Taking the sump off.

[shail 0]

Just been to Stealth Racing to get an opinion of a knocking noise coming from my engine. Vince said that it sounded like the bottom end - ie big end bearings. He said in the first instance that the sump should be taken off and the bearings inspected for wear/damage. If found to be OK then it could be a problem with valve springs(?), or a number of other top end problems. Thing is that he's booked till August .

Im thinking about taking the sump off myself and having a look - only problem is that I havent done this before & dont really know what a damaged bearing / crank looks like. Any advice on doing this would be very helpful. P.S im not a complete idiot with a spanner so would be willing to give it a good go.

I know the only real way of sorting it is to strip the engine, but i've just paid my insurance for the year and i dont think my C/Card can take much more.

[28v6r 0]

Isn't BR Motorsport from your neck of the woods?? They 2 specialise on the VR6 engine.

Just a thought, as I'd suspect that it is quite a LARGE job, I'm not sure, but you could be looking at lowering the front subframe in order to gain access.

That's why I suggested BRM.

Once in I'd suspect that you'd be looking around the 8 - 12 hours in total to do as you ask, so it won't be over in a day, 2 days probably will suffice...

Just my tuppenth worth.........

[acf8181 0]

its not hard t remove the sump i'd have thought...but i too wouldn't know what a worn out bearing would look like! think they would be scored.

i'm surprised vince couldn't distinguish between the noise coming from the top of bottom of the engine!

[alivr6 0]

taking the sump of the vr is very straight foward (be pateint with all those bolts) be sure to hold it while taking all the bolts off.

loosen all of them 1st and then start taking them out 1 by 1 while still making sure to hold the sump. i changed my gasket while i had it off. so get that done also with some fresh oil.

as for a worn out bearings, you will be able to spot it out which one is worn as it will be different from the rest.

i'll see if i can get you more info as this is something from my own experience.

[FishWick 21]

A lot of VRs suffer from piston slap. It's a kind of diesely noise for about 20-30 seconds. It's nothing to worry about. Worn big ends sound like a low pitched metallic knocking at all temperatures.

[shail 0]

Thanks for the advice guys. i think i'll have a go at the sump this weekend, as it needs some new oil anyway - thanks alivr6. AS for vince not being able to tell if it was top or bottom, it was only a cursory look and he did say that there were some other noises present - aux water pump and alternator bearing to name two.

I dont think its piston slap, as the knocking is present in all gears at all speeds - especially when easing off the gas pedal.

Im going to spend the rest of the week praying to anyone that will listen that my bearings are ok, as 12 hours labour doesnt tally up with my bank balance.

[VR6Steve 0]

My only advice would be if you are going to start inspecting big end bearings, make sure you have the correct torque settings to do them back up with after doing it.

[speedo 0]

And make sure that you leave it all spotlessly clean.

If the bearings are ok, then put them back in the ecxact same place with a smothering of clean oil. Making sure that you dont leave any dirt or rag debree in the bearing.

To be honest, the bearings are only a few quid each, x12, you may aswell replace them, if your going to all this trouble