did you get the numbers off of the bottom of the block and much is the number to the corresponding bearings? other option is to pull the main bearings caps back off and put a piece of plastic gauge and check

 

im gonna tear it apart either tonight or tomorrow and plastigage it, hoping i dont have to get new bearings but thats probly the case

 

Sorry to hear about your bearing problems. I am not much help in that area. Hope all works out for you.

 

Not necessarily..... What happened when My machinist was watching me(making me nervous, lol)... I mixed up the bearing caps... Soon as I got them in the places they were supposed to be... POOF, smooth as butter. Before that, I had 3 in of 5 I think, and at the #3 install, I could no longer turn it. 1 CAP caused that! Just tell me..... Did you mix and match this block with the caps that looked good, etc? That can be a problem when you're dealing with something that's NOT re-ground, crank-wise. When it is, you're starting fresh, and the machinist usually puts the caps on and gives the journals a good honing(NOT removing a bunch of thousandths or anything, ...just cleaning up the grooves and any 'out of round' that might have developed.

My point is this; LOOK INTO EVERYTHING as you remove things. First, look to see that you've replaced the caps where they go, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, then make sure a thrust washer didn't kink up... that CAN happen, then you have something basically 'WEDGED' in there, ya know?

Don't stress too much just yet, buddy, k? Worst case scenario, you might have the crank ground 10/10 and then swap them back these bearings for some 10/10. Get out a micrometer and start measuring against the FSM recommended clearance numbers, etc., ok?

YOU'LL GET IT, BUD! Keep the good attitude, too! lol. Send up a when you hit a wall... WE WILL help as long as we can, ya know? Hard to do much when not there.... But there ARE very common issues.... And circumstances that cause said issues... This is one of those 'issues'... time to find the circumstance, that's all, right?

 

i am posotive caps are ine the right spot, have gone over that like 10 times lol, the only thing i can think of is to get smaller bearings, idk im gonna try one more thing before i tear it all apart again, torque it down in 3 stages

 

here are some pics i took last night






and some of the new trike since this is the thing keeping me from going insane over this motor lol

 

i htink i found the problem! took the crank back out, saw that the thrust bearings were scarred up on the back side, looked at the crank and there is a burr where the thrust bearing rides. took out the burr, and d&j auto parts out of california is sending me a new set of thrust bearings they are awesome, already sent me another set of main bearings, if any of you have to work with them definetally do it, they are awesome!

 

Good news, .... now KILL IT! lol.

 

yet another problem! took out the thrust bearings since i got new ones, plastiguaged all bearings and they all checked out within range, torque it down to 20ft lbs. and it turns hard, go to next step and torque to 45 ft. lbs and it locks up tight idk whats going on, someone please help me, i also torqued it without the thrust bearings just to make sure that was the problem and its not, someone please help me!

 

There's only one thing to do.... "A series of things" .....

SEND OFF THE CRANK! That's #1, 86... And I'm sorry, I know you're trying to do this on the low end budget angle... But you have to figure this out, and there is a few things....

1. Have the crank checked out by a crank shop and verify it's straight and that they're all ok at ZERO grind. Then get the measurements.

2. Measure each journal with the caps on from 5-6 different angles, to verify they don't need to be ground/rounded out

3. Since this is happening with the mains on, alone...> I would guess that you just need to verify the rod journals for round and then once the crank is checked, you'd be good to go on that one.

I'd be willing to be it's what I said, ..... "you have a main bearing cap OR MORE that's out of round or 'off' in general."

You're on the second set of bearings now, right? Or is this the same ones and you're just plastigauging?

I would have the caps on the block and run it through a honer to test for 'round' and 'similarity'....(you know, to see if the 'right measurement' hone get's caught up in there.) I'd also have the crank spun/checked/verified(again???? Not sure if you'd done that, can't remember). YES, you're talking a lil more money involved... but once it's all ground out/refinished, and with some probably 10-10 bearings, ... you'll be done with this nightmare, ya know?

Just IMHO, PLEASE, anyone tell me I'm wrong... cuz I don't WANT him to have to go through more, ya know? lol.

 

Sorry to hear you having to go through this. It is frustraing. Chef has you on the right track. Atleast you didnt get it all togther and in the truck and run into this. Wish there was something I could suggest to get you out of this bind.

Maybe your machine shop will let you bring the block and crank in they can see something for you. Here is where having a machine shop that really cares for their business is worth every penny.

 

Just read thru your thread, first let me say I admire you doing this build. Now to your current issue.
Mark "chef" went over most of this and he is a thorough dude so I'll try and not be redundant,
1 are all the main caps from this block.
2 is the crank from this block.
3 have you measured the crank journals with a micrometer
4 did You mark the caps as you removed them for location and direction.
These may seem like silly ?s but the answers are critical even for a machinist to do a proper job he has to know what parts he's working with.
That said I agree with Terry and mark you are going to have to get a machine shop involved, I personally would never install new bearing on a crank that has not atleast been polished and the block journals check for out of round. The extra cost is worth the peace of mind in my book.

 

Sucks ur having these problems. But Chefs right. Get thecrank checked and go from there. We know your in a budget like 99% of us here but spend a little now and save in the long run

 

i think we found it, we torqued the caps without the crank in and just bearings, we mic'd the gaps and there is less clearence across where the bearings meet, than up and down, i either have warped caps, or something is going on with the bearings. ill post the exact measurements later today

 

i think we found the problem! the bearings measure fine on one side, but on the other its way to small with the caps torqued down and no crank, so i think i need some smaller bearings, and the ones i got are ˟˟˟˟

 

GREAT NEWS! I hope that's it! It's surprising that the Main Journals and Rod Journals with the caps on weren't MINIMALLY bored and honed out....but if you find the bearings-swap with new ones works?>>> SHWUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEET! LOL.

I, personally, would take the block before you assemble and lay it down and run the journal bore/hone through it. Then, measure and order bearings. It'd put you back around 2 days, then another day or two to get the bearings..... and THEN? >>>> GRANTING the Crank IS "GOOD2GO",...... slap it in and drive it like you own it! Might as well THOROUGHLY check the mic readings on the rod journals while you're at it..... cuz those journals could be 'warped', as you said, as well.

But, if everything is checking out and you think you got it.... cool Just sayin... I'm a bit more "BETTER MAKE SURE" than that, I suppose, hahaha.

Best Wishes, 86!!!!!

 

decided were taking the block and crank in to a machine shop and having them do it

 

Good idea, man..... You're gonna bring the bearings and caps with ya, right?

Best wishes! Check in and let us know what they're going to want for that inspection/maybe lil work, k? Let em know that you're doing this project yourself for school, etc., ...DETAILS! lol.... Seriously, I'd give you a break if I ran it and you let me know lol.

 

yea im giving them everything to assemble the bottom end except pistons and rods, ill let them know im doing it for a school project, but yea ill keep you guys updated, i didnt really wanna have to fork out the cash but there is no other way, so im gonna have to bite the bullett

 

I am sure it is frustrating. Find the problem is the toughest, fixing usuall isnt so bad. Great job on finding it.