Thread: Connecting Rod Caps And Bearing Question - Urgent!

Did you keep the rods and caps together? If the align boring isn't happening then the first thing I'd do is remove the rods and take off the main bearing caps. Plastigauge the mains after torquing to spec and see if the crank turns freely. Make sure the clearances are within spec. All the clearances, not just one or two. The notches on the bearings go on top of each other, same side or whatever you choose call it. Hopefully the rods were marked 1 thru 6 and the caps were kept with the correct rod. If not you'll need to have an automotive machine shop check that for you and put them all back in the correct order, resize or whatever.

Install the rods in the correct position and one at a time check clearance with plastigauge and check for an easy rotation. If any rod causes a tightness problem stop right there and you'll have at least 2 rods and caps screwed up. There should be an arrow on the top of the piston and that points to the front of the engine. That will tell you about the bearing installation. Good luck.

By the way, I am still trying to convince my father to just get a used motor as I type this.... A friend of my mother's that has been a mechanic for 30 something years stopped by, and said the same thing... That he would not rebuild any engine really, he would buy a good running used one. This is because there are so many things that could go wrong with the engine being starved for oil for even a little bit (I drove the car about a quarter mile to a half mile or so low on oil). Which is why I don't want to simply rebuild this - it may turn into a ticking time bomb.

My only question about getting a used engine is this: How would you check to see that the used engine is in proper working order?