No smartass comments.

So I'm here at work, searching on cspeed about plastigauge etc.

Im getting ready to guage for new bearings, but it doesnt tell me to use old bearings or new ones... so, what do I do.

 

platigauge with new bearings.

 

When you use plastigauge (which you only should if you don't have a proper set of outside and inside micrometers or snap gauges) you are checking final oil clearances so you have to check the assembly you are putting together, meaning the actual crank, block, and bearings you are going to use. The bearing and crank need to be completely clean of oil or your readings will be wrong. Other than that, just make sure you read the instructions on the package and that you clean the area where the plastigauge was with some solvent to remove any residue.

Plastigauge can't tell you the diameter of a crank bearing journal or if it is tapered or out of round - you need a micrometer to do that.

 

proper steps in order as long as crank has been checked over already for taper and out of round

1. first crush bearings,install girdle with them in no crank though, torque bolts
2. lay strip on crank not the bearing,huge mistake people make. torque girdle down
3.remove and compare the strips to the paper that they came with
4. all is good continue to build, yes you can leave the plastigauge in there

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Scott_Tucker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When you use plastigauge (which you only should if you don't have a proper set of outside and inside micrometers or snap gauges) you are checking final oil clearances so you have to check the assembly you are putting together, meaning the actual crank, block, and bearings you are going to use. The bearing and crank need to be completely clean of oil or your readings will be wrong. Other than that, just make sure you read the instructions on the package and that you clean the area where the plastigauge was with some solvent to remove any residue.

Plastigauge can't tell you the diameter of a crank bearing journal or if it is tapered or out of round - you need a micrometer to do that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

do machine shops do this sorta thing? becuase with what you said it seem really hard and that I wont be able to do it without the mircometers and snap gauges etc. I dont have those, and I do not know anyone who does.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">proper steps in order as long as crank has been checked over already for taper and out of round

1. first crush bearings,install girdle with them in no crank though, torque bolts
2. lay strip on crank not the bearing,huge mistake people make. torque girdle down
3.remove and compare the strips to the paper that they came with
4. all is good continue to build, yes you can leave the plastigauge in there</TD></TR></TABLE>

thanks for the info, it was a little hard to understand.

 

if your not sure about out of round and taper make sure machine shop checked it. that is a must,also check for radii ride on it to

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if your not sure about out of round and taper make sure machine shop checked it. that is a must,also check for radii ride on it to</TD></TR></TABLE> can you please elaborate on the radii ride???

 

All these people are scaring you with crap you don't need to know. If you had a radius ride, or out or round condition (rare) or any other problem with the crank, it would have been apparent when you pulled the motor apart.

If you originally removed the crank and the bearings looked good, then the crank is good. Just plastigauge it and be done. I never use micrometers and I have a set in the garage.

My advice - when you crush the plastigauge, measure the crush width with a digital caliper ($20 at Harbor Freight). I will try and post the correlation between crush width and bearing clearance. I have it worked out on paper somewhere. You need that chart to figure out what your clearances are to 0.001".

Also, plastigauging is no walk in the park. It takes at least a couple of hours. You have to do it dozens of times because the guage usually gets ruined when you remove the caps.

 

no offense but those things do need to be checked over and if your not exp at doing these things some people do like to be informed of what to llok for and how to check. ps i wouldnt use any calipers from harbor freights there calibration sucks

 

no offense but those things do need to be checked over and if your not exp at doing these things some people do like to be informed of what to llok for and how to check. ps i wouldnt use any calipers from harbor freights there calibration sucks, and for the guy who wanted to know radii ride is when the middle of the journal wears compared to the edges of the journal. such as previous bearing problems would cause

 

Their calipers work fine. I used them on my last two motor builds.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Scott_Tucker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Plastigauge can't tell you the diameter of a crank bearing journal or if it is tapered or out of round - </TD></TR></TABLE>
It can tell you if it's tapered or out of round:

Run a piece the width of the journal and if one side gets squished more than the other it's tapered.

If you measure from several different positions around the journal an out of round condition can be detected.

 

i agree plastigauge cannot tell you taper or out of round you need an inside caliper

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no offense but those things do need to be checked over and if your not exp at doing these things some people do like to be informed of what to llok for and how to check. ps i wouldnt use any calipers from harbor freights there calibration sucks, and for the guy who wanted to know radii ride is when the middle of the journal wears compared to the edges of the journal. such as previous bearing problems would cause</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree with postman, those things should be checked if you are going to do it properly. If you had a machine shop grind or even just check and polish the crank then they should have done it - ask them. Using plastigauge is fine as a final check especially if you don't have mics - it sure as hell is better than nothing at all. Like postman and I said though, it will not tell you if the crank is out of round or tapered. As a matter of fact, if the crank journal is out of round your plastigauge reading may be off. Your Honda crankshaft should be nitrided though so it should be extremely hard and most likely isn't out of round unless its had the crap beaten out of it or it has been ground undersize.

Radii ride means that the bearing is riding on the 'fillet' (rhyming with billet) which is the curved area where the journal meets the crank throw. If you cut a groove in the fillet that is where the crank will break.

 

so heres what im thinking.

im going to call a few machine shops and have the bottom end assembled (rods, pistons and crank installed in the block and torqued)

then ill do the rest.

thank you all for the help, i do appreciate it.

 

a lead mechanic at full race in phoenix will assemble for $300 so, i think im going to have him do it.