Built 98 S70 t5 - no oil pressure recovery questions Topic is solved

[Socalboostin]

Thank you for the info. Been dragging my feet on droping pan yet again but will be getting to it here shortly.

[Socalboostin]

So got the pan off and did a visual inspection of bearing caps. I dont see any visable damage or anything out of the norm. I believe i read a post about actually poppong the caps off and looking under them for damage.. i guess i may as well since it isnt going to fix it self, no helper around today so its almost impossible to turn motor and watch up close at the same time. Think i will take a break until my daughter is home in the morning so i can have her rotate while i watch and listen, then depending on outcome maybe pop a cap or 5 caps to inspect.

[Socalboostin]

Well the verdict is in 2 spun rod bearings and damaged crank journals. The sound was rod knock and not the gentle kind. . Motor 90% pulled already.

Sourced a motor locally and will be picking it up along with my new parts car tomorrow. This brings my yard count to 2 parts p80 cars plus my good one... so ill be the proud owner of 3 now..

Still a whole lot of wrenching to reach the finish line but it is finally on the horizon . Thanks for the suggestions and support!

[JimBee]

Since you have the replacement on the ground, why not pull the pan and the rod caps on that one for a quick inspection of the bearing inserts and journals. Bag the caps with their inserts to keep wear parts together. If there's any discoloration of the bearing inserts that might not be the best motor to use.

With the pan off, you'll also see any buildup of deposits and will have a chance to clean the oil pickup screen and replace the o-rings, etc., the new ones in your bad motor should be fine to reuse. Also, in the light of day you'll be able to see any scoring in the lower cylinder walls. Then you'll know what you're starting with.

[Socalboostin]

Good call. I will absolutely do that. I would be pretty bummed if i got it swapped out and tested, only to hsve a like event or failure once i begin to work into high boost . One nice aspect of it all is the replacement motor has 85k less miles on it. Just sucks loosing ao much known good state info from other motor.

Wish i could afford to upgrade my clutch while i have them split, this one is still fresh and working great but more of a race feel would be pretty awesome.

[Clemens]

Didn't they have a treatment for clutches to make them qithstand abuse bettwr? I know my buddy in NorCal had his 64 Chevy Truck clutch treated somehow so it wouldn't slip. He had really wide tires and alot of power.

[Socalboostin]

I am not sure havent spent much time sorkinworking on manual transmissions. I know i have read that for my car r a single vs dual mass flywheel is a huge difference in how the clutch performs.
My m56 donor was another 98 s70 t5m i happened to randomly find local (i paid 300 bucks for the entire car!!) and it had a single mass flywheel and external slave. It's what i decided to use for my build and as i recall its the better option for big power. but my budget was running tight so I opted to use an oem clutch and not a upgraded one instead investing in new throw out bearing and flywheel surfacing.

In hind sight now that im built and tuned a clutch with more granular controlabiltiy and less pop (if that makes sense) would be a big improvment. My old slk320 manual had a german racing clutch in it, if i could get that clutch feel out of my t5m it would be well worth it. But i am tight on car budget currently and will be doing all i can to leave my next motor in the car for as long as possible.

Its on my wish list right below the limited slip diff upgrade, 17" pegasus wheels, r model bumper and a paint job.

[Socalboostin]

Hopefully this posting saves someone from the same delema. I highly suggest keeping your floor jack away from subframe in general now after this ordeal.... and im not even a 3rd of the way to recovered yet.

[abscate]

...and clean parts thoroughly....

[Socalboostin]

Yes. Proper cleaning of used parts is VERY important, more so than even floor jack placement!! I leaned that lesson the hardest way possible i beleive.