I have a 1996 saturn sc1 and the rod bearings are gone in the motor. I'm i better off taking the chance and replacing them or buying another motor, because i was told that if the rod bearing are gone, 9 chances out of 10 the cylinder walls are gone as well. Is this a true fact?
The rod bearings are the last pieces inside an engine to receive oil, therefore they are the first to go.
Is the engine knocking? bad rod bearings will knock. and no that doesn't mean your cylinder walls are shot. if you plan on keeping the car you need to replace the main bearing when you replace the rods. if the car is low mileage don't worry about the cylinders unless you pull the pistons. Personally if I'm gonna go to the trouble of putting in rod and main bearings, I'm gonna buy an overhual kit, and pull the head so I can hone the cylinders and put new rings and an oil pump in at the same time.
Being that the rod bearings are gone, probably would be best to change the main bearings also while you're in the bottom end of the engine. Usually when the rods and mains go, you start to loose oil press. and begin to have other problems such as the rings. Do a compression check on cylinders to determine if you have a problem with the rings/pistons.
i don't know about that, but my sister had the same car for a while and it burned oil like an SOB. if you fix it, you should probably sell it soon. those cars just don't hold up that well in my opinion. maybe just put a used engine in it and sell it. it would be cheaper. but those engines do have a problem with oil usage, if you rebuild it go ahead and have the walls honed and new rings put in.
if ur not smoking (burning oil) just replace the bearings!
