C13 spun rod bearing. What to do?

You won't really know what else could be damaged until you get into the engine. Doing the work yourself will save you a ton of money. You should be able to buy the parts to do an in-frame for about $4,500-6,500.

 

I would be thinking of replacing the oil pump too. If the engine ran out of oil, either it was run on low oil or the pump didnt deliver. Even if the engine was run low on oil, it isnt good for the pump. Best to be safe than sorry especially on a big motor.

 

A new style engine is like the C13 is oil cooled, so the cylinder kits will have to be inspected and any kits that show any signs of seizure, I would get exchange rods. The turbos will be Junk, oil cooler, crank, even the block, and possibly the cam and followers.
You want them to give you a compete history out of the ECM and a print out of the low oil code, there will be a high oil temp code.
You want to buy it with the knowledge that nothing of any value could be there. And you are looking at a crate motor, new or used, with no core.
I have also seen a S60 that the oil pan plug fell out of, the rod throw was cleaned up, of melted Babbitt, and 1 bearing installed and it went a million after that. It took 94 seconds to seize at 95% load factor, after last recorded oil pressure.

 

Buddy, I would walk away!

 

I would be suspicous of the "blew the front main seal and dumped the oil out causing it to seize" to completely empty a sump though the main seal would make a huge mess, would think the operator would notice before all the oil in the sump was gone, also why did it blow out the front seal? that doesnt happen for no reason.
I agree with Heavyd, walk away or expect to replace the whole engine, C13s are known for spinning mains rather than big ends as such the cylinder block may be FUBAR. Running with no oil can/will also damage turbos, air compressor, oil pump, camshaft/camshaft bearings and followers rockers and shafts timing gear bearings.

The other thing is if the previous owner didnt notice the mess coming out the front seal emptying the sump and continued to drive it with low/no oil pressure (I would assume check/stop engine lights on) until it locked up you have to wonder how well he was taking care of the rest of the truck, the diffs and gearbox could be almost shot also.

It never fails to amaze me how far an engine will go after running out of oil, we had a C15 drop the welsh plug out of the back of the oil filter base, according to the ECM the operator drove it for just over 6 minutes before it finally locked up solid, truck was under warranty but Cat said you cannot continue to drive after the stop engine light is on, wreck the engine and expect warranty, Cat supplied a new filter base, the rest of the repair was at the customers expense, The owner of the truck fired the operator on the spot when he found out how long it had been driven.

 

If he's young enough he can run!!!!

 

i would think that it will need at least a new crank and caps and machine work to re-aline (out of chassis rebuild), what else it will need , you really wont know until you pull it down. you may be better off buying a rebuildable engine and working on it. sorry for the bad news but being honest about it. good luck

 

My thoughts are to buy the truck discounted by the cost of a new engine installed at a CAT shop. If the dealer doesn't want to do this.........walk away