in most any motor so long as there is room to remove the pan. However i would NEVER remove all of the main caps at once and dont let the crank hang by the main seals otherwise you may very well end up with leaking seals.. Pull one at a time and loosen the one(s) next to it and never spin the crank with loose main caps. Use something gentle to push out the old bearings and slide the new ones in with assembly lube. I have an old putty knife that i use for this, it is flexable and bends to follow the curve of the journal but is strong enough to push the bearings out. At the same time inspect the journals for signs of wear.

That's what happens when you stay up too late!
Hanging it on the seals is only for when you know the seals are in good shape!
thanks.
dennis

MasterFlight wrote:

Jordan wrote:Previous post is partially true. In frame bearing replacement can be done in most any motor so long as there is room to remove the pan. However i would NEVER remove all of the main caps at once and dont let the crank hang by the main seals otherwise you may very well end up with leaking seals.. Pull one at a time and loosen the one(s) next to it and never spin the crank with loose main caps. Use something gentle to push out the old bearings and slide the new ones in with assembly lube. I have an old putty knife that i use for this, it is flexable and bends to follow the curve of the journal but is strong enough to push the bearings out. At the same time inspect the journals for signs of wear.

That's what happens when you stay up too late!
Hanging it on the seals is only for when you know the seals are in good shape!
thanks.
dennis

Even good seals can be destroyed by the weight of the crank.. one deformity can create a leak. Once that happens you'd have to pull the seal unless you can roll the spring out and shorten it and put back in... thats even a long shot. Hopefully the OP can get er done though

So I was about to order everything on rockauto for this job, but I cannot find a connecting rod anywhere on the internet without it being a 4 rod performance set.


I think the connecting rod is okay, per say, but the bearing at the top of the rod that the wrist pin slides through probably is not. What is the official name for this so I can buy one?

Probably wrist pin bushing or something along those lines. At this point your going to have the whole motor just about apart.. so you will need a head set and probably new piston rings as well as a full set of bearings for the bottom end.


Have a nice day.