for the mechanics

[Camaro84]

hey yeah i just wanted to know if there were any mechanics in here that could help me out with my rebuild of my 350 engine....ummmm i just torqued all my rod caps down to 45 pds ft and now my crank is really tuff to turn ... so i was wondering at about wat torque should i beable to turn the crank when i try to turn it with a torque wrench it turns the whole negine on the stand.................Please help me im lost...

[supervisor1886]

Uhr? Whats the condition of the crank (resurfaced or what?) and the bearings. And what sizes. Go to an autoparts store and get some plasti gage, if you didnt do so yet. Then get the specs for this right, you really wanna be sure about the clearences there, otherwise its 1st run will be its last. As long as I know its obvious you are too tight, the crank should turn freely and smoothly.

[RahX]

yea, make sure all the caps are on the right rods and mains and make sure theyre facing the right direction. double check all the part numbers too. plastigauge can help and if you torque it to spec and its tight there is a problem. you can get undersize/oversize bearings. if the crank is stock make sure theyre not under/over sized.

[Camaro84]

It is a resurfaced crank i had the machine shop do that for me..... also i had him order the bearings....... i bought plastigauge and checked the clearance it came out to be about .0015 and i was told it should be between .002 -.003...... i asked the machine shop and he told me it should be fine... with everything torqued down it turns freely after i get it to turn the first time..... but the first spin i have to give it alot of torque but after the first torque i can turn the crank with only about 30 pds ft torque... please help...

[supervisor1886]

The clearence seems to be fine. On german engines they go as low as 0.0010. is it on all of them bearings.Its a pretty tight fit,but I have seen people turning the crank with pistons instaled by their bear hands. So will see, maybe someone comes up with a better idea here.

[Morley]

You did put assembly lube on all of the bearings and on the crank, right? If not...stop turning the engine! Pull the caps and do it. Also, you want to wipe the cylinder walls down with clean motor oil and a lint free cloth.

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by Morley

You did put assembly lube on all of the bearings and on the crank, right?

damn, beat me to it.

[Camaro84]

Yeah i did put a gang load of oil and assembly lube on the bearing i think it might be fine with that clearance...... this might be funny but im actually kinda having a hard time finding wat gaskets go were on the oil pan im not sure of the one that goes by the timing cover

[supervisor1886]

If you can turn it freely with your hand (with no pistons in) it should be fine. Otherwise I would not put it together yet.

Also, you know, we put lube on everything!

[bobss396]

Did you do the thrust bearing adjustment? You should have one main bearing that is odd, believe it's the 4th one. You have to bias the crank towards that bearing when you torque all the caps. Your best bet is to carefully take the caps off, lift the crank out and look at all the bearings. I like to use a 20 straight weight oil to do my assembly. The rule of thumb for a complete short block is 40 lbs should get it to rotate.

Bob