If the crank is damaged, could i transplant another crank in from a spare engine without anything else needing to be changed?

Obviously the bearings will be replaced and the rod in question checked. But instead of worrying with getting a machine shop to try and work on the crank if there is any damage, can i just drop in another crank?

Thanks

 

As long as everything else checks out fine yes. There's no reason you can't use another crank from a different engine.

 

thank you.

can someone help me with these choices? not sure what would be right for my car. http://tinyurl.com/7un9y9n

 

I believe the bearings need to be sized to the rods and crank for proper clearance. If the bearing shredded (since it damaged the crank I will assume it did) you may have damaged the entire engine by pushing pieces of metal through it. You may be better off with replacing the complete long block if you want to keep the car.

 

i dont know that it damaged the crank yet. we didnt have the right socket at the time to remove the rod and check. apart from small metal shavings in the pan, the rest of the engine appears to be in good shape. walls look good. I have a nissan/infiniti tech doing the engine work for me. the main thing he is worried about is the crank because he cant "see" it until he removes the rod. if that is damaged. i have another from a spare engine.

 

this^^

not fun, but you are beating a dead horse ( literally) by trying to fix that engine.
If you caught it BEFORE it spun, then possibly, but if its gone and your crank got nailed like mine did, youre dead inthe water on that engine my friend. PLENTY of short and long blocks avail used for fairly cheap.

edit-- you posted again while i was typing.. sounds like you know engines and ahve a spare then.. up to you man.. id certainly go thru the whole engine tho if it were I. New oil pump as well of course .

 

Shavings in the pan = Game Over. The smaller material will make it past the pickup screen, through the filter, and circulate through everything. Pull a valve cover and look for really fine glitter in the small valleys. Soak up the standing oil with a clean shop rag and you will see the fine shavings.

I know this site way more than I ever wanted to... it is not good.

 

^^ this.

Welcome to my life.

 

Been there... done that x5... I watch them pan for gold on Gold Rush and I start feeling queezy

 

my mechanic went over everything as we were tearing it down. we have the heads off and upper oil pan. so we can see everything. the oil pan was the only place i found the shavings. and we think it may be related to the way I (stupidly) removed the OEM headers.... with an angle grinder... the rocker covers and timing cover were open. and there was so much dust that I obviously didnt clean it all. that was a stupid mistake by me and hoping it did not cause too much trouble.

But like i said, he knows that and was looking and we did not see a lot of anything elsewhere. We are hoping for the best at this point. When i say shavings. it was more like dust. the cylinder walls look good and he is going to check this one piston for other wear. We are replacing the heads from my spare engine just to make sure there are no valve/spring/cam issues that could cause issues later. maybe change the oil pump from it as well. but it has been sitting up for quite some time so im going to see what he suggests about that.

 

my leakdown test was good. i had oil in my spark plugs and what you described matched my problem. valve seals fixed me. of course, now im having other issues that may be unrelated.

 

Spinning a rod bearing or crank bearing does not mean you need a whole long block... Trust your Nissan tech, I don't even know why your asking for advice on here from the internet mechanics. Cranks and bearing are definitely replaceable.

 

haha. well there are some knowledgeable people here. i'd like the satisfaction of getting all opinions. but from what ive read. there is no reason to turn this engine into a boat anchor just yet.

If i had 20k to spend, i would trash it just like half this site would and dump everything into it i could. but i have a wife and 1 year old instead! lol. so im just trying to get it back out on the track for another year or so.

 

How did your valve seal job go? Did you do it yourself?