Well, the washers are in and the motor runs!
Finally got the washers in after a few modifications. Because
the crank had worn into the bearing cap, I machined a groove in it to
take an extra washer for the lower half of the crank flange. I drilled
the washer and bearing cap and tapped in 3 brass screws #4-40.
I used a Dremel tool with rubber/abrasive tipped bit to polish
away any high spots off the crank flange. Then I polished the flange by
hand with 1500 emery on a soft wooden stick. Took great care not to
scuff the main bearing journal. The flange came out smooth, but of
course still concave. That would require removal and major machineshop
work.
I ended up fitting a +.015 washer at the front, a +.005 (ground
down to +.003) in the rear upper, and a +.015 and a .007 shim for the
rear lower. I am not sure if the upper and lower are really in line, ie
taking the same amount of thrust. I tried Plastigage (red), but it
requires more force to squash than I could apply with a 12" screwdriver
against the crank counterweight. So I eyed it !-)
And because all this was done laying on my back under the car,
it took longer than if the motor had been on a nice clean bench!
When I got the washers in, I left ZERO clearance because the
crank flange had worn concave (ie hollowed out). So I expected the
washers to wear first at the outer and inner edges until the flange hit
a little more surface. That is what has happened so far, as I took it
for a 30 mile run tonight. The clearance is up to about 7 ot 8 thou.
Of course, while working on the washer problem, I found lots of
other things that needed attention - like the stripped oil pan bolts
into the front aluminum seal block. I tried to find Helicoils for the
5/16" X 24 bolts, but could find NONE. So I tapped the hole to 8mm X
1.25 and put in a metric bolt. Seems to have held firm, but I sure
didn't put the 20 Lbs torque on those two!
Let you know later how it goes!
Cheers, Fred
--
Fred & Wendy Griffiths
Calgary, Canada
mailto: griffco@cadvision.com
http://www.cadvision.com/griffco/index.htm
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