[85jimmy]

I have a 350 in a full size Jimmy and I went through some mud pits. Somehow mud got inside my engine. I have since pulled my engine because my oil pressure was very low and my gear drive was very loud. I have since dicovered that silt is everywhere. What all is required to fix the problem? Is a complete rebuild neccessay on a relatively new engine?

Any info would be appreciated......I havn't found any reliable info on that sort of problem yet.

[cooterks]

well, I don't think any auto engineers ever planned on having mud in the engine, so there are no simple provisions for that. I would suggest that you start by checking your rod and main bearings. If they show any sign at all of being scratched or mamed in any way, I suggest you do a basic rebuild, with new bearings and the like, or you are going to destroy your relatively new engine.

[KULTULZ]

Don't they make snorkel kits for that type of operation?

At the least you are going to have to disassemble, clean and inspect.

[85jimmy]

I pulled my main bearings today and they still looked perfect with no grit in the oil at all. What do you think if I just replace my oil pump and clean everything with brake clean and call it good. I don't really have the space to do a complete rebuild.

I think my oil pump clogged up and prevented oil from getting to my gear drive. I did find dirt on top of rocker arms. I'm not sure what to do but I'm interested to hear what you think. I might just clean and replace the oil pump and see what happens.

[johnsongrass1]

Check out everything from top to bottom. Doesn't sound like dirt got into to many places. I go mud boggin a lot in the summers and I have yet to see mud IN the engine. You turn it over or something? Clean the hell out or the engine then clean it some more. Than repeat and consider it done. As on as the bearing s look good and the walls look good.

[racer56]

I would say take it to a pro. If your gear drive lost all lube then the mains had to of. I would at least get it tanked while you have it apart.

[bullheimer]

i agree, esp. since it's out of the vehicle now. better safe than...not

[JdOwNj]

anudder one bites the dust... that motor is gonzo....

[85jimmy]

My main bearings looked perfect, the oil was grit free, slick, and no scaring on any surfacing. It's almost like the mud got dumped in from the top and didn't have a chance to go anywhere because I didn't run my engine after I noticed the problem. I bought another high volume oil pump and am currently cleaning the engine. The timing gears look good too......no wear.

What do you think?

[racer56]

When you asked us what we thought before we told you while it's out to get it hot tanked. What is it with this board????? I see guys that ask questions and then get answers and then just keep going about how they think they should not paying abit of attention to those who have offered help. Let me ask you this from the oil pick up then the oil goes through the pump and then where does it go?? All I can say is GOod Luck.

[85jimmy]

then let me say this smart a!s.....don't write if you don't have any f!@king answers to a problem that isn't very common.

-no offense to anybody with answers to a situation I've never dealt with.

[willys36@aol.com]

pull the heads and plant an herb garden in the cylinders.

[Airport Towing]

I don't see where anyone has been a smart a!? to you, but then again what do I know. I used to get my truck really dirty, so I know what you're going through. First off, it stands to reason that you did NOT swallow (as in through the carb) water or mud, because your cylinders are whole. This is good. The bad part is, if you had low oil pressure, than your mains and rod bearings were oil STARVED at least for some time, because oil goes from the pump through them to everywhere else. This doesn't mean that it would show, but they probably are damaged. I know when one of our racing engines experiences "low oil pressure" it gets pulled and rebuilt, and most of the time the bearings are shot, sometimes they look ok, but check them with a mike (or Micrometer, way more accurate than plastic crap). Bottom line is no oil pressure = stressed parts that WILL fail. If you have the engine out, tank it to get any leftover crap out, inspect everything, replace the bearings, and reassemble it. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but there are no cheap or easy solutions, other than to stay out of the mud or weatherproof your engine. These guys are RIGHT ON with their advice, use it or not. I dunno about the herb garden, I like my parsley and basil without IRON. :-)

[ November 26, 2002: Message edited by: Airport Towing ]</p>

[TurboS10]

Okay 85JIMMY, I agree with you on the hot tanking. There is just no use on what you said is a relatively new motor. No one has mentioned that the true way to test all your bearings and see if there is any damage is to plastigauge them. If you have not done it before, your local parts shop should carry the stuff. It is a thin plastic strip that you put between the crank and bearing surface and then torque it down. Then, you remove it and check the thickness. It will come with a gauge. If they all check out your motor is fine.

As for everyone else saying that if the motor had low oil pressure it must be hurt, that is just not true. If the engine did nt see much rpm and was not run long, it will not hurt anything for oil pressure to be low. An engine can survive on 1 lb per 100 RPM. So 3000 RPM cruising home needs only 30 psi and for short periods probably less will not hurt.

If there is no scoring on the cylinders and the bearings check out. I would replace the timing set and oil pump, get a set of gaskets and button it up. Should be fine.

Chris

[85jimmy]

Thanks Chris, I checked my bearings out,cylinder walls, and pistons and everything is fine. Tonight I'm just cleaning some more and taking care of my gasket surfaces, and a little repainting. Tomorrow I'm going to put everything back together and prime the engine...maybe drop it in....depending on the light outside, more than likely thursday though.

Thanks, OC