BlackBII Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) Ok, so no rod was actually thrown...but, my Starion goes knock, knock, knock all the way home..... I can only assume it had something to do with all the antifreeze that was in my oil from when the headgasket blew and now I have a main/rod bearing or two on the fritz. So, new shortblock or rebuild? Whaddya say? Dodge Caravans, Mighty Max's and Mazda b2600's all had the G54B yeah? Or am I completley wrong on that one? I have confidence in doing a bottom end rebuild, but, that makes for a good amount of downtime, and if I go that route i'll end up cleaning up the engine bay, shining everything, and then I'l just carried away and spend toooo much mula. Also, who knows if I need a new crank and all...yikes. I guess I wont know till it all comes apart. So new shortblock or rebuild? Whats your opinion? I might just have to ask that question once I pull the pan off and see the damage. Thanks! Edited March 26, 2010 by BlackBII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technology Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Buy a used one, they show up once in a while, or put a wanted ad out there. People have them somewhat often. But replace your injectors, since that's probably why it blew up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBII Posted March 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) Buy a used one, they show up once in a while, or put a wanted ad out there. People have them somewhat often. But replace your injectors, since that's probably why it blew up. I actually just ordered new injectors, two days ago....two days too late I guess. Does it have to be a new 'starion' shortblock? Or are all G54B's the same? In terms of crank, rods n pistons. I imagine the starion pistons are lower compression? And, aside from oil return boss and from what I hear the oil pump is trubo application specific? I know where a number of G54B's are up the road in my local pic-n-pull.....(caravans n such) Edited March 26, 2010 by BlackBII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Ok, so no rod was actually thrown...but, my Starion goes knock, knock, knock all the way home..... I can only assume it had something to do with all the antifreeze that was in my oil from when the headgasket blew and now I have a main/rod bearing or two on the fritz. So, new shortblock or rebuild? Whaddya say? Dodge Caravans, Mighty Max's and Mazda b2600's all had the G54B yeah? Or am I completley wrong on that one? I have confidence in doing a bottom end rebuild, but, that makes for a good amount of downtime, and if I go that route i'll end up cleaning up the engine bay, shining everything, and then I'l just carried away and spend toooo much mula. Also, who knows if I need a new crank and all...yikes. I guess I wont know till it all comes apart. So new shortblock or rebuild? Whats your opinion? I might just have to ask that question once I pull the pan off and see the damage. Thanks! Man, you should have parked it and got a tow. far cheaper is the long run. Dad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichyQuest87 Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 definitely get a starquest block. They have oil squirters NA blocks from the trucks and vans do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 fix what you have , you'l be better off in the long run and know what you have the turbo engine has a harden'd crank, must stronger and will handle more abruse then the oem nonturbo crank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komeuppance Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Man, you should have parked it and got a tow. far cheaper is the long run. Dad Yeah... hopefully you didn't do more damage, sending metal bits of bearing through your turbo and your entire oiling system. Most knocks don't damage the crank, when you keep driving when it's knocking is where the damage happens. -Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBII Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I drove maybe 1 mile after i noticed the knock. Lets just pray for the best when i yank the motor. The knock exists from about 2000 rpm to 2700 rpm. Aside from that rpm range you cannot even hear it. I guess its back to the motorcycle for a week. Brrrrrrrr. Not warm enough yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Your block has nothing wrong with it. It may not be a headgasket it may be a cracked head. You won't know until you pull the head off and look for cracks and it might be both. Cracks form most times in between the intake and exhaust valves. Too many heat cycles and they ALL eventually crack. Its not at all how hot or how cool or how easy or how hard the motor was ran its just a weak design. The cracks start in the combustion chamber and work their way up into the water jacket and then they spew coolant. It matters NOT if there was, is or isn't Jet Valves in there it WILL happen sooner or later. Some times they can also crack from one of the valves to the spark plug hole or the jet valve hole. Its random and these are sand castings they are not all identical internally. http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs112.snc1/4826_1021027104120_1778479606_40789_4911618_n.jpg The crank may be fine but might need polished. The rods however MUST be reconditioned otherwise you risk it happening again. If the big end of the rods check out and are still ROUND then they do nothing, it not they shave the cap and hone the big end back round. The cost for this is minimal, less than the cost for your new main & rod bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBII Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 (edited) Thanks for all the quick replies! A little background: About a month and a half ago, the headgasket blew in this car. I replaced the gasket got it all running again and everything was peachy. Head was not cracked. Then, Yesterday, as I was driving home, I could hear a knock, knock, knock....so I turned down the radio and sure enough, she was knocking. I was fairly close to home, about a mile, so I just babied it and got it home. So what all is involved here? New bearings, polished crank and reconditioned rods? I can do that. The P.O. supposeddley rebuilt this motor...but with a blown headgasket and now a knock within 2 months of driving the thing, I'm starting to doubt his rebuilding abilites. Aside from this car being the biggest headache ever, I love it! Edited March 27, 2010 by BlackBII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 You sure it just wasn't a cracked head all along? Unless you have seen what a blown headgasket looks like and where it blows its difficult to tell. The block and head must be 100% clean of any and all old gasket material and be shiny clean metal on both surfaces. Blocks settle in the middle and are not flat and out of spec and your gaskets will blow over and over and over. You can have a machine shop deck it for you and give them the main caps and have them line hone the mains too. Inspect closely the bolt holes for the head bolts to see that there isn't fractures in the deck leading from the holes outward. You'll have to disassemble the rocker assembly and flush out any debris also the oil cooler and lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Read through that motor build thread sticky at the top you'll see what I'm talking about in regards to the deck not being flat any longer. If you are on a budget you can pull those two dowels out. If you can't get them out a 1/4" npt tap for a couple threads then a pipe nipple will pull them out, don't get your tap stuck it just takes a new threads. A stone for sharpening knifes will cut the deck down it has to be wide enough for the width of the deck and go off each end completely. You'll immediately see the pattern when you start how high it is on the outside. You have to cut down the timing cover too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komeuppance Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 For sure the rod knock was caused because of coolant in the oil. But what caused the coolant to get in the oil, the things that Indiana noted would have caused that. You ever retorque the head yourself?? Your crank is most likely fine based on the description. -Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBII Posted March 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) This had gotta be one of the best forums I've been on. Good info and quick responses. Thanks! Coolant got into the oil when the head gasket blew a month ago. I replaced the gasket and yes I did retorque after a few days worth of trips from work and back. I had the head tested and there were no cracks. The old gasket was clearly blown. (I did of course change out the oil and flush the lines when I was doing the head gasket. There is no coolant in the oil whatsoever right now) I'm going to pull the motor this next week and take a looksy. I took next week off work to go to the Moab Jeep safari, and then this happens, what are the odds? At least now I have a few days to get to the bottom of this problem, but having to miss out on Moab is a heartbreaker... I'm not new to wrenching by any means, but my bottom end rebuild experience IS limited. I may just pull the motor and take it to my buddy at the local machine shop. I have the funds to get it redone professionally, and frankly, I don't trust myself with one of these high stress turbo motors. I have redone the bottom end of dirtbikes and 4 wheelers... Once this sucker is rebuilt, I get my new injectors in, and tidy things up this little car should be a quick little DD! I'm not new to the turbo world either, I have extensive experience with the Ford 2.3T, I have one in my Fiat 131. I'm just unfamiliar with these motors! Thanks again Edited March 28, 2010 by BlackBII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komeuppance Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 You can easily put the motor together yourself. It's very simple. The factory manual tells you how!! Just get everything spec'd and honed at a machine shop and you should be good to go. Then get a good torque wrench and start cracking. -Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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