Casting plug, not freeze plug, its a misnomer. They don't pop out when water freezes in the block, the block cracks!!


That being said.
You can pop one in from that angle with the right tool:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/otc-4603/overview/

I used pop them in the side of engines while the motor mount was blocking them.

The oil on the pictures above doesn't look like its broken dow, it would be frothy.

Do a couple of oil changes within 100 miles apart, you'll be fine.

 

Don't engine bearings rust quickly when wet with coolant in a short amount of time? Are stainless bearings used in engines stainless too soft for bearing duties?

 

[
=Systemlord;3936153]Don't engine bearings rust quickly when wet with coolant in a short amount of time? Are stainless bearings used in engines stainless too soft for bearing duties?[/QUOTE]

It's not a matter of rust. The oil thinned by wAter no longer supports the main bearings and you get metal to metal contact which destroys the bearings .

 

Coolant prevents rust/corrosion (thats part of its job).

The bearing failures come from the lack of lubrication (the removal of the layer of oil film) due to being displaced by thinner materials (water/coolant.)

Automotive crank bearings are made up of layers of material such as aluminum, copper, babbit, and steel. The bearing is an impactable, damage absorbing surface that sits between the crank journals and the block bores and allows the oil a place to film and spread to prevent wear.



They are not ball-type roller elements, but smooth finely polished curved surfaces.

If the space between the bearing surface and the crank journal is too great, the crank will move up and down as the piston is pressed down by combustion. This will lead to more damage on the bearing, a loss of oil pressure as the oil clearance increases, and a main-bearing "knock" at idle.

 

To add to Dan, you have to remember the oil pumps oil to main bearings first, those holes you see in Dans pictures is were the oil enters the bearing under pressure and keeps the crank floating on oil. The cam bearings are the same just not the same load.

 

Okay, Inner Plug in.

Dorman # 555-103. 36.5 mm block Plug.

Thunder storms were rolling in so I had to stop.

 

did you have to put anything on the plug as sealant ??

 

The inner plug is a 36mm stock. I put in a 36.5 mm steel one. Pressure tested the cooling system and no leaks. It's in there tight.
Outer plug is a 40 mm brass. I used Black RTV on it since I buggered up the hole a bit getting the old one out.

Now I'm waiting for parts to put it back together.

 

Thank you for that detailed lesson on crank bearings. Wednesday I saw an R53 block and what it looks like after running with little to no oil. It looked like the soft crank bearing sleeves transferred its soft material to the rod journals, it was rough and textured!

Nice job, it's looking like you have things covered.

 

Update:

Installed the block plugs, New Cam Chain, Sprocket, Chain Guides, o-rings & gaskets.

Buttoned everything up and put new oil in.

Gave it a start and it ran. Rough for about a minute with lost of blue smoke but it was running. Let it run for 10 minutes and everything seemed fine so I reved it up a bit.
At around 4k rpm a vry bad sound was coming from around the CAM area so I shut it down and pulled the CAM chain again. Everything looked good so I put it back together with the old chain which has very little wear. Tried starting it again and the noise came back.

Turns out, when I put the friction wheel back on I buggered up the water pump pulley's rubber belt. The belt detached from the pulley and was making all the noise. I had Dacron & Rubber bits flying all around the water pump. Thank God that's all it was. I was thinking I had a bent crank or some damage to the oil pump causing the noise.

I pulled off the remaining rubber belt material and started the car up. The motor sounded great. I shut it down quick because I have no water pumping until I replace the pulley.

I picked up the pulley and new CAM bolts from Mini today and will hopefully have it all fixed later tonight. (Have the old CAM bolts in now for testing).

The CAM tool was indispensable for this job and I learned there is a little 'pull-tab' on the friction wheel assy used to extend it for installation. Also, make sure to use RTV Gasket stuff on the block plugs. I actually had to install the inner plug twice. First install leaked water.

I know now why Mini charges so much for repair. Very tight spaces and for most regular engine wear item fixes, you need to remove the right side motor mounts.

I'll update once everything it finished. Hopefully in a day or two.

 

Wow I bet that was a very scary moment for you! It's nice to hear it was something minor.

 

Great thread, am pulling for ya!

 

Good News.

Buttoned everything up again last night and started her up. Perfect

It actually sounds like it might be running smoother than before this all happened. But, that might just be me. I just dumped the second fill of oil and it looks good. Using Valvoline Conventional 5w-30 as the sacrificial oil. I have 1 more jug of Valvoline and then a jug of Castrol Edge 0w-40 BMW Spec synthetic. Changing filters each time as well. So far nothing nasty has come out.

One thing I didn't mention before, when I first went to put the CAM tool on and the Flywheel key in, they wouldn't go. The Intake CAM was actually 2 to 3 degrees advanced from the factory. I had to loosen the CAM and Crank bolts so I could position the CAMs to get the tool on.

Tonight I'm going to pull the valve cover again and double/triple check that damm block plug. Fill with oil and run it until hot. Then I'll drain out the coolant again.

The crap in the cooling system is going to be difficult to get rid of. Right now I'm using water only. After this flush I'll use a 50/50 mix and run that for a couple weeks and then flush again.

It's going to be a few more days before I can use it for my commute. Until then the backup vehicle is keeping me going.

 

Good to hear!

 

Drove it the 25 miles to work today in 1/2 highway, 1/2 stop and go.
Let it cool off and checked the coolant. Level is holding and the Antifreeze is doing a much better job of breaking up the oily mix that the water was doing.

It's actually running great. Very smooth idle. No fault lights.

I would really like to know what the coolant temperature actually is while driving.

I read that there is a way to get into the OBDII Diagnostic Menu on the display but can't seem to find the right instructions.

 

dashcommand APP and a bluetooth or wifi OBD2 adapter is the easiest. I paid like $30 total for both and can easily monitor coolant temp.

Don't forget that after you get some miles on that oil send a sample to blackstone to see if your bearings are going to live.

 

I use Torque Pro for android ($5), wifi OBD off ebay ($20). Will give you water temp and way much more..

 

I'll remember about Blackstone.

Thanks for the OBD2 options. I think I'll go the bluetooth/android route.
I have a phone mount in the car for GPS nav anyway so I can use it for system monitoring.

 

I just purchased the Torque app, anyone know which is the best Galaxy S5 car phone holder that wouldn't expose it to the sun.

 

I use a RAM Mount.

The X-grip
http://www.rammount.com/Products/XGr...7/Default.aspx

On this mount. Bolted to the left passenger seat floor mount.
http://www.rammount.com/CatalogResul...1/Default.aspx

It puts my phone to the right and up 4" from the stick shift.

Ram has a lot of mounting options and different components to mount pretty much whatever and whereever you want.