Can a thrust bearing be changed with the engine in the car? (318)

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Schneiderman

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I have a bad thrust bearing in my 318 in my 1972 coronet. Just talked to a guy at napa who usually knows his stuff, he said it may be possible to change the thrust bearing with the engine still in the car, if I can get the oil pan off. I'll go look for myself to see if there is room to get the oil pan off but I figured I should ask here if anyone has tried it or has input on whether it can be done.

For the record, I've never done this kind of work before, this is all a learning experience but I'm lucky enough to have a few people who can help me out with this kind of thing. If you have some instructions to offer please be very specific.
 
I don't see why not, except there's a lot holding those shells in place. There used to be a little "tool" (you can make one) All it consists of is a little smooth rounded stud which you put in an oil hole. You line it up with the edge of the bearing shell, wrench the engine over gently, and the tool forces the shell to "rotate out."

I would GUESS in some cases you might have to loosen all the mains a little to allow a little more room in there
 
You can without pulling the engine, but truthfully you're making a lo of work for yourself by avoiding it. Centerlink, mounts, pan, losen the center main, and carefully drive it out from the non-tang side. Tap the new one in from the "tanged" side. Replace the cap, torque it, losen the bolts, and then you need to pry the crank forward and back to aligned the halves, and re-torque it.
Question is, why did it go? You're fixing a symptom. Not the problem.
 
moper said:
You can without pulling the engine, but truthfully you're making a lo of work for yourself by avoiding it. Centerlink, mounts, pan, losen the center main, and carefully drive it out from the non-tang side. Tap the new one in from the "tanged" side. Replace the cap, torque it, losen the bolts, and then you need to pry the crank forward and back to aligned the halves, and re-torque it.
Question is, why did it go? You're fixing a symptom. Not the problem.
Click to expand...

Don't I have to do everything whether I take the engine out or not? Part of the problem is I don't really have the room to take the engine out, especially if I end up not being able to fix it in one day. I'll be doing the work in someone else's garage and I can't take up the whole space.

As for the question... I don't know, you tell me, what makes a thrust bearing go bad?

I think it's bad because the crankshaft moves forward and backward about a quarter of an inch, it can be moved with a lever and you can see it moving with the engine running. I haven't found any metal in the oil though so I'm hoping I caught it in time before it did major damage to anything else.
 
if you can move it 1/4 of an inch theres most likely not much thrust bearing left , the reason for its wear is it a manual trans or was the clutch every time you push the peddle adds to the wear of the thrust bearing , a hard shifting automatic will cause some extra wear or just a plain tired motor ... top of the rod bearings an bottom of the mains wear most .... dont tap one in with a hammer or any thing .take a screw tap the head flat to the crank cause that hole in the crank is not drilled straight through ( might even have to grind the head so it thin enough to push the bearing out bye turning the crank it real easy once the pans off ( i use to use small black screw from like a interior very short an have a thin head already )but having a 1/4 inch of play i would inspect the crank an block real well for wear .... have fun it not all that hard
 
It's a 904 auto trans, the engine was rebuilt about 5 years and 20,000 miles ago but of course AFTER it was built/paid for/installed everyone I heard from told me what a dirtbag the guy who built the engine is. So for all I know the engine wasn't completely rebuilt.
 
I've used a medium-sized cotter pin stuffed into the oil hole with the "legs" folded out against the journal to catch the plain edge of the bearing. Rotate the crank 1/2-turn. The new bearing can be rolled in similarly from the tang side. Keep everything spotless while doing this. Any crap under the bearing will create tight spots.
 
You should plan on looking at the other bearings, too. I wouldn't want to do that job in one day. If all goes well, you could. For one thing, you don't know what you're up against until you get it apart.
 
the crank thrust surface could be washed out, then changing the bearing will only be an exercise on how to, because the the thrust will go away very soon after the bearing change.

things that cause this....the front pump on automatics is always shoving the torque convertor out toward the motor....m/t is less since theres no pump.

Other than a funky front pump/bent convertor snout/ballooned convertor-which could just expand and make contact with the flex plate bolts which then vibrate through the surface and leak[had it happen] dunno...could just be worn and was used in the build anyways?
 
of course you can....if i can install new rod and main bearings in a 93 toyota celica with the engine installed, you can EASILY install a set of bearings in your engine with it in the car...id put all new bearings...
 
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