• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

Hello everyone...new here and need help!

R

ronnh

New member
I searched the forum but couldn't find my situation. I replaced the LIM gasket and now the #1 pistion has separated from the rod, what a mess. There seems to be alot of water in the oil, did the piston go bad b/c of the presence of water/oil mix? What caused the water to be mixed with the oil?

I changed oil after I breifly (1-2 minutes) started the engine after the LIM gasket swap.

please help
-Ron
 


Wow.. Um. That is a mess... I dont think that a LIM leak would cause your piston to come off the rod. BUT if you have tons of water in the LIM then my guess is that something got messed up with the LIM job..
 
ok, so the next question is.... can I swap 1 piston/rings while the motor is in the car? I dont have a hoist.
 
Any ideas how the water got in the oil? I did have a minimal amount when I pulled the IM off, but not to the extend that i am seeing. I torqued per the chitons manual. When I pulled the manifold back off, I saw no signs leakage.
 


2001 3.8 144K miles. This car is my brother-in-laws, he asked me to do the work. Now I feel like a amuck for breaking his car!
 
Did you use RTV on the plastic pieces that go on the end? Did you let it dry before starting the engine?

I don't think coolant in the oil would cause the piston to separate from the rod. That just seems weird to me.
 


Yes, I used RTV, maybe too much of it. I watched a video that you guys posted. I actually put some on top and bottom of the plastic pieces, as well as the new gaskets. The guy in the video only put a dab on the 4 corners.
 
Oh crap, no way of fixing this one?
Also, the rod marred up the cylinder wall pretty good too, can that be honed?
 
It's would be cheaper in the long run to just change to motor or you'll end up with a motor that might only last a few hundred miles before it falls apart again.
 


It costs about $800 to rebuild a 3800 if you get new pistons. Thats not including machine work. You can get a good used engine for $300, probably cheaper if you shop around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top