Reply To: Draining the Swamp!

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Ed,

The babbit had fractures and broke away in the center of the main bearing, but all pieces were still encapsulated because the outer edge had not failed yet.

On the rod bearing a piece of the cheek broke away and I found it up in the valve galley sitting on the block. The rest of the pieces were still in the bearing but fell away when I removed the cap.

About 25% of the cap had failed and three other rods showed fractures in the caps but no breakage. I could hear the hint of a rod knock over the entire trip when I was driving at 50 with the throttle open enough to maintain speed. If I either sped up or slowed down the sound went away.

The babbit in the caps was dark grey while the rod side was much brighter. The car sat a lot over the past two years and I’m wondering if that was a factor.

Food for thought.

Bill