bottom end · FF-0352

What caused the knock in this 1938 Flathead?

A rod bearing went bad. The owner said the engine had a knock the last time it was driven, several years earlier. Ed shows the number two bearing: it spun in the rod and wore the rod's big end, the way a crankshaft journal normally wears, so that rod is now about 2 thousandths oversize.

Expert

Ed Smith

Evidence

expert attributed

Component

spun rod bearing

Applicable scope

1938 Ford Flathead V8, 21-stud, 221 cubic inch, as Ed describes it