quick question about crankshaft

[firefighter3931]

Keep us up to speed on your progress. 



Ron

[six-tee-nine]

Hey Ron,

I appreciate your dedicated help to all of us and willing to learn as always i've read this topic with great interest.....Thanks

As you stated, side clearences are easy to measure with a feeler gauge
But I have a question about the rod and main bearing clearance, how do you measure them?

[Steve P.]

It is pretty easy to nick the journals when putting in the piston/rods. They make a set of vinyl sleeves to put over your rod bolts when installing. I just cut a set out of clear vinyl tubing I picked up at the local Ace Hardware. It works just as well and besides protection of the crank and rod bolts you can make them longer than what they sell and they will help guide the rod home. They have both thin and thick wall tubing. You will need the thin wall.

[firefighter3931]

But I have a question about the rod and main bearing clearance, how do you measure them?

There are a couple of ways to measure :

(1) mic out the crank then mic the rods (dial bore guage) and compare the readings making sure the clearances are sufficient. This is the best and most accurate method and requires the proper measuring tools and knowledge. 

(2) Plastiguage is often used and is reasonably accurate. The plastic strips are placed on the main and rod journals of the crank then with the bearings and caps installed they are torqued down to spec. The plastic is then compressed and removed to compare to a scale which measures the clearance.



Ron