Bearing clearance
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Senior User
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 198
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From: Baltimore USA
Bearing clearance
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 03-Jan-03 AT 04:38 PM (EST)]I am assembling a 351W. The clearance in the book lists .0008 - .0015. The clearance is currently at .002. Is this going to be a problem for a low rpm engine?
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 208
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From: Palm Coast USA
Bearing clearance
.002"-.0025" seems about right. .0015" seems a little tight to me and anything under .001" is highly questionable. What is everyone else assembling theirs to? Any machine shop employees want to chime in.
RSH
RSH
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 450
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From: Charter Oak, Iowa
Bearing clearance
I'm curious too. My mains are running about .00175 and my rods are running closer to .002. My machine shop guy didn't think this was out of line. He says they grind for .0015 on the rods and .002 on the mains. I used plastigage and he said that the stuff is a good indicator of "general" clearance but not as accurate as the micrometer.
Randy
Randy
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,624
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From: Missouri
Bearing clearance
.002 is not a problem on any ford V8. I just did a 289 and it was .002 on both the mains and the rods and I was very happy with the clearance. If your oil pressure is low you need to look somewhere else for the problem. Using a plastiguage properly is a very effective way of measuring clearances. There are better and fancier tools out there but they are not necessary unless you are going to build a very high powered racing engine.
