Whenever possible, I hand-fit Babbit rods before adjusting the oil clearance. Remove all the shims, coat the bearing area with Prussian Blue, and gently snug the rod cap nuts so there's a moderate amount of drag as you rotate the rod on the crankshaft. Disassemble, and look for bright (tight) spots. Carefully scrape the high spots with a tool made by hollow-grinding a 3-corner file to sharp edges. Reassemble and repeat until you get a smooth smear with no tight spots. Repeat for all six rods, then go back and start shimming for oil clearance. Put a small piece of .0015" shim stock between the rod cap and the crankshaft, and add shims until the rod will turn with only a slight amount of drag. Repeat for all the rods and make sure the shim pack stays in its proper place. If necessary, one more thin shim can be used on one side to split the difference between "too loose" and "too tight". Plastigage is OK for checking, but it leaves a lot to be desired for setting up clearances.
Of course, when I learned the above procedures, Plastigage was a new kid on the block, and my mentors didn't trust it much. They were wise men! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Mass production by lazy assembly line workers- - - - -back then, mechanics were skilled tradesmen, not parts-swappers, and they were expected to have the skills to make engines work right. That kind of pride in one's work just doesn't exist any more. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Update on 216 rebuild. 1938 nos block. Standard bore flat top pistons with 1950 head. Head and motor were decked. Milk can lifters with 10 1/2" push rods. Nos oil pump. Langdons electronic ignition. Motor is back in truck frame. New clutch disc and throw out bearing with flywheel and pressure plate resurfaced. Threaded holes in front main bearing caps 5/16th" so can now remove timing cover without removing oil pan. Having some issue getting harmonic balancer back on crankshaft. Wondering how warm I can heat in oven without damaging balancer or timing cover seal. Used to boil tractor front pulleys in oil and then tap on. Wondering if this would hurt balancer or seal? Still have to get oil pressure gauge,muffler, fluids, timing cover, and harmonic balancer before start up. Wondering on breaking procedures for motor? Looking for radiator support or pics of (see parts wanted post).
John 37 Chevy 1.5 ton 17 Dodge Brothers Roadster 23 Dodge Brothers Touring 23 Dodge Brothers Coupe 73 Plymouth Scamp 2 dr
Tapping those timing cover bolt holes is a solution looking for a problem, unless you're planning to change timing gears every couple of months for some reason. Why else would the timing cover have to come off? Even changing the front seal can be done from the outside. Did the machine shop drill and tap the crankshaft snout while it was out of the block so a harmonic balancer pusher can be used? If not, why not? I used to sell a kit to drill and tap the crank with it installed in the engine, but sourcing the drill guide bushings just got to be too much of a hassle, so I don't do it any more. I'll be happy to share the component list with anyone who wants to make up their own kit, as most of the components are standard stock items. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Not necessarily- - - - -just take a few precautions to keep the shavings out of the timing cover. Pack rags tightly around the crank snout or use masking tape or duct tape to seal the gap, stand the block up on the flywheel or the bellhousing on the base of a big floor-mounted drill press, and drill a 25/64" hole about 1 1/4" deep in the center of the crank snout. Then use a 7/16-20 plug tap to thread it at least 1" deep. Then rent a harmonic balancer push tool from a local parts store and install the balancer until it bottoms against the timing gear. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
It came out once- - - -I'll bet it can happen again. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
