"scorched bearings", how to prevent replay?

[swiftdrivr]

I had a motor do the tighten-up, and it seems the rod bearings are "scorched". No culprit identified so far, only a list of suspects including a warped oil-pump shaft.The motor is off for repair, but I don't want one event to lead to a repeat performance. I have pulled the access panels off the bellhousing / sump tank of the DB-1, and didn't find any trash, like Mike Allison's famous motor-killing oil can cap-liner. It was recommended I flush the sump tank with gas or brake clean. Any thoughts or recommendations? Anything else that needs doing?

[Pop Chevy]

Change all the oil lines .

[S Lathrop]

Scorched bearings = oil pressure problem. First place to look is the oil pump. Is the pump maintaining oil pressure at low RPM? Under hard braking?

[swiftdrivr]

Steve,
Rollin says he has the pump repaired. I assume, since I know Rollin and his name goes on the work, that it is done right, but I thought about the cost of a rebuild and almost told him I'd spring for a new one. Maybe now is the time to go with the pump with the integral filter. I have heard they really clean up the plumbing. Do you have any experience with them?

[S Lathrop]

I assume that the pump has been repaired since the bearing issue.

I would trust Rollin's judgment on whether you need a new pump or a rebuild will do.

One trick I did with my Kent engines was to take the oil pressure pickup from the left front of the block. There is a galley that supplies oil to the main bearings on that side of the block. The plug in the end of that galley is the furthest point in the oil system from the oil pump that you can tap into. That is where I always took my oil pressure readings, and not from the port on the right side of the engine next to the oil pump.

Also place a pressure switch for 30 psi that turns on a warning light on the dash. My bet is something like this setup would have warned you of the impending oil system failure.

With a modern data system, you can have the dash display a warning and you can look at the data to see what is going on with the oil pressure.

[kea]

What I do to clean the oil tank/gearbox for the Reynards I've worked on, is take it to the 25c car wash.
Soap and water is the best way to clean the inside, not gasoline.
If you are finding bearing material in your oil lines, then just replace the lines (re-use the ends).
If you had an oil cooler, I would replace it too !

[Jon Jeffords]

What I do to clean the oil tank/gearbox for the Reynards I've worked on, is take it to the 25c car wash.
Soap and water is the best way to clean the inside, not gasoline.
If you are finding bearing material in your oil lines, then just replace the lines (re-use the ends).
If you had an oil cooler, I would replace it too !

Keith is correct. Hot soapy water is the best way to clean particles off of a surface. If you absolutely must use brake cleaner or gasoline, do this prior to the hot soapy water process.

There is now an FAA-certified process for cleaning oil coolers. Compare the cost of a new cooler against the cost of having an FAA certified shop do the cleaning.

[swiftdrivr]

No oil cooler, so no issue there. I have an oil light, but I am soon going to have a bigger one, as I don't recall seeing it light up.
Do I need to do anything after the soap and water routine, or is that compatible with the new engine oil, after the surface dries?

[kea]

After you "power wash" it, blow out the excess water/soap, theallow it to air-dry, before you close it up to add oil.

[DaveW]

...One trick I did with my Kent engines was to take the oil pressure pickup from the left front of the block. There is a galley that supplies oil to the main bearings on that side of the block. The plug in the end of that galley is the furthest point in the oil system from the oil pump that you can tap into. That is where I always took my oil pressure readings, and not from the port on the right side of the engine next to the oil pump...

No oil cooler, so no issue there. I have an oil light, but I am soon going to have a bigger one, as I don't recall seeing it light up...

Maybe, as Steve infers, the pressure was low at the bearings and not low at the sensor. As Steve said, put the sensor fitting at the furthest point from the pump to assure that doesn't happen.

[Purple Frog]

Were you racing at Daytona when this happened?

A slow pace lap behind the pace car while riding too high on the banking can cause the problem. Especially in engines with right side pickups.

just saying.

[swiftdrivr]

Frog,
timely advice for sure, but I wasn't at Daytona. I was at CMP. I guess people who are going to the runoffs will need to know that, however.

[DanW]

If you are concerned about trash in the tank, cooler or lines, you can send the tank and cooler to an FAA repair station that performs ultrasonic cleaning. They will clean it, even certify it clean to FAA standards. I used the shop below. The oil tank came back clean for less than $100. They sent me a small plastic sleeve with the trash they found in it too.

http://www.ultrasoniccleaningcorp.co...arts-cleaning/

[S Lathrop]

When I do an oil system, I put a screen filter in the return line to the oil tank. This serves two purposes, it helps separate the air and oil before the tank and or oil cooler and it helps trap any metal or other debris the engine might shed.