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1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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1999Z24
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Oct 21, 2010, 2:06 AM
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1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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hi, im 17, and i just bought my 1999 Cavalier Z24 with 95,000 miles for $350. it has Aluminum Metal shavings in the oil, and it has a constant tick in the motor, so i was pretty well convinced it is a rod bearing, since they spin a lot on 2.4 twin cams. since i have to change 1, should i just change all 4, so it doesn't happen again anytime soon? also, is there a better brand of rod bearings to go with, because i don't know what kind to get. i was curious, do i have to pull the motor out of the car to change them, or can i just drop the oil pan and push the pistons up and change them that way? if there is any way that is easier than pulling the motor to change them, please let me know.
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Tom Greenleaf
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Oct 22, 2010, 1:06 AM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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How are you concluding a rod bearing is the noise? Tons of things can make a tick in an engine - even a loose spark plug.
This could be a rocker arm, piston slap, lifter, cam lobe or being fooled and it's not really the internal engine at all. You got a total bargain on that if it's so much as a whole car it's worth your $ as salvage or maybe double that even with a blown engine. Do some more diagnosing before you end up wasting time and $$ on the wrong repair,
T
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1999Z24
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Oct 22, 2010, 5:07 AM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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well thats just the thing, it has aluminum metal shavings in the oil, so i know for a fact that its something internal. and i asked a buddy that is big on 4 cylinder motors, and he told me its probably a rod bearing or piston skirt. i just figured it was probably a spun rod bearing.
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Hammer Time
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Oct 22, 2010, 5:18 AM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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Your really trying to over simplify this. If your problem has gotten to that point, it's likely not repairable. If it really spun a bearing, then it will also have crankshaft and rod damage. You could have it professionally rebuilt but it would be a lot cheaper to just buy a reman or a low mileage used engine.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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chickenhouse
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Oct 22, 2010, 8:18 AM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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I agree, you will need to pull this one out to find the problem and then figure the cost associated with it. Then is when you decide what to do. Can't be done in-car.
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Tom Greenleaf
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Oct 22, 2010, 9:04 AM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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Zackery! There's a ton of alloys so source is unknown. In decades I've never heard of an engine spinning a bearing once it worked for any reasonable period of time. A few guys would screw up and spin one right away when redoing things.
A crankshaft is soooo fussy IMO it's not worth fixing and bet a good used motor could be found for this. It may have run too low on oil at some point in it's life. You started with such a low priced car there's room to fix this right but never mind the buddy who knows a lot about 4 cylinder engines as there's so many configurations that statement means he doesn't. No harm meant. Top end work can be effective and lower end engine means just give up for another IMO. The original machining of lower end can only be faked if bad and won't have the life a good original.
Speak for myself maybe but I'd rather have a good used original than any rebuilt lower end. I really think it would be worth a professional diagnosis as to what is really wrong before doing anything. You have an opportunity if the rest of the car is good to have a nice car for short bucks still so a little pro help - even just the diagnosis could save you tons of aggravation,
T
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1999Z24
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Oct 22, 2010, 2:18 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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hmmm alright, i think i'll try to find a good motor with about 80K for around $600. thanks for all the help! but is this motor worth anything as it sits? it still runs, it just has the tick and shavings. is it worth anything?
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Tom Greenleaf
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Oct 22, 2010, 2:34 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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Everything totally depends on what's really wrong with it which we really don't know. I'm a bit confused how you found shavings as any decent oil filter should have caught them all. I don't think the engine if declared bad is worth diddle but you might find a salvage yard to take it for metal or could have to pay to dispose of it!
Again - diagnosis is everything right now as to the next move,
T
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Hammer Time
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Oct 22, 2010, 2:48 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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It's worthless except for any sensors or parts to remove from it. If it has that kind of damage, it's not worth fixing for anyone.
Your likely seeing big chunks of babbit from the bearing themselves because it spun at least one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Sidom
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Oct 22, 2010, 2:56 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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If you have the room for it the motor has a lot of worth...
You're pretty young, once you get the swap done, tear it apart & check it out, get familiar with it...... This will help you down the road with the one you got under the hood......
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1999Z24
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Oct 22, 2010, 3:08 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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oh it had a brand new oil filter on it. and it wasn't no Fram neither. it was a nice one. and it had a fresh oil change. but i drained the oil, and filtered it through an old t-shirt (that took awhile) and thats where i found quite a few chunks of it. i kept the shirt with the shavings just in case i had to bring it into a shop and show them what i found. there were a few shavings in the filter also. but since i bought this car for $350, i'm not too worried about a bad motor. once i get it replaced, i figured i should put a stage 2 or 3 clutch in it, which i know all they do is make it take off faster. but mainly so when i sell it, someone will want it if it has more after-market parts. and considering I'll already have the motor pulled. this motor looked like it already had some work to it anyways. under the 2.4L cover, there was some brown hard substance in there, looked like it may have been filling a crack or something. but damn, its going to be hard to find a good motor for cheap. i'll probably try to find a cheap engine stand, hopefully, and pull this one out, and use it for a learning experience, like you said. but thanks for the advice before i went and spent over $100 on 4 new bearings.
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Tom Greenleaf
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Oct 23, 2010, 1:29 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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Quote: ">> but mainly so when i sell it, someone will want it if it has more after-market parts.<<"
I don't think I'm alone but If I saw or knew of a bunch of aftermarket parts in any car I'd run not walk away! Keep it original and forget playing with the clutch. A new OE one while there - fine.
You found some hack patch fix so you know something is wrong. It might have needed something simple once but I doubt it now.
If you really think you can get a good whole engine for $600 bucks from a reputable salvage yard that is an exact match then I would go that way but you really don't have a definitive diagnosis on the thing yet. Take the bearings back. You can't just put in engine bearings so easy - it would take machining crankshaft or who knows as we don't know yet the exact damage. This is stupid so far and I know you are learning. You don't know what size engine bearing to get and no telling if that's all it was if original size is now right and definately wouldn't be with a machined crank if it needed that.
Good salvage yards will run an engine on a wreck and check it out up a printout of compression and how many miles the vehicle had. Here they are already on wooden pallets for delivery or pick up. I've dealt with many and not one failed but I know my salvage yards.
I check out engines that can't be run for folks too. There are so basic tell-tale signs of a good one. There's always some risk with used.
You have a chance of making a buck on this if you play your cards right or losing your shirt if not. Take the $100 from the bearings and get pro diagnosis which I think will render this engine junk. Money well spent.
That or sell it now stating it has an unknown engine problem and see if you can make a buck. This is way out there for a beginers project to really make $ on IMO,
T
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1999Z24
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Oct 23, 2010, 3:18 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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alrighty. il definetly take your word for it. i was thinking about looking on craigslist for a motor from a private owner, but as you said, a salvage yard is best to go with. i'll definetly keep the stock clutch in it now. no need to buy a new clutch if it doesnt need one anyways. thanks for all the help!
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Sidom
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Oct 23, 2010, 5:17 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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When dealing with used motors, 1st put a bar on the crank and roll it over completely a few times. Make sure there are no noises, that you can feel some good compression on every turn (make sure there are plugs in it) and it just rolls good. If you can, pop a v/c off and make sure everything looks good up top & it isn't full of sludge. Make sure there isn't excessive end play on the crank
Once you get one good enough to get home, pull the pan, see what's in the bottom, check out the skirts, rods, give it a general look over and this would be a great time for a new rear main seal & clutch assembly....
Look everything else over real good, right now this is gonna be as easy as it ever gets to fix an oil leak.....
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Tom Greenleaf
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Oct 23, 2010, 5:58 PM
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Re: 1999 Cavalier Z24 rod bearing i think?
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Sidom - maybe it's rare or unique to what's local to me but they give a year's warranty on used engine (whole) here. They aren't free as they spent a lot of time checking them too first and don't want a failure. It's so much work who would want to do it again anyway.
There's only so many good ones scraped from side or rear end collisions AND lower miles. Cross fingers and hope I never have to go there but I'd take a good original motor over a rebuilt any day. 100% success so far and still check them on a crate as best I can. I look for sludge thru oil fill cap and plain old dipstick but for the work of it I like your idea too. You could reject it right away if not right.
Private sales I'd want to see the thing in a running wreck first or would pass,
T
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