Big end bearings

[Superchickenn]

Hi all

I've got a question that I hope someone can help me.

I recently purchase a golf 1.8t with a smashed sump. Apparently as soon as the sump got smashed the engine was turned off and not restarted (that's what they said)

Anyways the car has done 196000 miles (I hope some of them had oil in the engine) but after removing the sump this evening there is a little shard of metal about a cm long and 2 hairs wide and this was only off one of the connecting rod bearings...

My question being would you expect to see any wear on the bearing seeing as though it's done almost 200k?

I hope to have a new sump and oil tomorrow and my fingers crossed

Any input will be appreciated

[Pope]

At 200k miles I would expect the bearings to have signs of wear and likely need replacing; I would also take the suggestion that the engine was switched off immediately with a pinch of salt......

If the sump is off its not too bad a job to drop the bearing caps off a have a look. Check inside the old sump and crankcase for signs of sludge or burnt oil - a giveaway for missed servicing or low quality oil.

[Superchickenn]

Pope said:

At 200k miles I would expect the bearings to have signs of wear and likely need replacing; I would also take the suggestion that the engine was switched off immediately with a pinch of salt......

If the sump is off its not too bad a job to drop the bearing caps off a have a look. Check inside the old sump and crankcase for signs of sludge or burnt oil - a giveaway for missed servicing or low quality oil.

thank you for coming back to me, my only issue (not sure if im overthinking it) but if I take off the connecting rod cap to check out the bearing do I then need plasty gauge to tighten it back up...? i'll add some pics of the old sump now and the fragment I found.

[Superchickenn]

[Boosted LS1]

If this were mine I'd remove the caps as suggested by another poster and just install a set of new bearings of the original size. You should be fine. No need for plastic guage, your clearances shouldn't be tight and may be a tiny bit larger but nothing to worry about.

[tr7v8]

That looks a bit sludgey & black. As others have said I'd pop a few caps off to investigate the bearing & crank condition.

[TooMany2cvs]

200k, likely bottom end damage, bits in the sump...?

I'd just be changing the whole engine, tbh for a good used one. It's not as if a VW 1.8T is anything unusual or scarce.

[Superchickenn]

Boosted LS1 said:

If this were mine I'd remove the caps as suggested by another poster and just install a set of new bearings of the original size. You should be fine. No need for plastic guage, your clearances shouldn't be tight and may be a tiny bit larger but nothing to worry about.

Would it be a case of just torqueing them to factory spec?

[Superchickenn]

TooMany2cvs said:

200k, likely bottom end damage, bits in the sump...?

I'd just be changing the whole engine, tbh for a good used one. It's not as if a VW 1.8T is anything unusual or scarce.

The hole in the sump is sooo big that I think all the bits would have just gone with the oil...

I have another 1.8t engine in my other golf but for some reason l like to try and make things live.... I paid £176 for the car and its got to survive nurburg in September

[Superchickenn]

tr7v8 said:

That looks a bit sludgey & black. As others have said I'd pop a few caps off to investigate the bearing & crank condition.

I think I need to get shopping.. thank you for all the input guys

[227bhp]

Superchickenn said:

Would it be a case of just torquing them to factory spec?

Yes. With the correct tools inspection is simple.
Undo.
Inspect. Replace as necessary.
Tighten back up to correct torque setting.

[Superchickenn]

227bhp said:

Superchickenn said:

Would it be a case of just torquing them to factory spec?

Yes. With the correct tools inspection is simple.
Undo.
Inspect. Replace as necessary.
Tighten back up to correct torque setting.

ive done a lot of jobs on cars but never done this, is this possible with the engine AND crank still in place or will I need to remove the crank ? I can get to the bottom of the connecting rods easy enough

[helix402]

No need to remove the crank.

[Boosted LS1]

Superchickenn said:

227bhp said:

Superchickenn said:

Would it be a case of just torquing them to factory spec?

Yes. With the correct tools inspection is simple.
Undo.
Inspect. Replace as necessary.
Tighten back up to correct torque setting.

ive done a lot of jobs on cars but never done this, is this possible with the engine AND crank still in place or will I need to remove the crank ? I can get to the bottom of the connecting rods easy enough

If you take your time and are careful you can push the upper bearings out and they'll slide downwards around the crank journal. Then you carefully slide the new ones in. Obviously look for the locating tangs that line the bearings up. Rotate the crank after you tighten each rod cap or mains cap to ensure nothings got jammed. Also use plenty of oil and wipe the crank clean before you slide in the new bearings.

I plan to do this to my car sometime soon as it's also on 200 k and has just had a remap.

[Superchickenn]

Boosted LS1 said:

Superchickenn said:

227bhp said:

Superchickenn said:

Would it be a case of just torquing them to factory spec?

Yes. With the correct tools inspection is simple.
Undo.
Inspect. Replace as necessary.
Tighten back up to correct torque setting.

ive done a lot of jobs on cars but never done this, is this possible with the engine AND crank still in place or will I need to remove the crank ? I can get to the bottom of the connecting rods easy enough

If you take your time and are careful you can push the upper bearings out and they'll slide downwards around the crank journal. Then you carefully slide the new ones in. Obviously look for the locating tangs that line the bearings up. Rotate the crank after you tighten each rod cap or mains cap to ensure nothings got jammed. Also use plenty of oil and wipe the crank clean before you slide in the new bearings.

I plan to do this to my car sometime soon as it's also on 200 k and has just had a remap.

That is really helpful.. thank you..... i'll have a good look this evening I think... I found some race bearings so I may upgrade at the same time

[Superchickenn]

helix402 said:

No need to remove the crank.

Thank you for this

[Boosted LS1]

You may not be able to remove the rear main bearing cap, depends on the engine. If you can remove it then you'll probably have to add sealant during the assembly. Halfords sell a loctite brand that's oil, petrol resistant and high temp resistant. It's for sealing sumps etc and is excellent. It's black in colour.

[Superchickenn]

Boosted LS1 said:

You may not be able to remove the rear main bearing cap, depends on the engine. If you can remove it then you'll probably have to add sealant during the assembly. Halfords sell a loctite brand that's oil, petrol resistant and high temp resistant. It's for sealing sumps etc and is excellent. It's black in colour.

Okay awesome... I may pull some caps off later and see how bad they look and decide how to proceed from there

[227bhp]

I'm not sure how we've gone from smashed sump to piece of metal is from a bearing? How easy it is depends on access, some are easier than others, in some it's impossible to get to the mains, big ends are easier.

[E-bmw]

When the OP said

Superchickenn said:

but after removing the sump this evening there is a little shard of metal about a cm long and 2 hairs wide and this was only off one of the connecting rod bearings...

I assumed it was squished out of the bearing cap & he pulled it off.