Hi everyone,

When viewing the cam bearings from the sump, is it necessary to rotate the engine to see all around the cam or would I be able to see everything just from any crank/cam position? It’s a bit hard to see some bearings in the current position, but I haven’t seen any walked cam bearings yet that have the crescent-shaped wear gouges…

Does the engine need to be rotated in only one direction, or can I turn it in either direction using a breaker bar on the harmonic balancer bolt? If I’m supposed to turn it only one direction, would that be cranking the breaker bar (starting at 12 o clock) toward the passenger side or the driver side in a USA vehicle? To loosen the bolt on the harmonic balancer, will the wood block be positioned on the passengers driver side of the engine block? I managed to shove a 2x4 block in between the back most piston counter weight and the block on the passenger side, but I was unsure about the engine rotation direction, so I’ve waited to check on this first.

Also, am I able to see if there are slipped cylinder sleeves from the sump view?

Thank you

 

If you can tell a sleeve has slipped from under the engine, I think you would've heard it quite loudly already just driving around. A slipped sleeve is usually barely noticeable when feeling from the top of the block, like using a finger nail or straight edge. Without such a fine machined surface to compare the sleeve against, if you notice a slipped sleeve from the underside, it's probably way bad. Does that make sense?

 

Thanks, yes I think that makes sense - I won’t be able to tell if a sleeve has slipped from underneath unless it’s really bad, which would make much more noise than just the common ticking (that ticking got better or went away when I began using 15W-40 oil).

Do you happen to know about the engine rotation direction and if I should turn it to see the cam from all angles in order to inspect for walked cam bearings? I’m unsure if I can safely turn the engine using a wrench on the harmonic balancer bolt in either direction or if I can only turn one way and which way that would be.

 

Pull the spark plugs if you want to turn the engine by hand easily underneath (just a ratchet on the HB, looking at the engine turn it clockwise). I'm not sure though if you need to do this to observe a walked cam bearing.

 

Thank you, can I simply turn it with a wrench on the HB turning the wrench clockwise without pulling the spark plugs?

 

No, you don't need to rotate the engine to see the walked cam bearing. You shouldn't be able to see any bearing sticking out of their boss at all. The one I've seen walk is the #3 cam bearing walking out toward the back of the motor, but theoretically others could walk. #3 should be most likely because of the movement of the block as it heat cycles.

If you see any bearings sticking out of their bore, or if you are not sure, post up a picture.

 

Thank you, I’m guess #3 is counted from the front. I’ll be sure to give it an extra close look, but I didn’t see any that looked out of place, discolored, burned, etc. I’ll give it a close inspection though (best I can from under the crankshaft) and I’ll post some images. Thanks again

 

You can, it’s just a notchy experience and more difficult from under the car since you’re fighting against cylinder compression.

 

Thanks, I see - I might need that extra help from the compression to break the harmonic balancer bolt off, so I think I'll just take a look without turning the engine. I don't think it has a walked cam bearing from what I've seen so far and I've heard it's not that common, unlike the oil pump gears and timing chain issues that cause low oil pressure.

 

Engine compression won't be enough to remove the balancer bolt. @The Deputy has a trick somewhere on the forum to hold the engine still while you remove the bolt. Worked like a charm for me. Just do a little search for it.