Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Thrust bearing fail? Help.

[samsonite01]

Starter stuck on other day. Turned off restarted everything fine. Crawled under to check out and noticed crankshaft pully looked like it was rubbing on the block. It has always been close. Grabed a screwdriver and gave it a little pry. It moved out 3/16in to 1/4in.

When i drop the pan im shure i will find a peice of the thrust washer/bearing

This crap couldnt have happened at a worse time. I have more problems than i can solve. Im about to go over the edge...

I have searched and come up with rolling the bearings in. I would love to do a full rebuild but just cant. Is there a writeup on this fix that someone can direct me to. Or anyone with first hand exp on how to do this?

This was the last thing i needed

 

[samsonite01]

Also i have noticed a slight what sounds like to me a rod knock. My auto trans is full built with lower stall speed tq converter. I have read that it may cause extra lateral force on crank. Correct me if im wrong. I have also developed a rear main seal leaking slightly.

Reading more about having to basic pretty much pull the motor. I would rather drop front axle out i think. Correct me if im wrong.

Thank you.

 

[SAndreasen]

Pulling the motor shouldn't be that bad but maybe it would be easier to drop the front axle out ? How many miles you got on . I've rolled in bearings one time I had a little peg with a little steal tab on it that fit just right in the oil hole of the crank shaft and you could roll the old bearing out and the new one in

 

[samsonite01]

Just hit 170k. Looking again and there is a cross member in the way. Prob going to have to pull. I better get out the old toyota truck. Shes got 310k on og motor. Shes tired and burns about quart of oil a week. Really thought the dodge would go further before yanking out the motor.

 

[BigPapa]

Whoa, whoa, whoa......

Slow down a minute. What makes you think you have base engine problems? What "thrust washer/bearing" are you talking about?

If you are referring to the damper as the "crank pulley", they are well known for separating. I don't care if every crank bearing was totally gone you would not be able to move the crank shaft "3/16in to 1/4in" with a 10' pry bar. Unless the nose of your crank is broke off I'll wager you need to replace the damper.

The starter hanging up is also a pretty common problem that is easily fixed with a set of heavy duty contacts available from Geno's. The stock contacts wear thin and finally allow themselves to hang up on each other.

Personally, I have never seen a rear seal that didn't have a bit of oil visible around the sealing edge. As long as you're not dropping oil on the ground I doubt the rear seal is bad. Even if you are dropping oil on the ground I would look at other causes before pulling the transmission and replacing the rear seal. Valve covers, cam plugs, and tappet covers can all look like a leaking rear main without really inspecting the leak properly.

At 170K miles your engine is just getting broke in unless it has been TERRIBLY mistreated. I had what I thought was an engine knock at @ 150K miles. I went to 6 different " Cummins experts" to let them listen and check it out. To a man, they told me they didn't hear anything abnormal, to drive it until I actually had a problem. That engine now has over 500K miles on it, is in it's second truck, and has never even had the head off.

Don't jump to conclusions and start throwing parts at it, Perform proper diag, fix what's wrong, and drive on.

 

[GCroyle]

Scott,

Not sure if you nailed this one or not but I sure like the look closer idea on this one. Maybe pull the S plate off on the engine to trans adapter and put a dial indicator on the FW or flex plate and watch for movement at the other end while doing same initial test.

 

[samsonite01]

Ok. Got home from work. Checked it out. No play at all thank god.

Sorry for freakin out. I think i just was over thinkin it, low lighting, screwdriver must have slipped funny and tricked me. Lot of stress lately, hard on the brain.

I have had the worse luck the past few months.

Thanks for you posts guys. Sorry for wasting forum space

 

[SAndreasen]

It's ok we all do it . I have been known to pull some dosieys myself at lest it ain't broken . By the way know anything about air conditioning ??#@$%!

 

[samsonite01]

I dont know much. When i turn mine on while driving theres a slamming noise in my dash board. Dont know if that good or bad.