Scratched crankshaft what to do?? Options

[SUPERPAC]

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

[6G96GT]

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

New crank, main, and rod bearings...roughly $1,700 (mind as well do a rebuild while you're at it)...if you don't want to do the cash, then sell.

[blckcelica95]

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

when you say scratched... what exactly do you mean and where?

[SUPERPAC]

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

when you say scratched... what exactly do you mean and where?

he has not gone into detail he said someone prior to me had opened the area up and saw what was there and put it back withouy fixing it i have put 10,000 miles on the car since i bought it from the previuos owner.

[Zelstin]

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

when you say scratched... what exactly do you mean and where?

he has not gone into detail he said someone prior to me had opened the area up and saw what was there and put it back withouy fixing it i have put 10,000 miles on the car since i bought it from the previuos owner.

Ask your mechanic for details (how deep, where, what scratched it, and can it still be balanced) before you make any major decisions.

[NaderG]

How did ur mechanic find that out with just changing the belts ?? i thought u need to drop the oil pan in order to inspect the crank ...

[99GT]

Engine Swap! But yeah he found that out by doing the belt? Haha

You can also just het another another 5SFE or ST motor. They are pretty cheap.

This post has been edited by 99GT: Mar 28, 2008 - 7:08 AM

[tankd0g]

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

That's a very strange thing for a mechanic to say. Are oyu having any problems with the car? If it spun a bearing it would score or gouge the crank shaft, which might be "scratch" in another language. But you'll know if that happens, the motors will sound like a diesel truck and be rocketing to it's doom.

[SUPERPAC]

my mechanic after doing the timing belt,radiator and water pump told me the crankshaft is scratched should i sell the car??

That's a very strange thing for a mechanic to say. Are oyu having any problems with the car? If it spun a bearing it would score or gouge the crank shaft, which might be "scratch" in another language. But you'll know if that happens, the motors will sound like a diesel truck and be rocketing to it's doom.

Thanks for all the responses here is what happened the car had been playing like it was going to overheat a few times and last week it finally did i opened the hood and the coolant was gushing over when he went to do the timing belt and radiator he checked the crank because he was looking at the oil pan,etc.the car has not been making any noise or having any problems except the temp. issues.

[playr158]

cranks probably fine a scratch on your crank won't make your car over heat.

This post has been edited by playr158: Mar 28, 2008 - 9:48 AM

[lagos]

Ask your mechanic for more details.
It sounds like he went to do your front main seal, and noticed that the crank is scratched from some who incorrectly changed that seal out before. If thats the case, you should be able to get a new seal and use form in place gasket sealer to fill in the gaps from the scratch.

Your overheating was probably due to a leaking water pump.

[SUPERPAC]

Ask your mechanic for more details.
It sounds like he went to do your front main seal, and noticed that the crank is scratched from some who incorrectly changed that seal out before. If thats the case, you should be able to get a new seal and use form in place gasket sealer to fill in the gaps from the scratch.

Your overheating was probably due to a leaking water pump.

wow u guys have been great thanks a million i just told the mechanic to put some gasket sealer in..

This post has been edited by SUPERPAC: Mar 28, 2008 - 11:58 AM

[6G96GT]

If there's a burr on the crank near the seal, it'll just eat up the new seal and leak out again...right? Is the timing belt near that seal? If oil gets on the timing belt, the belt is liable to snap early and that's no good.

[alltracman78]

A scratch doesn't necessarily mean a burr....
If it is burred it needs to be smoothed out, and possibly replaced, depending exactly where the damage is.

Ask your mechanic for more details.
It sounds like he went to do your front main seal, and noticed that the crank is scratched from some who incorrectly changed that seal out before. If thats the case, you should be able to get a new seal and use form in place gasket sealer to fill in the gaps from the scratch.

Your overheating was probably due to a leaking water pump.

Wait, what?!!

You can't put FIPG on a rotating surface like the crank, it won't seal....
The housing is a whole different matter, but he said the crank itself is scored...

[Bitter]

if it is a scratch then the sealer is only a temporary fix. you do this by smoothing it down with crocus cloth and then filling the scratch and it'll be OK for a while.

a more permanent solution, and this sounds just as bad....is to use a good epoxy to fill the scratch and then polish it down smooth with the surrounding metal. this will give the seal a smooth surface to ride on and will probably seal OK for a while, certantly longer than the gasket maker. i'd suggest an epoxy like JB weld or something that sets up ROCK hard such as a marine hull repair epoxy.

[alltracman78]

a more permanent solution, and this sounds just as bad....is to use a good epoxy to fill the scratch and then polish it down smooth with the surrounding metal. this will give the seal a smooth surface to ride on and will probably seal OK for a while, certantly longer than the gasket maker. i'd suggest an epoxy like JB weld or something that sets up ROCK hard such as a marine hull repair epoxy.

This I could see.

if it is a scratch then the sealer is only a temporary fix. you do this by smoothing it down with crocus cloth and then filling the scratch and it'll be OK for a while.

This I wouldn't trust, even short term.

This post has been edited by alltracman78: Mar 29, 2008 - 5:08 PM

[Bitter]

yea, sealant will limp you to the shop or the junkyard, but i would not daily drive a car sealed like that. especially if its behind the timing cover.

[bootslimo]

As long as the scratch isnt on one of the journals the its just fine. If it aint broke dont fix it. I think the mechanic wants more money.

[alltracman78]

As long as the scratch isnt on one of the journals the its just fine. If it aint broke dont fix it. I think the mechanic wants more money.

I think you need to learn a bit more about cars before you make judgements.
If it is scratched where the crank seal sits, it can leak oil onto your timing belt.
I would consider that broke, and certainly not "just fine"....

Though maybe I'm looking for more money too. :shrug:

[SUPERPAC]

SO I JUST DID THE TIMING BELT IF IT IS LEAKING HOW LONG IS THE CAR LIKELY 2 RUN BEFORE THE BELT SNAPS OR THE ENGINE GOES!!!

[playr158]

oil would just let the belt slide off. it won't snap.
how long...eh nobody can give you a definite answer cause well its impossible to predict.

even if your belt comes off your motor won't blow up....non interference motor.

just have someone fix ur seal

[Bitter]

oil would just let the belt slide off. it won't snap.
how long...eh nobody can give you a definite answer cause well its impossible to predict.

even if your belt comes off your motor won't blow up....non interference motor.

just have someone fix ur seal

oil will expand the rubber and cause it to jump timing most likely, but COULD weaken the belt and cause it to snap. have you ever seen a serpentine belt from an oil soaked engine after a year or 2? its not pretty. i know a serp belt is not the same composition as a timing belt so its not a direct comparison, but rubber and oil is generally bad.

[6G96GT]

yep...like i said earlier, oil will cause the belt to snap earlier than its normal life. I say that cause it happened to me twice under 7k with new belts.

I had a pretty bad crank seal leak on a prior ride that leaked oil within my timing belt cover and soaked up the belt pretty good. Problem was I couldn't figure out where the leak was cause oil was everywhere and when I cleaned the area, the oil wouldn't leak out unless I was driving the car so it was hard to pinpoint.

[SUPERPAC]

yep...like i said earlier, oil will cause the belt to snap earlier than its normal life. I say that cause it happened to me twice under 7k with new belts.

I had a pretty bad crank seal leak on a prior ride that leaked oil within my timing belt cover and soaked up the belt pretty good. Problem was I couldn't figure out where the leak was cause oil was everywhere and when I cleaned the area, the oil wouldn't leak out unless I was driving the car so it was hard to pinpoint.

was wondering more about the dmaaged crank or scrtach that the belt breaking..

[6G96GT]

the damage crank should be "taken out" and turned and then if it's out you should go ahead and get it balanced and polished...that's a great upgrade for the crank. At least get it turned...it's the best way to fix your problem, gaurantee long life, and stop the future headaches that are sure to come with a quick fix.

[alltracman78]

Hold on here.

From my understanding the scratch is where the front main seal goes. If it's not, and is where a bearing sits, disregard.

Turning the crank means you machine down the area where the bearings reside, NOT the area where the main seals sit.
So turning it would do nothing for you problem, and just waste your money.

I would suggest
1-see if it's leaking from there. Yes you have to tear the belt back off, but you have to anyways, unless you're going to ignore it.
2-if it is [or even if it's not] I would try to polish it out with crocus cloth, depending on how badly it's damaged.
3-If it's not damaged badly, potentially you might be alright with just that. It might need to be filled as well, as bitter described.
You also have a little bit of leeway as to exactly where the seal is positioned on the crank. You can push it in or out a slight bit. This MIGHT be enough to clear the scratch.

If none of the above works, the crank is junk.

[97GTinKC]

SO I JUST DID THE TIMING BELT IF IT IS LEAKING HOW LONG IS THE CAR LIKELY 2 RUN BEFORE THE BELT SNAPS OR THE ENGINE GOES!!!

A long time,

I think you need a new mechanic, I suspect he was getting ready to rip you off big time, there is nothing he could see to indicate a scratch in a critical area without removing the oil pan and rod/main caps, Only area he could possibly see just changing the timing belt is the front seal area on the crankshaft IF he popped out the seal and looked, either way, if it's damaged or worn, you should be able to get a stainless steel repair sleeve like these:

http://www.e-webcatalog.com/cr-skf/cataloglook.aspx

99333 Engine Crankshaft Repair Sleeve Rear;w/o Turbo
99082 Engine Oil Pump Repair Sleeve


thin sleeves that you coat the inside with loctite and drive on over the damaged areas, gives the seal a new smooth place to ride search for balancer repair sleeve or crankshaft repair sleeves

[SUPERPAC]

SO I JUST DID THE TIMING BELT IF IT IS LEAKING HOW LONG IS THE CAR LIKELY 2 RUN BEFORE THE BELT SNAPS OR THE ENGINE GOES!!!

A long time,

I think you need a new mechanic, I suspect he was getting ready to rip you off big time, there is nothing he could see to indicate a scratch in a critical area without removing the oil pan and rod/main caps, Only area he could possibly see just changing the timing belt is the front seal area on the crankshaft IF he popped out the seal and looked, either way, if it's damaged or worn, you should be able to get a stainless steel repair sleeve like these:

http://www.e-webcatalog.com/cr-skf/cataloglook.aspx

99333 Engine Crankshaft Repair Sleeve Rear;w/o Turbo
99082 Engine Oil Pump Repair Sleeve


thin sleeves that you coat the inside with loctite and drive on over the damaged areas, gives the seal a new smooth place to ride search for balancer repair sleeve or crankshaft repair sleeves

he did remove the oil pan before telling me what was wrong and did smooth out the crank i have put about 400 mies on the car since and no overheating or problems so am i out of the woods?