Rods amp; bearings need to be replaced in an 98 Explorer. Need a temporary fix. Thanks.
In the olden days hucksters would add sawdust to the crankcase to mask the bang of bad rod bearings. Very fine sawdust would make it through the filter and pad the worn bearing. It would quiet the noise for an hour or so. When a rod bearing fails it must be replaced as soon as possible. The bearing is a sandwich of an outer steel shell, a thick layer of bronze, and a thin layer of babbit metal. The babbit metal is gone and the bronze is being pulverized, while the oil pressure to the other bearings is being bled away. If you haven't been driving on it for long you may get away with new bearings; otherwise an engine rebuild is mandatory. Only dropping the pan and inspecting the bearings will tell for sure, but if it has been driven an hour or more like that the odds are poor. Here is one that was not going to last another minute... literally.
Temporary fix: Rental car.
Hi so the idea is to make it rattle less. so a can of STP which is like treacle is added to the oil.
a) How do you know for sure it's the rod bearings and not the main bearings or a worn out oil pump? b) There is no temporary fix for worn out engine bearings if they're really worn and you are experiencing rod knock and extremely low oil pressure, but a higher viscosity oil and one of the many additives out there such as Lucas high mileage oil stabilizer might get you by for a short while IF and only if you don't run your engine very hard. Keep the rpm and speed as low as practical and be sure the oil temp stays low.
