I have been trying to track down some lower end rattle after an engine swap. I haven't been able to get the bearing caps off of the rods or mains clean enough to perserve my plasigage. Any tips/tricks? also, here is a video of the rod end play on the crankshaft at full torque spec. Looks like too much play, huh?
Plastigage isn't used to measure side clearances. It'll just smear when you remove the cap, as you have learned. Plus, it works by being a known diameter that gets squished to a consistent width at a given clearance as the bearing cap is properly torqued. This doesn't happen on the sides. You need a set of feeler gauges to measure side clearances..
Had to Google it, but Lowes' Craftsman feeler gauge set measures down to 0.0015 inches. I don't have a 20R repair manual but I do have the 18R repair manual. According to the manual, the accepted range of thrust clearance is 0.0063~0.0102 inches for the 18R. The repair manual shows a dial gauge being used to measure thrust ckearances. If you have a 20R manual you can find the accepted range there. Edit: just remembered I have a 1988 Toyota pickup factory repair manual. Looked it up and the specs are the same for the 22R: 0.0063~0.0102 inches.
ooh, thanks man, I will totally gauge that up and see! Any tricks for getting bearing caps off smoothly?
yes, yes they do need to be torqued to spec. I would like to successfully use some plastigage, but have such a hard time getting the bearing caps off that I have just been messing up my plastigage before I can see whats going on.
Again, I don't think you can use plastigauge in this situation. At least, I've never heard of it. Think about the way it is supposed to work. You have a string of putty of a precise diameter that has to be thicker than the clearance so it can be squished to a splat of a precise width. As soon as you slide the rod across it, it will smear, shear, or ball up rendering any measurements useless.
I may not be getting my point across. I am trying to measure the clearance on the bearing surfaces the way plastigage is meant to be used, I just am not having an easy time removing the bearing caps without squishing it unevenly trying to take them off. The video shows lateral thrust play, I do NOT plan to use plastigage to measure that, it just seems to me that if the clearances for the bearing were in spec that they would not allow that much lateral movement as well.
Oh, now I see. Sorry. I've never used plastigauge so I don't have any ideas. Except maybe coat bearings with oil? Or does plastigauge dissolve in oil? Maybe PAM?