crank end caps witch way to install

[crashmydaytona]

i am assembling the 2.5 today and i am not sure how the main caps go 1-5 starting at the front of the engine but do the grooves go on the same side offset or do they go on oppsite sides my manuel does not say. thanks hope the ? makes sense

[pobort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crashmydaytona i am assembling the 2.5 today and i am not sure how the main caps go 1-5 starting at the front of the engine but do the grooves go on the same side offset or do they go on oppsite sides my manuel does not say. thanks hope the ? makes sense

is that a good witch or a wicked witch?

good thing to ask vs screwing this one up especially as critical this assembly is.

the manual does say depending on what kind of manual you are using.

if you look at the bearing, there's a little tab that locks into the cap and block. those tabs go on the same side meaning the same bolt side.

some caps have an arrow too.

make sure you torque them correctly, many novice mechs miss all the directions. 30ft lbs, double check then turn 90 ° or ¼ turn. same goes for the rod caps as to what direction the cap goes on the rod but the torque spec starts with 40ftlbs and a quarter turn.

main bearing journal #3 gets the thrust bearing. that's the bearing with shoulders. i seen a lot a die hard chevy guys mess that up because v-8 gm engines put the thrust bearing at number 5.

[crashmydaytona]

thank you one more ? is there any need to use plasticgage if i am useing new standard bearings and standard crank polished.

[pobort]

that's really not an necessity however it just verifies that everything is in spec. i use to do the 30ft lbs then disassemble and check. make sure you don't turn the crank when doing this proceedure, it will give you false readings

the engine is precision machined. to me that means details of assembly are crucial to it's success. it's up to you if you want to skip the plastigage there's a pretty good chance it's fine, if you want to short cut it so be-it.

when i build an engine, i don't use plastigage any more, because to me it's not accurate enough, I use a micrometer on the crank journals then I assemble the block with bearings and no crank and i use a bore gage to measure. the difference between these measurements is the clearance.

[crashmydaytona]

sounds like you have it down to a science. thats cool. I did use the plasticgauge and came up with a uniform .003 does that seem ok to you? my manuel says between .028 and .0004 i am guessing it is a typo and should be .004. .003 should be ok. I would like your opinion. better safe then sorry you seem to know what your talking about. thanks

[pobort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crashmydaytona sounds like you have it down to a science. thats cool. I did use the plasticgauge and came up with a uniform .003 does that seem ok to you? my manuel says between .028 and .0004 i am guessing it is a typo and should be .004. .003 should be ok. I would like your opinion. better safe then sorry you seem to know what your talking about. thanks

my manual (sp?) says min .0004" to .0028" for stock production. if you build a performance engine, (i build mine for .0025). from your #'s i wouldn't be loosing sleep if you have .003"