Need opinion on this damage to the e-shaft bearing
 

Back in January I picked up a running S5 keg to drop into my FB. About a month after the purchase the po mentioned that when he installed the lightweight flywheel it caused the engine to bind.

Flash forward to today where I finally had an opportunity to investigate the cause of the problem:

Attachment 673979

Attachment 673980

Obviously the po was careless when installing the flywheel and let the keyway shove forward into the stationary gear.

Now, it just so happens that I have a good used set of S5 stationary gears I pulled out of a engine years ago. Should I replace this damaged one or just let it ride as all the damage has already been done?

The opposite of "If it ain't broke don't fix it." applies here. It's broke, so you should fix it. The real question is, what if the e-shaft has scoring?

Hard to tell with the stat gear in the way; which I hesitate to remove for fear of messing something else up.

Presumably the engine is installed already. Even then, its worth the risk. Probably want to rotate the shaft so the aft keyway faces 6 o'clock. The hardest part is grabbing the stat-gear to remove it.

if the engine is vertical it is Ok to withdraw one of the stat gears..

i would think that one is OK as it hasnt busted off the lock tab and the damage is all external
using the matched up bearings is always desirable to bringing in a random part

just use degreaser to flush down the oil drain passage and change out the rear seal
( checking for debris that may be sitting behind the seal )

Engine is out of the car and stripped down to the bare keg so I can do dumb stuff to it like install a S4 na intake, a 12a front cover, and a REPU oil pan.

I just made a call to a buddy of mine who is going to let me borrow his PR engine stand adapter so I can get the thing vertical. I'll update the thread with my findings once I wrestle the stat gear out of the engine.

There is no way I would try to run that engine as-is until I pulled out the rear stat gear and checked the bearing.

About a year ago I bought a parts car with a JDM turbo swap, the engine was locked and I assumed it was a bad coolant seal. The engine was all rigged up and I expected the internals to be junk.

I tore it down to the block and realized it was a rebuild and not a JDM. Turns out some rocket scientist installed the flywheel so tight that it rammed into the rear bearing and caused it to seize on the eshaft. The engine required a replacement shaft and rear bearing and it was good as new. Even if it had not been so smashed that it locked the bearing onto the shaft and it had been able to be started, the clearance would have been so far off that it would have probably done much more significant damage to the rest of the bearings and block.

Since I assume this one has not been run in this condition, you have nothing to lose by sliding that gear out and taking a look at the bearing. Just DO NOT rotate the shaft whatsoever while the gear is out.

I have nothing to contribute to this thread, other than I would like to say that it is so refreshing to have someone post a picture about their problem/predicament, and the pictures actually show the problem!!!

Bravo!

gee been seeing a lot of fly wheel horror stories latly! from flywheels coming loose, to key in wrong destroying bearings! definitely pull it out and check it!

Carnage Report
 

Well I got the stand adapter last night and pulled the stat gear out but by then I was too whipped to clean it and take pictures.

So the e-shaft made it out of the ordeal unscathed and I see no alarming bits of bearing or keyway in the engine other than the one I found stuck to the pickup tube.

Here's the best shot of the bearing from the engine:
Attachment 673942

The spare I have is no cream puff either. It looks serviceable with the exception of this scratch you can hang a finger nail on pretty good:
Attachment 673943

Which one do you think I should use? I really don't want do replace the bearing and have to baby it for X amount of miles while it breaks in.

i like the original one best .. maybe just clean that damaged edge slightly with a dremel and give it a good wash and a new rear seal
.. if you have a friend with some bore gauges , might pay to run them through to see if the back edge of the bearing has flared up but it should be fine as it has pulled out OK