Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I've got this rattle in my engine and my mechanic says I've 'spun a bearing'.

It still drives fine and all, but he also mentioned that I shouldn't push it too hard due to this problem.

Can anyone enlighten me further on what could have happened?

Thanks in advance!

could have damaged a bearing where it has been grabbed by an adjacent surface, causing metal on metal wear, sending particles of metal throughout your engine. could have destroyed oil galleries, pump, and any and every bearing :P

on the other hand i've been told you can just get a 'noisey bearing' which just needs to be replaced.

so your engine may need to be replaced or rebuilt. or just a bearing needs to be replaced. an experienced mechanic should be able to tell you once they pull your engine apart.

drop your sump off and look for metal filings everywhere. if you have them everywhere then there's a good chance you can say goodbye to your engine :)

Doesn't sound good at all =(

Does this mean that I should stop driving it? Or because it's on death row, I should start looking for a new engine and keep on rollin' till it stops? I'm just not a big fan of the idea of my car stopping in the middle of somewhere. Usually I drive around because I need to get from A-B and not because i'm cruising around for the hell of it.

Stop driving it, rip the sump off and see what the problem is. I doubt the bearing has spun, engines only last minutes after they spin, its probably just shagged. You may be able to get away with replacing the big end bearings if the crank isnt damaged, thats what i did in my z32 300zx, it was a bit noisy whan i got it , fitted new bearings checked the clearances and drove it for a year before i sold it.

Reading up a bit more on the bearings, i'm assuming that they're 'big bearings' and if possible to be replaced, i can probably use the ACL ones listed in this page?:

http://www.aclperformance.com.au/NissanRB20DETBearings.htm

What is involved in changing the bearings? Does the engine need to come out?

if the engine truly has spun a bearing it will last for probably 30 seconds. what happens is an engine problem (lack of oil, detonation, something) causes an event which ends in sudden bearing wear, then instead of staying in it's place the bearing grabs on the crank and it now spins with the crank. when this happens it's destroyed in a matter of seconds. when it's destroyed the crank is now spinning out of balance which causes other bearings to be destroyed. then the crank can seize and engine will stop, or sometimes it will cause a piston to break, or a rod to bend and possibly put a hole in the side of the block. I would say what has happened is you have worn bearing(s) which is causing bearing noise. if you stop driving it now and pull the engine apart you may get away with just replacing the main bearings and big end bearings. if you continue driving it the motor will be f**ked.

if the engine truly has spun a bearing it will last for probably 30 seconds. what happens is an engine problem (lack of oil, detonation, something) causes an event which ends in sudden bearing wear, then instead of staying in it's place the bearing grabs on the crank and it now spins with the crank. when this happens it's destroyed in a matter of seconds. when it's destroyed the crank is now spinning out of balance which causes other bearings to be destroyed. then the crank can seize and engine will stop, or sometimes it will cause a piston to break, or a rod to bend and possibly put a hole in the side of the block. I would say what has happened is you have worn bearing(s) which is causing bearing noise. if you stop driving it now and pull the engine apart you may get away with just replacing the main bearings and big end bearings. if you continue driving it the motor will be f**ked.

thanks for that :P

i'll find out tomorrow first thing in the morning whether i should drive my car to work (50km round trip) from my mechanic. if he says that its better not to, i'll see if the motor can still be saved without too much of a headache =|

what a moneypit...

Had a similar problem - it was the screws on the back plate of the oil pump had come out and I assumed it was a faulty sender until it stated knocking.

Drove it for two months though and only admitted defeat when on Sams dyno (still making power - not his fault!) and had to get Jack to truck it home. :P

Unless you have the DIY skills and a few spare RB20's like I had, better not drive it unless you have deep pockets.

Although you can pick up a RB20 for $300 if you look around!

ive driven cars for a few weeks with a spun bearing. it will still drive like normal but it will eventually f**k things up further for you. rb20's are cheap these days, so it will probably be cheaper to replace the whole motor.

also, spinning a bearing isnt always as simply fixed as it seems. you need to check for clearances before wacking in a new set of bearings.

and it is possible to do the bearings while the motor is still in the car. i recommend getting your oil pump replaced to something like an rb25 pump with a crank collar too.

Edited by SECUR1TY

ask ucd15r33 about the spun bearing in his ute. i posted a pic of the result in the general discussion forum. he drove it for a few days, did some skids, rev the ring out of it, then it let go on his way home and threw a leg out the side of the block. still did a skid on 3 cylinders though.

yeah ive driven around for a week or so with 2 spun bearings lol.

However the more you run the engine with a spun bearing the more damage it does to other componants... you can kiss the crank and con rods good buy if you persits to drive it.

however since its a 20... ditch your bottom end and get another block dirt cheap from a wreakers/on forums and be done with it

I still don't understand how my mechanic knows its a spun bearing. The car doesn't seem to drive any differently and i can't seem to pick anything that sounds different either.

Is there a sure fire way to tell without stripping down the engine?

he said it's right down the very back and i can't hear it from inside the car, but the motor is losing comp from it. if it were to be rebuilt, the engine would need to come out, crank remachined and all this other stuff. basically it was cheaper and less work to get another motor in.

i can't hear any obvious rattle, but then again i'm n00b and don't know what to keep an ear out for. i'm thinking of getting a second opinion to be sure to be sure before jumping into anymore expensive work.

well its not really a rattle, more like a bunch of gnomes with hammers that hammer quicker as the revs rise - a good mechanic will pick the noise if they have heard it often enough.

As everyone else said, rb20s are cheap - just grab a new (second hand) bottom end. Rebuild will cost $000s once you include assembly, disassembly and all the bottom end testing and machining

well its not really a rattle, more like a bunch of gnomes with hammers that hammer quicker as the revs rise - a good mechanic will pick the noise if they have heard it often enough.

As everyone else said, rb20s are cheap - just grab a new (second hand) bottom end. Rebuild will cost $000s once you include assembly, disassembly and all the bottom end testing and machining

Depends, im assuming you are paying foe labour. It shouldnt cost more than $3-400 to get teh sump ripped off and the bigend bearing clearances checked, im betting one will be loose, and if you cant here the noise, new shells will probably fix it, if not dont put the bottom end back together, just chuck a motor in. Either way its not going to be a particularly cheap exercise.

well its not really a rattle, more like a bunch of gnomes with hammers that hammer quicker as the revs rise - a good mechanic will pick the noise if they have heard it often enough.

As everyone else said, rb20s are cheap - just grab a new (second hand) bottom end. Rebuild will cost $000s once you include assembly, disassembly and all the bottom end testing and machining

this noise you've mentioned, is it meant to be loud and obvious or quite quiet??

also, when a bearing is spun, does the car start to lose compression and hunt on idle like when the AAC valve is blocked?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Welcome to my 2004 Toyota Mark ii IR-V Fortuna (series 2) With a 1JZ-GTE powerplant under the bonnet (hood) it'll give me plenty of scope for power upgrades. For those who aren't familiar with imports, the 1JZ-GTE is a 2.5L 6 cylinder VVTi engine with a single turbocharger. This has the factory R154 5 speed gearbox, along with a aftermarket 2 way LSD differential (brand unknown). Under the arches are a set of CST Zero 1 alloys, 18x9 +30 225/40 up front and 18x9.5 +15 265/35 on the rear. The car was quite low in Japan and there's evidence of the wheels catching the rolled arches/fenders. The tyre's aren't great so I'm in two minds whether to replace both or just the tyres and put up with the wider wheels on the rear. The car still uses stock brakes with the addition of some braided hoses. The exterior is stock with the exception of a BN Sports front bumper and a replacement Fortuna grill  Moving to the interior, the steering wheel has been replaced with a dished MOMO steering wheel (which will get swapped for my Momo Tuner for the time being) Defi Link Gauges are mounted above the climate controls and on the A pillar, the Oil Temp,Oil Pressure,Water Temp and Boost gauges should help with spirited and track driving  The stock seats have been replaced with some retrimmed Recaro bucket seats. Being a larger build these are a little snug, unfortunately the orange isn't for me so I'll look into replacing these down the line. Other modifications include a twin plate clutch, Blitz intercooler, Evolve alloy radiator, a stainless exhaust with decat, HKS EVC-S boost controller and coil overs
    • Apologies for the long read My R34 GTT was up for sale at the beginning of spring due to a few repairs creeping up. The strut tops needed replacing, roof and bonnet (hood) painting (yay for 3 stage pearl) and the underside stripped and treated. I sold the car which allowed me to be in a much better place financially. Leading up to the sale I was already thinking about the replacement. In an ideal world it needed to be a good all-rounder. Something I can mess around with, modify, do track days, do the school run, go on long drives etc.  Options included but not limited to... Laurel C35, Evo 8/9, Civic FD2, Impreza Hawkeye, Aristo and even an Audi S4 Avant (I've already got the Mazda 6 wagon). But there was always one car at the top of the list The Toyota Mark ii JZX110 I found an advert on a Facebook group for an example in Japan, from a seller called Jon at Rising Sun Exports. A few messages back and forth and Jon calls me from Yokohama one morning (or afternoon in his case). He briefly explained the import process, the costs involved and a repeat of the advert. After much deliberation, the price was agreed and the sale was locked in. I've never imported a vehicle so I jumped into the unknown head first. The money transfer was completed through wise.com (fees apply), very easy to use and the money was with him within a day or two.  The car suspension was raised for the vessel and the car dropped off at the port. It was 7 weeks later when the bill of lading was received and the freight invoice sent to me, followed by the export certificate a couple of days after (both digital copies) In the mean time the port had been in contact. I needed an agent to deal with the NOVA (notification of vehicle arrival) along with the tax/duty invoice, this was £75.00. The port also had a fee of £100, I'm guessing to cover the cost of the 10 day 'free storage' and for moving the car off the boat etc. They need a copy of the vehicle invoice, freight invoice and export certificate to allow the vehicle to pass through customs. The vessel arrived on Tuesday 5th August, the tax/duty invoice was generated and sent over. This is generally tax 20% and duty 10% of the vehicle value. Although the invoice came in at a higher amount than I had calculated. Once HMRC had received the payment the vehicle could be released from customs. I thought once the tax/duty was paid you could collect at any point, that's not the case. Your agent will need to book a collection slot, I requested Thursday 7th which was accepted, with a 9:00am slot allocated. It was a 5:00am start from Norfolk heading to Southampton. We eventually found the compound, upon presenting the bill of lading and some ID they released the car (they drove it out of the compound to the front ready for us to load up). The email from the port stated each slot had a 10 minute window, which seemed abit farfetched but the staff said it's not a strict rule. We were there for approx. 30-40 mins in total. A week prior to collecting I contacted my garage and explained the situation, I was able to get an inspection slot that afternoon. For the registration, DVLA require the car to be insured, for this I used a company called Adrian Flux who can insure the vehicle using the VIN number. 
    • Hey guys, looking for these side skirts if anyone can help me out. 
    • Wife and I are still looking for a new home. One condition was a large enough garage for a full-size lift in one bay. Now if only we could find something... We've been looking for almost a year now.
    • Thanks everyone for the ideas! Sadly, ramps are a no go for me. With young kids at home, I do most of my work late at night while they're sleeping. Starting the car multiple times wouldn't be a great idea.  I'll go see one of those new long reach low profile jacks and take a couple measurements to see if they will fit.   
×
×
  • Create New...