Hi-
On my last post I thought I had injector noise coming from the engine. The noise was very loud. Well, I took the oil pan off and found I have a loose piston rod cap. See the attached pictures. I've since then taken the rod cap off, the nuts were so loose they came off by hand.
It appears I got the engine stopped before anything really bad has happened.
The rod appears to be OK, the cap is OK- the crank shaft does not seem to be damaged either. The two halves of the bearing seem to have taken the force. They will need to be replaced.
It appears the bolts were not torqued when the engine was rebuilt.


Just to give you a little background: I bought this engine off a guy who said it was "rebuilt" and never installed in a car. the block was intact with the new pistons and crankshaft and head. I've had to put on the timing chain, injection pump, and I put a not so worn cam shaft on it. and new injectors
My test starts have been with the engine fastened to blocks in my garage.
I don't want to put this into a car until I'm convinced its a good engine.


comments?? thanks!

Attached Thumbnails

Wow hate to say it but if something as vital as this, it's worth taking everything apart to torque and see what else is screwed up. You could probably re-use all the old bolts on the motor and head gasket if it doesn't have any miles on it. Not worth tbe risk of some thing else going wrong cause tbe rebuklder was a moron. Especially if this isn't your daily, what's the rush

__________________
Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

Congrats on Saving your Motor !

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

Be sure to check. The Rod Bearing Caps usually go only in one direction (the rod and cap are usuallly numbered or marked on the same side) and of course mated to a specific rod.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

A lucky catch!

Good you caught it. Should be no damage. Might pose engine type and year. It doesn't look like my OM617 turbo engines.

__________________
1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

617's grandfather, the OM621

(at a guess)

__________________
1978 300D, 373,000km 617.912, 711.113 5 speed, 7.5mm superpump, HX30W turbo...many, many years in the making....
1977 280> 300D - 500,000km+ (to be sold...)
1984 240TD>300TD 121,000 miles, *gone*
1977 250 parts car
1988 Toyota Corona 2.0D *gone*
1975 FJ45>HJ45
1981 200>240D (to be sold...)
1999 Hyundai Lantra 1.6 *gone*
1980s Lansing Bagnall FOER 5.2 Forklift (the Mk2 engine hoist)
2001 Holden Rodeo 4JB1T 2WD

If you want to be able to depend on it, I'd pull out all the rods and the crank and check the dimensions on everything. As a minimum perhaps you could get by with plasti-gaging them. The rod which was knocking I'd have an expert look it over and measure it. It could easily be deformed by the knocking. Probably needs to be sized which will insure its roundness.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I'd pull the engine completely apart and check everything for size / assembly. I've built countless engines across many makes and would have a difficult time just tightening the rod and letting it go. "Rebuilt" is applied to a wide range of quality.

Have the crankshaft magnafluxed for cracks, bending and measured for size. Make sure the bearings are proper for the crank journal size. Plastigauge all bearings on final assembly.

Have the connecting rods checked for cracks, bending, roundness of the big end, size of small end , bushing condition of small end if bushed.

Measure the cylinder bores and pistons for proper clearance. Check piston ring gap to make sure the rings are the proper size for the bore ( very large gap = bore larger than rings are designed for. )

Have the block magnafluxed if you think there is a chance of freeze damage.

Pull the oil pump apart and check for wear ( most wear will occur on the end cover / gear pocket, the cover / body can be machined down to reduce clearance if you can't get a new pump. )

The head should come apart also, check for cracks, good valve and seat grind, valve guide wear, valve seals ( if used ) , valve stem height / spring height.