[JonEQuest]

I just got a set of King brand rod bearings in for my N54 and tried to install them last night. Turning the crank exposed two cylinders at a time so I did #1 and #6 first, then #2 and #5 then turned to #3 and #4. When I put those in the engine was completely seized. I found this out as I tried to turn and align my oil pump sprocket. No movement. So I thought, maybe I did something wrong. After much procrastination I decided to waste some of new rod bolts and take a look at cylinder #3 and #4 bearings. They looked good. BUT, the engine turned free without them so I wiped all surfaces and put more assembly lube, put them back in again and tightened again to specs. (yes, I know the bolts are bad now). Once again no movement, I loosened #3, very stiff movement,. Retightened #3 and loosened #4, still tight movement. So I have two cylinders that are too tight with new bearings. HMMM.... So I loosen both #3 and #4 and do a couple rotations. Decent movement, unless I torque down. Maybe I have dirt behind the bearing somehow?? NOPE! After finally removing all 4 bearings I found that one top bearing and one bottom bearing of #3 & #4 were "0.25" bearings, not the "STD" (standard) ones I ordered or what the box was labeled. All 12 were shrink wrapped in sets of 4 (2 cylinders) in each box. The King factory put the wrong bearings in the standard box, mixed with 2 standard bearings. So Of course I had to pull all 12 out and look at them to be sure only the 2 I found were the only wrong ones. What a nightmare! Now I have to wait for another set of 4 bearings since I torqued STD with 0.25 ones and surely deformed the good ones. Plus, I now have to buy all new rod bolts....again! This is a warning to everyone. ALWAYS check every bearing before install. I know I will from now on. Once again, all were in proper sealed boxes. All were shrink wrapped and they still had a mixed bag of STD and 0.25 bearings wrapped together. At least MMP where I bought them has been helpful. The owner is sick but called me back right away and is getting the supplier to ship more bearings out to me. As these things usually go, I am on my own for the 12 rod bolts and a few hours of my life I wasted last night. You can see the marks from being too tight. All the other proper sized ones in other cylinders still had the protective white coating on them.

[Ozzie335i]

Sorry I made the suggestion early 60s cool cartoon guy. IMO since you bought these from MMP, and they took their share of profit being nothing more than a middle man, they owe you the cost of the rod bolts. Then they can deal with the source.

[JonEQuest]

I can see that. But in reality I don't think it is going to happen. In the 60's maybe but in today's world my friend Hadji makes everything overseas, then with the Amazon type of web competition and small margins that kind of courtesy is rare. As with any product sold, the fine print is they only cover the actual product. Hell, I want my time back most of all. Plus, I nearly crapped my pants when my motor wouldn't turn for no apparent reason. I still am glad I am changing the bearings. It is a bitch to get this deep in. If you go this far, you may as well do everything you can while you are here. Plus, this is just another piece of bad luck. I already found a broken left motor mount bracket, broken right motor mount AND the transmission mount bracket was cracked in pieces as well. I am surprised the motor stayed in the car.

Originally Posted by JonEQuest

I already found a broken left motor mount bracket, broken right motor mount AND the transmission mount bracket was cracked in pieces as well. I am surprised the motor stayed in the car.

Not surprising when you know the car has been in an accident.

Curious; why are you slapping this motor back together already? I thought you had a rod to change first..??

[JonEQuest]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Not surprising when you know the car has been in an accident.

Curious; why are you slapping this motor back together already? I thought you had a rod to change first..??

Now I do. The rod bearing issue was before I knew the rod was bent. That's the nature of this car, find and resolve a problem and another one pops up immediately.
what I'm trying to figure out now is if I can just get one piston and/or connecting rod without getting a whole set. I know balance is important.

[cruizinmax]

This is just proof of why you shouldn't just slap bearings in without measuring or at least using plastigauge to check clearances. Even if the crank turns freely how can you be sure the clearance isn't too loose or tight? A good practice would be to use old bolts to check clearances before using your new TTY bolts.

[JonEQuest]

Yes, I was in a tight spot and these were the last ones going in. They were packaged wrong from the factory. I will check every part now but after looking close at the first 6 or so I was confident in them being what the box said. I won't do that again.

[Maniac0908]

How are these holding up?

[JonEQuest]

The bearings are working just fine and I have definitely put them to the test. I have full bolt-ons and give the car a good workout often. It has only been about 1,500 miles but if they were not the right size or clearances, etc. I would probably know by now, so far so good!

[JonEQuest]

Originally Posted by JonEQuest

The bearings are working just fine and I have definitely put them to the test. I have full bolt-ons and give the car a good workout often. It has only been about 1,500 miles but if they were not the right size or clearances, etc. I would probably know by now, so far so good!

Another update. I am still beating on my car like a red headed stepchild and everything is fine. Car runs better than ever.

[Ozzie335i]

I just did an oil change to clear out the break in grease, so I dont have the miles JQ has on mine. A-Ok here as well.