Deciding When It's Time for the Salvage Yard

I'd do just that! Long time 'till January....I wonder how that tire-changer diagnosed 'bad bearings'? I'd consider the source.

Dave S(Texas)

Bad bearings.. A bad main bearing can last a good long time, where a bad rod bearing usually doesnt. It takes an experienced mechanic to diagnose what you have, bad main, or bad rod. In some cases you cant tell. A motor with 96k.. Might be worth pulling the oil pan and checking. I pulled the pan on a ford minivan I had. Wasnt bad. Not sure if your B-3000 would be different.

When a bearing goes completely, it can do a few things.. For one, if its a rod bearing, it can start knocking so hard you will feel/hear a hammering so loud you'd think something is going to come flying out of the motor. That is usually follwed by engine lockup when the rod breaks and either smashes into the valves/head or wedges against the crankshaft. either way, its over for your motor by then. If by chance the motor is still running at that point, it will begin to smoke profusely.

I would add a anti-knock formula to your oil. Something extremely thick and sticky like stp, especially for the summer/fall. It should quiet the "knock" that guy might have heard. A second opinion is a must.

By the way, usually when the fuel ga. doesnt work, its the float in the tank. keeping track of mileage can keep you from running out of fuel.

As for the PA inspection, they cant fail you for a bad bearing.

Depending on your level of emissions testing required for your county, you may or may not pass the emissions test. Here in Lackawanna county, we check the gascap and visual inspection of the emissions system.

The nice thing about the emissions test is the money cap on repairs. If you fail, then spend 150.00 or more on repairs and still fail, your exempted. Repairs include parts (labor can be included if work is performed at a certified pa emissions repair shop)

djdave

p.s. this is just my opinion on what you asked.

Thanks, Dave from Texas and Dave from up the road :). I called the garage after I posted, and the mechanic who serviced the truck said he told my relative the bearing was only "loose" and "needed tightening." He said they'd charge an hour labor--$65. I know that labor rate is probably middling-high, but do you think a privately owned garage would charge less?

Anyway, thanks a lot for the information about bearings. Funny thing is this old truck rides quieter than our '02 Forester, there's no knock at all.

Go find another shop, run don't walk away from this place. Engine bearings never need "just tightening". On the other hand since the vehicle was up in the air maybe he was talking about wheel bearings. I would still find another shop because any mechanic worth his salt is going to document in writing what he found clearly and concisely. .

Whitelightning, who has relatives Troy

"bearings are bad?" This doesn't tell us much -- WHICH bearings are bad?

-- Wheel bearings? Simple and inexpensive to replace. And, I doubt that all wheel bearings on the truck are bad at the same time. And the fact he said they could be tightened suggests he may be talking about wheel bearings -- but tightening wheel bearings???? Get another mechanic.

-- Engine bearings? Which engine bearings? Mains? Rod bearings? If it's main or rod bearings, then you have a problem -- need to rebuild the engine, don't just replace the bearings -- you have to tear down the engine anyway so rebuild it.

-- Which engine do you have? 96K miles is not much, especially for a V6.

On the other hand, if you bought it used, it may have been abused and is just about ready for the junkyard. I'd do a few things first:

-- compression test. This will tell you the condition of rings and valves.

-- Is it using oil? If so, is the oil dripping out of a leaky gasket, or, is it burning out the exhaust?

-- Any noises when driving under load? Knocks, pings, that kind of thing coming from the engine?

-- How are the brakes and suspension? Steering?

You may have a fundamentally good truck that needs work after which it will reward you with many years of service. Or you may have a clunker -- only tests will tell. Go to another mechanic and ask him to go over the truck carefully -- it'll be the best $100 you can spend.

Okay, so I'm late and catching up, but snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote on 23 May 2006 07:22:11 -0700 in alt.trucks.ford :

Not sure which bearings are bad, but my experience was that bearing either fail (and usually at the worse possible opportunity) or they just sound bad until you finally get tired of the noise and remove and replace.

Bad Wheel bearings are a critical safety issue, when they seize, it usually is in traffic, and you suddenly have one wheel not turning, and you swerve into something. God help you if it isn't an empty lane. Engine bearings, when they seize, lock up the engine, and while dramatic, it is not as much a safety issue as wheel bearings.

Do you think maybe the mechanic was referring to "wheel" bearings .... not engine bearings?

RCE

Just wanted to point out why I assumed it was an engine bearing... quote: They said the guy who tested and also did an oil change said my bearings were bad. :endquote

Oil changes and PA State Emissions do not require nor warrant checking of wheel bearings. Even the bucks county dynomometer test is just a low/high idlespeed load/noload test. A roadtest is not part of the emissions.

If i understand, a Mazda b-3000 is like a ford ranger or explorer? If so, I can understand a loose 4X4 wheel bear>Answers below (im a PA state safety and emissi>

Hey, guys, thanks to ALL of you, cause you really cleared up a big issue. No, the mechanic was talking about *wheel* bearings, and Whitelightening, there's no place on God's earth more beautiful than Troy, so tell me where your folks' shop is, and maybe I'll use it as an excuse to take a summer trip to the Grand Canyon!

Everybody, thanks for the help and the education.