Engine troubles...

Hi there,
I've just started opening up my Ferguson engine on a bench, and 2 of the big end bearings were flopping around. Would that have caused the knocking in the engine? The shell bearings were more than half worn down those two con rods, and had melded on to them. Does that indicate that the crank is not oiling properly?
Do I need to replace liners, pistons and rings as well as bearings?
When I turn the flywheel, air hisses from around the pistons, or is that normal?
Thanks!
Joshua

What you have is a major engine failure.

If you have never been this deep into an engine, best get some experienced help, or take the engine to a shop for a complete rebuild.

Any time bearings get that far gone, other damage has occurred that will need to be addressed. Miss something, put it back together out of tolerance, and failure will surely return.

If you intend to pursue this, at the very least get a shop manual that will walk you through the process, and ask a lot of questions!

sounds like you have big trouble if the bearing spun in the block then the block and crank are junk as they sit.you will need a machine shop to rebuild block and crank at the least if they are rebuildable

Valiant farmer, most engine rebuilds go to a machine shop. The owner tears it down to just the crank cam and block then takes it to a machine shop unless he has the needed equipment in his own shop. The crank needs to be evaluated and usually ground. The cam often the same. The rod and main bearings need to be sized to the measurements of the crank. The rods need to be resized. The block needs to be hot tanked and often aligned bored to realign the block to the crank. All this is for routine rebuilds. Yours sounds a little worse than routine.

I presume that that big of an engine job won't be cheap either! I have another engine that I bought with the head off that I'll check out and see whether it's any better. If I rebuilt this engine though would it need a piston and liner kit and a new crankshaft? Or would I be better off to try my spare? Thanks

I would look into the spare.

With the problems you describe on the first engine it may not be economically feasible to rebuild.

If both engines are the same you can select the best of both.

The pistons and liners are sold as matched sets, the piston sized to the liner bore. Depending on how worn they are determines if they will be replaced, generally they are for a working tractor. If this is a parade/show tractor you can get by with some wear as long as they are not rust pitted or scored too badly.

The crank, it will need to be miked and evaluated. But you can bet the one that has the spun bearings is not repairable short of welding it up, which is not a real good practice. Hopefully the spare engine will have a good crank. But it will still need to be measured and evaluated. If not worn too badly it may polish out, or can be turned to an acceptable undersize. Again, these are areas that need to be done by a pro unless you have the equipment and experience.

The block needs to be checked too, those have a history of cracking in the web between the cylinders. Also if any main bearings spun it will need to be align bored, an expensive job.

The rods will also need to be checked. Again, pick the best from the spare engine. The ones with bad bearings will need to be reconditioned.