Built a smallblock once with a budget of about zero. Wound up shimming the bearings on coke cans. I found that truck years later with 40k+ miles on it and she still ran strong with good oil pressure. All it needs to do to work is to work.
I have done this, but with feathered shim stock, and always made sure I had about .005 of the bearing sticking up above the bearing casting for “bearing crush”.. thanks for the video.
I read comments and advices on that kind of repair and I don't see anyone with convincing arguments against doing it. Only people telling it should'nt be done that way or it's not the proper way to... I've red a few articles about how it should be done and I don't see any reason it should'nt work. Material should hold since aluminium is used in bearings. If I have to do it, I'll try to replicate a tapered shim I red about and I will keep crush by not filing too much of the ends of bearing halfs. Wish me luck I'll replace my rod bearings soon and try to shim the faulty one, then tow with it... yup!
Well am this now... In Africa it's hard to get the right tools and parts. And if you order, it takes a long time to get here and sometimes not even correct. So your way makes sense and am on it.. Doing the shimming on a Volvo V70 crankshaft
I know this is just before the Christmas vid of 2020. Came across this vid just now after finding myself with this issue in my 4.3L Chevy Vortec Engine. I, however, had already concluded what I would try and that is using fans of a Feeler Gauge and cutting them to the size of the bearing cap of the connecting rod. I am only dealing with one piston connection rod bearing, so I think it will work. I wanted to use steel behind the bearing!
Nothing brings more satisfaction in a repair job than making your own parts and it working out .....well let me add perhaps if you have enough money and can chuck the broke unit for a new one....that feels good too.just forgot it's been awhile
I'm just opening my 3.6 caravan engine ...oil cooler broke .lost oil pressure and spun one .found banana rod bolt in oil pan .guess I stopped just in time as the engine still runs with a rod càp bolt missing ..amazing ....I'm attempting salvaging the crank and replacing bearings with engine still in the vehicle ..I've been successful 3 times before ..,but not on this engine yet .I maybe doing something completely unconventional with this engine due to financial constraints ..I will know if it's doable after I get the rest of the lower part of the engine removed .
Any concern about plastic coating or paint on the piece cut from an aluminum can? Any thought about putting a double shim on the top side of the bearing bore to further reduce the bearing clearance?
No plastic coating in this can and the paint, if you want to call it that is just a fraction of a mil thick and I don’t expect to have any issues with that. You could stack shim pieces however stacking these would have worked out too thick. I am just working with what I have here. The key to making this work is not filing too much off the end of the bearing Insert and ending up with a loose fitting bearing. These pieces all need to fit together tightly in order for this to be successful.
@@OBS.Rey__ this is a good question. You certainly could just shim one side if that's how the math worked out for you. However, you should be aware that if you only shim one side that you are also effectively changing the stroke.
@@76629online I might have to try indeed. I was thinking of that little tab on the bearing to prevent it from spinning. If/when you shim the bearing, doesn't that make the tab less effective since it wouldn't be seated as deeply?
The next best step after the engine pistons and connecting rods were installed backwards..is....= tat tada daa shimming with aluminium soda-can... ....haha
This was done because the crankshaft needed reground and there were not bearings available for the size that it would have been. Even if we had it welded and re-ground standard it was still going to cost $800. This thing is still running fine more than a year later. Laugh all you want.
Hello sir ,if you still on you tube i have one loose bearing ,i put std bearing and still have a gap ,knockin engine, if i try this ,can the soda can withstand the presure of the piston or it is going to smash ?
I’ve been swinging wrenches for the past 55 years for the military, automotive and industrial. I understand “do what you gotta do” and if you’re afraid to do something you’ll never accomplish anything. I’ve seen some pretty good hack jobs. They always end up as rework. Sir, I assure you there are bearings available for that application and not as expensive as you might think. Hey good luck with your project. And have fun. Keep us posted, please and thank you.
The whole object of this was to save money. Sending them off to a custom bearing manufacturer to have that done likely would have cost more than just buying the bearings that we really needed. You missed the point here. I will also note that I did this a couple of years ago now and this tractor is still running without issue.
This tractor is long gone, but yes. There are virtually no parts available for this particular engine. If you have one of these tractors, the best thing you could do is sell it to somebody else.
I understand you are trying to make the best of a bad situation, but shimming a bearing is just shade tree mechanic stuff. Also the bearing tang does nothing to keep the bearing from spinning in the block or rod, It is merely a locating tang for assembly. The area of the bearing you are filing off is bearing crush. That is what keeps a bearing from spinning in the block or rod. If you are going to file some off because of the shim you put behind it you should leave .003-.004 above the cap so you have some crush. And with .010" clearance still after your shim it will clang and bang itself into destruction. Good luck!
@@76629online I spun 1 rod bearing an trying my best to get it right with motor still in 4 cylinder car . I've so far changed all main an rod bearings , oil pump . The cap off of 1 bearing I believe I sanded too much off of , with trying standard bearing in the rod cap , I get it fits perfectly with a piece of plastic gauge , take plastic gauge out an it's too loose . I don't think I can go oversized just in the cap end so I'm thinking maybe I smoothed out the cap too much an try to put a oversized bearing in the cap , a new standard car for that year engine just in case or try that shim idea been watching videos 2 weeks now . Need some type of transportation .
Built a smallblock once with a budget of about zero. Wound up shimming the bearings on coke cans. I found that truck years later with 40k+ miles on it and she still ran strong with good oil pressure. All it needs to do to work is to work.
That's pretty old-school stuff right there..! The old timers will be proud of that...it'll work..!
I have done this, but with feathered shim stock, and always made sure I had about .005 of the bearing sticking up above the bearing casting for “bearing crush”.. thanks for the video.
I read comments and advices on that kind of repair and I don't see anyone with convincing arguments against doing it. Only people telling it should'nt be done that way or it's not the proper way to... I've red a few articles about how it should be done and I don't see any reason it should'nt work. Material should hold since aluminium is used in bearings. If I have to do it, I'll try to replicate a tapered shim I red about and I will keep crush by not filing too much of the ends of bearing halfs. Wish me luck I'll replace my rod bearings soon and try to shim the faulty one, then tow with it... yup!
You gave me an idea how to shim a 12mm shaft into a 1/2" bearing!
.7mm difference, btw.
I thought this was a stupid idea because I was certain I was the only fool thinking of actually trying it. But now I'm jumping in head first.
This engine is still running.
This makes two of us 😂
Well am this now... In Africa it's hard to get the right tools and parts. And if you order, it takes a long time to get here and sometimes not even correct. So your way makes sense and am on it.. Doing the shimming on a Volvo V70 crankshaft
I’m about to do it on an S60 crank!
That's freaking GENIUS ! !
I know this is just before the Christmas vid of 2020. Came across this vid just now after finding myself with this issue in my 4.3L Chevy Vortec Engine. I, however, had already concluded what I would try and that is using fans of a Feeler Gauge and cutting them to the size of the bearing cap of the connecting rod. I am only dealing with one piston connection rod bearing, so I think it will work. I wanted to use steel behind the bearing!
So did it work for you?
Well son of a gun. Me: gets out scissors and starts chugging a soda.
Just curious everything else was from like 2 years ago is it still working?
@@robertgerlak1702 Yep
Imagine the next guy in this engine….calling out the “ham fisted, shade tree mechanics”
Nothing brings more satisfaction in a repair job than making your own parts and it working out .....well let me add perhaps if you have enough money and can chuck the broke unit for a new one....that feels good too.just forgot it's been awhile
I'm just opening my 3.6 caravan engine ...oil cooler broke .lost oil pressure and spun one .found banana rod bolt in oil pan .guess I stopped just in time as the engine still runs with a rod càp bolt missing ..amazing ....I'm attempting salvaging the crank and replacing bearings with engine still in the vehicle ..I've been successful 3 times before ..,but not on this engine yet .I maybe doing something completely unconventional with this engine due to financial constraints ..I will know if it's doable after I get the rest of the lower part of the engine removed .
Any concern about plastic coating or paint on the piece cut from an aluminum can?
Any thought about putting a double shim on the top side of the bearing bore to further reduce the bearing clearance?
No plastic coating in this can and the paint, if you want to call it that is just a fraction of a mil thick and I don’t expect to have any issues with that. You could stack shim pieces however stacking these would have worked out too thick. I am just working with what I have here. The key to making this work is not filing too much off the end of the bearing Insert and ending up with a loose fitting bearing. These pieces all need to fit together tightly in order for this to be successful.
Save my whole week!!!!!
Does it have to be shimmed on both sides or can you just do one side to get your clearance
@@OBS.Rey__ this is a good question. You certainly could just shim one side if that's how the math worked out for you. However, you should be aware that if you only shim one side that you are also effectively changing the stroke.
I was actually doing this as we speak thank you 🫡 🙏
My question is could you take a different brand of Bering and make it work to a type of from a different motor or custom-made bearings may be cheaper.
Yes you can. Start with a reputable machine shop.
Looks like you'll be running 40 or 50 for oil lot of Clarence
Would this work with the tolerances and rpm's of an inline-4 motorcycle engine? 1100 rpm idle & 11500 rpm redline.
@@AyPapi69 try it and find out!
@@76629online I might have to try indeed. I was thinking of that little tab on the bearing to prevent it from spinning. If/when you shim the bearing, doesn't that make the tab less effective since it wouldn't be seated as deeply?
Out of curiosity, how safe would this be if it were installed in a 5.9 diesel Cummins?
Won’t know until you try it. All depends on your ability.
The next best step after the engine pistons and connecting rods were installed backwards..is....= tat tada daa shimming with aluminium soda-can...
....haha
This was done because the crankshaft needed reground and there were not bearings available for the size that it would have been. Even if we had it welded and re-ground standard it was still going to cost $800. This thing is still running fine more than a year later. Laugh all you want.
Hello sir ,if you still on you tube i have one loose bearing ,i put std bearing and still have a gap ,knockin engine, if i try this ,can the soda can withstand the presure of the piston or it is going to smash ?
Try it and see.
I’ve been swinging wrenches for the past 55 years for the military, automotive and industrial. I understand “do what you gotta do” and if you’re afraid to do something you’ll never accomplish anything. I’ve seen some pretty good hack jobs. They always end up as rework. Sir, I assure you there are bearings available for that application and not as expensive as you might think. Hey good luck with your project. And have fun. Keep us posted, please and thank you.
@@shortchange26 you didn't pay very close attention to this video, did you?
You can send your bearings to a company that will coat them to reduce the clearance. You could of got the clearance correct doing that.
The whole object of this was to save money. Sending them off to a custom bearing manufacturer to have that done likely would have cost more than just buying the bearings that we really needed. You missed the point here. I will also note that I did this a couple of years ago now and this tractor is still running without issue.
@@76629online They all run without any issues until there's an issue.
Has it held up
So far so good.
Have you tried yesterday's tractors to order bearings?
This tractor is long gone, but yes. There are virtually no parts available for this particular engine. If you have one of these tractors, the best thing you could do is sell it to somebody else.
How'd this turn out?
Getting ready to start it for the first time here in about an hour.
It runs good, no knocks. Has good oil pressure.
@@76629online awesome, hope it stays that way!
How long did that last for?
@@dimitribuhagiar3494 its still running today.
cowboy of a job if you ask me
Updates?
It's still running.
White metal bearings
Does it still keeps?
No idea what you mean.
Does the engine still runs with the can shim?
@@pzac83 yes, for more than a year now.
I understand you are trying to make the best of a bad situation, but shimming a bearing is just shade tree mechanic stuff. Also the bearing tang does nothing to keep the bearing from spinning in the block or rod, It is merely a locating tang for assembly. The area of the bearing you are filing off is bearing crush. That is what keeps a bearing from spinning in the block or rod. If you are going to file some off because of the shim you put behind it you should leave .003-.004 above the cap so you have some crush. And with .010" clearance still after your shim it will clang and bang itself into destruction. Good luck!
You wanna buy me an $800 set of bearings and pay to have this crank welded up and reground? It works. Been running for more than a year now.
Pretty janky. I'll just go pound sand then. Some people may think this is OK.
It worked well and you missed the point. This was about fixing something with limited resources. This tractor is still in service today, running fine.
Well then show that the thing works now
Been sold long ago. Pay attention.
@@76629online I spun 1 rod bearing an trying my best to get it right with motor still in 4 cylinder car . I've so far changed all main an rod bearings , oil pump . The cap off of 1 bearing I believe I sanded too much off of , with trying standard bearing in the rod cap , I get it fits perfectly with a piece of plastic gauge , take plastic gauge out an it's too loose . I don't think I can go oversized just in the cap end so I'm thinking maybe I smoothed out the cap too much an try to put a oversized bearing in the cap , a new standard car for that year engine just in case or try that shim idea been watching videos 2 weeks now . Need some type of transportation .