Bad crankshaft and conrod bearings on 5th gen h22a5

[Anzezaf]

Hi!

My mechanic discovered I have bad crankshaft bearings and bad conrod bearings on my 1997 5th gen Prelude.
Here's a picture and a video:

Now, my mechanic said that the engine must be taken apart whole, because of the possibility that metal filings are now all around the engine and oil channels. Therefore he wants to clean every engine component in ultrasonic cleaner then reassemble everything.

Now, I know this would be the safest and best option on the long run, but seeing as how this is a tremendous amount of labor and a hefty cost, I am thinking of not going that route.

Instead, I was thinking that the filings couldn't have come inside whole of the engine as the oil filter would stop them.. The only parts that would need to be cleaned are the area around the crankshaft, the bearing seats and oil channels, and the oil pump itself. I think this would be enough to ensure the engine doesnt crap out soon..

What do you guys think?

[Anzezaf]

The other bearings look fine, it's only the one on the first pic/video that's scuffed

[Anzezaf]

Any thoughts, anybody?

[wurlycorner]

This is a very difficult thing to diagnose and advise on on the basis just of looking at the bearings, tbh.

Firstly I'm not quite sure what he's saying the problem is - that's far from horrendous wear on the shell in that picture.
However, it seems that that shell isn't being suitably retained in the cap, so is he saying it's spun a bearing?

What was the oil like when it was drained? Was it obviously full of metal particles? Was there any build up of metal particles in the sump?

How many miles has the engine done? What caused the engine to be dismantled in the first place?

Has your mechanic suggested what has caused the problem? (just general wear, oil pump failure etc?)

[Scott560]

easier to get a replacement engine and drop it in.

the tools/skills required to even correctly determine whether the engine is serviceable or not is outside the worth of the car, let alone the cost of rebuilding it properly.

The official honda manual says you can't have the crank reground (due to hardening layer surface). The bearing shells are sized, so you have get the correct ones. You can only get the correct ones based on the stamps on the crank, but if its worn, they wont hold true. So you have to measure them to a thou, those calipers aren't cheap.

Get a known good engine and save yourself a *LOT* of hassle. I was told the same, didn't listen, spent hours rebuilding a b16a2 only for a similar failure to occur not many miles later. Guess what, the head/block was all ultrasonically cleaned too. I thought i found the root cause, but clearly not (clogged oil intake with silicon, stuck oil pressure release valve, all sorted of course).

We went with rebuild because there were no B16s about. If my prelude engine died, i would replace it, not rebuild it.

[Drax]

imo that bearing really doesnt look that bad - if you take it off, is there any damage underneath of intense wear? plus on the crank itself at the same point, it would show visible wear more than another bearing that hadnt spun

[Scott560]

Its worth giving the whole story - why was the engine dismantled? a video of the assumed knocking noise would usually confirm the bottom end as it is a very distinct sound.

once the crank is out, its not unusual for those bearing shells to move like that - they are actually squashed into place.

[stinkypaul]

Like others have said, the wear doesn't look that bad. I've seen much worse. The crank will be sintered so should be ok but a visual inspection + measurement will help there. You'll probably be ok with standard bearings but obviously measure up in case you need a different size to compensate for wear. I've used plastiguage before to check clearances. Make sure you do all bearings including main if you can.
If it was me I'd rebuild it and perform an engine rebuild flush procedure. But then I'm tight with money
Was it knocking? I wouldn't expect that bearing to be the cause of a knock.

[Anzezaf]

Its worth giving the whole story - why was the engine dismantled? a video of the assumed knocking noise would usually confirm the bottom end as it is a very distinct sound.

It was dismantled preventatively, just for these bearings. When my mechanic was swapping the clutch a month ago he said he might be hearing bad bearings on the lower end, and that I should check up on it.
Seems he was right.

If it was me I'd rebuild it and perform an engine rebuild flush procedure. But then I'm tight with money
Was it knocking? I wouldn't expect that bearing to be the cause of a knock.

A rebuild will cost me 3 times more than just putting new bearings in. We're talking about 1500-ish for a rebuild and probably 500 for bearing swap
About the knocking, wouldn't know. Im not that savvy about engine noises, but read my answer above this one.

What was the oil like when it was drained? Was it obviously full of metal particles? Was there any build up of metal particles in the sump?

How many miles has the engine done? What caused the engine to be dismantled in the first place?

Has your mechanic suggested what has caused the problem? (just general wear, oil pump failure etc?)

About the oil and sump filings, I'm waiting for his answer and pics.

The engine has 230k kilometers on it, and for the dismantling reason see my 1st reply in this post.

And no, he didn't mention anything as to the reason

[newkid]

I think I'd be getting a new mechanic.