Matt Liggett wrote:
>
> EMILY COWEN <ecowen@cln.etc.bc.ca> writes:
> > Bill, buy some "plastigauge", and find out just how much bearing
> > clearance you actually have.
>
> Can someone tell me what plastigauge is, where to get it, and how to
> use it? I'm going to be deep into my A-series this winter and I need
> a bit of a crash course (I already have David Vizard's EXCELLENT
> book).
>
> Perhaps an intro text on engine [re-]building in general?
>
I've never used Plastigauge, so I'm not sure of the details, but I
_think_ it's a little piece of soft plastic that you temporarily place
between the bearing and the journal. You tighten it up (to full torque?)
then remove it. You then compare how wide the plastic became when
"squashed" to a chart and that tells you the bearing clearance.
Please, though, someone with experience correct me if I'm wrong!
A book I have that looks pretty good (though I haven't thoroughly gone
through it yet) is called Engine Blueprinting. I don't have it handy,
though, so I can't tell you any more details such as the author or ISBN.
But it's a general book on rebuilding and making your engine "perfect"
or blueprinted. Not too hard to find - I bought mine at a B. Dalton
bookstore. I'm sure you can find it at www.amazon.com.
As you can tell, I'm PLANNING a rebuild, but haven't gotten very far!
Good luck!
Eddie
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