Thread: Engine re-assembly techniques

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

y
[snip]

I used to believe that you oiled both sides of the shell but was then shown the difference between the clearances (using plastigauge) of shells that went in dry and shells that went in lubed on the back.

[snip]

Missed this the first time and yes, a big no-no.

It gives you totally false clearances, plus lets the shell move, plus can and will distort the shell when bolted together giving you high and low spots.
I've also been told it doesn't give the bearing adequate heat transfer into the cap, and it makes sense in spalsh feed engine or compressor but with pressure lubrication the flow of oil flow into and out of the bearing should be doing that IMO.
That's why we have pressure lubrication.

On the shells I pulled from the Tdi you could see the patches where oil/grease had been trapped behind them from the factory, slightly distorting the shell, and the stress fractures across the shell face from them. (although I still think they were a batch of faulty shells anyway that created the failures)


As an aside, anyone else over getting their hands greasy and working on vehicles as they, umm, get a little older ?

Talking of using things behind bearing shells and loctite in inappropriate places, many moons ago a work colleague was rebuilding his twin cam Toyota motor in the workshop.
He'd heard of them occasionally spinning a bearing so decided to assemble the crank with loctite behind the main bearing shells. It was enough to clamp the shells firmly on the crank, and no way it would turn.

Took him ages to remove the cured Loctite from everything....

Steve