I believe this to be possible as well, however I’ve read that the rod itself is likely to be knackered, necessitating its replacement, which means the piston must be removed from the top.
I would be shocked if the rod is damaged. Maybe if a bearing came loose and rotated around the rod… but it won’t be bent.
I lost a crankshaft bearing on my number 8 cylinder. This was the result, the piston was hitting the head.
I was going to just replace the the bearings but broke the skirt of the piston. So I just replaced that piston.
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Agree with Raymond and Luke. The bearing on the crank pin rarely fails before some catastrophic happens on on lower end.
The crankshaft bearing is probably shot, what we called “Spun a bearing”. Unless the journal is really torn up, your can replace these bearings, they just slip into place. Granted, if “done right” the crank would be reground and new oversized bearings installed. But if not terribly scored or burnished, it will probably be a makeshift fix. Had one that lasted over 20K before I got rid of car, but crank wasn’t too bad (note: perspective and assessment was from broke teenager). The crank is hardened steel and the bearings are typically a babbitt like material, soft, and give before the crank.
I’d say it’s worth a look. You’d be out some time, but you’d know if you need to shot it to end it’s misery. You’re probably still paying insurance on it, so it’s costing to sit comatose.
Agree it’s worth a look.
As stated previously, I wouldn’t start it up again, though.
Compare pics and sound to the 240 race car which had the very situation under discussion.
Again, the only way to be sure, is to diassemble (pull oil pan/rod bearing cap) for visual inspection and quantitative measurements (e.g. micrometer aka “micing”).
PS still placing my bets on “FUBAR”, but since I’m only betting Erik’s labor, I really hope I lose, because that means he wins!
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The last several comments I am in agreement with.
Piston end bearings are probably fine, they don’t do the same exact motions the crank does, and don’t fail nearly as quickly in my experience.
This repair can be done by lifting the car, draining oil, dropping oil pan, dropping crank, replacing the bearings, then reverse procedure.
I’m talking to my tuner friend who does this on a regular enough basis at his performance shop. Going to see if I can get a labor price for you.
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May not even need to drop crank if the procedure is done just right, but you might need a buddy for that. Possible to not fully remove crank, leaving chain/belt intact. Someone would ideally hold the crank in a happy spot while someone else sneaks the bearings in and out.
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This is the part you’re hoping to skip, as that means you have to disconnect everything attached to it, and might as well just drop the whole shebang in my opinion. I’ve done many with the crank in place. Just spin the top bearing shell in, and replace the lower shell. I can’t recommend it, but it DOES work. Seen tens if not hundreds of thousands of miles put on the cars, collectively, I’ve done this to. But You must make sure the bearing was the only thing sacrificed, first.
And this car may or may not be configured to allow this. In my experience, modern cars usually are.
(again, none if this is being touted as “the right way” or “a good idea”; I’m saying they’re cheap and functional methods)
EDIT: [quote=“Khyber, post:67, topic:21546”]
Someone would ideally hold the crank in a happy spot while someone else sneaks the bearings in and out
[/quote]
Buddy not really needed. You can do this easily on your own. Especially with a lift. Less fun on your back in the driveway, but still doable.
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I guess I consider removing the caps as ‘dropping the crank’ as there’s very little to convince it to stay put in that moment.
I loosen the crank to make the ‘tangs’ happier to slip on in.
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Fair enough. I consider “dropping the crank” to mean it’s been removed from the block. Same as “dropping the engine”.
Semantics aside, yeah, you can just remove the caps. All the other stuff bolted to it will keep it in place (transmission, flexplate/flywheel, front timing components, oil pump, etc.). I preferred to do just one bearing at at time, personally, but it hardly matters.
The trick to the tangs is to make sure you rotate the right way. The tangless side slides in first and rotate it around. Then they slip right into place.
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How long would this take if three or four of us helped Eric out in the auto bay? One day to assess and potentially replace?
(Looks like about $18 for a set of bearings from rockauto)
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Name the day. I’m in as long as I am free.
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Holy smokes! I’ve just realized I’ve been talking about main bearings instead of rod bearings (which I would do all at the same time, subject to inspection). Rod bearings are even easier, in most cases.
I’d SWAG book time to be in the 5 hours range (to be fair, no book will have this time; engine-in bearing replacement is NOT a sanctioned event). Of course, book time being based on an experienced tech, and none of the folks involved here being so on this particular case, I’d put it right around there even with the help.
But it would take less than 1/2 an hour with the right tools to get 1 con rod off for inspection, I’d think…
Ditto, good guy. I’m in.
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Agree, do all that can at once, they’ll have been oil deprived but the rods are easiest and take the hammering.
Mid-late next week in the evening works for me, or on a weekend day.
I’m truly bowled over, fellas. I’ll need to get the vehicle towed over there sometime this week. I will keep you posted should you still be willing to assist.
I’ve spent the last week-and-a-half mulling over new cars and despairing over both the lack of satisfactory offerings and their costs, which demands a spreadsheet:
Note that any vehicle scoring worse than my 2008 3 (16) or simply culled by executive decision (10) has been pruned.
The metrics are a little convoluted and often exclusive (i.e. there is no cheap, efficient, powerful, AWD/RWD PHEV on the market no matter how much I want one). Figures with data are divided into percentile, multiplied by 10, then weighted as indicated - this has the side effect of making small differences more significant should two similar values happen to be on opposite sides of a boundary. Boolean fields are simply 10 x the weight if TRUE. The OPEX column is a reasonable approximation of fuel (+electricity if applicable) costs for all vehicles.
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Would be interesting if you shred your spreadsheet to look at your waitings
I own a 16 Golf GTI 6MT and a 17 Golf R DSG, test drove the Fords (including an RS) and all the Subies
before both were purchased. Interior noise fit and finish is so much better in the VW’s
Don’t be too bowled over: we might get in there an discover that it’s truly toast and unrecoverable. 
I’m excited! I’ve never done a bearing job like this and am ready to learn.
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@TLAR Could this be one of your classes? Inspecting Rod Bearings and inserting replacements appears a “donor” vehicle has appeared.
Some instruction and guidance would helpful and make this much more of a learning experience for all of us under you tutelage.
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