Johnny Stutsman writes: > I had a leak down test done on my engine and the results said that the rings > and valves are seriously leaking. I am planing to start a rebuilding the > engine as so as possible. But what I want to know is there any way to know > test if the bottom end is still in good shape before I drop the engine? > This engine has low miles, I just bought this van a couple of months > ago knowing it had problems but I'm afraid the previous rebuild was a > shoddy job. This makes me worry that rebuilding only the top end will > not be good enough. >
I'd say you can learn something about the condition of the bottom end without splitting the cases if you check the following: Crankshaft end play With the pistons/cylinders removed, examine the cam lobes for wear by peering into the case with a flashlight. The wear pattern on type IV cams is very apparent and visible. See Tom Wilson's book for good representative pictures. Sideplay of the connecting rods can be measured and a subjective measure of journal clearance can be done <I'm thinking here that if one of the connecting rods "wags" a lot more than the others, there's a problem> Fit between wristpins and small end bushes.
I don't know if there is consensus on this or not with other listmembers, but I'd say that the first thing to wear out in a type IV bottom end is the camshaft.
Best of luck with your engine, Dave
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