Coxor

My car (see specs below) had crank-walk. It's symptoms were:
1) Engine bogged down, sometimes low enough to kill it, when I pressed the clutch pedal (this first started happening at lights and stop signs resulting in lots of honks)
2) Heard a ticking sound from the front of the engine (pulley area) when I pressed the clutch pedal
3) Finally, I saw the crank pulley moving when someone pressed the clutch pedal

Notice I said "had" crank-walk... I took the car to several shops I trusted and talked to several car guys before acknowledging that I had crank-walk. How could my Evo have it while my brother's Eclipse didn't?! Everyone said it was nearly impossible to have crank-walk, or it's one in a million, etc. Well, I was one of the unlucky few I guess.

Shop #1 recommended an engine rebuild. That required $3,500+ or, if I did it myself, SEVERAL Saturdays/Sundays. I thought about just selling it to avoid the headache. I got a second opinion at Shop #2. They said to leave the engine in the car and inspect the bottom end through the oil pan... best case scenario: it would only need new bearings and the bill would be less than $400... Worst case scenario: engine rebuild.

I gave it to Shop #2 and, low-and-behold, they called me saying it was fixed... no issues, no signs of crank-walk, all is good. I was skeptical so I went to pick it up with lots of questions. I saw the bearings and most were wiped out pretty good... but one thrust bearing is COMPLETELY SHOT. Compared to a new bearing, it looked pathetic! They said they found shavings in the pan; the crankshaft and block looked fine. Now the car shows no signs of crank-walk (I've only had the car back in my possession 5 hours though).

THOUGHTS?

One more thing... WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? Well, I think it's simply my fault. I let the oil get WAY too low. When the car started acting weird I poked around and found the oil level below the low mark on the dipstick. As I backed out of the driveway I got the low-oil dash light. Shop #2 said that these engines need more oil than the dipstick indicates... or, the dipstick is plain wrong. They said they recommend filling no lower than the high mark and, possibly, 1/2 or even a full quart over the high mark. I had never heard this (but I bet there is a post about that somewhere on here).

--
Car Specs:
2003 Evo 8 with 110k miles
460 bhp on e85 at 22 psi
I've owned the car for almost a year
3rd owner, previous owners kept minimal records
Last owner had a new clutch put in 5 years ago but I don't know what brand/model
Several bolt-ons: intake, exhaust, bigger injectors
From what I can tell, stock internals

bdonIX

iTrader: (5)

Bizzare. I would start saving up for a rebuild though. At your hp and mileage and on stock internals, you could be needing a rebuild soon.

On the oil thing though, I always fill up to the top mark at a minimum and go slightly over. Also, check your oil every time you fill up at a gas station. It is a good habit to have, especially if you are pushing 400+ whp...

I hope they ran some oil through the system to make sure any and all shavings were removed.

GotWheelHop

iTrader: (39)

ANY engine can crank walk. My cousin lost an ls1 to crank walk, so the whole 'why did my Evo crank eat a thrust when my bro's eclipse didn't" isn't so far fetched.

As for the shop you took it to, I would hope they flushed the motor completely, and changed out the oil cooler. If they didn't, your new bearings are living on borrowed time. The shavings and bearing material in a contaminated oil cooler will trash your new bearings pretty thoroughly.

kaynevo

Ouch good luck man

phizzalot

iTrader: (3)

Well I don't why the title is crank walk? when you said the shop confirmed you spun a bearing.

I never had crank walk or a spun bearing on my IX or turbo 4g64/63 with 200k original short block. I suggest doing the maintenance to your evo to avoid future failures. Pretty simple to keep oil fresh and level when needed.

94AWDcoupe

iTrader: (125)

seen this many times. shop just gave you some shop around time for rebuild. the new thrust will not last you 2000 miles. most likey die in 500 miles.

PureDrivePerformance

Bummer man! Which shops? You can pm me if you don't want to say.

More than likely it was from oil starvation, but it could be a hint of tune related.

It may be time for a rebuild. If you're near me I can help (NorCo).

Coxor

I'll try to show you how what the bearings look like... maybe you can see how bad the thrust bearing looks. One bearing is approx. half the width of the other.

Coxor

You're kidding, right? Only 500 miles? Not even 2 tanks of gas?!

gotpsi?

Don't sit at lights with you clutch pushed in.

Coxor

Ah, I see your confusion... when I said "they called me saying it was fixed... no issues, no signs of crank-walk" ...I meant they implemented the "best case scenario" solution and it fixed the crank-walk.


Oh come on! You have to push the clutch in to put it in gear when the light turns green! That's when it would bog/die. You really thought I was sitting at lights with the clutch pedal pushed in all the time?

PureDrivePerformance

Sorry OP to go off topic, but c_sautter have you done a boost leak test? After that, then it can be fixed with the tune. LMK if I can help.

GotWheelHop

iTrader: (39)

Crank walk is a trashed thrust bearing, which leads to lateral play.....He says he trashed the thrust bearing pretty thoroughly.... i.e. crankwalk.

SmurfZilla

iTrader: (33)

Unforgiving clutch and no clutch switch bypass?

Coxor

I thought I had a vacuum leak when I had the problems you described (and I did... several vacuum and boost leaks). Check for that soon. It's easy and worthwhile to do. But unfortunately for me, my problem was worse than vacuum leaks.

Now I do; I have since disconnected the clutch pedal switch. I still do not know what clutch the car has... it's not too harsh but I suspect it's not OEM.