TrumpetTitan

Bullsh*t no one likes the tuna here!

2000ths

my last track day was about a month and a half ago at laguna seca. but it's hard to imagine doing this kind of damage at the track with a normal oil level. i mean if that were the case wouldn't guys be ruining their engines on the track every day?

if it's something that could happen over time or with cumulative damage then the previous owner(s) could be at fault. odd thing is that the oil light was not on when i bought the car and it was obviously extremely low on oil. but as mentioned, when my car died it was just during normal freeway cruising a couple days ago. wasn't taking some high speed banked turn when it took a crap.

CoolGuy094

Sorry to see this man. Good luck doing whatever you decide to do (new motor, fix this one, burn the car and claim insurance, etc.)

zeroptzero

In my case I did a light lapping event in the fall of 2011 at a track with some high-G corners, my oil level was normal and I never had an oil light come on. My car drove home 2 hours from the event without issue and running perfectly fine. I drove the car for a couple weeks before putting it away for winter storage. I did an oil change to prepare it for winter storage and sent in my used oil sample for analysis which I do on a regular basis. The UOA sample came back with high lead and copper wear - bearing material. I got concerned and pulled the oil pan, and the oil pan was perfectly clean, not a single chunk of metal, I cut open the oil filter and it was clean, the vtec solenoid was clean. I then installed a Mugen baffled oil pan over the winter months for good measure thinking that I escaped to live another day. On a liesurely drive in spring 2012 with fresh new oil and Honda filter the engine went south. I know the lapping day event in fall 2011 didn't cause all of the damage but it was probably the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, the real damage was likely started long before that. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. . When I got my new - used block installed I put in a brand new ap2 oil pump for good measure and extra insurance.

xviper

You say you knew it was low on oil from the very beginning when you bought it, BUT, did you take immediate steps to top it up and did you take steps to have the engine inspected and the routine tests done? Did you continue to check the oil level frequently to make sure it never went low again?

2000ths

^ yeah, it was three or four days after i bought the car and i immediately changed the oil. also contacted the guy who sold it to me and quizzed him more about his oil change habits which he claimed was regular. didn't have the engine inspected or tested. otherwise, i've always monitored the oil.

nissanfanatic

You should try and move each connecting rod by hand. Usually when the bearing is spun one connecting rod will be able to move quite a bit on the crankshaft. Pull that rod cap off and inspect the crank. If anything catches your fingernail I would pretty much consider it done as the crankshaft will need some machine work.

Check a couple more rod bearings to see if it the damaged was isolated to that cylinder. If all the rod bearings have considerable wear, then you can assume it was an oiling system/negligence related failure. If the rest of the bearings are good, then something went awry with that specific journal/oiling galley.

yamahaSHO

The rod(s) with the spun bearing is likely splayed and the crank is likely damaged. He would probably be wasting a new set of bearings and his time/money. I'd replace everything unless you want to be in there again very shortly.

nissanfanatic

Likely, yes. But it is certain that he would never know without disassembling and inspecting.

2000ths

moved the crankshaft to get a better look at the cylinders. light colored, thin vertical marks around each cylinder wall.

tried wiggling the rods. they all have a very small amount of play from front to back on the crankshaft but none side to side...

will be removing the rod ends and bearings in a minute. will report back.