1.13.2003-Knock Knock........it's your engine

Hello.  This is your engine speaking.  I'm afraid someone did not put me together properly and if you don't do something about it soon the parts of me that are supposed to be inside the block my rise up in revolt and project themselves through my lovely aluminum coat.  You hear that knocking on acceleration?  It's coming from my number three cylinder, specifically the connecting rod bearing in that cylinder.   See that picture to the right?  It's of the bearing and as you can see, it's not too happy.  It appears that I did not get my recommended daily allowance of oil, or perhaps someone installed a faulty bearing because as you can see, the bearing is destroyed.  The friction, which not only wore the bearing's soft metal lining completely way also caused enough heat that the bearing itself warped and now does not fit properly in the connecting rod cap.

The damage to my crank was not too bad, but I don't know if merely polishing it will do the trick.  You may need to grind my crank and it's already been ground two or three times before.  If you can safely grind my crank to 040 thou under please do so, otherwise, you may need to find me a new crankshaft.

I promise you that if you find the source of the damage and make sure all my oil galleys are clean and obstruction free, and assemble me with loving care I will be happy to provide you with tens of thousands of worry-free miles of service.  And the only time I'll ever speak again is to sing my lovely Italian 4 cylinder opera.

Yours,

The Engine