[Axel Breaker Earl]

Hell.......you gotta see this.......right?



The thrust bearing was on the #1 Main Cap.......and the crank was rubbing the back of the oil pump......

This was the GOOD side of the thrust bearing....

And the BAD side.....

Backside of the oil pump.....

In hindsight, I probably nasty-ed up your thread here.......if you want me to remove the nastiness, just say so!

 

[Roverjosh]

A.B. Earl, again super helpful info. It is crazy what people will do. They will just throw it together and call it good.
I am a big fan of taking my time and asking questions (as you have probably already figured out.)
I am going to add new HLAs to my parts list.
I have reassembled the Rocker assembly but I only to get the old head shipped out. I will disassemble again and do a thorough cleaning before mounting to the new head. Also, the old rocker arm bolts from Mazda looked/felt better than the ones CCH sent with the new head. I am going to reuse the original bolt and send the CCH bolts back with my old head. Sound good?
Next question is should I replaced some off these rocker arms? A few have some pretty significant scoring. At least it looks that way to me. See pics below.

Thanks again and more as it develops!

Scoring on Rocker pad

New carriers with old bolts and original rocker arms.

 

[Axel Breaker Earl]

Good call on the bolts......I always use the factory bolts when possible......I trust them way more than "off the shelf" bolts that others may use and call it good.

Hard to tell what amount of scoring is on the rocker arm cam follower pads, from the pics......Are there any "flat" spots? They should be nice and rounded.....no flat areas. Most of the hardened "cam follower" pads that are bonded to the rocker arms will show some wear, but it should not be scored. If they are, then you may need a camshaft also.......because it will be worn as well.

 

[Roverjosh]

Hell.......you gotta see this.......right?



The thrust bearing was on the #1 Main Cap.......and the crank was rubbing the back of the oil pump......

View attachment 11255

This was the GOOD side of the thrust bearing....

View attachment 11256

And the BAD side.....

View attachment 11258

View attachment 11259

View attachment 11260

View attachment 11261

Backside of the oil pump.....

View attachment 11262

View attachment 11263

In hindsight, I probably nasty-ed up your thread here.......if you want me to remove the nastiness, just say so!

A.B. Earl, don't remove a thing. This will only serve to help me and others down the road. Shared experiences are a great way to each others without them learning the hard way... LOL

Love the pics too! (edited for spelling)

 

[Roverjosh]

Good call on the bolts......I always use the factory bolts when possible......I trust them way more than "off the shelf" bolts that others may use and call it good.

Hard to tell what amount of scoring is on the rocker arm cam follower pads, from the pics......Are there any "flat" spots? They should be nice and rounded.....no flat areas. Most of the hardened "cam follower" pads that are bonded to the rocker arms will show some wear, but it should not be scored. If they are, then you may need a camshaft also.......because it will be worn as well.

Yes, they are definitely flattened in spots. Not all of them but some. The cam looks OK but looks don't mean much do they...?

So, I have a huge list of stuff collected on RockAuto.com (going to save the hoses and main seals for OEM Mazda parts) should I look for rocker arms? Do they rebuild them, replace them? I will start my research but any suggestions are always appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Axel Breaker Earl]

With the 2.6 engine, it might be best to look for a used cylinder head (usually the cylinder head is bad, but the cam and rockers could be good enough to re-use) in the junkyards, or through FB Marketplace, etc.

I looked for new or used rocker arms for the 2.6 engine, but couldn't find any online.......plenty for the 2.0 & 2.2 engines though.

 

[Roverjosh]

Engine build update. I got the Block, crank and pistons back to day. All cleaned up and Machine shop guy (Steve's Machine Shop in Chesapeake, VA) says everything is good and within factory tolerance so Im good there. Thats the good news.
Bad news is, Cam and 5 of my Cam followers are shot. too much grooving and flattening. Looked a few local and online parts suppliers and new stuff is all "out of stock."
So anyone have a cam and some rockers lying around they want to sell me?

Ebay had few but rockers were $40-60 a piece and they didn't have enough.

Ill be posting an add in the WTB section but Im putting the request out for either a full rocker/cam assembly and cam or the cam and a few rockers.... whatever you got.

 

[Axel Breaker Earl]

So, if you wind up just buying the 5 rocker arms that you need.....keep in mind that, according to the part numbers, there are 2 different rocker arms........so make sure you are getting what you actually need.

I can look to see what I have in my used parts......but it may be a few days before I can even look. Hopefully I can look on Sunday.

 

[Roverjosh]

A.B. Earl, yes definitely. I did my research and they are definitely different depending on which way they bend (followers that is.) That Jim Ellis Mazda site out of Florida has the part diagrams blowups on their webpage so it makes it easy to find part #s etc. Just full dollar prices and last I checked they didn't have the cam either... bummer.

I put up and add in Classifieds for the stuff I need and I will update with the part #'s later when I get some more time tonight. work work work.....but AB Earl, I'll take whatever you got. The least I can do is throw you some money for all your awesome help by buying your parts!!!! LOL

Thanks all!!!

 

[Roverjosh]

Well, status update. No luck on finding a camshaft and rockers yet, at a decent price.... I have found a few new camshafts in Malaysia on ebay. Roughly $160 shipped. So not ideal. Still looking for the Rockers (cam followers) and not getting much luck. No responses to my classifieds ad. I am going to call a couple local auto recyclers see if they have any motors/parts etc. (kinda wishing I had just gone out and found a recycled motor at this point for $600, but its about the journey, right? LOL)

So I will keep looking.

In the mean time, I got the block prepped and painted. Still need to smooth off the top to get rid of some residual head gasket material. Still waiting on parts to get delivered.
Heres the painted block. I want to get this thing built already!!!!

Here are some parts.

Still waiting on the rings and bearings so I can get started on this thing.........

 

[Roverjosh]

Block painted. Crankshaft placed. Bearing clearance checked with Plasti-guage. Crankshaft final placed (with assembly lube) and torqued to specs. I went with 62 ft-lbs. Spec said 61-65.
I have NOT checked crank end play yet cuz Im tired and want to go to bed... lol

So I'll finish that tomorrow.

 

[Roverjosh]

Update:
I checked Crankshaft End play last night and it was .0005 in. with the new bearings installed and torqued to spec. I think thats good right?
Got the rings in the mail yesterday. I will be jumping into installing them this weekend.
I still need a damn camshaft and some followers but Ill be looking. I found some new ones in Malaysia but Camshaft is $131. So not excited about having to go that route.

Anyone know if Cam Followers can be repaired? Get new roller surfaces? Just curious.

Cheers!

 

[Roverjosh]

UPDATE: Connecting Rod Bearings I think are wrong.

I ordered MAHLE CB-1455A(4) bearings from Rock Auto. I confirmed from their website and I saw the same part in AB Earls Pics but didn't look closely enough. Looks like I need the CB-1455 AL not 4.
So my assembly had ground to a halt.

Jegs has them but the Bearings are cheaper than the shipping! UGH. $14 for bearings but $15 to ship it... LAME.
Gonna keep looking but Im realizing how hard it is getting to get parts for the 2.6l G6 motor....

Anyone got some Cam Followers? LOL

Thanks.