Hi Carol!
> I ordered, per specs & input, all the oversized thrust washers
>from Moss --they arrived last Saturday. Opinons vary as to whether it
>is *best* to do this job via the oil pan; I've concluded it is my best
>option at this time, as there is not an engine rebuild in the budget.
I can't think of any reason why this can't be done as effectively via
the oil pan as on the engine stand. You're not trying to rebuild the
engine on your back here but rather save the crankshaft and block so
it may be fully rebuilt at sometime in the future.
Some thoughts:
Don't try to rush this job in any way. Support the car with as much
height as you can get but make sure it's rock solid and safe.
Pretend that your supports fail while you're under the car and you get
squashed and die. Then add the redundent supports you need to make
sure this won't happen. Large wood blocks or additional jackstands
are good. Not trying to scare you here...I go through this mental
thing myself each time I get under my Spit. It's important that you
feel comfortable under there for this job. Well....*comfortable*
might be a bit too much to ask...it's gonna be cramped...but you know
what I mean... :-)
You'll need a torque wrench. Accessing the thrustwashers requires
that you remove the rearmost crank bearing and this will need to be
properly re-torqued to spec.
Opps! Just realised something...I've never actually changed out
thrustwashers on a tr6...only my Spit. I've read that the procedure
is the same, but perhaps other list members will jump in if I make an
error.
Some of the oil pan bolts will be difficult to get at because they'll
be hidden behind the frame members. Don't panic...get yourself a good
assortment of open end and box end wrenches and you'll be able to get
them out....slowly to be sure...but they'll come out. Ratchets with
flex adaptors can help here too.
Before you remove the bearing cap take note of it's orientation...mark
it if necessary. It must go back on the same way. It is also a good
idea to have *new* bolts available to replace the old ones that you
remove. As you take the bearing cap off start thinking in terms of
"hospital clean" from this point on. Any little spec of grit that
might get on the crank journal or bearing could mess things up pretty
badly. Tough to keep things really clean while you're lying on your
back but it can be done...a box of Kleenex<tm> under the car with you
helps.
With the cap off the crank journal the bottoms of the thrustwashers
will be exposed. The idea here would be to use the new thrustwashers
to push the old ones out as you slide them 'round the top of the
crankshaft. As you've no doubt read before, the orientation of the
new thrustwashers is CRITICAL. Only one side of each thrushwasher is
bearing material, the other side is steel.
The bearing side has grooves cut into them for the oil flow.
The bearing sides need to go against the rotating crank flanges and
not the stationary seat cut in the block. In effect, they'll go in
opposite from each other with the bearing sides outward.
> The play is more than .010 and less than .250, about the width
>of a toenail, rather than a fingernail. I'm hoping I get her up on
>jackstands and find something other than thrust washers as the problem,
>but that may be delusional at this time.
Okay Carol...hang on just a second here...
I'm taking my shoe and sock off...hope you realise I don't do this for
just anybody...limping over to tool crib to retrieve calipers...cold
concrete floor, I'll have you know.
Now...the thickness of my *big* toenail is something on the order of
.046", whereas my little baby toenail is closer to .030". Can you be
a bit more specific? :-)
Seriously, I don't know the spec for the tr6 endfloat, but anything
over about .018" would worry me. The best way for you to really
measure this before to take things apart would be to borrow a dial
indicator with a magnetic base or clamp that you can read off the
crankshaft pully. This will give you accurate readings that you can
use later to test different size thrustwashers for best fit.
Re-install and re-torque your bearing each time each time you take
readings for different thruswashers...don't use the *new* bolts until
you're finished.
This is also an opportunity to examine your crank journal while you're
in there. Ideally it would have a mirror finish. Check to see if
there's any scoring large enough to hang a toena...er... *fingernail*
on. :-)
Look at the crank bearing shell too and see if you've worn through the
bearing material to the copper. This will give you some idea about
the health of your bottom end...the engines bottom end, that is...
Lubricate the bearing shell, re-install and torque. Clean out the
sludge from the oil pan...install new gasket. Cleaning off all the
oil pan bolts will make it easier to get the pesky ones back in.
Fill the engine with oil and give it a few cranks without the coil
high tension wire to build oil pressure. When you're ready to start
'er up, watch the oil pressure gage initially for pressure then nose
around for leaks...and you're done!
Cheers!
Tom O'Malley
'74, '77 Spits
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