Engine knock

[fullspectrum]

My 86 Samurai has a pretty loud engine knock. It sounds like a diesel :D I have a spare engine for it that I'm going to put in ,in the spring. Is it possible to just drop the oil pan on the bad motor(while in the truck)and try and find the offending rod(assuming its the bottom end of the rod) and put in new con rod bearings just to get me through for awhile? Or should I just pull the motor and drop the new baby in. The least work for now is what I'm looking for. Sugesstions?

[fullspectrum]

Nobody has any ideas? Just wondering if I can drop the pan and replace one bad bearing. Will it work?

[Fullload]

I think so. Muddmachine did that a while back and the damn thing still runs to this day.

[fullspectrum]

Thanks, I might just drop the pan and see whats going on in there. If I can't find the bearing that's knocking I'll just drop the other motor in. It's worth a try anyways.

[Buggy]

its been done many times with the old 351\400 ford motor the oil pressure drops when it get warm but doesnt knock. they do it with big Diesel's i would try the bottom end first not like your time cost ya.and you still have a spare then

[scott03ho]

yes you can change out 1 rod bearing if you can find the problem - but if it's knocking constantly you probably have some damage to the crank journal. If the crank journal is scored it will eat up the bearing again. Also check to make sure you have good oil pressure - and replace the oil pump if not.

[fullspectrum]

Well, it's worth a try. do the small end bearings of the con rod ever go bad or is it usually the bottom end?

[Loco]

I've had the small end go bad and get loose to the point that the play tore the bottom of of the piston right off and my con-rod puncured a couple of holes in the block. I was going 140km/h on Hwy 400 north of Barrie at the time (nowhere near home for me, on my way to Lollapalooza 93), It was quite a mess, especially after the hot oil on the wires caught them on fire:flthrow: not to mention the violent noise and the smoke that poured in thru the vents. Not a Zuk tho, it was and old Hyundai Stellar. Still made it to the show tho, got a ride within 5 minutes and just left the old POS there. :D Ah the good ol' daze.

[MuddMachine]

I swapped a rod/piston or 2 :D and it worked out for me. Ive heard that you can tap the main bearing caps with a hammer to find the bad one. Apparantly the good ones will ring and the bad one will sound flat. How true this is I dont know.

[fullspectrum]

Thanks...I'll give it a try. I wonder how much lower rod bearings cost from Suzuki. I'm gonna call Danny at Richmond Hill Suzuki. :)

[scott03ho]

The rod bearings are only on the big end of the rod. You can buy an aftermarket set of bearings (complete all 4 rods) for about 50-60$.

The small end of the rod has a pin that runs through the piston and rod. The 1.6L motor use a floating pin rather than a pressed pin - making it easier to change them out if needed. Just remove the retaining clip on 1 end of the pin and it will slide out and the piston will come off the rod. Usually you won't see much (if any) wear on the small end/piston pin. The big end is the rotates on the crank and sees the most wear.

If you drop the pan, and pull off the caps of each rod, you'll see pretty quickly if any of the bearings are damaged - if it's making a knocking noise, there will be visible damage to the bearing. Just make sure you have a torque wrench and the specs for the rod bearings when putting the rod caps back on. Also if you do replcae the bearings, make sure you put some good lube on the bearing surface so it's not dry when you fire up the engine - either some assembly lube, or plain vasaline (non-scented/flavoured variety).

[weldor guy]

hey i got a mint engine for you and its even efi pm me.