Adrian- You don't have to buy a ridge reamer, a ring compressor tool, or even a ball hone. If you call around to some of your local parts shops, some of them will rent them or even loan them! Another tip: Break one of your old piston rings and use the sharp edge to clean the carbon inside the ring land- you don't need no stink'n tool for that! Something else you should consider, is to measure the clearances in your rod and main bearings. It will only cost you $1.99 for the strip of plasti-guage and a couple hours of your time and patience As far as I know, they all have a notch somewhat. Has someone "fly cut" them by chance for better V/P clearances? Did you notice what kind of head gasket you had? Was it a thin meatal shim or a thicker composite material? Isn't this fun? Erik
Thanks Smartin. So heres the deal, machine shop just called me (i dropped off the piston there earlier), he said that it doesnt hurt to check, and judging by that one chances are that another has a crack in it. Which is making me think i need to just wait, save and replace em all. So since I will be pulling them all, I need to know, do the the bottom parts of the rods (the half circle I unbolt to get them out) need to go back on the same rod and in the same direction as they were in, same question about the bearings. I basically just want to make sure that as I am taking them all off I am labeling everything appropriately and not making anything more difficult for myself in the long run. Im a little excited for some reason?o No: weird
Yes label everything Anything thats not new should go back in its original place Using a punch as mentioned above you can number everything 2 dots for number 2 cylinder, 3 dots for number 3 cylinder etc also mark front facing position too.
Yes, the rod caps(the half circle you unbolt) and the main caps need to be replaced in the same position and order that they were removed. The rod caps must stay with their mated rod, also. Remember, the blank connnecting rod is put in a vice and the hole is drilled into them. Each one can be a tiny bit off center when the original drilling was done. Therefore, every connecting rod has a matching cap that is unique to its matching rod. Same with the mains.
Its so tempting to do more while im already in this deep. If I really think about it, it could just be worth it to go all new pistons just to ease the mind. Probably get the heads worked on and cleaned up too, maybe a cam. It may take a little longer, but it just seems to deep into it to go without making sure everything is right and the way i want it the first time. Anything else you can think of performance wise while im there?
Each rod cap has the rod number stamped on it from the factory and matching number on the rod its self...just keep them together and the numbers on the same side...and the main caps are marked from the factory,and are directional,,,, watch out that the machine shop doesnt put the pistons on the rod backwards.... the oil squirt hole goes up toward the cam... and yes, use the loaner tools from the auto supplys.... You can buy a single head gasket,,, piston , ring set and bearing.... but,,, I think that you have the right idea by replacing all the pistons and rings...and while you are into the bottom end the rod and main bearings... dont forget the seals at each end of the crank....:laugh: :laugh: ,,, you are learning my friend,,, you are on your way....:laugh: :laugh:
I had a 264" nailhead crack a piston. I pulled the rod and piston and replaced the piston with a new one directly from Buick (this was many years ago). The 264 NH had the clamp rods, so no press was necessary to put the new piston on the rod. I honed the cylinder slightly and reinstalled the piston and rod with the old bearing which looked good. I ran that engine for years afterward and never had a problem. I would take one of two paths. Either do the absolute minimum possible, or "bite the bullet" and redo the whole engine. Just two cents worth from an old geezer.
so, since it seems to be the number one reoccuring thing...how do I tell whether or not to replace the bearings.
Look for shiny spots on the bearings, and copper showing. How many miles does the engine have on it? My thoughts are it would be best to just replace them anyway, that way you don't have to worry about them.
Post high resolution pictures of the bearings and the crankshaft journals. Scratches, scoring or copper colored bearings mean replacement and possibly crankshaft journal polishing or grinding. Devon
Yep, on what Dev says,,, and think about the difference of the work in doing it now and doing it with the engine installed in the car....:laugh:
Ok, inspected the bearing that came off the rod from the piston I pulled. The entire middle of it is shiny, it doesnt have any scratches that I can feel at all. Its hard to get a picture of.
Yay :laugh: . It has some marks and little things but you cant feel any inconsistancies at all. The odomoter reads about 60,000 so it shouldnt be too bad Talked to the previous owner, he said as soon as it started making the wierd sound that they stopped running it. I am assuming thats why no real damage was done. I also dropped the heads off to get looked at at a local shop today.
Have them show you how to use Plastigage to check your bearing clearances before you do the final assembly. Devon
You use plastigauge to check the bearing clearances. You put the plastigauge between the bearing, and the crankshaft journal.
You should be able to ask any of the shops you're using to understand how to use Plastigage. Seeing it for yourself is going to be a lot better than reading about it. In the meantime, Google is your friend... Read, study, learn the most you can. Ask questions next. Devon
