Need objective, expert opinion on bearing wear

[turbojimmy]

I'm going to try to get an objective opinion on the pictures below. They're of two of the main bearings in my GN. They're the only ones I've been able to remove so far. The car has a blown head gasket, that's the only thing I know for sure right now. When I started up I could hear what I think is the tell tale signs of hammered bearings.

Here's what I think, but don't let what I think affect your answer: I'm thinking that these pictures are of a destroyed bearing and that I would not have been able to drive the car with the bearings looking like that (assuming that all the others look like these). I'm thinking that this is not normal wear and is the cause of the squeaking/screeching.

The purpose of my question is to differentiate between damage done by the events that blew the head gasket versus normal wear. The car was running fine before the head gasket blew - would the car have run fine with bearings that look like these?

So the question is: is this normal wear or damage that would cause squeaking/screeching from the bearings?

4-5 Bearing:

2-3 Bearing:

TIA,
Jim

 

[Just a Six??]

I'm no expert but last year I blew a HG & hammered a set of bearings on 1 piston only. What I heard was like a marble was in the cylinder, but most pronounced about 2000-2500 rpm. When I unplugged the injector it would go away. My bearings looked similar to yours but were slightly pancaked compared to the rest. I dont want to say your bearings caused the noise but there is sure a good chance they did! I would guess more so than not & they were definately not helping matters.

 

[turbojimmy]

I'm no expert but last year I blew a HG & hammered a set of bearings on 1 piston only. What I heard was like a marble was in the cylinder, but most pronounced about 2000-2500 rpm. When I unplugged the injector it would go away. My bearings looked similar to yours but were slightly pancaked compared to the rest. I dont want to say your bearings caused the noise but there is sure a good chance they did! I would guess more so than not & they were definately not helping matters.

Thanks for the reply.

I need to take the connecting rod bearings out next. The gasket it blown in either #2 or #6 (or both if that's possible). I can get at #6 from underneath with the engine in the car. #2 is a little harder to get at.

Jim

 

[johnnyttype]

no expert hear, but will contribute an idea did the headgasket leak coolant into the oil? if so the coolant could have helped wipe the bearings out pretty fast by destroying the oil film cushion and caused the extra wear. im pretty sure when i rebuilt my engine at 138000 miles only two bearings (rod bearings) showed any signs of wear and that was of being hammered alittle from detonation i believe, all the rest looked great. hth

 

[turbojimmy]

no expert hear, but will contribute an idea did the headgasket leak coolant into the oil? if so the coolant could have helped wipe the bearings out pretty fast by destroying the oil film cushion and caused the extra wear. im pretty sure when i rebuilt my engine at 138000 miles only two bearings (rod bearings) showed any signs of wear and that was of being hammered alittle from detonation i believe, all the rest looked great. hth

Luckily the head gasket didn't blow into the water jackets. It appears to have blown into the lifter valley at the #2 cylinder. I initially thought that this was a good thing since I'd only have to replace the gaskets. The engine only has about 10,000 miles on it. But these bearings are shot and now I've found that #6 is leaking into the crank case. Looks like a total rebuild is in order.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[johnnyttype]

man that sucks, all these recent threads of bad bearings showing up is really making me uneasy! it kinda makes me want to take a cap or two off and check mine, but at the same time, i dont even want to think about it!

 

[turbojimmy]

man that sucks, all these recent threads of bad bearings showing up is really making me uneasy! it kinda makes me want to take a cap or two off and check mine, but at the same time, i dont even want to think about it!

If they're not bad enough to make noise I wouldn't sweat it. You'll know when they're bad

Jim

 

[johnnyttype]

If they're not bad enough to make noise I wouldn't sweat it. You'll know when they're bad

Jim

yea, thats sorta what i was thinking! my car will be screaming at me before i pay attention to it, cause i already have enough squeaks and rattles to drown out right now...and oil leaks to ignore:0