Re: Eliminate draft tube options
oh man, you musta been sick when you realized what happened. how long do you estimate the engine ran with no oil pressure?
the rod bearings will be the ones that will sieze up or fail first, usually, as they are typically a smaller bearing with a heavy hit on every power stroke and usually the last one to get oil is the one furthest from the oil pump. number 1 likely. I would pull that one first and see what it looks like. check the crank at the same time. run a clean finger nail across the crank journal and feel for any small grooves that may want to snag your nail. it should be very smooth. on the rod bearings, check to see what they look like at the parting line where the rod cap meets the rod on eash side. bearings are made with more clearance at the parting line for the first 1/4" or so in order to hold a little oil there. bearings also have an overlay of softer metal, like aluminum. when the bearing runs dry of oil the overlay typically starts getting wiped off the shell and will usually start collecting in those parting line areas. this displaces oil that may have hung on to that spot and helped extend the time before failure, and also with the soft material gone the copper backing of the shell is exposed. sometimes the copper shows signs of discoloration from heat.
really, if you heard tappet noise after running with no oil pressure then it may be safe to assume that you need to take a few things apart for checking and cleaning. the rocker shaft and rockers may be starting to gall or may show new wear marks. since there is metal in the oil pan it is safe to assume that the oil pump, pick up tube and galleries will need a flush. I would remove the oil pan and rotate the engine with a bar as you look up at the piston skirts (if possible, been awhile since I had one of these apart so not sure if the skirts will show at the bottom of the stroke) and also the cam lobes and the camshaft itself in the areas near the bearings, to see if there are signs of heat. cam bearings also rely on engine oil so they could be wiped as well. if you can manage it get the whole show on video so you can look at it several times and check different things each time. after that i would start at the front of the engine and remove a rod cap, check the bearing shells, upper and lower (use some rubber hose on the studs, if it uses studs instead of bolts. this protects the crank from a rod bolt banging off the journal by accident). you will need a short length of wooden dowelling, like a broom handle, to tap the piston up a little so you can view the upper shell. removing the spark plugs prior to all this will help make rotating the engine and moving pistons etc.after the rod bearing check you can install it back again and snug up the bolts so you can check the rest. the rod and cap should be stamped with what cylinder it came from but remember to install the cap the same way it came off. the locating lugs on each shell should be located on the same side of the rod, usually.
post up some pics if you can.
sorry to hear this happened. nothing you can do to change it so keep plugging away at troubleshooting and checking. pretty soon you will have an answer on how bad it is and you can decide what to do from there.
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