Freefallin

Hey guys!

Im trying to buy a used bottom endBuick s2 3800. I was at the junkyard today and i came across this engine which had very fine dark grey shaving in the oil sump. Everything else looked good. Crankshaft looked nice and smooth, cylinder walls looked good. Turned the engine by putting a socket wrench at the crank pulley bolt and it turned nicely, not too hard, not too soft. Crank shaft bearings looked fine. So basically everything looking OK except the shavings. I would say it is a good 1/4 gallon of it covering the bottom of the sump. The oil was all the same color.



It is very fine... imagine rubbing drak grey paint between your fingers...because thats exactly what it felt and looked like, no chunks or pieces or anything.

Wrecker said the previous owner traded it in because it had bad heads.


So where could the shaving have come from if not the rod bearings?



I know the wrecker so he is giving me a very sweet price for it. Should i take it, intall new bearing and piston rings, do machine work and use it? Is the shaving a deal breaker?

And where the hell did it come from?

kevinkpk

Is it ferrous, magnetic? Sounds like babbit from the bearings, rods/main. Might be something to get real cheap, or walk away from. If you get it real cheap, pop the end caps off a couple rods, and inspect the bearing/journal wear.

Freefallin

So does that mean that its only going to be from those 2 things...either the journals of the crankshaft or the bearings?

kevinkpk

If it is magnetic, it is steel, and could be wear from anything steel. If it isn't magnetic, means bearing, and that could be from cam bearings, crankshaft bearins, or rod bearings.