i had to put replace my motor last week.the bolt came out of the harmonic balancer,stripping all the splined gearing off the crank and pully,and tearing up the keyed slot pretty bad on both parts.new crank for 300,or a used motor for 500.i'd rather have the extra parts,and maybe get the crank machined later to fix my old block seeings it ran fine before i pulled it.
after i got the new motor installed,it started throwing a cel.i figured it was due to the computer resetting the sensors on the new motor,seeings after a day of driving,it stopped throwing the cel.it was the o2 sensor by the way.also it developed a harsh metal on metal squeel,that turned into a grind on the tranny side of motor.i pulled over,popped the hood,started the car,it ran for 30 seconds and died.
at first i thought it was tranny related,due to the revolutions of the squeel being in time with the motor idle,and the area of the noise,untell it died.turns out the distributor was shot on the old motor,and froze up in front of me,chewing the teeth of the bottom end of said distributor.
after popping it apart,it looked like it was submerged in water,rusty inside,and holes rusted thru the housing itself.the bearings were gone.just for shyts and giggles i put it in a vise,and still couldnt get it to turn with all my wieght behind it.lucky i had the other off the old motor.
now i went so far as to replace all the gaskets and seals,front and rear,intake,exzaust,oil pan,and head,valve cover,and never touched that damn distributer.i was gonna ,but figured it was fine.
so i learned if your going to be there,at least look,had i done that i would have swapped it out,and give it a day to stop throwing the cel.i was so bummed for a second...twice.lol
just sharing my expierience .have a good one.

 

Congrats on the successful swap. The takeaway here is that usually it's best to strip all the external parts off of your old engine and use them, since you know that they work. Save what came with the "new" one for spares.

You might consider replacing the timing belt (again). Obviously this incident put a lot of stress on it, and it's hard to tell by looking whether the teeth are about to strip off of it.

Make sure that crank pulley bolt is TIGHT. I think the spec is 140 ft-lb, or pre-tighten to 14 ft-lb then put an impact on it and turn 1/4 turn more regardless of torque.

 

agreed and we did...im not wanting to go thru stripping another crank out.lol.
thanks mk