My 65 K motor doesn't burn oil, smoke and idles well but it does have poor oil pressure at idle (can't remember what is was as the engine is now out of the car but the filter screen was clear, correct oil used etc). I asked a local shop in Connecticut about just replacing the bearings and they wouldn't reassemble the parts unless I did the whole bottom end. I am worried about the impact of the originality of the motor replacing the cam and pistons which is what they do when they are in there. What have people done with their K- engines here- do most people have to replace the internals, would I be loosing important #'s originality, if so how important is it really? Thanks for your feedback.
K engine rebuilding- any suggestions?
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Did you check the oil pressure with an external gauge? If you did check it with an external gauge, what pressures did you read? If your Kar is a GT or pony interior Kar the gauge in the Kar can vary quite a bit depending on the sender and CVR. It is not that big of a deal to replace worn main and rod bearings and oil pump if needed.
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A lot depends on the mileage. Generally, low oil pressure at idle means too much main bearing clearance, usually due to dirty oil carving up the main bearings and crankshaft journals. Replacing the main bearings is only half the problem, so the oil pressure will still be somewhat of a problem. Also, if the mileage is high, the pistons might have developed cracks in the piston skirts. And, the bores will be worn near the top so there will be some piston ring sealing problems (which will contaminate the oil more quickly with blow-by).
If mileage is low (below 70,000 miles), and everything else looks good (clean oil, no sludge under the valve covers, oil consumption normal (no more than a quart per 1,000 miles)), then changing out the main bearings, putting in a new oil pump, and changing the valve guide seals might be worth a try. But, for everything else, probably time to bite the bullet and rebuild the engine.
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Thanks for the feedback. I think its a true at idle oil pressure issue and based on how original everything is I would guess its never been opened up at maybe 130k miles (can't remember the exact miles). The previous owner of the car said I could drop it back in and still use it but I wouldn't want to risk burning the engine out. I have two 65 K fastbacks without the engines and one coupe that is apart but has all the original parts including the stamped motor. I originally bought the coupe to put the engine in my fastback but am feeling guilty about possibly ruining a solid complete original project car. The engine should probably be rebuilt to be sure and the car kept intact. Who know's, I may just end up selling this k-coupe so I can build a replacement engine and paint the fastback so I won't feel like I ruined a potentially nice original k-coupe!
By the way- this site has been a great source of information- Thanks to all who contribute!
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