Crankshaft thrust bearings

[Petro Leontiuk]

Hi everybody.

Recently i've noticed strange vibration on my clutch pedal, also my engine died a few times when i went from gear to neutral. I went to the shop for a diagnosis and it turned out that my crankshaft has a way too big end play. Looks like at least my thrust bearings/washer are gone, maybe even crankshaft is scored and needs to be polished. I just wanted to ask, are there any oversized thrust bearings and washers available for these engines? My car is 2009 GT, bottom end is still stock.
Thanks!

 

[86GT351]

Hi everybody.

Recently i've noticed strange vibration on my clutch pedal, also my engine died a few times when i went from gear to neutral. I went to the shop for a diagnosis and it turned out that my crankshaft has a way too big end play. Looks like at least my thrust bearings/washer are gone, maybe even crankshaft is scored and needs to be polished. I just wanted to ask, are there any oversized thrust bearings and washers available for these engines? My car is 2009 GT, bottom end is still stock.
Thanks!

With what you are describing the suggestion would be to rebuild at least the lower end of the engine. Have it done professionaly so tolerances are correct.

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

I understand that. But I live in Ukraine and you can't just buy any parts you need for these cars here. So if i will need to polish my crankshaft i will take it to the machine shop, no problems with this. But if there are no oversized thrust shims or bearings available for purchase then i will need to buy a new crankshaft. I've looked for it online and they are on backorder now. That's why i came here for help.

 

[86GT351]

I understand that. But I live in Ukraine and you can't just buy any parts you need for these cars here. So if i will need to polish my crankshaft i will take it to the machine shop, no problems with this. But if there are no oversized thrust shims or bearings available for purchase then i will need to buy a new crankshaft. I've looked for it online and they are on backorder now. That's why i came here for help.

Have you spoken to a Machinist to see what they can do?

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

The machinist told me to take off the pan first and then inspect the crankshaft for damage. If it will have any scores then he told me to take it in to his shop for polishing. I've been quoted to the shop on this Wednesday for dropping the pan, but i'm preparing for the worst.

 

[86GT351]

The machinist told me to take off the pan first and then inspect the crankshaft for damage. If it will have any scores then he told me to take it in to his shop for polishing. I've been quoted to the shop on this Wednesday, but i'm preparing for the worst.

Understood

 

[brasil]

... worn thrust bearings ? Are you sure ? How many miles has the car / engine ?
The only way ( in my opinion ) to kill the thrust bearings is when someone stays on the clutch at a red light all the time - with transmission in first gear...

 

[brasil]

..saw in an other thread, that your car was a Automatic... so forget about the clutch issue.....

But ..If you or someone else installed a manual transmission, with a "Hardcore Clutch"... then it can be possible, to smash the thrust bearings.. because of the extreme pressure the Clutch ..

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

When i did the manual swap i bought a TR-3650 and used McLeod Aluminum flywheel with McLeod Super Street Pro clutch. I also bought new McLeod TOB and new Ford crankshaft pilot bearing. I bought a used pedal assembly and installed it with used old clutch master cylinder, and it was a big mistake. From the very first day after the swap the clutch worked very strange. Sometimes i had to push it two or three times to disengage completely. At first i thought that maybe I need to shim my slave cylinder. I bought a set of three shims with different thickness and followed DoB's guide on YouTube to take measurements for the correct shim size. After i did the calculations i've put two shims with total thickness of 7.1 mm. That changed the biting point but the clutch still didn't disengage properly. So i finally bought a 2013-2014 GT500 master cylinder and after replacing it clutch now fully disengages like it should. By the time i did it i've found that my crankshaft has a lot of end play. I don't know what's caused it. Could it be the shims that i've put under my slave cylinder? Or could it be McLeod Super Street Pro's pressure plate? Clutch pedal is much heavier than in other manual cars i've driven. The car has 100k miles now. I did about 11k miles after the manual swap. Anyway, tomorrow i hope i will see what's happening there.

 

[whitmanink]

Fordmikiloku tech on YouTube has a video showing how to check for the endplay and if it's too much the block is no good ..
At least if memory serves me correctly...
If u look him up and the video and see what's going on
If the play is too much it chews into the block or something else that ruins the block

 

[whitmanink]

I can't find the web.link on my phone but this is the video u want to watch

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

Thanks, i've watched that video. When you push to the crankshaft pulley with a pry bar to push it back inside the block and then push the clutch pedal all the way down you can clearly see that the pulley is coming forward. In the same time you can hear how the crankshaft is touching insides of the block. So i'm already prepared for the worst. I can buy a used short block with 12k miles on it for $1500, or a long block with 60k miles on it for $2500. But i'd rather spend that money on my engine.

 

[brasil]

@ Petro. your "original " block is gone.. forget him. If I were you... I would go with the 2500 $ engine.

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

@ Petro. your "original " block is gone.. forget him. If I were you... I would go with the 2500 $ engine.

You think so? I don't know... Maybe that's what i will do eventually. I just thought that if there are oversized main bearings out there, then it will be cheaper for me to polish my crankshaft and replace them. Of course i would replace then all timing components, rockers, lifter and oil pump with the new ones. Here in Ukraine parts is the most costly part of the rebuild. Anyway, tomorrow morning i will go to the shop, they will drop the pan and i post some pictures here.

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

So today i went to the shop and the mechanic pulled off the pan. Number five main bearing is scored like i expected. Crankshaft is also scored pretty bad where it contacts with the thrust bearing. Other than that everything seems to be fine. The block itself isn't damaged. So i need a new crankshaft, or a set of oversized thrust bearings and washers, but i can't understand if they are available for these engines. New crankshaft is on backorder, and Eagle cast crankshaft with stock stroke will require eight-bolt flywheel. So i'm little confused. I even thought about buying a stroker kit, but it seems like it's not worth the money if i'm not planning to supercharge it in the nearest future. I would appreciate any advices, thanks.

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

So today i went to the shop and the mechanic pulled off the pan. Number five main bearing is scored like i expected. Crankshaft is also scored pretty bad where it contacts with the thrust bearing. Other than that everything seems to be fine. The block itself isn't damaged. So i need a new crankshaft, or a set of oversized thrust bearings and washers, but i can't understand if they are available for these engines. New crankshaft is on backorder, and Eagle cast crankshaft with stock stroke will require eight-bolt flywheel. So i'm little confused. I even thought about buying a stroker kit, but it seems like it's not worth the money if i'm not planning to supercharge it in the nearest future. I would appreciate any advices, thanks.

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You might be lucky enough to find a good used crankshaft from a breakers yard in neighbouring Poland or Lithuania if they have any 05-10 Mustangs in stock. Our German friends here might also be able to help out.

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

I've found a used stock crankshaft for $900 here, i think it's not worth it. I saw there are stroker kits out there for these engines. Is it worth it for me to buy it while leaving my car NA in the near future? I saw Eagle stroker kit with cast crankshaft and forged rods and pistons for about $2100. It uses stock bore size. If you compare it to a $2500 for used long block it's not that much i would say.

 

[Juice]

That crank could be welded and reground, if you have a shop in the area who grinds crank shafts. Crank welding used to be done a lot back in the 90's.

 

[86GT351]

I've found a used stock crankshaft for $900 here, i think it's not worth it. I saw there are stroker kits out there for these engines. Is it worth it for me to buy it while leaving my car NA in the near future? I saw Eagle stroker kit with cast crankshaft and forged rods and pistons for about $2100. It uses stock bore size. If you compare it to a $2500 for used long block it's not that much i would say.

2100.00 for parts plus machine work. At that point you might look to slightly increase the compression ratio as well.

 

[Petro Leontiuk]

2100.00 for parts plus machine work. At that point you might look to slightly increase the compression ratio as well.

As i see it if i will use a stock bore than i won’t need machine work. The hone in the sleeves looks very good. Even if i will need to rehone it, it doesn’t cost that much here. One of a few advantages living in Ukraine is labour price. But it has also downsides, because you got payed less money too lol!