Ok guys so I'm finally assembling my 390 and one of the first things I did is check for bearing clearance on mains. It's .003 across the board until I get to the rear main and the bearing(Clevite 77 ) seems to sit above the deck of the block not fully seating after doing a plastigage torque check. As you can see in the pic the top bearing with plastigage impression seems to be tight on the one side where bearing is seated but not really pressing onto side that is raised. Is this a bearing problem maybe and can I just hand file that ridge not sitting flat???any help would be appretiated

one other side thing how easily should the crank be able to turn over when all bearing caps are torqued tp spec?

 

F.Y.I. the thrust main bearing inserts do not go in the rear position.
The thrust main bearing in a 390 is in the center, this is not a C***Y!!
I suggest you get some expert help. Somebody familiar with FE's, before you make a Fatal and Costly mistake !!


Have A Good Day-----Hotwrench

 

wrong bearing for the rear journal. with the bearings in the right place you should be able to spin the crank by hand very easily.

 

73, you need a new pair of thrust bearings, you have already ruined that set. The thrust pair goes in the number three position, like wiht all of the other Ford V8s. Look closely at the block and you'll see that the number 3 spot is machined for the thrust flanges and no other spot is. If you have not built an FE before, get some help from someone who has, The FE has enough idiosyncracies that it is no place to be mucking about if you don't have FE specific Ford knowledge. You might try Steves Christ's book on FEs. It is available on this site. DinosaurFan, on an old 'puter my sister threw out

 

I'm going to agree with everyone so far. If you took the engine apart you should have remembered this. I strongly suggest you take Dino's advice and get Steve Christ's book so you can finish this thing correctly, or have someone else do it. When the caps are installed correctly it should spin free as a bird. "However if you are doing the plastigauge there is no lube on the bearings/crank" SO THE CRANK SHOULD NEVER BE SPUN IN THIS STATE.

One other thing I notice from the pict is that the block looks filthy, what are you doing just slapping a ring/bearings in an old engine to get a few more miles out of it ?

 

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*gets popcorn*

I'm actually getting ready to assemble my 360, but I also have Steve's book. I've already learned ton. Recommended that you get that.

On side note, I'm making a build thread here soon.

 

O CRAP!! Yeah I've built an fe before but it was about 8 years ago. My engine has been dissasembled for about 6months now and I never payed close enough attention to bearing location I guess. No I didn't turn the crank it was stiff. And to my block being dirty its been hot tanked and before I did anything I washed it down with hot soapy water...there was still a ittle surface rust though. I have a performance build book I've been going from but it doesn't go into too much detail on install.

 

Also if you are going to replace your cam bearings, remember to recess the front bearing .005 to .020 inches from the front of the block. Also install the front cam bearing with the slot facing the correct direction.

 

I didn't even attempt to install the cam bearings myself my machine shop did that for me. I feel stupid for that bearing install now that I've read into my haynes manual a little more it goes into detail on where the thrust bearing is located and how to set up end play and everything. I got ahead of myself and I just wanted to get clearance measurements first before I really got into it. New bearings are already on order!($100 with my good discount) Dino was right there junk.It scored the side flange of the bearings mating surface. O well lesson learned...

 

hey guys new question??? I have a windage tray thats going in but I'm wondering... I sandwich this with two gaskets then right? and should I use a light skim of silicone between them all. I'm going to use permatex silicone GREY for everything unless y'all think different. Any tips for a rear main seal seal install as well. I should put a bit of silicone under the rear cap?? Sorry for all the questions I just really wanna get this all right the first time. I gotta go to my machine shop and get some .090 restricter plugs for my new heads tomorow so I'm gonna ask him about these as well...

 

When it comes to pan gaskets, I like to glue one side in place - I use that Permatex rubber-cement-like stuff, coat one side of the gasket, and the pan, let it skin over, and put put the gasket on the pan and let it dry like that before assembly. That way, it will never EVER squeeze out. If it's cork, it should take any imperfections...

With the windage tray, I have no idea, but I would still do the same thing, I guess ...

But then, wait for other guys to respond, I haven't done it in a while

 

I usually use silicone(I like the black, don't matter though), and use it very sparingly over everything(both gaskets). Yes, you need two pan gaskets for using a windage tray.

Depending on which windage tray, you usually have to install the windage tray, then the oil pump. So.........I glue the first gasket down with windage tray, then set pan on and snug down LIGHTLY!!!!! Next evening I pull off pan, install oil pump and then the other pan gasket and finally put pan on for good. I suppose you could do it all in one fell swoop, but I like to do it this way, as you don't have to rush around as the silicone is setting. Rushing is something you DON'T do when putting an engine together. Once the pan is on for good there is no going back and "checking" anything.

For the rear main, I put a very, very, very, VERY LIGHT skim coat on the mating surfaces and a touch on each end of rubber seal. Once it's torqued down it seals up very nicely. Never had one leak or have issues. I'll re-iterate the VERY, VERY light skim coat on the mating surfaces. Too much and it will hold the cap off the surface and open the clearances. You're just trying to seal the fine imperfections only.

The rubber inserts for the sides, I usually end up having to thin them down to slide in easily. I use a bench grinder to gently remove material from the sides to make it slip in AFTER the cap has been installed. Once they slide in, I then give them a nice coat of silicone and slide them in and install the metal pins. There may be other "proper" instructions but this is how I've always done it. 20 yrs and never a rear main leak.

 

If you're going to use silicone, I'd suggest NOT torquing the pan down all the way until the silicone sets up nice. Too many times I've had the gasket squeeze out while I'm doing it - hence the rubber-cement stuff - and I just remembered what it's called, "Hi-Tack" from Permatex. It sets up pretty quick.

 

Ya, I have Hi Tack in my toolbox too.