I have a book that explains that i need to measure out factory specs, it says they needs to be .11-.21 my question is how do i get those measurements by using a plastigauge, it only shows .001,0.015,0.002 and 0.003... can anyone explain how i would get .0017. its going to be on the main cap.

 

another question to verify im using this correctly... to get .0017 on a plastigauge do i need to add .0015 and .002 to equal .0017? thats the only way i can see to get .0017

 

Do you have the plastigage? It is a thin strip of plastic/wax. You cut off a piece about the width of the bearing. Lay it in the bearing, put on the caps and torque them. Pull the caps off. Then take a piece of the paper that the plastigage comes in (it looks like a ruler) and lay it on the compressed plastigage. How wide the compressed plastigage is tells you your clearance. Plastigage does not give you an exact measurement-i.e. 0.0017. If the width is slightly narrower than the mark equivalent to 0.0015", but not as narrow as 0.002", you are close. To get an exact measurement you need machinists tools, bore gauges and the like.

 

heres how you use plastigauge

step 1) open small box
2) remove plastic strip
3) throw in trash can
4) get dial bore gauge, measure for out of round and taper on bore
4) measure OOR and taper on crank.
5) subtract to get clearance.

 

i just torqued the main caps and i got measurement clearance. I used the green plastigauge, tell me what do u think of this?? My main concern is if my caps vary in measurement is that going to be ok??

main cap #'s 1,2,4 are .0015 but slightly larger than .0015

cap #'s 3,5 are exactly measured as .0015

is it sound good to u??

by the way the engine is b18b

 

That looks fine. The recommended clearance is a specified range, not an exact number.