So my car has a bad rod bearing with all the classic symptoms. Getting it rebuilt by a shop basically out of the question. I'm thinking about getting a 350 from the junkyard or Craigslist but I'm on a pretty limited budget (about 1k at most). Or I could take the lg4 out of an 84 Camaro owned by a family member but I have no idea what condition the engine is in. Could anyone offer any other options or advice? Any and all help with be much appreciated!

 

Without knowing how damaged the crankshaft is, it's hard to make an estimate on repairs. In the long run, you're better off buying a new engine. You could go and pick up a junkyard engine but you'll never know what kind of condition it's in either.

 

Crank kit it. (if the rod itself is undamaged) Don't have to take the top of the motor apart; just pull it out and do it with it hanging from the chain.

The 84 LG4 short block, with its dished pistons, will make it even more gutless than it already is. I would not go that route unless there is no other option. Which, since there is, ...

 

Keep in mind that if you intend to retain the 1986 TPI system the replacement engine will either need to have the older style perimeter bolt heads or you would have to alter the bolt pattern/angles for the TPI lower intake. That bolt angle changed in the 1987 model year.

Incidentally, the 305TPI system will adapt fairly easily to a 350, with only injector and knock sensor changes.

 

So besides replacing the crankshaft, bearings, and rod(s). What else would I have to do because there's a few flakes of metal in the oil.

 

Depends on what's wrong. At the very least you'd have to change the oil.

If all that's happened is a bearing failure, then all you have to replace is the crank and bearings. aka "crank kit". The kit will be something around $300 - 350; incidentals and "might as wells" will likely take the total cost of the job to between 2 and 3 times that.

If a rod is damaged the whole thing has to come apart. At that point, it's a 305; it's garbage; it goes in the trash, and you find a 350 short block. Cost is identical to "repairing" the 305 POS, literally within pennies. Spend the same, get more.

Needless to say, if you have to pay for a complete rebuild of ANY motor, a $1000 "budget" is pure fantasy land. Even if you screw up and decide to "save" $0.02 and "rebuild" a 305 instead of replacing it with a 350.

Either way, the motor has to come out. Start there. Pull it, pop the pan off, see what's going on inside there. With luck you haven't driven on it so long that the bearing completely disintegrated and the crank has been running against the rod itself instead of the bearing, which would mean a total teardown and rebuild; and the whole thing isn't so all full of metal chips that it'll just immediately blow up again right after putting in new parts.

Start with what YOU KNOW FOR SURE must be done (pull the motor) and go from there.

 

Alright, thanks. I drove it all of half a mile after it started knocking so hopefully it didn't ruin it that badly. But the way your wording makes me think I'd be best off just trashing the 305 and get a 350. Either way I'll work on pulling the engine as soon as I can. Thanks for the help!!

 

You can usually find running (and see them run sometimes) engines from craigslist, etc. Just be careful. Shop the seller as much as the engine, and pull the valve covers, oil pan, and cut open the filter (buy a filter cutter for this) prior to purchase. Running stock 350's are incredibly common. I have one in my truck right now that will come out to get replaced just because I have another with 20k on it from a parts car. The one in the truck runs fine and I'll probably sell it for $100 once I'm done with it. That's the kind of deal you want to look for. Someone may let you have it for almost nothing if you help them pull it, etc. Ask around local shops too - you'll find a lot of shops and mechanics have stuff like this laying around.

Don't bother with fixing the 305 unless there aren't any good used engine options. And I'm sure there are unless you live in a vacuum somewhere.

Rick

 

Worst thing about buying a used 350 is going off valve cover stickers or sellers word of mouth that it's a 350 only to discover it's really a 305. When going to look at an engine, have a list of the 350 casting numbers since the 4" bore casting number won't be the same as the smaller 305 bore casting number.