My crank measures @ 1.247 and a straight edge is looking good across the bearings in the block.I bought new lower main caps. the rear main is finished including the end play as per the MTFCA manual.I don`t now if this a problem but i can get .0015 on the center main wit .026 shims on each side of the cap. will this work? maybe the new cap was filed before it was rabbited? thanks Ken
Are you getting too much or too little clearance? The shims are laminated. Reduce the thickness by peeling or adding too as needed. How are you fitting the crank to the new caps?
I just used new caps in my engine and has been good for a few years now. I do expect to have too redo it as it was a band aid to get running about 5 years ago.
Ken,
As long as the main bearings are aligned and fitted correctly the amount of shims (within reason) should not be a concern. 0.026" of shims should not be a problem.
Jim
Thanks for your advice! The first step i did was file the high spots then blued them to see how they were making contact and then time saver. they sure do look good with .0015 clearance.tool me two days or more on the rear main but turned out well. I also squared the bottom of the caps and indexed the bolts to the caps to be somewhat sure they are in the same position each time they are bolted down. indexing looked very important to me because when i installed a bearing cap with the bolts in and just rotating them the cap would move all over the place.
I read that at least 3 time and and still managed to miss read that you "have" .0015 clearance.
Hi Mark! sorry if i confused anyone .I have the one and a half thou. that i wanted for the mains. If anyone thinks that is to tight, please let me know. It`s not to late for me to go to .002 Thanks. Ken
Ken, you're fine at .0015. Some guys get there mains to where they're just snug. Then they wear them in by running the engine on idle. Make sure you put oil on those journals.