Front rotor starved of oil? *Rotor pics*
04-01-13, 09:54 PM
#1
Backyard Mechanic
Thread Starter
Front rotor starved of oil? *Rotor pics*
So this is what I found when I got to the front rotor. That bearing on the front of the shaft wont budge so I can't separate the eccentric shaft from the front rotor. And it looks like the rotor bearing got chewed a little bit but the rotor looks ok.
This engine wasn't being driven when this problem occurred, just at idle and some 4k revs.
Could this be due to a bad oil pump? The nut on the front of the oil pump was a little loose when I took it off. Like it literally wasn't even tightened all the way and I took it off with my fingers.
Is there a special way to remove this bearing/whatever it is that is fked up XD so I can remove the rotor from eccentric shaft?
My setup:
JDM s5 engine in a s4 shell with Haltech Sprint RE running premix.
Pic 2 I'm sure this part is bad also... I don't know the name of it so if someone could specify so I can replace that would be fantastic
Was in the front cover.
This engine wasn't being driven when this problem occurred, just at idle and some 4k revs.
Could this be due to a bad oil pump? The nut on the front of the oil pump was a little loose when I took it off. Like it literally wasn't even tightened all the way and I took it off with my fingers.
Is there a special way to remove this bearing/whatever it is that is fked up XD so I can remove the rotor from eccentric shaft?
My setup:
JDM s5 engine in a s4 shell with Haltech Sprint RE running premix.
Pic 2 I'm sure this part is bad also... I don't know the name of it so if someone could specify so I can replace that would be fantastic
Was in the front cover.
04-01-13, 09:56 PM
#2
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some kind of oil delivery problem...
04-01-13, 10:37 PM
#4
Sounds like a oil passage to me if the oil pump was going bad it would distribute the problem through out the engine not just one rotor. Of course its pretty easy to inspect the oil pump. Things that I would check for failure is eccentric shaft oil passage, pick up tube, oil pump, oil pressure regulator, and all bearings for wear.
04-01-13, 11:49 PM
#5
You don't know which came first, the chicken or the egg.
Clearly you've spun a front main bearing. But you can't say for sure the cause of it.
1) you could have had an oil starvation issue which let the bearing run dry and caused it to spin. This is most likely since the front main is the first one that will starve of oil in this scenario, and that is the primary affected bearing in your case.
2) you could have had some other issue that caused the bearing to spin in spite of adequate oil delivery. This could include an incorrectly installed bearing (during a rebuild) without proper clearance to begin with, so the correct film of oil to separate bearing from shaft was not possible in one spot despite the correct oil flow to the bearing. Could also have been some front thrust bearing/stack issues if someone has had it apart already.
To get the bearing off, take a dremel and a cutoff wheel and cut a slit in the bearing, then peel it off by prying and hammering with a screwdriver or chisel. Don't concern yourself with the shaft, obviously it is junk as well. Once the bearing is "peeled" off you may still find it necessary to grind one side of the main journal clean to remove leftover bearing material embedded in the shaft, so that the rotor can slide off.
You're never going to "clog" an eshaft or any other oil galley in the block, so those are not valid reasons why you may have an oil starvation issue. Assuming there is enough oil physically in the pan, you could have some blockage in the oil cooler, albeit unlikely. More likely you had some issue with the oil pump itself, or the o-ring between the front cover and front iron blowing out most of the oil pressure the pump builds up before it can make it to the oil cooler and back into the rest of the block.
You need to check the oil pump closely and also flush or replace the oil cooler.
Clearly you've spun a front main bearing. But you can't say for sure the cause of it.
1) you could have had an oil starvation issue which let the bearing run dry and caused it to spin. This is most likely since the front main is the first one that will starve of oil in this scenario, and that is the primary affected bearing in your case.
2) you could have had some other issue that caused the bearing to spin in spite of adequate oil delivery. This could include an incorrectly installed bearing (during a rebuild) without proper clearance to begin with, so the correct film of oil to separate bearing from shaft was not possible in one spot despite the correct oil flow to the bearing. Could also have been some front thrust bearing/stack issues if someone has had it apart already.
To get the bearing off, take a dremel and a cutoff wheel and cut a slit in the bearing, then peel it off by prying and hammering with a screwdriver or chisel. Don't concern yourself with the shaft, obviously it is junk as well. Once the bearing is "peeled" off you may still find it necessary to grind one side of the main journal clean to remove leftover bearing material embedded in the shaft, so that the rotor can slide off.
You're never going to "clog" an eshaft or any other oil galley in the block, so those are not valid reasons why you may have an oil starvation issue. Assuming there is enough oil physically in the pan, you could have some blockage in the oil cooler, albeit unlikely. More likely you had some issue with the oil pump itself, or the o-ring between the front cover and front iron blowing out most of the oil pressure the pump builds up before it can make it to the oil cooler and back into the rest of the block.
You need to check the oil pump closely and also flush or replace the oil cooler.
Last edited by RotaryResurrection; 04-01-13 at 11:51 PM.
04-02-13, 01:00 AM
#6
Backyard Mechanic
Thread Starter
OK Thanks a lot Rotary Resurrection. 
I bought the car as a shell sitting an a foot of sand so the oil cooler could have gotten clogged.
Being able to save my rotor would be a big plus. Don't I need a special tool to put a new rotor bearing in?
Also when removing the side seals from my front rotor they all pretty much came out with ease....Except for 2 on the back side. There was a little wear that was across the center of 2 of the side seals and they broke when trying to get them out. If I can get the pieces out would you recommend the reuse of this rotor?
I bought the car as a shell sitting an a foot of sand so the oil cooler could have gotten clogged.
Being able to save my rotor would be a big plus. Don't I need a special tool to put a new rotor bearing in?
Also when removing the side seals from my front rotor they all pretty much came out with ease....Except for 2 on the back side. There was a little wear that was across the center of 2 of the side seals and they broke when trying to get them out. If I can get the pieces out would you recommend the reuse of this rotor?
04-02-13, 10:33 AM
#7
OK Thanks a lot Rotary Resurrection.
I bought the car as a shell sitting an a foot of sand so the oil cooler could have gotten clogged.
Being able to save my rotor would be a big plus. Don't I need a special tool to put a new rotor bearing in?
Also when removing the side seals from my front rotor they all pretty much came out with ease....Except for 2 on the back side. There was a little wear that was across the center of 2 of the side seals and they broke when trying to get them out. If I can get the pieces out would you recommend the reuse of this rotor?
I bought the car as a shell sitting an a foot of sand so the oil cooler could have gotten clogged.
Being able to save my rotor would be a big plus. Don't I need a special tool to put a new rotor bearing in?
Also when removing the side seals from my front rotor they all pretty much came out with ease....Except for 2 on the back side. There was a little wear that was across the center of 2 of the side seals and they broke when trying to get them out. If I can get the pieces out would you recommend the reuse of this rotor?
The damage you describe on the rotor side is from the rotor physically contacting the iron wall. This usually happens in spun bearing engines. Usually that iron and that rotor will be paperweights because of it. If the damage to the rotor is pretty light AND if you can get the side seals out of the slots successfully, you can sometimes restore the slot clearance and shape by folding a small square of 220 sandpaper in half and sliding in through the groove repeatedly. Post up some pics of this rotor.
