[Jamesp]

Always the heretic, I have ideas on fixing this without drama or going broke. First, the engine is what it is at this point. Taking that into account, why not drop the pan, remove all of the scrap iron you can out of the engine, replace the IMSB with a fully sealed greased bearing, use rare earth magnets on the oil pan and oil filter housing, and keep on driving? I did something very similar (though more thorough due to a complete IMSB and shaft meltdown) nearly 12,000 miles ago and I'm truckin' along at redline near every day. Don't drink the Koolaid. These engines can be fixed affordably even if there is metal in the oil. PM me if you are interested in what I found when I repaired my engine after a complete IMSB failure.