VQ35DE Dekonstrukt

Wow, that rod is bent like a pretzel :eek.:. What else would cause that except a hydro lock if the top of the piston is not damaged?

Not sure. Boost maybe? Im not sure how to tell if its evert been boosted but here was definitely evidence of water in the cylinders...
 
I guess I forgot to post these pics of the pistons and rod bearings in my last update. Piston and rod #2 are mangled, and for that reason I'll probably scrap them all. None of them really look great to begin with...
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Rod bearings - almost all toast. #2 in particular (second set from the top) has the deepest scoring of this kind I've ever seen.
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Had a few minutes last night in the shed. Pulled the water pump...
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...which looks pretty good. No play or broken impelled fins.
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Pulled this guy. I'll add the technical name after I look it up...;)
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Removed the rear half of the timing chain cover...
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...and then realized that i don't have the odd shaped socket required to remove the lower cradle that secures the crankshaft. Most of them were finger tight but I'll have to hit Sears before pulling the crank.
 
Success!

So, these are the bolts that secure the crankshaft cradle. They are spline drive and extremely tight.
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Initially, not having any spline drive sockets, I tried a 12pt socket. It worked for 12/16 of them, and stripped the last four. Leaving this:
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Thus began my struggle to remove the cradle...

First, I tried to drill and extract them with a bolt extractor, which failed. The bolts were far too tight for this method.
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Next I tried a version of extractor with helical threads, that supposedly screws onto a stripped bolt and breaks it free. Fail #2.
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Finally, I called a gear head friend of mine for advice and was turned onto these shark toothed bad boys, that are hammered onto the stripped bolt. Win!!
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Crankshaft cradle, risers, and end cap:
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Crankshaft:
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This is what a pair of piston oil jets should look like (#5&6)
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This is #3&4. If you remember the "mystery parts" I found in the oil pan, this is their home...
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#1&2.
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This is a cap on the top of the block that seals off a coolant channel. Is this where the Pathfinder cooling assembly connects?
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