Engine Assembly: Installing The Crankshaft

With the camshaft in place, I could now install the crank. I had already measured the bearing clearances so it was ready to be dropped in. First I wiped the block bearing bores and the bearings one more time with brake cleaner and then installed them.

Next I had to put the rear main seal in. My block still had the old rope style seal before but now I used the split lip seal as it was easier to install. I pushed it in its groove making sure the lip pointed towards the engine and that the ends did not line with the block surface. Finally I lubed the seal so the rotating crank would not tear it apart.

Last step before putting the crank in was lubing the surfaces. The bearings got a pretty red layer of it.

Now there's a comfortable place for the crankshaft to be laying in. Hopefully for many years to come. Then I gave the same treatment for the journals...

...and carefully lifted the crank in the block.

I started to rotate the crankshaft until I noticed that this will spread the lube all over the bearing ends. I wiped them clean so it would not interfere with the main caps. Speaking of main caps, the fifth one needed some attention before installing it. As I mentioned, my engine had a rope rear main seal. There is a small pin inside the cap groove that holds it in place. It has to be removed to use the split lip type seal. This leaves a small hole inside the groove.

I filled the hole with Hylomar sealer to block any oil from leaking through. Then I moved on to prepare the caps for use. Monroe says to very lightly file the mating surfaces to remove any burs. I did that, cleaned the caps and installed the bearings.

The fifth cap required some more work again. I pushed the main seal in and added some more sealer to the rear edges. And after spreading some oil on the seal and lube on the bearing, it was ready to be installed.

And naturally the other caps needed some lube too.

I had installed the caps many times already while measuring the bearing clearances so it had become a routine. Place the cap in its register, thread one of the oiled bolts in a bit, tap the side so it seats in and torque the bolts in three steps; 50 ft. lbs, 60 ft. lbs and finally 70 ft. lbs. Repeat five times and the crankshaft was in!

I turned the crank and it rotated really easily. Only one more check to do: measuring the end-play. I did not have a dial indicator so I had to use a feeler gauge. I pushed the crank forward and got 0,15 mm (0.006 inches). The acceptable range is 0.004 to 0.008 inches so I was right on the money.