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Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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deadflex
New User
Feb 19, 2020, 8:45 AM
Post #1 of 7
(2174 views)
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Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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2010 Ford Flex SE V6 3.5L, 157K miles
Hello - I had a water pump go out on my Flex on 2/4. Significant amount of work done, including water pump, timing chain, spark plugs, valve cover gasket, crankshaft seal, alongside some other irrelevant repairs. We got the car back on 2/7. During the repair the shop mentioned substantial build up on the valve covers, which they thoroughly cleaned using *something* (they didn't specify). [A side note here that the car has been maintained with consistent oil changes in the 5k - 10k range with full synthetic, which was the suggested range by mfg] The delay in getting the vehicle back was due to multiple oil changes as they said it was dirty. They told me to come back after 1k miles to get another change.
Fast forward to Sunday 2/16. The check engine light came on while I was out, and I drove the vehicle home; there were no symptoms while driving. I filled up the tank on my way home. Monday morning (2/17) I headed back to the mechanic to get the check engine light diagnosed (assuming that it was related to the fix). When I started the vehicle the light had cleared itself. On my way to the mechanic the car died completely, with battery light, oil light, and check engine coming on.
Their diagnosis is that it is a spun rod bearing, which now requires a full motor rebuild at a total cost of $4200. Their words were "this is not related to any of the work that we performed".
My question is, should I chalk this up to losing the higher mileage vehicle gamble, or is it very likely that the work they performed directly caused the spun rod bearing? I'm a little salty about paying $3500 for the repairs a week ago and now either paying more or essentially throwing that money away.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 19, 2020, 8:55 AM
Post #2 of 7
(2172 views)
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Re: Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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? What was the "build up" they found? Something is wrong with this scene IMO so far to call this a "rod bearing" without some other disaster this endured unknown somehow now?
T
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 19, 2020, 9:14 AM
Post #3 of 7
(2170 views)
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Re: Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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Sludge buildup is a fatal condition for any engine and the direct cause is too long on an oil change. I don't know if you have owned the car since new but I'm betting there was at least one interval that was way too long or another possibility would be water/coolant getting into the oil.
Their plan to clean this out probably hastened the demise of this engine because once sludge is in the engine there is NO WAY to reliably remove it short of tearing the engine down to the block and boiling it.
What they did actually made the problem worse because they loosened up the sludge causing it to start breaking off in chunks and circulating through the engine. Two things happen then. The smaller pieces can clog up the small passages required for circulation of oil. The other thing that happens is all the loose particles get sucked into the oil pump pickup screen and starve the oil pump which leaves everything with no oil.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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deadflex
New User
Feb 19, 2020, 9:49 AM
Post #4 of 7
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Re: Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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I don't have the picture of the buildup/sludge, but he showed me a picture of it... I would say it looked relatively similar (but maybe thicker) to the bottom part of this image:https://www.agcoauto.com/...eaking_5_3L_head.jpg
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deadflex
New User
Feb 19, 2020, 10:29 AM
Post #5 of 7
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Re: Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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I feel like the shop was trying to do the right thing by cleaning it but it ended up really screwing me over. That doesn't feel like anything that I can hold them liable for, or even that I should (as the sludge was really the root cause not their fault). Basically it just sucks and I'll have to pay up one way or another, through repair or a new vehicle.
Thanks for the explanation though, that was much better articulated than my thoughts.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 19, 2020, 10:50 AM
Post #6 of 7
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Re: Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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The bottom image you showed indicates water intrusion per the whitish color.
It appears they simply weren't knowledgeable enough to realize the sludge should have been left alone and you likely would have had no problem for a good period of time. Disturbing it was the worst thing they could do and really should have known better but they just saw another way to make some money. If they physically tried to dig it out, any smart tech would have realized that the oil pan would have had to be removed right away to get rid of the waste that washed down there. Otherwise the oil pump just sucks it up and the screen gets plugged.
Simply changing the oil much more frequently would have been a better plan.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 19, 2020, 11:52 AM
Post #7 of 7
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Re: Spun Rod Bearing 2wk after Repair
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Either of the stock photos of sludge would be a disaster IMO. Heat, too long on change intervals, incorrect grade of oil despite using synthetic was it really or what? IMO over 5K is pushing it in anything with any oil.
If a problem was ignored you may not have noticed it? Oil pressure would be slow from a cold start up to pop right up to norms.
If this was to be fixed IMO (stand for myself) I'd be searching for a quality well checked out used whole engine with a history.
Sad, this didn't need to happen IMO if anything like pics above with any care somewhere bad luck struck too,
T
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