This isn't another "zomg! i g0tz the crankwalk! now what?!" threads. Instead, this is just me making sure that I understand what's going on. Please feel free to correct where necessary.

Crankwalk is a condition is which the crank has too much play in it. While all engines are susceptible to crankwalk, 2g eclipses are very well known for it. It is believed that this is because of some oil squirters that the second gen eclipses came with from the factory that did not supply adequate oil for the engine. There isn't any true "fix" for crankwalk, other than swapping the 2g engine for a 1g engine because the 1g engines were stronger and more reliable than the 2g engines.

I also have a couple of questions to go along with this:
1) If one were to do the swap to a 1g engine, does the 2g tranny still work?
2) If one were to buy an aftermarket engine (such as one from Magnusmotorsports or from slowboy racing) eliminate the crankwalk problem?
3) Does the 1g not have any chance of crankwalk? Or is it just less susceptible to it than the 2g engine?

Thanks in advance for help!

 

1. I believe so, as I have a 6bolt in my 2g, and dont think my trans was changed
2. Yes, that would eliminate the problem.
3. Like you said in the statement above: "While all engines are susceptible to crankwalk, 2g eclipses are very well known for it."

I think its also important to mention that only the 4g63t powered 2G DSMs are cranwalk 'candidates'... as the 420a, and 4g64 dont seem to have an issue with it.

 

1. yes i believe so
2. yes
3. the 6 bolt could still c-walk but way way much less chance long as the engine is maintained properly.

ok i see that your new and you probably bought a GST or GSX and found out about crankwalk right? and now your worried about it and what not and want to swap out that engine soon as possible....thats cool i was there.

but you dont gotta do it yet, you could run the 7 bolttill she dies and then put in the 6 bolt. but while your waiting for the old 7 bolt to die, you could infact for less moneybuild a kick @ss 6 bolt then any other company out there just long as you know what your doing.

but anyway what car you got and what are your planed mods w/ power goals? and by the way welcome to the forum.

 

oh yea, theres is a search button up at the top of the page and that can tell you everything about the issue. just a little FYI

 

Not all first generations were 6 bolt. The 1990-1993 were 6, and 1994-1999 were 7 bolts.

The main reason people get crankwalk is because of abuse and lack of oil changes/over heating. A stock 7 bolt engine will last hundreds of thousands of miles if you take care of it. One thing that speeds up this process is the use of a performance clutch. One of the main causes is low oil pressure at idle. Especially when the clutch is in. So the first thing people do, is remove the "Clutch start" switch, so you can start it without the clutch being in. That means don't sit at red lights with the clutch in. A fully built 7 bolt block will be stronger and last a lot longer too. Most people rather have that extra peace of mind and go for a 6 bolt.

6-7 Bolt just means the number of bolts that hold on the flywheel. Thats the main way to tell. There are other differences like in the oil pan etc. The main difference is internally in the oil circulation. But thats not visible from the exterior, so I wont go into detail about it.

 

6 bolts were in the 1gens from 90-92.5 and 7 bolts came into the picture from 92.5 -94 in 1gens and 95 to 99 in 2gen's.

If you have an auto trans I am pretty sure that you need to use a 6 bolt torqure converter.

 

Actually, I don't even own a DSM. It was something that I was considering tho, a fun little "toy" to learn from and play with.

I just love DSM's and wanted to learn more about them and found this site a long time ago. I read through the first, oh 15 or so pages worth of posts, and had read alot about crankwalk. So I searched for it, and read about it. Alot of the posts, in my defense, included the phrase "there's a search button for a reason." And alot of the other posts had replies that were arguments between members regarding the frequency, severity, causes, and cures for c-walk. I just wanted to make sure that my basic understanding of the topic was correct. I appreciate the replies tho, glad to see that I had a pretty good grasp of it. I'm just that kinda geek, something peaks my interest and I can't help but learn about it until I get it. DSM's were one of those things that caught my interest and I wanted to learn more.

If I were to get myself a DSM, I would probably opt for a GSX, and build myself a 6-bolt up to around 250-300 hp. Nothing crazy, I don't need, or really want, a 9 second quarter mile, pavement eating beast. Just a lil something to have fun with, you know?

Just as a side note, to answer your question tjbiker, my daily driver is a 2003 Pontiac Grand AM with the 2.2l ecotec. Nothing fancy, but it gets me where I need to go (school, work, girlfriend's house, you know the deal).

 

props for doing research before jumping into a car you don't know crap about!! that's the best way to do it.

i haven't heard of any engines walking under 100k miles. and even if you own one, it's not guaranteed that you will walk. the best thing to do is to do whatever you want to your 7 bolt but when/if it does crap out on you, have a spare 6 bolt on the side. if i had a 2g gst/gsx the first mod i'd do is buy a spare 6 bolt and build it. THEN work on the car.

 

Yeah, I usually learn best by just diving in head first and getting in over my head and just forcing my way through it, but this is something that could turn very expensive without proper knowledge. Plus, I like being prepared for things, and I'm surely not.

I'm not near ready to do something like this, regardless of how much I love cars, that doesn't necessarily mean I know about workin on them. I figure that this summer will be ok to save up my pennies while doing research on the subject, and hopefully I'll be able to figure some things out enough to begin a nice little project.

So, for now, I think I'll just keep lurking around here, reading and researching. Occasionally asking questions and for advice with regard to a project I'm not ready to start yet.

 

that's what we are here for man. i was in your exact shoes back in 05 when i got my 99 GS and thought i was bad @$$ just to learn that my car was slow as pi$$ and i was basically screwed in the performance department lol.