[123pugsy]

Will heavy pulleys on a 283 cause the rear of the thrust bearing to get chewed up? I understand a tranny can exert forward pressure on the crankshaft if there's too much end play.I'm asking because I had all the pulleys and belts from an 87 Chevy bolted up to the 283 and and toasted the crank on the rear of the thrust bearing.I noticed the pulleys were quite heavy when I took them off to change my cam.

 

[xntrik]

Pulleys, I don't think so.

I am not sure why tranny end play would do this to the crank. Something has to be pushing forward. Sometimes a strong clutch causes wear, but an automatic?

It looks like it overheated due to lack of lubrication. I guess that's oil varnish discoloration.

edited: How much end play in the crank now? Could it have been too tight?

 

[123pugsy]

I think it could have been a little tight,forgot to check.The bearing dug out about .040" of the crank and the crank ate about half the thickness of the thrust surface.

 

[woodz428]

I don't believe it could be the pulleys either, had to be some rearward pressure pushing forward. I haven't looked at any Chevy cranks for more than adecade, but could the crank and torque converter not been compatible. Some Fords use different diameter snouts and if one too large for the crank hole is used it would consume a thrust bearing quickly. I haven't even seen a thrust worn that bad from someone riding the clutch.

 

[123pugsy]

I did have it hooked up to a 700R4 for a short time before I swapped it for a TH350.I was having some issues with the 700R4. When I installed the Th350 , I didn't have the torque converter fully seated in the tranny and ran it for a few minutes like that...Don't know. I'm selling the block and heads of the 283 and don't want to make any mistakes on my next motor .(350)
I'll make sure to check the end play next time.

 

[DeathRattle]

I did have it hooked up to a 700R4 for a short time before I swapped it for a TH350.I was having some issues with the 700R4. When I installed the Th350 , I didn't have the torque converter fully seated in the tranny and ran it for a few minutes like that...Don't know. I'm selling the block and heads of the 283 and don't want to make any mistakes on my next motor .(350)
I'll make sure to check the end play next time.

Did you tear up the front pump on the trans?

 

[woodz428]

I would guess that if you didn't have the torque converter correctly indexed so it wasn't "seating" that was where you wiped out the thrust bearing. There is a considerable difference(in distance) between the "seated" and "unseated" positions and the amount of pressure you were generating would have been enormous, the thrust bearing never had a chance.

 

[123pugsy]

Wiped out the pump on the TH350. Ran it only for a short time because it was clanging real good.