Not to make light of your situation, Mean, but I think you are giving up too soon on the rod bearings. You say you only replaced two rod bearings so the one slapping is still in there somewhere. I wasn't there, so I don't know what you did or how you did it, but tomorrow (if possible; I don't know your work schedule) I would give it another shot.

*Get some red and green plastigage because you need to know what the clearances are on the new bearings. Wash all the new bearing shells in clean varsol, etc. and lightly blow dry with some compressed air. Keep these clean and oil free for the time being.

*Remove your oil pump and check it out. Make sure the screen isn't plugged. Remove the pump cover and make sure the gears are OK. Reassemble and make sure it will prime and pump oil.

*Pull the plugs so the engine turns free and easy. Start with the rear crank throw and turn the crank so that the throw is at the bottom of its travel. Do this by the crank bolt or flywheel. Do not pry on anything inside the crankcase.

*One at a time, replace the bearing shells for the rod journal so you don't mix up any caps. Make sure you mark the cap so you get it back the way it was. Remove the old bearing shells and clean the rod big end surfaces as best you can. You don't want oil between the back of the bearing shell and the rod surface. Install the upper shell and then the lower shell; make sure they are seated, tabs in slots, etc.

*Take a piece of plastigage (red or green; whichever will show you the proper clearance) and lay it on the bearing in the cap. Install the cap torque it to 45 ft-lbs. Do not move the crank with plastigage in there. Remove the cap and check the plastigage. It should be between 0.0005 and 0.0022 inches. Anything 0.003" or over is too wide of a clearance.

*If the clearance checks out, then lubricate the upper shell and crank journal with Lubriplate 105. Do the same for the lower shell in the cap. Install the cap and nuts and apply some red locktite before torqueing to 45 ft-lbs.

*Repeat this process for the remaing crank throws. If you can't maintain a clearance of <0.003", then you will need a complete overhaul with the crankshaft resurfaced.

I would try this procedure first before going to the trouble of swapping engines.

 

well, i am going to get paid on thursday if not wed (military is wierd with pay) and i will get the bearing kit. or do you think it would just be better for me to get the kit that comes with the crank, i mean, the bearings i pulled were pretty bad and looked groved. the crank didnt though.

 

well i priced a new crank and bearings, i should just leave the rings alone right. or should i just go ahead and rering the ***** too? cuase thats 168 bucks at autozone. kinda expensive for me

 

Mean, just tell me what your plan is or what you want to accomplish and I'll tailor my advice accordingly.

It sounds to me that you just want to get her running and leave it that way until you come back from deployment. If that's the case, then just get the rod bearing set and install them like I outlined above. After you find out what kind of clearances your dealing with, then you can determine where to go from there. It sounds like your bottom end is in a bad way, but you may be able to fix it temporarily. I don't think you should by a new crank. Your old one can be reground for a lot less.

 

well that is the general idea of what i want to do for now. but there is no where around here to do any kind of grounding. and a new crank, main bearings and all rod bearings on ebay is like 230ish including shipping. i mean i have never chcked and tailored any ind of clearance issues before so it seems like a big job. not to mention i have never done that. and the temp fix is good but i do still have to drive it to new york, so it cant be to temp.

i dont know if it was just the bearings that were worn out either, it may have been the crank itself that was worn, i have no idea.

dont get me wrong, i am willing to just see if i can put the new bearing SET in. but again. i have to see if the store has the set.
how do i determine what ones i need. meaning the standerd size, .001, .010, .020? that confuses me

and now that i rered and reread that above thread, what is that plastigage? is it a one time thing? reuseable? use with a new set and hope they are the right size? if its not can i just ajust or do i have to get the oversized ones? this is what i am worried about.

 

nevermind. did my reasearch on the plastigage. its nifty, they even had pics. now my question is should i just do them with the standerd size get them individually? so i can return then as needed to get the oversized ones?

and if i am at say .003, to correct that get the oversized by what? the .001?

 

ok autozone can get me the new crank with all bearings for $169.49, so i think i am going to go this route rather then trying to figure out what bearings i need not have a garentee it will work.

prior to this work i will be pulling the motor, so i can get the valve stem seals fixed like i need, and do the bottom end, i am going to pull the oil pump and see if i can rebuild it or if i should just ge a new one. chances are i will just rebuild it. so that i can know it is not that

 

I sent you a PM on the subject.

You could try that, but if you are consistently at .003 or above with standard bearings, then you really need a rebuild.

 

Sounds like a plan.

But go ahead and get a new oil pump while you're in there.