Morning gents. In the process of torqueing down my rod caps last night and # 5 is hanging up. I can rotate the crank with a little bit of force when all caps are torqued to 35 lbs except # 5. Even with 15 lbs of torque on #5 it wont turn. So obviously it needs more clearance. I put all original shims back in when I disassembled it. I did note that # 5 had an extra shim during take down , but it was brittle and the silver and copper separated . I tried putting it back in , but obviously it did not work. My question is . Can you still buy these shims ? If not what are you using ? I have went through and read almost every rod clearance post in the forum , So I do know that I need .0005 to .0015 clearance and have read about the 8 ounce hammer method. Ive also read through my repair manual regarding this , but its not very detailed. I'm hoping someone can break this down barney style for me. I know this question has probably been asked plenty of times , but I really want to get this correct . Thank you for reading through all of this and your help is greatly appreciated . - Van
Van, the shims are available and also show up periodically on eBay as NOS. The Filling Station has them as their item FS-88, and you could also get them from Gary Wallace or Bruce Bugay. If you want just enough to do one rod, I can send you some from a used rod, which will work fine. Just send me a PM with your mailing address. The best type to use are the laminated ones, with each leaf .002" thick. Usually they come as five leaves for a total of .010", and you remove them one at a time, alternating sides, until you reach the desired clearance.
I've tried several techniques for adjusting the rod bearing clearances, and I find the hammer method you mentioned to be the most reliable. It takes a while, but it results in good snug rods with no binding. You simply remove shims one side at a time until you can no longer tap the big end back and forth along the axis of the crank throw, then add back one shim and you're set. Be sure to turn the crank one full revolution once you tighten the rod cap to be sure the crank throw is round and not worn elliptical.
Great , Thanks Chip. And thank you for offering to send me one of yours. I think I am going to go ahead and order new shims from the filling station and replace them all. Id feel more comfortable replacing all of them I think. I am going to try the method you have recommended once they show up. While I have you on the line here . Do you know if the filling station carries reproduction plug wires like these.? Id like to get a set to make it look original as possible , but couldn't find them on there.
Actually, the original wires were not the orange with tracer as you've shown. They were copper multi strand with a black fabric covering then covered with shellac or lacquer or something similarly shiny. The plug wire ends were a 90 degree bend and had a small bowtie stamped into them. The Filling Station does sell the black wire set with the 90 degree ends, but not with the bowtie stamped in -- the bowtie wire ends are scarce as hen's teeth.
You should have a good look at the Filling Station's website: www.filllingstation.com Their entire product line is shown there and you can order online.
I agree, the hammer method is best way to set. a light tap is what is needed to validate. if i remember correctly you should not be able to move by hand but should move with a light tap from a hammer.
i just bought a shim set from TFS for the connecting rods when i put my engine back together soon, I hope !!
as for wires, i had Bob Marx make me a custom set with black laquer wires, only difference was the spark end, i used the metal tips as finding hte OEM style Tips with Bow Ties are hard and few between !!
