lunghd

Quick background: 2000 Chevy Express 3500 w/ 5.7L. Went into a shop to have leaky intake gasket fixed & came out with a rod knock.

Easy job to swap in new bearings with engine in van but front rod journal is not worn evenly (has .020 & .030 areas).

• Anyone know of a way to even up a rod journal without pulling the crank? If I can buy just a few months of service I could spring for a total rebuild this summer. If not...
• Can I swap the crank in this engine without pulling the engine out of the van? (Yes - I know I have to separate the flexplate from the torque converter... which means moving the transmission back or the engine forward. )
• Is there enough clearance between the crossmember & the journals to slip the old crank out & new crank in without lifting the engine?
• Does this engine have a 1 piece rear main seal? If so, does that go in along with the crank or is it fitted on from the back of the engine after the crank is in place?

Any tips or info is appreciated!


And just in case someone has been living in a cave and hasn't figured this one out: The Hayne's Manual sucks.

tinybird

i want to know aw well. sure seems that an answer would have popped up.....

solwav

You could do it but would you want to even try? The crank is heavy and will not be easy to maneuver over your head with precision to get a accurate plastic gauge reading.

To remove the engine is a major pain in the a** but at least you know the work was done properly. What you are proposing to do is not exactly easy anyway. Best of luck.

lunghd

Because a 'new' rebuilt engine was over $3k installed while bearings were a few $ and the cost of an oil change.

When I posted this originally I was looking for a means to polish the journals without pulling the crank & it was a matter of keeping a dying engine running a while longer... which I did. Note that this did not FIX the engine: It simply bought time. I swapped one of the bearings out 3 times until it was > .060 and bought 6 months of life for that p.o.s. engine.


The crank's weight doesn't matter unless you're swapping it out - journals hold it in place while you check the other bearings. Plastigage was easy to squish & measure.


After my SECOND replacement engine was installed (that made engine #3...) a trip to yet another garage ended up having to replace the crank & bearings in engine #3! Same damn problem.

Long story short: Skip trying to save a 350 crank after the bearing surfaces are scored... If the compression is good - just drop the transmission & swap the crank.

I'll say this too: If anyone has 100,000 miles on a 5.7L with a plastic intake manifold >>>CHANGE THE INTAKE GASKETS NOW.<<<

Be prepared to do this approx every 100k. Without a metal intake to radiate heat away from the gasket area these gaskets are very prone to failure after a few years of use.

The intake gaskets WILL go bad and dump coolant into your oil and guess what? You'll end up with bad bearings.

Next van: Sprinter

solwav

I was under the impression you were pulling the crank to have it turned. Well it seems you have this well thought out, sucks that you are having these issues. unfortunately I do know the feeling when you just can't catch a break. Hang in there and have a great holiday season.

lunghd

This was approx 1 year ago - crank swap has kept this motor going that long at least. Despite a nice ride I'll go Sprinter next time - 24mpg w/ a reliable diesel vs 11.5mpg w/ a p.o.s. 5.7L gas engine. More working room & configuration options for materials & tool storage as well.

I'm glad people still visit this forum & my main reason for replying was to stress how IMPORTANT it is to change the 5.7L intake manifold gaskets every 100k miles (more often if you're in a hot climate w/ consistant hi engine temps).

These gaskets cook themselves to failure before other engine gaskets "go bad" & it's the inability of the plastic manifold to radiate heat across it's surface leaving the heat from the head no place to soak away to.

SnlpeR

what brand gasket do you recommend?

lunghd

I don't think the brand really matters so long as it gets replaced before it fails. Any quality, name brand... although I'm not so sure I'd rank the OEM product near the top of my list just on principle. No idea what brand gasket the garage used on my original engine... or current engine # 3-1/2.