Crank Shaft Shells, short term fix...

[Charmless man]

Weird question,

My brother in laws Vectra (2.2 2000) has been knocking a bit, turned out due to oil starvation one of the crank shaft shells has become very damaged to the point of being obliterated. If he were to simply replace the shells without getting the crank tidied up and balanced how long would this last before it fell apart and started knocking again, 5 miles or 500!? The reason I'm asking is that he is just after a short term fix whilst he waits for his new car so only needs it to run for 4-5 weeks then he can scrap it. It's not worth much at all so not worth spending 'proper' money on it.

[steveo3002]

is the crank marked? any scores you can feel ?

sometimes the crank pretty much gets away with no damage, in which case new shells should last a good while

if the crank looks rough as hell its not gona last too well

[Charmless man]

cough!

[Charmless man]

I think you must've replied just as I was coughing, thanks for the reply steveo3002. It has got some small marks on it, not exaclty chewed up and looking like a nik-nak but it isn't polished and smooth.

[Stuart J]

If the lumps out have you considered a s/hand one.

As to what to do with the existing it can only really be judget by an experienced guy actually seeing it. Also the ouil starvation has a cause that needs to be found "assuming it wasnt running it low on oil"

[WhoseGeneration]

Worth a go, I've done such, albeit decades ago.
That's if the "oil starvation" isn't an ongoing issue.
If done, probably best to use it gently, especially if it's just to keep it going until new car is available.

Eta, ref above from OP, can you get in enough to measure ovality against manufacturers figures? If that's okish, I'd be inclined, "naughty" though it is, to smooth off any nicks and give it a go.
I'm assuming you're doing this with engine still in place?

Edited by WhoseGeneration on Monday 19th April 08:22

[Charmless man]

The oil starvation issue has been resolved after giving a quick lesson on how to use a dipstick!

I thought about second hand, I think that maybe plan b!

[Charmless man]

WhoseGeneration said:

ref above from OP, can you get in enough to measure ovality against manufacturers figures? If that's okish, I'd be inclined, "naughty" though it is, to smooth off any nicks and give it a go.
I'm assuming you're doing this with engine still in place?

Yes, the engine is in place, that's not a bad idea to find out the tolerances. I know what you mean about 'naughty' it goes against the grain a bit to not fix something properly but the car in full working order is only worth about £500 quid so it'll get scrapped when it either dies properly or the new one appears.