Rebuilt Engine break in question

[s'ko]

I recently rebuilt the shortblock on my 2k OBS.

The original shortblock had a damaged bearing.

I took the original heads and threw them on as is and it drove fine for about 200 miles. Then the camshaft seized and threw the timing. Is it possible that the camshaft was damaged when the original bearing went south?

I have found a set of freshly rebuilt heads and I am about to put them onto the shortblock.

What can I do to avoid this from happening again?

When I drained the oil, there was some miniscule metal in the oil, but not large pieces. This is probably due to the break in and seating of the rings. I will be pulling the oil pan before I install the heads to inspect for metal flakes. Should I rebuild the entire engine again. :eek

Or flush it w/some solvent and hope of the best?

BW

[Fairtax4me]

Don't flush it with anything. Remove the rod caps and visually check the bearings for damage. If you want to go the extra mile tear down the entire block and check the mains for damage, but if the rods check out OK it's probably not necessary. Silver in the oil is not a good sign, but it may not be indicative of an imminent failure. It's probably from the bearing that was working on grenading itself. Again, DO NOT FLUSH the engine. Thinning out the oil with solvents will do more harm than good. Put fresh oil in it, and a fresh good quality filter. Run the engine for about 15 - 30 minutes at varying RPMs, with no prolonged idling, then change the oil and filter again.

 

The cam may have seized for any number of reasons, but probably oil starvation due to some form of blockage in the oil gallery. There are a lot of threads here on the boards dealing with seized camshafts.

[s'ko]

Don't flush it with anything. Remove the rod caps and visually check the bearings for damage. If you want to go the extra mile tear down the entire block and check the mains for damage, but if the rods check out OK it's probably not necessary. Silver in the oil is not a good sign, but it may not be indicative of an imminent failure. It's probably from the bearing that was working on grenading itself. Again, DO NOT FLUSH the engine. Thinning out the oil with solvents will do more harm than good. Put fresh oil in it, and a fresh good quality filter. Run the engine for about 15 - 30 minutes at varying RPMs, with no prolonged idling, then change the oil and filter again.

 

The cam may have seized for any number of reasons, but probably oil starvation due to some form of blockage in the oil gallery. There are a lot of threads here on the boards dealing with seized camshafts.

 

So silver in the oil from a rebuilt engine is bad? I thought that it was normal due to the rings and stuff breaking in.

 

check on putting fresh oil and filter.

 

Will be setting the valves today and doing the install on Friday.

 

BW

[Fairtax4me]

It depends on how much. It should be hardly noticeable except in direct bright light or sunlight. If it looks like metallic paint then you got a problem.

[s'ko]

It depends on how much. It should be hardly noticeable except in direct bright light or sunlight. If it looks like metallic paint then you got a problem.

 

it's barely noticable. Definately not like silver paint.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

BW

[Fairtax4me]

Oh ok. I must have missed the "minuscule" part in the first post. Been working 12 and 13 hours days this week. Not used to it at ALL. When I get off work I feel like...

 

You should be good to go. But if you feel like it remove the oil pump and make sure there isn't any sealer plugged up in the feed galleries for the cylinder heads.