The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 56 235 rod bearing failure....

Hi, driving my 56 yesterday and heard a knocking noise. Checked oil and was okay, continued to drive it until it was really noisy. towed it home and pulled the pan. Found #3 rod had too much play. Bearing pieces in the pan. I pulled the cap and removed what was left of the bearings.
Now I wanted to know if I could just replace the one rod's bearings and continue this engine until i can afford a V8 swap. What do you guys think?

rue....
Sadly to say...
You know it and so do I,That chances are Slim to None,theres NO Damage to #3 rod journal on that crank. :confused:
Either Nicked,Banged,Gouged or out of round,Maybe All the above, :rolleyes:
Lets not forget the PROBABLE Damage to #3 connecting rod either
All depends on what you can polish out,and then get a mic on it for size.
Also dont forget,If #3 bearing shell was that bad,Can the others be that far Behind?
Regards and most of all Good Luck

Is the surface of the crankshaft smooth? Is the bearing seat on the rod mangled? If the crank is still resonably smooth you can use emory cloth to shine it back up but if the rod is bad a patch won't help. Its overhaul time.

You can overhaul just the bottom end for fairly cheaply. I'm guessing $200 or less in parts plus your time.

Pull the crank and have it turned, and replace the rod and main bearings, rear main seal, timing cover gasket and crank seal, timing gear set and oil pan gasket. Don't forget to check to #3 rod and replace it or have it reconditioned if necessary. If you have to pull that rod then you are talking about a head gasket, valve cover gasket and intake/exhaust set too, so you might as well replace the rings if you've got to go that far.

You can get a re-ring kit with main bearings for $190 from Chevs of the 40s and I think that includes gaskets, bearings, main bearing, rings, seals, etc...

Patrick's has rod bearings for $50, mains for $130, gasket set for $70 and the timing gear set for $32 They also have packages but the prices aren't on their webpage.

An v-8 engine swap might not be too much more if you install a running used engine and start saving to re-build it later.