"Cheap fix - Spun rod bearing with engine knocking - 2011 Hyundai Sonata"

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I saw that video a while back and was pretty amazed it worked. So now who is gonna try that with a BMW v8?
 
Sometimes you gotta do, what you gotta do. I can understand the other options were not really feasible. Thoughtful mechanic - to try at least, could last another 100k miles.
 
This is a huge gamble with a spun bearing. However that method does work well for "home" polishing the crank journals if the crank does not need to be cut.
 
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Wonder how long that will last? How about a 1000 mile excursion on the interstate? Might last for ever as a grocery store runner. We got a rust bucket Chevy pickup 350 V8. Locked up - no oil from a derelict friend $100. Squirted lots of penetrating oil in each cylinder. Jacked it up real high. Put chain wrench around the harmonic balancer w/4' cheater bar. Had my girlfriend bump the starter while I pulled on the wrench. That thing fired right up. Was her daily driver for a year and a half until Pennzoil started selling detergent oil in those yellow plastic bottles. I told her to only use 40 weight non detergent oil. She persisted in using the Pennzoil so the truck did not last very long after that.
 
I polished rod journals on a 1959 Hillman Husky with 1" wide emery cloth back when I was 9-10 yrs old. I'm pretty sure we used two different kinds. Dad had strips about 3' long. Dad had something to hold the emery cloth so it would get the bottom (as you looked up) of the journal too. We got bearings from JC Whitney back in the day. We put both the mains and rods in. That little motor ran for 2-3 yrs and made a trip out to Phoenix Arizona with a guy Dad had sold it to. This video brought back many, many memories.
 
Guy gets an A for effort, certainly worthwhile to see if you can eek a few more miles out of it for cheap. Personally, I think it's on borrowed time. If I were a gambling man, my money would be on this-- The amount of friction and heat created by the rough journal will trash that bearing in short order, probably within 5-10k or sooner. But who knows? I hope for their sake it lasts 100k! I would use as thick an oil as practical for the climate. A 5-40 is a good starting point, I'd even venture into 20w-50 in summer. The main bearings are probably in rough shape too, I'd like to know what the oil pressure at hot idle is. I paid close attention looking for the oil idiot light and did not see one when he switched the car to ON. Bulb burned out or do they not put that light with the other idiot lights in the cluster?

Amazing that people run good working vehicles out of oil, on an 8 year old car no less! How hard is it to check the oil once every couple weeks? I could see a sudden failure scenario (rock through oil pan for example), but just driving and driving and driving till you're dry? Ugh.
 
If it was knocking loudly, then i wonder if the crank jounal is even round anymore. Lot of force when the crank moves on each side of tdc/bdc. I skipped around the video a bit, did he even plastigauge it? May last a bit if they keep the revs down, but one too many 5000 rpm excursions will probably kill it.
 
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Not to mention the engine has other issues if it is using oil at a rate, that you run the pan out of oil. Especially at only 130k miles. Rings are probably shot too.
 
Gotta wonder about your next used car purchase.
smile.gif
shiver.......
 
I would be surprised if it lasted 2 oil changes. The big end of that connecting rod and that crank journal are not round anymore.
 
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Why bother?

These things have a darn near unwaivering 10y/150k engine warranty

This vintage Theta 2.4 & 2.0T are all guaranteed an eventual knocky death due to machining debris left in them from new

Hyundai/KIA still can't sit down with all the lawsuits

Why not drop it off at a dealer for a free short block, plus the other dozen or so open recalls it probably has out for it?
 
Originally Posted by michaelluscher
Why bother?

These things have a darn near unwaivering 10y/150k engine warranty

This vintage Theta 2.4 & 2.0T are all guaranteed an eventual knocky death due to machining debris left in them from new

Hyundai/KIA still can't sit down with all the lawsuits

Why not drop it off at a dealer for a free short block, plus the other dozen or so open recalls it probably has out for it?


Interesting you mention that; IIRC I read the engine failures usually were caused by inadequate oil to the rod bearings, the same mode of failure this engine experienced.

I wonder if there's a possibility it had a rod knock due to the manufacturing defect, then attributed to not enough oil, when perhaps the oil level was just LOW and not empty? I could see some mechanic without knowledge of the engine defects putting blame on oil if they found the oil level a quart or two low, when that wouldn't necessarily cause oil starvation. I have a hard time imagining a 130k, 8 year old engine losing oil at a fast enough rate to completely drain it of oil, without someone noticing (visible leak), in the absence of some sort of sudden acute failure
 
Did the same thing 20 years ago on a Volvo 850 I picked up at auction that had a bad miss. Turns out it threw a rod and the journal was messed up like that. Did the sandpaper trick to clean it up and Plastigauged it too. Put it back together and started it up. Ran smooth and quiet until you reved it over 2,000 at which point you could hear a faint rod knock.
 
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
I have a hard time imagining a 130k, 8 year old engine losing oil at a fast enough rate to completely drain it of oil, without someone noticing (visible leak), in the absence of some sort of sudden acute failure


Or the oil light?
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Did the same thing 20 years ago on a Volvo 850 I picked up at auction that had a bad miss. Turns out it threw a rod and the journal was messed up like that. Did the sandpaper trick to clean it up and Plastigauged it too. Put it back together and started it up. Ran smooth and quiet until you reved it over 2,000 at which point you could hear a faint rod knock.


It threw a rod and the block survived?
 
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
Originally Posted by atikovi
Did the same thing 20 years ago on a Volvo 850 I picked up at auction that had a bad miss. Turns out it threw a rod and the journal was messed up like that. Did the sandpaper trick to clean it up and Plastigauged it too. Put it back together and started it up. Ran smooth and quiet until you reved it over 2,000 at which point you could hear a faint rod knock.


It threw a rod and the block survived?


How long did it last?
 
Block was fine. If I recall the rod was broken in half with part of it in the oil pan. After the"fix" I drove it 120 miles at 45 mph to the auction and sold it.
 
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