RE: IML: 18 year anniversary

["Brooks Harkey" <vm.dude@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kenyon,

That's real very disturbing why tightening those 2 rods stops the crank.
Here are some possibilities:

1) Take the bearings back out of the rods and make sure that there's nothing
between the back of the bearing and the rod (and the cap piece, too).  A
piece of sand or grit can make a world of difference.

2) Check that the caps are on the rods facing the right direction.  Each rod
& cap should be numbered, and the numbers should be on the same end of the
rod.

3) I guess it's possible that your "new" crank is bent.... when you store
crankshafts, always be sure they are stored standing on their back end, not
lying down.  Their very weight will bend them ever-so-slightly.  I know this
is weird -- but go to any place that turns cranks, any machine shop, etc --
you'll always find them stored this way, or hanging from their snout on a
wire.  ALWAYS stored vertically.

4) It's possible that the other rod journals are smaller than this journal
(I know, that's "out there", but still a possibility).  You can go to any
*good* auto supply store and ask for a packet of "Plastigage".  Less than
$1, I'm sure.  You wipe the journal clean; lay on a strip of plastigage; put
on the rod and the cap; torque to specs, then turn right around and remove
it.  Measure out how wide that plastigage strip got smashed by holding the
examples on the package up against it, and it will tell you the clearance
between the bearing and the crank.  You might want to do this twice (yes, it
takes time) at 90-degree angles on the crank.

5) Lubriplate makes some stuff that comes in a tube called "Engine Rebuild
Lube" or something to that effect.  Make sure that during your assembly, you
put plenty of this between the crank and the bearings, but *NONE* between
the back of the bearing and the cap/rod.  It is possible that if you did not
use some stuff like this, those "last 2 rods" are just the strangling point
beyond which the whole assembly becomes too tight to turn.

Anyway -- I would not go any further until you get this resolved, because
lubricant must be present between each bearing and the crank while the
engine's running.  Too little clearance, and you have metal-to-metal
contact, and then you have an engine life measured in minutes.

Hope that helped.... I'm jealous of you having a '62!!!  (:-D)

--Brooks

-----Original Message-----
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kenyon Wills
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 9:58 AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: IML: 18 year anniversary

Yes.  They are correct, as I laid out a beach towel
and  placed everything out in order as it came off,
but that's a good guess as to why things would have
gone together screwey.

-K

--- Robin Giesbrecht <robings@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Are you sure you have the correct caps for the rods?
> They are mated. I ahd 
> the same problem on a 350 Chev a while back and
> turns out I had mixed a cap  
> with another rod.
> 
> Robin Giesbrecht
> 72 Imperial
> 
> >From: Kenyon Wills <imperialist1960@xxxxxxxxx>
> >Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >To: IML <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >Subject: IML: 18 year anniversary
> >Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:56:48 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> >That's how long it's been since my last engine
> >rebuild.
> >
> >Remember that spun bearing on the 1962 that I was
> >going to try a get-me-by on?
> >
> >nope.
> >
> >Well the crank was really fried.  I used a mens
> belt
> >with sandpaper and polished it, but it looked like
> >marbled meat with all the grooves and pits in it.
> >
> >My $100 repair is now sitting at $600 and I've
> lapped
> >the valves, gotten a replacement crank (free!!!), 2
> >new con-rods, new bearings all around, and gasket
> >sets.
> >
> >I wasn't aware that there are freeze plugs in the
> >heads.  One was weeping.  I did those too.
> >
> >The engine is now sitting in the garage all painted
> up
> >and new-looking.  I also did new rings and honed
> the
> >cylinders, so that's looking up too.
> >
> >Problem is that two of the con rods, when tightened
> >bind the crank up so much that it won't spin.  I'll
> be
> >taking them out and having them reconditioned - I
> >presume that they are not the correct diameter
> >anymore.
> >
> >Otherwise, things are going well.  What a bunch of
> >work though!!  I've got 3 8-hour days in and
> presume
> >that there are 2 more before I'm driving the car.
> >It's nice not to be paying $3000 for an engine
> rebuild
> >and all the money to remove/reinstall, but I'm not
> so
> >certain that I'll be doing this on the 1973 and the
> >1970, both of which will "want" a rebuild in the
> >coming years.
> >
> >I think that I'll maybe look at having a spare 440
> >that I can have redone and ready to plop in, rather
> >than having the car down for the week.
> >
> >Kenyon Wills
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> 
> 
> 
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Kenyon Wills
 
 






















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