Some engine rebuilding questions

[stefan]

ok i spent 2 hrs cleaning things up and i got the same result

old bearings next to new





clean





result



ugh i dont know what to do now

[skeeters_keeper]

what's the reading on the old bearings? see if there is much of a difference.


Also, its a little hard to say but it looks like your old bearings are in pretty good shape, what made you decide to change them?

[stefan]

i was changeing them because i got a good deal on a full rebuild kit.

i guess the old bearings would be worth a try. but i sure would be supprised if the old ones were tighter.
the only problem is... when i pulled them out i just tossed them in a pile.. would it be the end of the world if they whent back in a diffrent order?

[jglutz]

Stefan....don't run the old bearings if they are not properly matached to the locatins from which they where removed!!

Your second attemp looks much better than your first.

The new bearing in the cap with the oil groove does not help the reading...the palstigage would be much wider in the middle if the groove was not there... The reading should always be taken in the middle....which should also be the widest point.

Most importantly...it does not look like you laid the palstigague at the very top of the journal...this is very important...when the strip of plastigage is off to one side or the other you will get lesser squeeze.

Your really close....give it one one more shot...now that your preped, it will only take two minutes...don't give up...it's the skill of patience that the difference between a good rebuilder and a butcher.

[stefan]

ok i bought fresh plastigague and tried it again.. same thing.. maybe just a hair bigger. I got pictures but im in the shop and the camera cable is in the house... lol. Everything was super clean and the plastigague was at the top

no idea what to do now

[jglutz]

Stefan....one more trick if your up for it....rotate the crank 90° and try one more time.

A couple more....are all of the bearing caps mounted when you're doing the plastigage?
Do you trust your torque wrench?
Do you have a micrometer capable of measuring the crank journal?

Anyone...please...has anyone else done a lower end and change out bearings with such karge oil grooves in the bearings?

[jglutz]

Here's some picts of the bearings I recently pulled. These are factory. This one is the front main. No oil groove on the cap piece...both the one removed (shown) and the one installed. I think your supply is wrong...especially seeing the unecessary oil hole...too much oil passage could cause low oil pressure....You might want to go back to your supplier.
That oil groove is killing the plastigage reading.

[stefan]

thanks for the info. just an update, im now looking for bearings on the internet because the cheapest set of mains i could find locally was $80 +tax.

I tried a few different things including a different torque wrench and nothing changed. As-well i tested the original bearings and they were within the service limit

[skeeters_keeper]

As-well i tested the original bearings and they were within the service limit

then return the other (wrong) ones and reuse your old ones! Their probobly good for anther 100k. My bearings also looked like jgluz's did, not like your new ones.

Unless your planing on turboing or juicing the B6 I wouldn't worry about them since they look so good and are still within service limits. just my .02

[stefan]

^ I mixed them up tho...

[skeeters_keeper]

^ I mixed them up tho...

Rule #1 in engine rebuilding: bag and tag everything! :lol:
I'm a pack rat, and i keep all kinds of junk laying around, but i always try to label it... i've got my old spark plugs in the boxes the new ones came in, labeled cyl 1,2,3,4 and which car they came out of... JIC i ever need them for troubleshooting, etc... i've got too much old junk like that laying around.


i guess your sorta SOL! good luck on finding the new bearings, hope they don't cost you too much!

[stefan]

^ yea i know. I had the old bearings and rings laid out on a bench and after awhile i just put them all in a container.. cause i figured since i was replacing them... oh well

how is ACL for a brand? Thats what the local parts place had. They wanted 80 for just the mains. On ebay i can get ACL rod,main, and thrust washers for $30.

[stefan]

ok, new bearings arrived. not much better reading. they look like the right ones. smooth cap piece exct. but the reading is still about half way between .002 and .0015 which I guess is still out of spec.. not sure what to do now.

I can throw up pictures tomorrow

[jglutz]

Do all of the bearing caps and plasti-gage at the same time....and see if there is any differences.
If nothing exceeds the 0.0015/0.0020 measurement...I would then measure the crank journals...if the journals are in spec...continue with the rebuild

[IL4Festiva]

one thing my grandfather taught me about taking stuff apart, label everything with a piece of masking tape or whatever with a # and write down what that part is and what it came from, and line the parts up in the order they came off. and never fix something that is not broken!