>Does any know about some standard test procedure for testing whether your
>bearings need replacing? I was on the TRF tech line and the guy talked
about this
>but never explained it. He spoke as if you pulled the pan and slipped in
some sort of
>plastic shim... I really didn't get the jist of it.
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The process he/she was describing is called using plastigage. It is a very
thin, round piece of plastic that when placed between the bearing and the
crank journal, perpendicular to the axis of rotation, reassembled, torqued
to spec, then dissembled, is flattened. This now flattened or compressed
plastic piece is the actual clearance between the bearing and the
crankshaft journal. You then place this piece of plastic against a chart,
supplied with the plastigage to determine the actual dimensional clearance
in inches/mm. The wider the plastic (more compressed) the less actual
clearance you have. I might add that the surfaces being checked MUST be
ABSOLUTELY free of oil. The oil will contaminate the plastic and possibly
give you an incorrect reading-
>From the sound of it though, if you have that much bearing knock at
startup, its time for a rebuild, or at the very least, new bearings-
Barry Schwartz (San Diego) bschwart@pacbell.net
72 V6 Spitfire (daily driver)
70 GT6+ (when I don't drive the Spit)
70 Spitfire
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