First off, Im an L1 tech. I've assembled several engines before from hondas to sb350s. I am by no means an expert, but Im not a noob either.

Im finally building my lsv-t and Im having issue with the rod bearings.

The rods are manleys and the big end bore is 1.884 . According to mitchell the stock rod big end bore is 1.890 . My crank/rod jounals are 1.771 - 1.772 . The smallest bearing honda makes is pink, which multiplied by 2 comes out to .1174 - .1172

My oil clearance is only .112 with no bearing. the smallest bearing is .117

Thats an oil clearance of negative .005

If the rod bores were stock size my oil clearances would be just about perfect.

Has anyone else encountered this? Are my only options to
1)grind the crank,
2)or bore the rods open a little more,
3)or find really really thin bearings?

What would you do?

I bought the crank from golden eagle and didnt notice it had a broken bolt in the snout and the keyway was fubarred until after I had already had it balanced it. Needless to say I had to pay to have it removed and the keyway fixed or scrap the balanced crank. I know I should of payed attention when I got the crank but I wasnt ready to assemble it and I just threw it off in the corner and forgot to look it over when I took it to the machine shop. My fault for not looking it over when I got it, GEs fault for selling me a bad crank, and my machine shops fault for not catching it before balancing. whatta gonna do now? Noones gonna take responsibility and make it right, so Im stuck with it....anyways....

The condition the crank was in leads me to believe that it broke the balancer bolt and then threw it off which damaged the keyway. Before I put anymore money into this crank, would you guys risk installing a crank that has thrown a balancer off?

Should I have it tested for cracks?

Also do they make thrust washers in diffent thicknesses and does anyone have part numbers or a diagram of the different thicknesses?

 

I would have the rod ends bored open a little more. And you might as well have the crank magnafluxed before install. GE is generally known for quality products but every now and then **** happens. And judging by the condition of the crank you recieved there may be more damaged to it.

 

I'd call GE and see what they can do for you. I know for a fact that they stand behind their products 110% from THEIR mistakes or catastrophic (<-spellling ) caused by their parts.

If this is a manufacture defect I'm sure they'll replace the crank you bought from them for free of charge even though you had it balanced and whatnot.

 

I should clarify, I bought a used oem LS crank from them when I bought my sleeved block. I already paid to have the bolt removed, so even if they did replace it, I would still be out money for the balanced crank and the bolt removal. And after having a small issue with the block which wasnt their fault, Im not about to deal with them again. But thats another story...... I was just wondering if anyone else thought I should have it magnafluxed or checked with dye? It balanced pretty good, the journals were ok, and the runout was in spec. Just the thought of trashing a brand new enigine over a stock crank worries me. Im not sure what kind of damage can occur from the harmonics if the balancer is thrown off. Im sure it wasnt run for too long without it, so Im probably just being paranoid

 

GE is a good company. Here's Rob's email. Robert@goldeneaglemfg.com

I'm sure you present your case in an adult manner he will do what he can to help you out.

They have a lot of respect in this sport compact comminuty.

Good Luck

 

Definitely have it checked for cracks and check to see if its bent. I would not trust that crank without checking every journal. This crank sounds like it was bought used, is that correct? Did you buy it straight from GE? Was it a used crank thrown in a new box accidentally?