I installed my bedplate yesterday and torqued the bolts accordingly (55ft/lbs for the bigger ones and 20ft/lbs for the smaller ones) but I cant turn my crank by hand. I am going to take it to the machine shop tomorrow morning, where they turned it and make sure nothing is wrong. It was turned 10 over (.25mm) and I got the right bearings from partsdinosaur. Anyone have this happen before? I have done 3 rebuilds on this motor before and the crank was always relatively easy to turn even by hand on the weights on the crank. thanks

Stupid question, but did you lube up the bearings before putting the bed plate on?

Double check your rod caps. Sounds like you've got one or more of them on backwards.

yes I used engine assembly lube on the bearings....and the rod caps arent even on, I havent installed my rods yet..... Also to note and maybe find some help... The crankshaft will turn if I put the crank bolt in the end of the crank and turn it w/ a ratchet, it just doesnt turn by hand when I press or pull on the crank weights...

Did you plastigage the mains before you installed the bedplate? You might be a bit tight. What's the crankshaft endplay like?

I dont have any plastigauge, so no I havent. That is why I am most likely gonna take it to the machine shop that did the crank tomorrow. I also dont have the gauging tool to check the endplay. I wish I had both, and I would go to autozone before they closed to buy some plastigauge, but I dont have a car haha, it sucks tryin to do a rebuild and callin your mom to get a ride to autozone, especially when she lives 20 miles away. I just was hoping it could be something simple that I could do tonight myself. If it is too tight, what would I do to loosen it up? sandpaper or somethin on the bearing that is too tight? thanks man for all the replies... Also 55 and 20 are the correct torque specs right?

Originally posted by 420Adebt
sandpaper or somethin on the bearing that is too tight?

um.... your kidding right?

Originally posted by grain

Originally posted by 420Adebt sandpaper or somethin on the bearing that is too tight?

um.... your kidding right?

no, how else would you smooth out a rough bearing?

Originally posted by 420Adebt
If it is too tight, what would I do to loosen it up? sandpaper or somethin on the bearing that is too tight?

Certainly don't do that. You could, however, take some very fine emory cloth in a strip as wide as the journal and carefully polish it, making sure to keep it even... but i wouldn't do this unless you had some plastigage to check your clearances. The tolerance for out of round is .0035".

Originally posted by 420Adebt
Also 55 and 20 are the correct torque specs right?

yes.

Originally posted by 420Adebt
I have done 3 rebuilds on this motor before....

Out of curiosity, why have you had to rebuild this motor 3 times?

Out of curiosity, why have you had to rebuild this motor 3 times?



I meant same motor as in (420a) not same actual motor.. however this is my second for this one... last one, I knocked a hole in my oil pan and I didnt get a warning light from my oil pressure switch, so yeah... but 3 times I've rebuild a 420a motor, this is my 4th rebuild.. 2 on this engine by itself and 2 on 2 other engines..

Hey man... I just called the machine shop, I dropped it off at 8 this morning.. and he said that the thrust was bad in it, so they are working on it.. what the hell is the thrust? Is it the same thing as the play of the crank? thanks man

I'm sure you mean the thrust bearing.

As far as I know, the thrust bearing is a bearing that prevents movement parallel to the crank (think in and out of the tranny).


Brian

Lemme get this straight... You decided to rebuild a motor with no real way of checking clearances, tried to turn a crank with no other rotating assembly with a wrench, at some point even thought that sandpaper should fix any clearance issue, and have no way of checking end-play? Am I the only guy here that thinks you should just stop and at least call a buddy over to help? You can check end-play with feeler blades if you have to. Plasti-gage or inside diameter mic would have caught your thrust bearing problem right from the go.

I've heard of thrust clearances being too tight before with aftermarket bearings. Unless you're willing to halfass it, best to let the machine shop handle this one.

Originally posted by DarkOne
I've heard of thrust clearances being too tight before with aftermarket bearings. Unless you're willing to halfass it, best to let the machine shop handle this one.

Dark One? thanks man for the reply yeah I am definately doing that.. Thanks for all the help and sorry if I offended anyone by asking Erik to quit cutting me down. All I was looking for was some help from you guys and you did it, it just made me mad. Thanks alot though man, points to ya.

Originally posted by Erik
Lemme get this straight... You decided to rebuild a motor with no real way of checking clearances, tried to turn a crank with no other rotating assembly with a wrench, at some point even thought that sandpaper should fix any clearance issue, and have no way of checking end-play? Am I the only guy here that thinks you should just stop and at least call a buddy over to help? You can check end-play with feeler blades if you have to. Plasti-gage or inside diameter mic would have caught your thrust bearing problem right from the go.

first off.. I didnt think sand paper would fix any clearance issues, I didnt mean something like 400 grit or somethin, emory cloth is in the sand paper section and it is ok to be used.. I wouldnt use something gritty and that would be only to smooth out a bearing that maybe had factory ridges on them. I took my crank/rotating assembly and block to the shop to get it tested b/c I did not have the clearance checking tools. I may be wrong but I believe I was asking a question about possible scenarios it could be, I didnt ask to be criticized. And thrust bearing is what he meant, I called him back, what he told me was that the thrust was out which isnt very good terminology for what he meant. So Erik, instead of wasting my time and cutting me down, please dont reply unless you are trying to help me. If you are then I really appreciate it. I'm not an idiot, I am rebuilding my engine and what I cant do I am having the machine shop do. I trust their expertise with my tolerances and clearances than me buying a feeler gauge which I have never used and checking it myself. He is checking everything for free for me, so why the hell not. Thank you

I have better things to do than bust your balls... If you ask anybody that has met me, I'm pretty easy to get along with. When I see somebody doing something that is wrong, I'm going to stop them. (unless its real fuckin funny) I'm just saying that some of your practices are going to wind up costing more money than you are saving. If you live near me, come borrow some of my shit. I have engine hoist and feeler blades, hell I'm sure I have a can of Brakleen so you can clean out your cylinder walls. If you paid to have the block clearanced, then go get your money's worth and have them do it with the bearings you plan to use. I would NEVER trust a machine shop's word or work. Check it yourself. You sound plenty intelligent, if you can not turn the crank by hand, something is wrong. Go back to the machine shop and piss on their parade, you paid for it. They should have had bearings in hand before they started almost any work. It never hurts to have somebody else check your work. That's what I meant by having a buddy around. This board is probably one of the most sound technical boards out there, but there is no replacement for a human being standing there drinking a beer. Like I said, I'm not here to shit on your birthday cake, but a thrust problem is an expensive one if it is let go.

Originally posted by Erik
I have better things to do than bust your balls... If you ask anybody that has met me, I'm pretty easy to get along with. When I see somebody doing something that is wrong, I'm going to stop them. (unless its real fuckin funny) I'm just saying that some of your practices are going to wind up costing more money than you are saving. If you live near me, come borrow some of my shit. I have engine hoist and feeler blades, hell I'm sure I have a can of Brakleen so you can clean out your cylinder walls. If you paid to have the block clearanced, then go get your money's worth and have them do it with the bearings you plan to use. I would NEVER trust a machine shop's word or work. Check it yourself. You sound plenty intelligent, if you can not turn the crank by hand, something is wrong. Go back to the machine shop and piss on their parade, you paid for it. They should have had bearings in hand before they started almost any work. It never hurts to have somebody else check your work. That's what I meant by having a buddy around. This board is probably one of the most sound technical boards out there, but there is no replacement for a human being standing there drinking a beer. Like I said, I'm not here to shit on your birthday cake, but a thrust problem is an expensive one if it is let go.

well I apologize to you then man. I thought you were just being a smart ass and trying to make me sound stupid. I'm sorry I took it the wrong way. The machine shop did not have the bearings, I ordered them from parsdino, but I told them that I would do that in advance. I will buy some plastigauge and check it myself after they are done with it. And get a feeler gauge too, either find one to borrow or buy it. you are right, better safe than sorry.. appreciate the reply though. take care

A good set of feeler gauges is $5. Plastigage is equally cheap.