I have taken the head off today and stripped it ready for a skim, I've found some bad news to what I think is possible oil starvation,

Bear in mind these bearings are about 1500/2000miles old and were pre oiled before putting in and the engine was primed before fully starting it, this is what I found..

All the bottom bearings are worn like this although this is the worst one.

Are you absolutely certain you have reinstalled all the bearing caps the right way round and in the right order that they were removed? Where is the oil supply hole in the bearing shell, your picture is very blurred but I don't see it.

Are you absolutely certain you have reinstalled all the bearing caps the right way round and in the right order that they were removed? Where is the oil supply hole in the bearing shell, your picture is very blurred but I don't see it.

Yes they were installed the same way they came out, in the pic the oil slot is at the top in the gold section

Yes they were installed the same way they came out, in the pic the oil slot is at the top in the gold section

 

The oil slots were correctly aligned with the slots in the head?

They were yes

In that case I'm flummoxed, the damage must have happened when you 'primed' the engine because 2k miles with oil starvation would have worn right through the shells and completely destroyed the head.

 

I assume by 'priming' you mean cranking the engine but not starting it.

DON'T do that, oil pressure will build much too slowly, just start it straight away and hold it at about 1500 rpm to get the cam started running-in on the followers, this also guarantees full oil pressure immediately.

Keep the engine at that speed for about 20 mins before allowing it to idle, bingo, the cam and followers are run in and you can switch it off and check for leaks and any loose fastenings.

In that case I'm flummoxed, the damage must have happened when you 'primed' the engine because 2k miles with oil starvation would have worn right through the shells and completely destroyed the head.

I assume by 'priming' you mean cranking the engine but not starting it.

DON'T do that, oil pressure will build much too slowly, just start it straight away and hold it at about 1500 rpm to get the cam started running-in on the followers, this also guarantees full oil pressure immediately.

Keep the engine at that speed for about 20 mins before allowing it to idle, bingo, the cam and followers are run in and you can switch it off and check for leaks and any loose fastenings.

Yeah cranking the engine over without the injeftor loom plugged in, and leaving the oil drain off the turbo and waiting for oil to drain to ensure everything was oiled, I am going to put my old camshaft and shells in and go from there as before the build everything was fine, guess the saying 'don't fix it until it's broken' is true!

Might be worth buying some of the pre oil, similar to stop smoke etc, just a light coating would do.

I'm also unsure on what has caused it, I also oil all my bearings and camshaft and crank it for about 10 seconds untill the oil light goes off usually.

I dout all that wear has happend from tuning it over for a few seconds before starting it. I've done tones of the 2.0 pd engines now with oil pump failure, most of them has killed the turbo but hasn't worn any small end bearings, and that's driving under load with zero oil feed.

I can only imagine things have been a little bit tight having a new camshaft (maybe slighty bigger being aftermarket) and new bearings in place.

I would suggest removing the oil pickup from the sump incase you just have slightly low oil pressure rather than none at all.

So the head was picked up last night and I've just had a message today saying that the head is bowed 0.0025mm and a skim of 0.0030 will be taking place, I'm guessing this was the cause of my lack of power?

Do I get another two hole headgasket the same as before, as it's not even half a mm so it should be fine shouldn't it?

Yes, same gasket, 0.0025mm is *******s, they must mean thou.

He Just put 0.0025 but I know he works in thou

2.5 thou is 0.06mm which is just outside the head truth tolerance of 0.05mm, still doesn't explain the cam bearing shells though.

So the standard 2hole will work the same as before?

I may have picked something up with that, the new headgasket I got from tps has smaller ports than the original one, not sure if that matters but I'll post a pic later on showing

Just had another message from my friend, he thinks he's found the reason the bearings have gone, there was a lot of dirt/grit in the head and in the oil ports. I assume this was caused from the man who previously dekoked the head and done the valves and didn't clean it out properly :(

Just had another message from my friend, he thinks he's found the reason the bearings have gone, there was a lot of dirt/grit in the head and in the oil ports. I assume this was caused from the man who previously dekoked the head and done the valves and didn't clean it out properly :(

 

Yes, that'll be why, I'm worried about your bottom end now, what kind of a cowboy outfit rebuilds a head without cleaning it up properly, name and shame them Paul.

Yes, that'll be why, I'm worried about your bottom end now, what kind of a cowboy outfit rebuilds a head without cleaning it up properly, name and shame them Paul.

I'm praying it'll be okay, going to give it a engine flush once it's done and running. I've learnt from my mistakes and will always use a decent know company for what ever I have done. I won't be naming and shaming yet but They will be getting a phonecall. Also the valves wernt fitted properlu and one has a deep chunk out of it, this could explain the lumpiness. I'm just glad things are getting sorted tbh I've got a fair few photos from my friend I'll upload soon of the work being done

Also the valves wernt fitted properlu and one has a deep chunk out of it, this could explain the lumpiness.

 

Indeed, I hope you didn't pay these thieves much money, get the head redone PROFESSIONALLY and ask for a guarantee on the workmanship.

Indeed, I hope you didn't pay these thieves much money, get the head redone PROFESSIONALLY and ask for a guarantee on the workmanship.

I've just got the head back and it looks great, the valves have all been ground in properly and skimmed buy 0.0030 and cleaned.

This is the the valves before

After

There was also a chunk out of one of the valves but my friend managed to sort it can't see well in the pic but the triangle dent in the middle of the seat

Took the sump off and took the filter off and wasn't shocked but it was pretty clogged up

But I am now ready for a nice way to spend Christmas eve I'm just glad it's back and I know it's done properly by a know company

Fingers crossed for you Paul you get a good result

Thanks Kev, I hope so! I'm just glad it's getting somewhere now I have answers to the problems and I've not been ripped off in the process.

Remember to clean the block up well again

Remember to clean the block up well again

First job on the list for tomorrow

When I used to build engine's and I tend to use a smear of Graphogen on all bearing surface's especially if I knew or thought that it was going to sit for a little while before being turned over or get any kind of oil pressure.

I know you state that you think the damage was caused by the crud left in the head, but out of interest don't suppose you know the make of the replacement bearing's used in the head do you?
Reason I ask is, that when Federal Mogul changed all the branding over to Glyco bearing's we had a LOT of bearing issues at work where they would pinch up due to being too tight, even when being used with new old stock crank shafts from factory we would still have this issue. Several of the crank regrinds we had to undertake would have be to ground towards the lower limit for them to turn freely enough.

I use this:

 

http://www.torcousa.com/torco_product/mpz_engine.html

 

I get it from the Snap-on man when I need more.

I use this:

http://www.torcousa.com/torco_product/mpz_engine.html

never seen that advertised on any snap on van. Think ill send my snap on man a text askig for an xmas pressi haha. Guess you put on the same as you wpild oil?

I get it from the Snap-on man when I need more.