Rebuilding the connecting rod was the last of the engine repair work so now its time to assemble this mess. I started by fitting the crankshaft.
I'd already cleaned, polished, and measured it so I was sure I'd ordered the right bearings but without having the expertise of an actual engine-builder, getting something precision-tech like this back together properly can be somewhat daunting for the average G. Like the holdup man on the Flintstones said to Fred: "Nice and slow see? That's the way to do it." Nice and slow..."
I wiped off the new main bearings and pushed them into place in the block, lubed them with engine oil, and placed the crank into them. I played around fitting various thicknesses of thrust bearing to finally settle on new standard ones. Crankshaft end float ended up at around 0.002" which is minimum. Fine.
I used green Plasti-Gauge in the main bearings, torquing each one up, removing it and checking for clearance. About 0.002" across all three is what I ended up with which is acceptable. I'd never used Plasti-Gauge before - it's pretty neat.
Once the main bearing clearances were dealt with I lubed them up with Permatex "Ultra Slick" assembly lube and torqued the main bearing caps to 85 ft/lbs. It rotated freely which was nice.
I then fitted the rear main oil seal as per the good book and it seems to have worked out. I used silicone grease on the cork seals in the sides of the rear main bearing cap and managed to get it together without ripping anything. It all looks good.
Then the pistons and rods. I fitted each rod to its respective piston using the Ultra Slick lube and then with lots of engine oil on the pistons (not the assembly lube!), clamped them up with a ring compressor and pushed them into their bores. I went one at a time and fitted their crank bearings using the Plasti-Gauge and then the Ultra Slick, torquing them up as per spec. All was within spec and good.
So the bottom end assembly is together and all torqued up and it rotates freely. Sweet! I'm pretty happy about that. The Murphy's Law part of my brain was expecting trouble but I guess my careful preparation paid off and it all seems good so far. The bearing clearances are on the high side of what the manual says is acceptable but I'd rather that than too tight. I can always run heavier oil if the oil pressure seems low. I'd bought new connecting rod bolts and nuts from Turners but upon fitting them had a bad feeling and ended up using the original ones. I've learned to listen to my gut and it told me to leave well enough alone here. Hopefully I don't regret that.
So there it is - the finicky, tricky, messy, and picky part of the engine is back together and looking good. What a relief!
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