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930cabman
I recently purchased a standard size main bearing set from a large vendor, checking the clearances I am finding this new set will provide a clearance at the high limit per factory specs. My crank is spot on, but the main bearing ID appears too large. I can easily fit a .004 feeler between the crank and new bearing ID. Just for fun, I tried an old (used)main bearing and found it to have a smaller ID (by about .0015) than a new one. Am I missing something?

Thanks
914Sixer
You have to remember that your old bearing shell has been crushed when you put the block together. Your new bearing has not had that happen yet. Size will change after crush.
iankarr
There's been lots of talk about quality beinig all over the place with new bearings. I had to go through two sets of Silverline before we had a workable combo. Tabari Andrade on the samba has a line on new german bearings which look promising.
930cabman
QUOTE(914Sixer @ Nov 27 2021, 02:37 PM) *

You have to remember that your old bearing shell has been crushed when you put the block together. Your new bearing has not had that happen yet. Size will change after crush.


Does the old bearing shell remain crushed after ?? how many heat/cool cycles and years in an engine?

I was unaware of crush, thanks for informing me. I simple test would be to assemble the case/main bearings and simply measure the ID before and after installed in the case.

Silverline is the only manufacturer I have found
914Sixer
Yes the old bearing remains crushed. Yes you can do a before and after. If the after is not good after crush, you may have to find another set. Silverline is the only one that is steel backed. NOS German ones are rare these days.
Mark Henry
Yes the bearings is a torqued spec. Plastigauge is about the only way to do it. I also measure the bearing shell thickness in about 5 spots to make sure the surface is even. Porsche also does this on GT3 911 bearings, you can see the mark from measuring tool.

You could get the bearings coated, but it only adds about .0002 to .0004" to the babbit surface.

AndradeT
QUOTE(iankarr @ Nov 27 2021, 04:06 PM) *

There's been lots of talk about quality beinig all over the place with new bearings. I had to go through two sets of Silverline before we had a workable combo. Tabari Andrade on the samba has a line on new german bearings which look promising.


Thanks again Ian!
930cabman
Crushed!!

I may have known this in the past, but with 69 years of crap between my ears, who knows?

I did get a good measurement on the OD of a crushed main bearing and a new Silverline main bearing, about .0015 difference. Given this, the actual bearing clearance would be in the .0025 range. My next step will be to assemble the crank with new main bearings and clamp everything together in the case and see how she spins. Plastigage will work for bearing #2, but not the others.
Thanks for the replies
930cabman
Yes, as expected: I did assemble the crank/new main bearings with green Plasti gage in the #2 bearing. Torqued things up, took everything apart, measured between .002 and .003 with the green Plasti gage, cleaned the Plasti gage off, re assembled everything with a few drops of oil and the crank spins nice. Not super loose, but nice. Tomorrow I will take things apart again and look for and rubbing spots on the bearings. I suspect none.
930cabman
Yes, as expected: I did assemble the crank/new main bearings with green Plasti gage in the #2 bearing. Torqued things up, took everything apart, measured between .002 and .003 with the green Plasti gage, cleaned the Plasti gage off, re assembled everything with a few drops of oil and the crank spins nice. Not super loose, but nice. Tomorrow I will take things apart again and look for and rubbing spots on the bearings. I suspect none.
iankarr
QUOTE(AndradeT @ Nov 28 2021, 11:35 PM) *

QUOTE(iankarr @ Nov 27 2021, 04:06 PM) *

There's been lots of talk about quality beinig all over the place with new bearings. I had to go through two sets of Silverline before we had a workable combo. Tabari Andrade on the samba has a line on new german bearings which look promising.


Thanks again Ian!

Is this really your first post @andradeT ? I'm honored wink.gif. You should def start a thread introducing yourself to this gang...
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