Pontiac 89017700 Bearing Kit,Connect Rod

When the pistons are produced with piston rings and connecting rods, one is in a position to place them in the engine. A highly recommend that the cylinder bores must be very clean by applying light engine oil on the cylinder walls and use a clean lint free cloth to wipe it several times. Lubricate the connecting rod bearings & Install it into it's respective rod & Rod cap. Wipe gently the pistons, rings and cylinder walls with a thin coat of light engine oil. Because the threaded bolts may cut into the cylinder wall or the crankshaft journal as the piston/rod goes into position, slid a length of rubber or plastic hose over the connecting rod stud on one rod assembly. Make sure that all the piston ring gaps are aligned in the right manner. Make sure that the piston/rod assembly is installed correctly; most pistons will say 'F' or may be drilled out that the piston should be installed at the front; while the Rod bearing tang slots should face outwards once the sleeve is fitted into the block. Position the piston ring compressor around the piston in the middle, with the bottom sited at the cylinder block of the piston while tightening it so as it suits the piston before you push the piston assembly to the hole, use the wooden hammer handle to tap the top of the piston slightly in the right direction if necessary. Now, clamp the open ring compressor on the cylinder block, until all the rings fit the bore and further push until the connecting rod gets closer to the installed position. Make sure that all the bearing surfaces and the crankshaft journal are lubricated with engine oil and remove the tubes cover and before tightening the connecting rod bearing cap with the bearing to the connecting rod. Tighten the nuts to the required torque and do this for all cylinder, using the rubber or plastic tubing on each of the assembly to avoid piston damage by pushing the pistons onto the cylinders, rotating the crankshaft in this manner so as to allow access to the connecting rod nuts for tightening.

When working with Plastigage, three precautions should be taken, be certain that all the oils and greases have been washed out of the crankshaft as well as the bearing surfaces before testing, do not rotate the crankshaft while Plastigage is in place as it should be destroyed, and while stripping of Plastigage afterward, one should not harm the crankshaft or bearing surfaces which might have been coated with the said product and all the traces should be removed using only fingertips or a wooden stick Clearances of bearings must be examined every time when an engine is refurbished, this applies to the bearings that are intended for reuse, as well as to new ones, the procedure for checking clearances of main and connecting rod bearings is similar. It is advisable to commence with the paste by fitting of main bearings and caps to the engine housing once the crankshaft and bearing surfaces have been cleared. Apply Plastigage to main bearing journals, put on and properly torque down the main bearing caps, with their flats forward. Now, after the tightness you will have to release each bearing cap and check the flattened section of the Plastigage strip and using the scale present on the main body of the envelope, one will be in a position to see the amount of clearance present in the bearing. To perform checks to determine presence of out-of-round conditions, it is necessary to remove the Plastigage, rotate the crankshaft by 90 degrees and re-measure the new clearances which should be then compared with the old ones. For connecting rod bearing clearances, it is necessary to set each piston/rod assembly as above and to use Plastigage, while also measuring the connecting rod side clearance. If the bearings are within the range then they can be fitted whereas, if not, they should be removed and replaced with accurately standard bearings and it should be made sure that the upper and lower bearings are interchanged together.

When working with Plastigage, three precautions should be taken, Before testing, it is very important to see to it that all the oil and grease will be 'off' at the crankshaft and bearing surfaces, do not revolve the crankshaft while the Plastigage is in place as this would be damaging to this piece of equipment, and also while removing the Plastigage, be very careful not to harm the crankshaft or the bearing surfaces and when doing this, only use fingers or a Main and connecting rod bearings have to be checked whenever an engine is overhauled, also for reused bearings and new ones; the procedure is similar. It is advised that you start with the placement of main bearings and caps followed by cleaning all the grit and oil from the crankshaft and bearing journal. Put dowels of Plastigage across every main bearing journal and then loosely screw every main bearing cap and tighten it to recommended torque that must see the arrow on every cap pointing towards the front side of the applicable engine. When tightening is complete, for each bearing, remove the bearing cap and then compare the flattened width of the Plastigage strip with the scale on the envelope to know the bearing clearance. If the Plastigage is flattened more near to the ends than towards the middle of the width, then it can be ascertained if there is journal taper or not as per standard limit. To check for out-of-round, you have to uninstall the PlastiGage, turn the crankshaft by 90 degrees and redo the clearances checks to compare the two readings in order to determine eccentricity. For connecting rod bearing clearances, each piston/rod assembly is to be fitted and Plastigage used as mentioned earlier together with checking of connecting rod side clearance. If the bearings are within the tolerance limits then they may be fitted, but if they are outside then they have to be replaced with the correct one, where the upper and lower bearings have to fit together.

In an engine rebuild it is appropriate that new bearings to be fitted for the main and the connecting rods while the worn out bearings are kept as they offer the necessary information of the state of the engine. The primary causes of bearing failure are as follows: lack of adequate lubrication, contaminants such as dirt and foreign particles, overload on the engine and corrosion which call for rectification of the cause before reassembly of the bearing to avoid similar fate. When inspecting bearings, they should be taken off the engine parts and placed on a flat surface in positions that match the positions of crankshaft journal to which the bearings will be matched in case of detection of some problems. Contaminents may be carried in during assembly, with the intake air, or by machining operations and become lodged or imbedded in the bearing surface, while larger sized contaminents have the potential of scoring or gouging. To avoid such failures one has to ensure that all parts are cleaned and the oil, filter changed as often as possible. This can cause lubrication breakdown through such as excess heat, overloading, leakage or in case of blockage of oil passages to affect adversely the severe areas where bearing material is worn off and temperatures go high. Another thing is that driving patterns also have an effect to the bearing life; for example constant low-speed projection with full throttle stresses the bearing to the point that oil is squeezed out, while short trips increase corrosion due to lack of sufficient heat. Also, random positioning of bearings leads to oil starvation or high spots that lead to the failure of bearings.

When an engine is overhauled, old main and connecting rod bearings have to be replaced with new ones, but the old bearings are useful for analyzing the working condition of the engine. Some of these are lack of adequate lubrication, the presence of dirt or any foreign particle, overloading the engine, corrosion and many others, all these must be tackled before the engine is reassembled to avoid a repeat of the same mishap as far as bearing failure is concerned. When inspecting the bearings they should be taken of the engine parts and arranged neatly in their respective positions on a flat surface so as to pair any defect with the respective crank shaft journal. Foreign particles can be either preformed, that is, deliberately introduced at assembly, through filters or the PCV system or postformed after the machining or reconditioning of the engine. Small contaminants can be taken into the bearing surface and cause localised damage, whilst larger particles can cause scoring or gouging. To avoid such failures, cleaning all the parts is essental as well as frequent oil and filter changes. Some cause of inadequate lubrication include heat, overloading, leaks, and blocked oil flow passages which might dangerous where most of the bearing material is removed to exposed the metal where temperatures are also high. Some driving practices therefore also affect bearing life; asmentioned by Reynolds RPMs at low speeds in full throttle applying high loads that expel oil and short trip that cause corrosion due to low heat buildup. Secondly, bearings are very sensitive to, for example, improper internal bearing interference that leads to oil starvation or the generation of high spots that lead to failure.

With the pistons complete with piston rings and connecting rods, they can be installed in the engine. Ensure the cylinder bores are perfectly clean by wiping the cylinder walls several times with light engine oil and a clean, lint-free cloth. Lubricate the connecting rod bearings and install them into their appropriate rod and rod cap. Lightly coat the pistons, rings, and cylinder walls with light engine oil. To prevent the threaded bolts from possibly damaging the cylinder wall or crankshaft journal as the piston/rod assembly is pushed into place, install a length of rubber or plastic tubing over the connecting rod studs on one rod assembly. Check that all the piston ring gaps are positioned properly. Verify that the piston/rod assembly is correctly positioned, noting that most pistons will be marked with an 'F' or a drilled-out area indicating the piston should be installed with these marks toward the front of the engine, and the rod bearing tang slots should be towards the outside of the engine block once installed. Place a piston ring compressor around the piston, ensuring the base of the compressor is flush with the cylinder block, and tighten it until the rings are flush with the piston surface before pushing the piston assembly into the bore. A wooden hammer handle can be used to tap the top of the piston slightly while holding the ring compressor solidly against the cylinder block until all rings are inside the bore, then continue pushing until the connecting rod is near its installed position. Ensure that all bearing surfaces and the crankshaft journal are coated with engine oil, then remove the tubing protector pieces and install the connecting rod bearing cap (with bearing) to the connecting rod. Torque the nuts to specification and repeat this procedure for all cylinders, using the rubber or plastic tubing on each assembly to prevent damage as the pistons are pushed into place, rotating the crankshaft as necessary to make the connecting rod nuts accessible for tightening.

The procedure for checking main bearing clearances is as follows: 1. Install the main bearings and caps into the engine block after cleaning the crankshaft and bearing surfaces of any oil, grime, and foreign materials. 2. Place a piece of Plastigage along the length of each main bearing journal. 3. Install and tighten each main bearing cap according to specifications, ensuring the arrow on each cap faces the front of the engine. 4. After tightening, remove each bearing cap and measure the width of the flattened Plastigage strip using the scale provided on the Plastigage envelope to determine bearing clearance.

The first step is to install the pistons in the engine.