The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Correct bearing clearances for a 52 216?

I was looking on line at a 49-53 car shop manual and the bearing clearances for a 216 were listed as: Connecting Rod clearance .001-.003 & Main Bearing clearance .001-.003 .

I was then online looking at 216 specs on a few different sites and they listed the clearances as: Connecting Rod Bearing clearance .0003-.0013 & Main Bearing clearance .0007-.0028 .

Note that the main bearing clearances in the book and online are close, but there's a big difference between the rod clearances. Since I'm getting ready to install the pistons and check the rod clearances, I need to know what the correct clearances are. Can someone verify?

look in old online chevy manuals, it has the official clearances. I would try and keep it between .001-.002 on either. I like a little tighter

.0003 and .0007 are both under .001 ( one thousands of an inch). Too tight of a bearing clearance for me,especially on a splash oiled rod setup. I wouldn't run those clearances on a full pressure setup either. .001 to .003 would be more like it

you got too many zeros in front of the 3....

I replaced the old crankshaft, which had a bent flywheel flange (another story), with a crank I got off ebay. The replacement was ground by Stamos Crankshaft Specialties, in Sacramento, and came out as a -.010/-.010 grind. I then bought +.010 main an rod bearings, again off ebay. I just now finished installing the pistons and the plastigage measurements on all the rod bearings were all at .002 or slightly under, so I'm happy with that. The online specs I saw, that didn't seem right, were on these two sites. The data is the same on both, but I don't know what the source was.

www.adchevy.com › Truck Info

www.secondchancegarage.com/public/468.cfm

I would say .002 rods, .0025 to .003 mains.
If its a dipper lube deal I don't think having them tight is a good idea.

Have your rods been converted to insert bearings or are they original poured bearings?

Yes, they were converted at some point. The truck is a 1950, but the engine is a 52, so it's most likely a factory or aftermarket rebuild. Even the serial number behind the distributor is unidentifiable (different post). Either here, or on another Forum site, someone posted a catalog pic of an insert conversion kit that used to be available years ago.

The clearance for insert bearings are different than the earlier poured bearings that use shims. Make sure that you don't use any shims with yours. You should be in the .002 range. I would also check the dipper height and make sure that the tubes in the pan are aimed correctly.