Hi Everyone. Looking for some opinions here.
My 96 camaro 3.8 v6 recently blew a head gasket. I tore the motor all apart to redo the gaskets and have found some stuff that leads me to believe the engine might need a total rebuild. IF I have to totally rebuild the engine I may just part the car out because it was my daily driver and I dont have the time to rebuild it. I can redo the head gaskets but dont want to spend the time and money if the car will blow a bearing soon. Anyway

Here are some links to pictures of my cylinders and a rod bearing. The cylinders have some discoloration on them I think is wear and the bearings definitely have some wear. The car (and motor) currently have 192K miles on them and I drive medium... not too hard but definitely not babied. Looking at the pictures would it be okay to just do the head gaskets and go? I would like to get about another year or 40k miles out of it. Can I just slide in new bearings without having anything turned?

Also what is the best way to clean all the goopy sludge from the oil/antifreeze mix out of the engine while it is still in the car?

Heres the links:

Cylinders bearings

Please all opinions would be appreciated

 

That rod bearing looks really good for 192k miles. Since you have it torn all the way down I dont see why you dont just go ahead and replace the bearings, have the block honed and get some new rings. All that stuff is pretty cheap.

 

Like Wicked said, If I were you I'd go ahead and hone the block and replace the bearings since you've already tore it apart. It probably be better than parting it out.

 

Thanks for the opinions.

I got ahold of a friend late last night who also told me the bearings looked good so I will be putting it back together.

I will be pulling the motor to put the pan back on and paint it and such so I will price out the rest of the stuff and may actually do a full rebuild. Im on a tight budget and and even tighter schedule so I am not sure just yet.

Can I just replace the bearings without having anything done to the block of crank? I havent had alot of experience with the lower end yet

Thanks
-Joe-

 

Yes, make sure to use to gap it right.