Wrist Pin Question

[97GSTspyder]

So I got the entire motor ripped apart. There was quite a bit of heavy sludgeon the oil pickup screen. My rear main seal was leaking, and the gasket for the pump-to-block seemed to be leaking. The oil rings on all pistons seemed to be in *decent* shape, compression rings looked amazing...And the rod bearings looked damn near new

So here's my question. You guys know how the rod on the piston slides side to side a bit? Well I started cleaning the #1 piston in my parts washer. After scrubbing it lightly with a toothbrush and letting it sit in the cleaner for a few hours, I pulled it out and the wrist pin seems a little shady. When moved to one side of the piston skirt, the rod freely and easily swings to the front/back on the skirt. When the rod is slid to the other side of the skirt, it doesn't seem to want to swing front/back. Seems a bit tight, until I slide it back to the other side.

I don't know if it did this before I started cleaning it, I should have payed more attention. The other 3 pistons, however, don't do this. They all slide/swing perfectly.

Would it be because I started cleaning the piston and all of the oil that was on/in the piston is now gone, causing the sticking? If that were the case, I would think the rod would be 'tight' on either side of the skirt...

Thanks for any help.

[ned032002]

^ good answer...