96 Beretta Project

[3400-95-Modified]

Sealed power IIRC, and I also the center two bearings the oil holes were at 4 or 5 o'clock which also IIRC is how stock was orientated.

I'm half tempted to orientate them with the oil holes at 6 o'clock since it seems that the bottom of the center bearings are where most of the force is.

Maybe this is my issue?

The trend in modern engines has been toward higher operating temperatures and higher valve train loads. Babbitt is limited in its ability to survive under these conditions due to its relatively low strength. When babbitt cam bearings are installed under these demanding conditions, the lining may extrude or fatigue. Fatigue can be identified by craters in the bearing surface where sections of lining material have flaked out.

http://www.engineparts.com/it_cambrgs.asp

I think this is the set that I used...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FEM-1492M/

Summit also lists this,

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-SH1364S/

Says it fits a 3.1 and 3.4... but ending years are 2003 and such... Thats odd...

I think I will be buying these though... if in fact 69 camaro 350 bearings fit... I have yet to find the exact part number that others have used.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-SH1349S/

[CNCguy]

Jon
Out of curiosity, what brand were the cam bearings and how were the oil holes oriented?

[3400-95-Modified]

Ok cool, I was hoping you would say that. Did you ever notice an issue with the valves after that happened? It didn't look like they were bent any to me, but I didn't get them out of the head yet.

And yes the cam duration is 240@.50 as noted though I don't think this is a regular occurrence, I think it was a one time thing when my timing chain went to hell, because it was BADLY stretched.

More Pics

You cant complain about these bearings.







But these on the other hand... YUCK! second time this happened too... Time for SBC bearings.





Total destruction



Better pics of the pistons

[Superdave]

Dave, I thought you swapped pistons once??

Just 1 when i spun that rod bearing. It's dented now too.

[IsaacHayes]

Dave, I thought you swapped pistons once??

[mfuller]

what's the exhaust duration on your cam?

240 @ .050", methinks.

[Superdave]

Nope, i left mine in. they're now "Pre-clearanced"


I plan on getting a cutter for the exhaust side and cutting another .020-.040 into it though.


what's the exhaust duration on your cam?

[3400-95-Modified]

So, Dave... Did you replace your pistons when you found this?



Effin stretched timing chain must be the cause of this since the marks are nice and coated with carbon so it wasn't a recent hit. Could have easily been one from 2008 when I ran my 13.996 with that stretched bioch and was hitting 6750 rpm over and over again... LOL

Valves also have no marking on them right now, they have a nice tan color to them.

[3400-95-Modified]

Made some progress yesterday.

Pics













Took longer than I wanted to get the drive line out but I was also screwing around with my stove and stuff.

Time to get my engine stand to the house so I can start working on the motor now.

[torq455]

that is one nice garage! i'm so envious.

[3400-95-Modified]

January 2010 progress so far... Worked on it Wednesday.

Pulling trans next weekend OR Monday the 18th... then getting motor out.














I hope the inside of the trans is a direct reflection of how red the fluid still was, I was quite impressed with how clean it was, so hopefully that's a good sign.

I was also pleased with my woodstove install... I got home around 3:30 or 4 and started it, and I was out there at around 4:30, obviously then it was still chilly, but by 5:30 it was quite comfortable to work in there... My hands weren't cold and if I did get a chill I could just walk over and warm up easily. But by 6 it was significantly warmer in there than it was outside... So I figure if I go to work out there on the weekend if I fire off the stove at 6 in the morning come in, do stuff around the house, eat something and then go out the garage will be quite comfortable...

And to get this result wit still no insulation at all I'm impressed and happy. I can't wait till I insulate it.

[1988GTU]

I doubt the pistons are messing up the block, but it will be interesting to see. Mine knock but goes away once warmed up. Has for YEARS. I don't care I just put it in gear and drop the hammer... LOL. The thing doesn't use ANY oil just drips a little from the oil pan, but you don't get drips on the ground unless the car is parked in one spot for like 2 weeks. The 3100 in my car just won't give up.

Does your piston slap go away once warmed up?

The slap can be nothing to worry about for standard cr N/A engines, you add boost, more cr or nitrous and all bets are off.




Sounds good.

[3400-95-Modified]

Yeah as much as any other car does...

But I've see what it can do if its to the extreme... Luckily IIRC the 05 pistons are skirted with teflon... but I may be wrong. Either way I don't want the cylinder bores to get scored because if I ever plan on doing pistons the less machine work the better. If I can get away with just a hone in the future that would make me happier.

I will also probably be doing SBC cam bearings while I'm in there.. now that I know they fit.

[IsaacHayes]

I doubt the pistons are messing up the block, but it will be interesting to see. Mine knock but goes away once warmed up. Has for YEARS. I don't care I just put it in gear and drop the hammer... LOL. The thing doesn't use ANY oil just drips a little from the oil pan, but you don't get drips on the ground unless the car is parked in one spot for like 2 weeks. The 3100 in my car just won't give up.

Does your piston slap go away once warmed up?

[3400-95-Modified]

One more Lope before Hybernation... I brought the idle down to 730-800 rpm... Any lower and I think it wont even run... LOL



Oh and you can't help but notice the nice healthy dose of piston slap... LOL One major reason why I'm pulling it apart this winter, its not as loud in person as on the video but its still there and I want to make sure that my pistons are not all scratched up or wrecking my block. This sucker does have a bit over 30k on the bottom end now.

Winter plans, the first upgrade on the list is really a downgrade... Going by weights I found, I'm going back to what I originally planned to run for brakes. I'm swapping out the F-body stuff for a set of N-body equipment. I have the calipers pads and rotors now. I'm look at a total rotating weight loss of 12-14lbs just by changing the rotors. Beretta's are 11.4, Grand Am are 13.5 and the Camaro ones are 19+ I think I can live with the 11" brakes for now.

The other things on the list are a few engine tweaks... I'm going to tear into it and see how things are going inside and inspect cylinder bore's and bearings and such, and then move on to the heads and give those full porting treatment... When I built this motor back in 07 IIRC for ole red I only did gasket matching for the lower to the head, and upper to the lower... I never continued the port smoothing throughout the runners. So I'm sure if I clean up the heads and intakes I can gain a few pony's

After that the trans is also getting a look to see if there are any worn parts, and then I'm changing out all the valves and such in the VB for the anodized ones that wont side load as easy, hopefully that will firm up my 2-3 shift some since that still seems to be quite soft. LSD will also get checked and maybe shimmed up a bit to provide more pre-load, I think the clutches should be fine in it but they are 2yrs old at least now so its worth a check.

So all and all a good amount of upcoming upgrades/downgrades to keep me busy this winter... Hopefully they all go smooth and I get the car closer to its 13 sec n/a time it once ran...