Eric. I want to thank you for all of your videos. It seems every time I have a question while working on my vehicle, you have a video that clearly explains the answer. Thank you very much for all of the time you've spent making these videos!
Just a few quick things I noticed: 1. It's easier to cut the plastigage instead of sliding the whole thing out. 2. I don't agree w/ torqueing the to spec as you are going to pull it right off. Torque spec is torque-to-yield meaning you can't reuse those bolts anymore (wasted money if you had used new ones) and only applies bolt stretch to help it not back up. 3. You make great vids Eric! Keep it up!
@@beetlejuice1239 Tighten it so it removes any clearances on the mating surfaces, but not to torque spec. Torque-to-yield actually stretches the bolt which doesn't help in the measurement process and that's why you have to replace them.
I was wondering the same thing, and thank you for confirming my thoughts. I figure as long as you tighten it enough so there is no gap between the rod end and rod, it should be fine. I was concerned because I am doing an engine and I had to buy all new bolts and didn't want to waste expensive bolts $6.60/ea to do a plastigage test. @@Diallo268
@@Diallo268I was thinking the same thing about the torque to yield, I think it would depend on if you’re actually using torque to yield bolts or not. Something like ARPs are reusable and usually come with their own guidelines on how to torque them down.
Thank you for making this so easy to understand!! I'm a 2nd year heavy duty apprentice and only due to the fact that I operated 1 type of machine for 6 winters. 2 years ago I was offered a chance to look after the machines and I accepted. I grew up an english/art nerd who struggled with scientific concepts and math so i am a fish out of water. My teachers do the best they can but it's videos like yours that really help. Looking forward to going down the rabbit hole on your channel.
Hi Eric, I'm a mechanic that could have been. Love Internal Combustion (IC) engines. So watching you applying the mechanics to an engine just fires my interest. Keep up the good videos mate. Garry from Australia
Thank you for all that you do. I am rebuilding a motorcycle engine and the spec. on the manual told me to use a plastiguage to measure the clearance on camshaft. I was unsure on how to use plastigauge until I saw your video. I just do this for fun as a hobby. And I have watched many of your tutorial on engines. I am Re-building my sons 2000 1100 shadow spirit that he purchased for 500. dollars and good old Dad has to fix it up for him. He paying for the parts. lol
Eric, thanks again for a clear to the point subject matter. Iron and aluminum blocks of different years have different specs as oil has dropped to 0W-5 synthetic that requires tighter clearances. But you covered that in your disclaimer. As time passes, GM has taken a very strict position on published specs which is part of their intellectual properties. They are shutting them down one by one. Note: I worked on contract labor in the field for over 7+ years and today, even tech’s change their user password often and monitor the IP addresses used by that PW and time of day. As a quick note, I have a 2003 iron block truck LS, but the production specs for the rods are 0.0009”-0.0025”, Service is 0.0009”-0.003” but also list 15 lb. ft. + 75 degree angle. Yours will very. Please folks, don’t give up as ACDelco.com can provide GM’s eSI (Electronic Service Information) for a fee, lasting 24 hrs or more if you desire. The advantage is updates, TSB, or Recalls can be updated with one key stroke. The same is true with programming modules if you have a shop. I had some programming modules wireless while the vehicle is in the parking lot. 1978 - ASE Master Tech - Retired Everyone, hit the like & subscribed!!!! Eric has some of the best videos on these subjects than many!
Shutting down publication of torque specs is such a moronic and backward viewpoint. But hey, anything so the customer can't actually work on their own vehicles. So much for "right to repair" laws - they just come up with a new way to block you at every turn unless you pay $500 for 24 hour access to shop manuals.
This is the way to down vids... every time I watch Eric’s vids I enjoy watching, because the ample explanation and how clear with easiness of understanding.
i want to say thank you Eric i have truck problems and this video is helping me out thank you and when i get my lil truck running and get back to work ima donate bro your videos are awesome ALL OF THEM i think your are very knowledgeable and you do nice production work for your videos you really show what and where things gotta happen thanks again
Good vid. ;) I'd have mentioned to check journals at two positions 90 degrees apart. They tend to wear egg shaped; you might be fooled by one reading. I use micrometers on OD and telescopic gauges (snap gauges) on the ID. That way I use the same micrometer to measure both the ID and OD. Also, a set of telescopic gauges is much cheaper than a set of bore gauges. You might want do do a vid on measurement methods. Yeah, plastigage has been around since probably the Model-T days ;)
@@willburns1221 a insert is not round google it. the split is thinner to create a wedge of oil in the bearing. the only place to use plastigauge is 90 degrees from the split. you might mike the journal in four places but that is a little over the top i think.
great video Eric, the basics are a really useful theme, keep them coming. Personally never knew what plastigage was or was used for, now I'm enlightened. Many thanks Eric.
This was very informative and will come in handy when its time for me to work on my Corvair engine rebuild. Keep up the good work, we appreciate the videos.
Now that you've shown us the PlastiGage method, a video on using your pricey precision tools to do a better version of the same thing would be awesome. I've heard horror stories of Subaru engine rebuilds where only PlastiGage was used and spun, burned up bearings followed soon thereafter.
Wish this video was around a few years ago when I was learning how to do this. I'm not sure why but I enjoyed this process when rebuilding an engine with new bearings etc. Probably because I was nearer the end of the rebuild process and everything was going back together. 25k miles the engines still going strong :).
Hello Eric, Plastigage actually very good for measuring journal clearances, much easier than using a caliper set that has multiple steps to calibrate and measure. I am working on a Toyota 2zz-ge rebuild and will plastigauge all bearings. Bummer is that I have measured bore and Toyota is asking for tolerances to 0.001mm, outside the range of my current calipers (max bore 82.013mm....with my tools I'm at 82.015 to 82.017 max....GRRR, and my tools only good to 0.01mm...estimated actual) P
Also noticed and next was closer to 90deg. Grrr on torque to yield and old-ass tool used. In fairness, torque angle is good, especially when using oiled, not oiled, anti-seized fasteners. GOOD video on plastigage. P
I rebuilt a engine over the summer and didn't replace cam bearings... Long story short I have great pressure when cold, then zero when warm. Its crazy how much bearing clearances matter!
Great tool for a shade tree mechanic! Never heard of this stuff until I watched a recent video from PeterFinn the car doctor. Really interesting kit and seems accurate enough.
ALWAYS ALWAYS put rod bearing in cap..... doing it the way you did can damage bearing. The bearing locks go lock to lock then you know rod cap is on right. Good video thanks.
I place the bearing into the block and cap (rod & cap also) so that there is a slight protruding edge of the bearing on each side. This way, the bearing is properly seated into each half of the journal and that the two bearing mating surfaces will "crush" properly and evenly. This insures that the bearings will be evenly seated in each half of the journal when torqued down. Liberal engine assembly of course after plastigauging is completed.
You need to get the snap-on toque digital wrench its amazing! you don't need that pain in the rear angle gauge. You can just change the setting to degrees and it works like a charm!
Thanks for another informative video. I was hoping you would reference your take on reusing TTY bolts or not in everyday applications. That is one question, as a backyard mechanic, I haven't gotten a definitive answer on.
On those fractured caps you also need to be careful when handling them. Dont put the fractured side down on anything. Those things are such a precision fit that if you damage the face of that fractured surface just a little bit they not longer fit together like they suppose to. You will be able to assemble them and torque them but you caused a stress riser that can and has caused catastrophic engine failure.
Thanks for the video Eric. I have just learnt something new. I'm not a mechanic but like to learn more about my car and how it functions. I had my diahatsu hijet connecting rod bearing changed because it made a loud sound, one was worn down. The oil light used to flick off and on and sometimes stay on. After having the bearing changed the noise is less but the light still comes on after driving for a short while. I heard you said that the if the clearance around the connecting rod is greater the oil pressure will be lower. Do you think I may be experiencing the same problem. If the torque requirements not meet could this be the reason for low oil pressure?
Excellent video. I would think that I know how to read plastic age but I always defer to your videos as much as possible and of course I was reading it incorrectly. I was thinking the larger the squished plastic age the larger the gap. Just wasn't thinking through
Eric makes me feel faked. 🙄 The installation of the bearing is totally wrong. Also the position of the plasticgage. The bearings aren't all over the same thickness ! 🙈🙈🙈🙈
Hello @@kraut-performance I am in the process of completely rebuilding a Toyota/Yamaha 2zz-ge engine. The problems I am encountering are the tolerances and my measurement tools. I have calipers and bore gauges, but only precise to +/- 0.01mm Tolerances in Toyota rebuild manual require higher precision. That being said, even with my primitive tools, my bore is egged and non-serviceable. Rings were worn, so I am taking a "risk", but believe they will be much better in the bore than the old worn rings that had a gap out-of-spec. All bearings looked passable, but replace with new factory spec 01 or 02 or 03 as noted on block vs using "generic fits all". I am now using Plastigage as final check because, as stated above, I do not have measuring tools precise enough to measure below 0.01mm. P
Thank you so much for your information I’m doing the same thing right now and this is the best video by far and how to use the plastic gauge again thank you so much
Eric love the video can't stand how people nit pick your video's it help me use a plasticgauge cause I would be still looking for the plastic marking rod used to mark the Journal...LOL So Thanks and keep them coming..
Hey bud thanks for all the videos I do have a question there is a lot of crazy controversy on the LS forums but is it ok to pull them and do a visual inspection and then reinstall bearing, cap and same bolts?
Hi Eric. I have an 84 F-150 that I built a high performance 351w for. Now before I ever started working on it I noticed that the oil pressure gauge would read correctly when cold, and as it warmed up it would drop, until it wouldn't read anything at idle. If I revved up the motor it would read 40 psi for that moment but drop back to nothing again when allowed to return to idle. Now fast forward.... New engine, new high volume oil pump, aftermarket gauge installed... Exact same problem still exists. When I first started the cold engine it's a solid 35-40 psi. After 15-20 minutes of regular driving the oil pressure begins to drop. When driving it will be about 17 psi, And then about 7 psi at idle. Before I installed the Equus gauge I had assumed that the gauge was inaccurate due to a poor electrical connection (the wire lead on top of the oil pressure sending unit being a little loose), but it's looking like that's not the case. Now I've put ALOT of time and money into this motor over the past 3 years and I definitely don't want to damage it. Possible malfunction of the oil pressure relief valve in two different oil pumps in a row?? After some research I read that 10 psi per 1000 rpm is a good rule of thumb. If that is correct then 5 psi at warm idle of 500 rpm would actually be correct as well as the 15 psi at 1500 rpm while driving AND the 35 psi at 3500 rpm. Do I have a problem or not!?
Hi Eric, thank you for this video. I disassembled my 1.8L and the Machinist said that the engine needs reboring. He said all the bottom end/rod bearings and crankshaft are in excellent condition. On reassembly, do i need to check clearance if i kept every thing in order and those parts were only cleaned and not machined?
Kinda noticed you checked the clearance in inches but referenced your chart in millimeters, but it looks to be still in tolerance from .006 - .0024 thousands, since .0015 falls between the two. Still a great shape crank non the less
Vary interesting as always. Would you happen to know if a reasonably well maintained 2006 1.4 petrol Polo at 100, 000 miles might be pron to small end wear. That is, light tapping noise much more pronounced under load almost disappears with no load.
this is the fist time i heard about the plastigage, i only search it in the youtube beacuse im taking up board-exams this year, and i want to understand it and see how it works. thanks to your video
oh bdw, our method of checking the clearance b/w the crankpin and bearing is by using soft soldering leads, and we use penetrant test for detecting cracks
To really get an accurate measurement if your rod bolts are TTY, wouldn't you have to use a pair of new rod bolts so they for sure have the correct clamp load?
Great video, Eric. I have never replaced rod bearings, so I have a question. in this video, you measured the cap bearing but not the one between the crank and rod itself. Do you have to measure the one on the rod side, too? Also, can this procedure be performed while the engine is in the vehicle? Thanks in advance.
@Gary Jordan >Measuring under the rod cap is done a hundred times per day. To truly get an idea if the rods big end, measuring in two, three or four locations only adds to your accuracy of measuring a 360 degree circle. I will say in advance, it can be done, just do NOT rotate the crank as you will find it absolutely impossible to get the cap on or off doing thing it this way. Don’t get me wrong as some engines will be easier to perform this 2,3 or 4 position measurements. 1978 ASE Master Tech
I worked for a garage once. It was next to a bar. When I told the boss I needed a screwdriver, he came looking for me a couple of hours later. Found me at the bar, screwdriver in hand. I asked him if he was looking for a screwdriver too. I don't work there anymore.
I never seen anybody put bearing on journal first.Always install on cap first. Also torque to yield rod bolts should be replaced after they have been stretched.
You have to make sure the bearing is align right. I never seen anybody do it this way..As there is a vertical bearing crush. Where both side of the bearing must touch each other. I make sure I can feel the bearing sticking up on each end. You only need to drag your finger nail over them..That way you know the bearing is touching the other side..When you torque it down the first time. To get the proper crush alignment..If one side is sticking up higher. The bearing cap slips. Then the gauge will read wrong..
EricTheCarGuy I think that's a great idea, maybe some Eric The Car Guy and Scanner Danner teamwork to drop the LS in with full Electronic fuel injection and electronic transmission.
Never used plastigauge before. Is the reading not affected by the fact that that there is still oil between the crank and the other rod bearing that you didn't clean?
i like how honda uses color coded bearings it helps to get your bearings precise but it also makes things more complicated and expensive since its $13 for a bearing half
great video, i’m curious because i am rebuilding an inline 4 that chewed up a couple of bearings via oil starvation. i don’t want to buy the wrong undersize or oversized bearings bearing when i go to take the measurements with a freshly turned crankshaft, so would i use the plastigauge on the least damaged bearings?
Credit where credit is due, us yanks use plastigage, a cheap knockoff by Dana. You uk fellows invented the stuff for your navy in the 1950s, and the true name is plastigauge.
riley191919 I didnt know that, we all copy from each other and i dont think it matters in the long term, plastigauge looks handy for everyone :-)) Hey we copied your "Vise-grips", our copy was called "Mole grips" after the company that copied yours, a great tool made by clever americans :-))
The torque specs PLUS additional torque in degrees stretches the bolt. This is correct for assembly BUT the bolts are designed to stretch with the additional degree torque. NEW bolts should be used each time or you overstretch the bolts.
Eric, I realize that this video is 9 or so years old. It is very informative, and the audio portion is very well done (many of these offer poor audio). However, and please take no offense........ I would like to point out that some of the language could use improvement. At 1:23 into the video, we measure "bores". At 1:47, these are micrometers! This tool is NOT used to measure the bore within a connecting rod. For that, we'd go back to the first precision instrument shown, a micrometer. That would be used to measure a connecting rod crankshaft journal. At 2:10, in order to measure a bearing's thickness, we would use a point-tip dial indicator (on a flat surface.... zero'd in) . Reason? The circular shape of the bearing would prevent an accurate measurement using a standard flat-tip micrometer. At 5:20, the large end of the connecting rod is freeze cracked via a special process. As you point out, this is to give the now fractured surfaces an absolute precision mate between the two. It is imperative that the two parts remain together (and indexed correctly), throughout their life. If these parts are not marked (as to being a matched pair), you will want to mark them. Great technology. At 7:10, oil pumps deliver more oil volume than required. Although excessive bearing clearance can reduce pressure, the actual oil pressure is determined by the oil pump's by-pass valve, with an influence via RPM. Lastly, thank you for calling this an Engine, and not a Motor. (my pet peeve!)
Hey Eric . I have a few questions ! I have a b20z2 that I just had the valve lash done but I’m noticing a tapping sound after a few races . I have since re lashed the valves (no difference) and now have torn off the oil pan to check the rod bearings . Do you know if the b20 had issues with spinning bearings ? Can I replace them with out removing the engine . And lastly , would you recommend using the same nuts/bolts or purchasing new ones ? Thanks for all your help
I'm not a pro mechanic, but wouldn't the bolts stretch every time you torque them down? So if you were to check the clearances multiple times wouldnt you need to get new bolts for the rods?
Thank you for answering this correctly Dot. Materials have an elastic and a plastic range of deformation. In other words there is a threshold of tension that will deform a bolt permanently. For smaller amounts of tension, like the bolt will see during proper torquing, the bolt will return to its original size when the tension is removed.
Rod bolts typically are not torque to yield bolts, they can be reused. Head bolts on the other hand, a lot of the time are torque to yield (meaning can only be used one time, because it stretches the threads beyond their limit). Always look this up for your specific vehicle before reusing either bolts though, just in case.
You showed us the mircometers and the bore meters, but besides plastigauge, what would you use to measure the clearance of the journal while under torque? Or are the measurements going to end up being the same if you use the micrometers/boremeter when the parts are not under torque?
To check your mains and rod bearings under torque, remove your crankshaft from the engine, and the rods from the crank (do not mix them, for the love of all that is holy). Replace the caps on the mains as well as the rods, with your new bearings in them. Using padded vice jaws (cut some 2x6", anything but steel, cardboard will work in a pinch) and a bench vise, torque your rod caps. Now either use a snap gauge or an inside micrometer to measure your bore. Take the measurement in several places, both in different directions to check for out of round, and different depths in the bearing to check for hourglass wear. A snap gauge is a spring loaded tool with two arms that push out to touch your bore, and can be locked with a tension screw at the other end of the tool. You then remove the snap gauge and measure it with an outside micrometer. It takes skill and practice to accurately use micrometers and snap gauges, hence the development of plastigauge by the British navy in the 1950s for a unified quick untrained measurement standard.
Might want to clean of the oil on the rod side of the bearing also to not affect the reading. The "broken" rod is also cheaper to produce, so used in mostly factory engines. The downside of it is that you can't resize the big end in a rebuild, it's a throw-a-way part.
I have tried to read most of the 335 comments below and have some simple answers: Bolts: TTA are not throw a way. GM service does not say otherwise. Plastigage: It is a controlled product produced to strict standards. It is sold by “Sealed Power” and others and only the color changes. Who cares who invented it, either in the U.K. or the USA, it’s patent is from the 1940’s. I you Like Micrometers and inside bore gauges and hate “Plastigage” no one cares. If you can afford the tools, fine. Once again, no one cares. Commercial engines or vehicle engines, works the same. Just make sure you know the correct readings for your engine. The production date can change the measurements or cam bearing block bores...double check. What to call it or pronounce it; 0.0015” to a machinist is pronounced 15 thou. If you want to call it 1.5 ten thousands fine. Just don’t expect a Christmas card from the American Machinist!!! What do I do if it reads ???? #1 When in doubt, take it to a clean well respected busy machine shop and ask them. Guess what? They want to sell work & labor, so they will sell you work and labor! Duh! You can purchase bearings that are 0.001” smaller ID, and thus thicker. If the bearing journals are nice, polish out mirror or close to mirror finish, these will work great as they have for decades & decades. If you finger nail catches a groove, then you have to decide to cross the 60 year old rope bridge with the 1,000 foot drop, is your choice! How is this engine going to be used! Mix and match bearing sizes; Yes, thousands of engines have been build this way & repair this way! What do I mean? Ok, Buy two sets of bearings, one set is STD and the other is 0.001” under, place on either side of a rod or crank. Torque to crush and seat, then use the Plastigage. Go from there! It works fine, like it did for Ford V8’s during the 70’s. Plus rings gaps where lined up and had mis-matched rod caps factory numbered. I am not picking on Fords, they paid of my house! It is just a shop who had been there 40+ years & who’s customers were 65-80 and owned the car new and never had the engine apart anywhere. These were customers who had every RO in order i the glove box! Yes! This was when glove boxes would hold 3 chickens. Two sets of specs; Yes, GM and all others give you new production specs and service specs. Production means this is what they want when new. If your specs are less but above service specs, how far or HP do you want? The tighter the better but a film of oil is only as good as “The Sum Total Of All Leakage Passed All Bearings” Volume = Pressure; NO! The leakage passed all loose bearings reduce pressure. Volume is there or adding 18% more volume is like putting yesterdays under-ware onto a clean bottom. It works but still smells wrong! Tight bearing clearance equals high pressure because volume is not lost. Don’t fotget cam bearings, as if copper is showing at the bottom where pressures are highest when opening valves. Study hydraulics and automatic transmissions and don’t fall asleep during the math part! Plastigage and temperature; While metal expands with higher temperatures and various alloys are different. Alum on average expands twice as much as iron, fine. Is it cast iron? Nodular Gray Iron? LS exhaust are cast steel or close to it. I still elongate the end of manifolds for bolt holes, to allow for movement with flat washers. You be you! Plastigage is a proprietary blend of plastic but the amount of “Squish” at 72 degrees F is different that 0F or 100F. So pay attention.Yours will vary! Two, Three or Four pieces of Plastigage at a time: This is measurement of one side under normal circumstances. But engine bearing run on a film of oil all the way around the journal. Using two pieces 180 degrees apart, will measure about 1/2” the normal reading. This was never the purpose of Plastigage. My example is a minimum of 0.0009” or 9 ten thou... With plastigauge on both sides of this 2003 Tahoe rod bearing, it measures 0.00007” on each. Add together and you get 0.00014”. The minimum spec of 0.0009”, now half of the 0.00014”, (0.00007) subtract by 2= 0.000083” wont measure correctly. Never does. Now you can find several spots to measure out-of-round. The problem is the bearing is softer than then journal, so it this variation the crank journal or the bearing? I say the bearing! This is when you get the micrometer out. Please use the friction/ratchet tip to tighten. This is the only way to get true repeatable measurements. Now, I am not an authority on this subject but also not connected with Eric the car Guy. I am sure he is busy making the next videotape. I am a retired ASE Master Tech who did every type to repair on imports and domestics. Just trying to help answer a lot of questions going back 6 years. Hope this helps!
car guy great video but is it not 75 degrees? I know early style con rod bolts are 60 and the later ones I thought are 75. anyways good video and info thank you.
Just a heads up, you don't have to pull the whole piece out of the packet like that. Just cut the one inch section that has the measurement on it with the plastigauge in it. Then you have your little piece and your measurement
I need to measure thrust bearing clearance on an automatic transmission. I think this will work.Plastic guage.Now just to find different size thrust WASHERS to get in spec.
Nice, I kind of have the same problem with the connecting rods in my 4.8 block and have those numbers on both the connecting rod and caps. Where can I find the information about those numbers from the connecting rods and their caps. Cause I just used plastigage to check my rod bearing clearance and plastigage was gone from during the check. Everything from crankshaft and bearings are standard size. What does that mean?
Sorry to get off topic, but I watched your repair on your friends 98 burban? I forget. Anyways I've also had to do exactly what you did (Though you had some awesome steps that could of made my job a little easier.) I was hoping you could answer a problem I'm having with my 1996 GMC extended SLE 5.7. So my question though that I'm hoping you can answer. My thermometer gauge inside the truck will bounce around from the normal temperature to the max temp. I changed my thermostat (didn't change anything), but I think it is a loose wire somewhere. When driving on a smooth highway the thermostat will go back to it's normal running temp, but when I hit bumps it bounces all around. Got any ideas?
It would be good to see the plastigage method compared to that using the micrometer and bore gauge and see how similar/different the results are to determine how accurate plastigage is?
hey eric ,,, thanks for these great videos ,,, but I really need your advice now on something in my 150 cc scooter ... my scooter manual says that I must change my engine oil every 1000 km as It is an air cooled engine and also doesn't have an oil filter ,,, so now I have bought something that would allow me to add an oil filter to the passage of the oil between the oil pump and the oil lines leading to the crank shaft and the cam shaft ... which will longer the lifetime of that same oil to 3000 km !! which will definitely save me alooot of money ... but then I realized that it might kill the oil pressure and may damage the engine as well ... so what do you think of it ,,, should I instal this oil filter or not ? and will it really damage the engine that bad or not ?
This 4 position method would also indicate the rod’s big end or crank, is out-of-round. This is where micrometers come out to measure the rod and crank. But with being said, it reveals more about the fit and accuracy with only plastigauge. This is the “Sealed Power” spells it, as the patent goes back the the 40’s. 1978 ASE Master Tech
Does it make any difference if you place the plastigage on the side of between con rod bearing and crank journal rather than in crank journal bearing to con rod cap bearing?
Eric. I want to thank you for all of your videos. It seems every time I have a question while working on my vehicle, you have a video that clearly explains the answer. Thank you very much for all of the time you've spent making these videos!
Just started rebuilding my 440 engine. I've been a subscriber to your channel for years. I TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND EFFORT!!!
Just a few quick things I noticed:
1. It's easier to cut the plastigage instead of sliding the whole thing out.
2. I don't agree w/ torqueing the to spec as you are going to pull it right off. Torque spec is torque-to-yield meaning you can't reuse those bolts anymore (wasted money if you had used new ones) and only applies bolt stretch to help it not back up.
3. You make great vids Eric! Keep it up!
Toluene whats the proper way of doing number 2? Without wasting anything?
@@beetlejuice1239 Tighten it so it removes any clearances on the mating surfaces, but not to torque spec. Torque-to-yield actually stretches the bolt which doesn't help in the measurement process and that's why you have to replace them.
I was wondering the same thing, and thank you for confirming my thoughts. I figure as long as you tighten it enough so there is no gap between the rod end and rod, it should be fine. I was concerned because I am doing an engine and I had to buy all new bolts and didn't want to waste expensive bolts $6.60/ea to do a plastigage test. @@Diallo268
@@Diallo268I was thinking the same thing about the torque to yield, I think it would depend on if you’re actually using torque to yield bolts or not. Something like ARPs are reusable and usually come with their own guidelines on how to torque them down.
Thank you for making this so easy to understand!! I'm a 2nd year heavy duty apprentice and only due to the fact that I operated 1 type of machine for 6 winters. 2 years ago I was offered a chance to look after the machines and I accepted. I grew up an english/art nerd who struggled with scientific concepts and math so i am a fish out of water. My teachers do the best they can but it's videos like yours that really help. Looking forward to going down the rabbit hole on your channel.
Hi Eric, I'm a mechanic that could have been. Love Internal Combustion (IC) engines. So watching you applying the mechanics to an engine just fires my interest. Keep up the good videos mate. Garry from Australia
I'm in the middle of rebuilding a couple of Engines. This is a nice refresher for using the Plastigauge system.
Thank you for all that you do. I am rebuilding a motorcycle engine and the spec. on the manual told me to use a plastiguage to measure the clearance on camshaft. I was unsure on how to use plastigauge until I saw your video. I just do this for fun as a hobby. And I have watched many of your tutorial on engines. I am Re-building my sons 2000 1100 shadow spirit that he purchased for 500. dollars and good old Dad has to fix it up for him. He paying for the parts. lol
so 30 years after i overhauled my smallblock i finally learned the purpose of that plastic tool 😅
Oh me too wow
Eric, thanks again for a clear to the point subject matter. Iron and aluminum blocks of different years have different specs as oil has dropped to 0W-5 synthetic that requires tighter clearances. But you covered that in your disclaimer. As time passes, GM has taken a very strict position on published specs which is part of their intellectual properties. They are shutting them down one by one. Note: I worked on contract labor in the field for over 7+ years and today, even tech’s change their user password often and monitor the IP addresses used by that PW and time of day.
As a quick note, I have a 2003 iron block truck LS, but the production specs for the rods are 0.0009”-0.0025”, Service is 0.0009”-0.003” but also list 15 lb. ft. + 75 degree angle. Yours will very. Please folks, don’t give up as ACDelco.com can provide GM’s eSI (Electronic Service Information) for a fee, lasting 24 hrs or more if you desire. The advantage is updates, TSB, or Recalls can be updated with one key stroke. The same is true with programming modules if you have a shop. I had some programming modules wireless while the vehicle is in the parking lot.
1978 - ASE Master Tech - Retired Everyone, hit the like & subscribed!!!!
Eric has some of the best videos on these subjects than many!
Plasti-gauge has a patent going back to the 40’s. Just a note, it works if you don’t have 3k in “C” clamps with numbers on them.
Shells or points its the samething as demonstrated today
Ask jordan she didnt like it when the sas told her off 😂
Shutting down publication of torque specs is such a moronic and backward viewpoint. But hey, anything so the customer can't actually work on their own vehicles. So much for "right to repair" laws - they just come up with a new way to block you at every turn unless you pay $500 for 24 hour access to shop manuals.
This is the way to down vids... every time I watch Eric’s vids I enjoy watching, because the ample explanation and how clear with easiness of understanding.
i want to say thank you Eric i have truck problems and this video is helping me out thank you and when i get my lil truck running and get back to work ima donate bro your videos are awesome ALL OF THEM i think your are very knowledgeable and you do nice production work for your videos you really show what and where things gotta happen thanks again
Good vid. ;)
I'd have mentioned to check journals at two positions 90 degrees apart. They tend to wear egg shaped; you might be fooled by one reading.
I use micrometers on OD and telescopic gauges (snap gauges) on the ID. That way I use the same micrometer to measure both the ID and OD. Also, a set of telescopic gauges is much cheaper than a set of bore gauges.
You might want do do a vid on measurement methods.
Yeah, plastigage has been around since probably the Model-T days ;)
I do it in 4 positions
@@willburns1221 a insert is not round google it. the split is thinner to create a wedge of oil in the bearing. the only place to use plastigauge is 90 degrees from the split. you might mike the journal in four places but that is a little over the top i think.
great video Eric, the basics are a really useful theme, keep them coming. Personally never knew what plastigage was or was used for, now I'm enlightened. Many thanks Eric.
This was very informative and will come in handy when its time for me to work on my Corvair engine rebuild.
Keep up the good work, we appreciate the videos.
Now that you've shown us the PlastiGage method, a video on using your pricey precision tools to do a better version of the same thing would be awesome.
I've heard horror stories of Subaru engine rebuilds where only PlastiGage was used and spun, burned up bearings followed soon thereafter.
SUBARU=JUNKYARD
Great video... Been wrenching on my shitbox cars for years and never knew how to use Plastigage!
me too. the video was definitely helpful to me.
Wish this video was around a few years ago when I was learning how to do this. I'm not sure why but I enjoyed this process when rebuilding an engine with new bearings etc. Probably because I was nearer the end of the rebuild process and everything was going back together. 25k miles the engines still going strong :).
I say "measure once, forget the measurement, cut twice, throw it away, and call it a day."
hell yeah
You're a piece of shit.
Andrew
if at first you don’t succeed fuck it
Andy, why are you the one covered in flies?
@@BILLZ62 yep if at first you dont succeed fuck its dad
Hello Eric,
Plastigage actually very good for measuring journal clearances, much easier than using a caliper set that has multiple steps to calibrate and measure.
I am working on a Toyota 2zz-ge rebuild and will plastigauge all bearings. Bummer is that I have measured bore and Toyota is asking for tolerances to 0.001mm, outside the range of my current calipers (max bore 82.013mm....with my tools I'm at 82.015 to 82.017 max....GRRR, and my tools only good to 0.01mm...estimated actual)
P
12:06 did you notice it's at 75 not 85! might have come back a bit? anyways love your work as always
Also noticed and next was closer to 90deg.
Grrr on torque to yield and old-ass tool used.
In fairness, torque angle is good, especially when using oiled, not oiled, anti-seized fasteners.
GOOD video on plastigage.
P
Yup
It was at 85. The angle of the camera made it seem like it wasn’t in the right spot.
This is called 'parallax'.
I noticed and accounted for skew. All accounted for, I believe it would've still been between 15-20. At min it would've fit squarely in the 15.
I’ve rebuilt plenty of engines and that’s the right way to do it excellent video thank you
I rebuilt a engine over the summer and didn't replace cam bearings... Long story short I have great pressure when cold, then zero when warm. Its crazy how much bearing clearances matter!
Great tool for a shade tree mechanic! Never heard of this stuff until I watched a recent video from PeterFinn the car doctor. Really interesting kit and seems accurate enough.
accurate enough to be used for over 40 years or more.
ALWAYS ALWAYS put rod bearing in cap..... doing it the way you did can damage bearing. The bearing locks go lock to lock then you know rod cap is on right. Good video thanks.
Never seen Yellow Plastigage before, but used Red & Blue in big diesels and worn oil pumps to check end clearance.
I place the bearing into the block and cap (rod & cap also) so that there is a slight protruding edge of the bearing on each side. This way, the bearing is properly seated into each half of the journal and that the two bearing mating surfaces will "crush" properly and evenly. This insures that the bearings will be evenly seated in each half of the journal when torqued down. Liberal engine assembly of course after plastigauging is completed.
You need to get the snap-on toque digital wrench its amazing!
you don't need that pain in the rear angle gauge.
You can just change the setting to degrees and it works like a charm!
Thank you for ALL the great videos... I haven't used plastigauge since the 1980's....
That is an awesome video im finding myself being confused with the precision tools I will use this information to make sure I'm doing it right
Thanks Eric. Always great to to see you out there. Take care.
Thanks for the video. How do you clean the plastigage off of the bearing surface?
Thanks for another informative video. I was hoping you would reference your take on reusing TTY bolts or not in everyday applications. That is one question, as a backyard mechanic, I haven't gotten a definitive answer on.
Never reuse torque to yield bolts
Once is stretched is stretched much like my ex just never the same
Thanks Eric its the first time i really understand how to use plastigage great tutorial God bless mate
Some great knowledge! I remember working with my dad and uncle using this plastic gauge. Now I can truly understand! Thanks!
On those fractured caps you also need to be careful when handling them. Dont put the fractured side down on anything. Those things are such a precision fit that if you damage the face of that fractured surface just a little bit they not longer fit together like they suppose to. You will be able to assemble them and torque them but you caused a stress riser that can and has caused catastrophic engine failure.
Thanks, I just bought some plastigage from e-bay, and now i know how to use it.
Thanks for the video Eric. I have just learnt something new. I'm not a mechanic but like to learn more about my car and how it functions. I had my diahatsu hijet connecting rod bearing changed because it made a loud sound, one was worn down. The oil light used to flick off and on and sometimes stay on. After having the bearing changed the noise is less but the light still comes on after driving for a short while. I heard you said that the if the clearance around the connecting rod is greater the oil pressure will be lower. Do you think I may be experiencing the same problem. If the torque requirements not meet could this be the reason for low oil pressure?
Thank you for making this video. Still helping people in 2020.
I found a very interesting tool for front wheel alignment. Would be great if you could do a review of it. It's called trackace.
Excellent video. I would think that I know how to read plastic age but I always defer to your videos as much as possible and of course I was reading it incorrectly. I was thinking the larger the squished plastic age the larger the gap. Just wasn't thinking through
Thank you Eric. I learned something new. I'm gonna apply this to a Subaru rebuild
🗑🤣🤣🤣
Never saw bearings put in like that before. Usually I roll them into the cap then install the cap with the bearing already installed.
Shadow, you're doing it the proper way. Bearings should be installed into the cap and then put on as one piece, then torqued.
Eric makes me feel faked. 🙄
The installation of the bearing is totally wrong. Also the position of the plasticgage. The bearings aren't all over the same thickness ! 🙈🙈🙈🙈
Hello @@kraut-performance
I am in the process of completely rebuilding a Toyota/Yamaha 2zz-ge engine.
The problems I am encountering are the tolerances and my measurement tools. I have calipers and bore gauges, but only precise to +/- 0.01mm
Tolerances in Toyota rebuild manual require higher precision.
That being said, even with my primitive tools, my bore is egged and non-serviceable. Rings were worn, so I am taking a "risk", but believe they will be much better in the bore than the old worn rings that had a gap out-of-spec.
All bearings looked passable, but replace with new factory spec 01 or 02 or 03 as noted on block vs using "generic fits all".
I am now using Plastigage as final check because, as stated above, I do not have measuring tools precise enough to measure below 0.01mm.
P
LSmiata Hi. Did you finish your build, yet ?
Yeah I noticed that as well. Your way (really the only proper way) is the correct way Shadow.
Thank you so much for your information I’m doing the same thing right now and this is the best video by far and how to use the plastic gauge again thank you so much
Our mechanics here in nigeria use the old-fashioned way of experience in measuring the torgue specs and clearance
Eric love the video can't stand how people nit pick your video's it help me use a plasticgauge cause I would be still looking for the plastic marking rod used to mark the Journal...LOL So Thanks and keep them coming..
Hey bud thanks for all the videos I do have a question there is a lot of crazy controversy on the LS forums but is it ok to pull them and do a visual inspection and then reinstall bearing, cap and same bolts?
Thanks Eric. Very useful video and well explained.
The video I keep coming back to. Thanks for the simple explanation.
Good video E. We learn something new every day do we not? Once again sir.... this video was produced very professionally. I liked it.
Hi Eric. I have an 84 F-150 that I built a high performance 351w for. Now before I ever started working on it I noticed that the oil pressure gauge would read correctly when cold, and as it warmed up it would drop, until it wouldn't read anything at idle. If I revved up the motor it would read 40 psi for that moment but drop back to nothing again when allowed to return to idle. Now fast forward.... New engine, new high volume oil pump, aftermarket gauge installed... Exact same problem still exists. When I first started the cold engine it's a solid 35-40 psi. After 15-20 minutes of regular driving the oil pressure begins to drop. When driving it will be about 17 psi, And then about 7 psi at idle. Before I installed the Equus gauge I had assumed that the gauge was inaccurate due to a poor electrical connection (the wire lead on top of the oil pressure sending unit being a little loose), but it's looking like that's not the case. Now I've put ALOT of time and money into this motor over the past 3 years and I definitely don't want to damage it. Possible malfunction of the oil pressure relief valve in two different oil pumps in a row?? After some research I read that 10 psi per 1000 rpm is a good rule of thumb. If that is correct then 5 psi at warm idle of 500 rpm would actually be correct as well as the 15 psi at 1500 rpm while driving AND the 35 psi at 3500 rpm.
Do I have a problem or not!?
You're bearings are shit!
Hi Eric, thank you for this video. I disassembled my 1.8L and the Machinist said that the engine needs reboring. He said all the bottom end/rod bearings and crankshaft are in excellent condition. On reassembly, do i need to check clearance if i kept every thing in order and those parts were only cleaned and not machined?
Kinda noticed you checked the clearance in inches but referenced your chart in millimeters, but it looks to be still in tolerance from .006 - .0024 thousands, since .0015 falls between the two. Still a great shape crank non the less
Vary interesting as always. Would you happen to know if a reasonably well maintained 2006 1.4 petrol Polo at 100, 000 miles might be pron to small end wear. That is, light tapping noise much more pronounced under load almost disappears with no load.
this is the fist time i heard about the plastigage, i only search it in the youtube beacuse im taking up board-exams this year, and i want to understand it and see how it works. thanks to your video
oh bdw, our method of checking the clearance b/w the crankpin and bearing is by using soft soldering leads, and we use penetrant test for detecting cracks
To really get an accurate measurement if your rod bolts are TTY, wouldn't you have to use a pair of new rod bolts so they for sure have the correct clamp load?
Great video, Eric. I have never replaced rod bearings, so I have a question.
in this video, you measured the cap bearing but not the one between the crank and rod itself. Do you have to measure the one on the rod side, too? Also, can this procedure be performed while the engine is in the vehicle? Thanks in advance.
@Gary Jordan >Measuring under the rod cap is done a hundred times per day. To truly get an idea if the rods big end, measuring in two, three or four locations only adds to your accuracy of measuring a 360 degree circle. I will say in advance, it can be done, just do NOT rotate the crank as you will find it absolutely impossible to get the cap on or off doing thing it this way. Don’t get me wrong as some engines will be easier to perform this 2,3 or 4 position measurements.
1978 ASE Master Tech
Great and informative video
Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺
I worked for a garage once. It was next to a bar. When I told the boss I needed a screwdriver, he came looking for me a couple of hours later. Found me at the bar, screwdriver in hand. I asked him if he was looking for a screwdriver too. I don't work there anymore.
always place the bearings into the rod caps before u install them.
I never seen anybody put bearing on journal first.Always install on cap first.
Also torque to yield rod bolts should be replaced after they have been stretched.
You have to make sure the bearing is align right. I never seen anybody do it this way..As there is a vertical bearing crush. Where both side of the bearing must touch each other. I make sure I can feel the bearing sticking up on each end. You only need to drag your finger nail over them..That way you know the bearing is touching the other side..When you torque it down the first time. To get the proper crush alignment..If one side is sticking up higher. The bearing cap slips. Then the gauge will read wrong..
If you wanted everybody to hate you, you could rebuild this LS engine and put it in the fairmont.
I know right?
EricTheCarGuy I think that's a great idea, maybe some Eric The Car Guy and Scanner Danner teamwork to drop the LS in with full Electronic fuel injection and electronic transmission.
my ex neighbor had a astrovan with a 350. probably my favorite car of all time in person.
Helped tremendously when installing a small engine rod....Many thanks!
Great video. Very complete and spoken clearly. Definitely will subscribe.
Never used plastigauge before. Is the reading not affected by the fact that that there is still oil between the crank and the other rod bearing that you didn't clean?
i like how honda uses color coded bearings it helps to get your bearings precise but it also makes things more complicated and expensive since its $13 for a bearing half
Great video, explained very well...alot better than some other videos i seen.
Excellent presentation, thanks for clarifying the finer points.
great video, i’m curious because i am rebuilding an inline 4 that chewed up a couple of bearings via oil starvation. i don’t want to buy the wrong undersize or oversized bearings bearing when i go to take the measurements with a freshly turned crankshaft, so would i use the plastigauge on the least damaged bearings?
Awesome video Eric. These basics videos have been extremely helpful.
That means I still can use new standar bearings? Thanks for that video
Smashing but simple tool eric :-), you also have some really nice precision ones, nice to have a standard you can rely on :-).
Credit where credit is due, us yanks use plastigage, a cheap knockoff by Dana. You uk fellows invented the stuff for your navy in the 1950s, and the true name is plastigauge.
riley191919
I didnt know that, we all copy from each other and i dont think it matters in the long term, plastigauge looks handy for everyone :-))
Hey we copied your "Vise-grips", our copy was called "Mole grips" after the company that copied yours, a great tool made by clever americans :-))
Good video as I'm working on a Jeep TJ rebuild. What if the Pastigage shows the bearing clearance to be out of the required specification?
Good video Eric. do you actually add the stretch angle or just the torque will do? that means bolts can be used once.
The torque specs PLUS additional torque in degrees stretches the bolt. This is correct for assembly BUT the bolts are designed to stretch with the additional degree torque. NEW bolts should be used each time or you overstretch the bolts.
Eric, I realize that this video is 9 or so years old.
It is very informative, and the audio portion is very well done (many of these offer poor audio).
However, and please take no offense........ I would like to point out that some of the language could use improvement.
At 1:23 into the video, we measure "bores".
At 1:47, these are micrometers! This tool is NOT used to measure the bore within a connecting rod.
For that, we'd go back to the first precision instrument shown, a micrometer. That would be used to measure a connecting rod crankshaft journal.
At 2:10, in order to measure a bearing's thickness, we would use a point-tip dial indicator (on a flat surface.... zero'd in) .
Reason? The circular shape of the bearing would prevent an accurate measurement using a standard flat-tip micrometer.
At 5:20, the large end of the connecting rod is freeze cracked via a special process. As you point out, this is to give the now fractured surfaces an absolute precision mate between the two. It is imperative that the two parts remain together (and indexed correctly), throughout their life. If these parts are not marked (as to being a matched pair), you will want to mark them.
Great technology.
At 7:10, oil pumps deliver more oil volume than required. Although excessive bearing clearance can reduce pressure, the actual oil pressure is determined by the oil pump's by-pass valve, with an influence via RPM.
Lastly, thank you for calling this an Engine, and not a Motor. (my pet peeve!)
Thanks eric... Im in the process of fixing rod knock on mybevo MR 2010... Rather, in the process of finding damages.
excellent. you are a great teacher. just forwarded to one of my students!!
Awesome video thank you Eric, keep up the great work!!!!
Hi, Eric thank you so much for this video and it's really helpful please keep doing more videos like this.
Hey Eric . I have a few questions ! I have a b20z2 that I just had the valve lash done but I’m noticing a tapping sound after a few races . I have since re lashed the valves (no difference) and now have torn off the oil pan to check the rod bearings . Do you know if the b20 had issues with spinning bearings ? Can I replace them with out removing the engine . And lastly , would you recommend using the same nuts/bolts or purchasing new ones ? Thanks for all your help
I'm not a pro mechanic, but wouldn't the bolts stretch every time you torque them down? So if you were to check the clearances multiple times wouldnt you need to get new bolts for the rods?
Good point, was wondering this too..
You won't be torquing the bolt past its elastic limit so it will stretch but will go back to its original size after you remove the load.
Thank you for answering this correctly Dot. Materials have an elastic and a plastic range of deformation. In other words there is a threshold of tension that will deform a bolt permanently. For smaller amounts of tension, like the bolt will see during proper torquing, the bolt will return to its original size when the tension is removed.
All chevrolet LS engines witch this have a three time use on rod bolts,they are torque to yield,after the third time they need to be replced
Rod bolts typically are not torque to yield bolts, they can be reused. Head bolts on the other hand, a lot of the time are torque to yield (meaning can only be used one time, because it stretches the threads beyond their limit). Always look this up for your specific vehicle before reusing either bolts though, just in case.
Hi Eric to take the right clearance it's with the old one and from there get the clearance numbers for the new bearing?🤔🤔
You showed us the mircometers and the bore meters, but besides plastigauge, what would you use to measure the clearance of the journal while under torque? Or are the measurements going to end up being the same if you use the micrometers/boremeter when the parts are not under torque?
To check your mains and rod bearings under torque, remove your crankshaft from the engine, and the rods from the crank (do not mix them, for the love of all that is holy). Replace the caps on the mains as well as the rods, with your new bearings in them. Using padded vice jaws (cut some 2x6", anything but steel, cardboard will work in a pinch) and a bench vise, torque your rod caps. Now either use a snap gauge or an inside micrometer to measure your bore. Take the measurement in several places, both in different directions to check for out of round, and different depths in the bearing to check for hourglass wear. A snap gauge is a spring loaded tool with two arms that push out to touch your bore, and can be locked with a tension screw at the other end of the tool. You then remove the snap gauge and measure it with an outside micrometer.
It takes skill and practice to accurately use micrometers and snap gauges, hence the development of plastigauge by the British navy in the 1950s for a unified quick untrained measurement standard.
Might want to clean of the oil on the rod side of the bearing also to not affect the reading.
The "broken" rod is also cheaper to produce, so used in mostly factory engines. The downside of it is that you can't resize the big end in a rebuild, it's a throw-a-way part.
I have tried to read most of the 335 comments below and have some simple answers:
Bolts: TTA are not throw a way. GM service does not say otherwise.
Plastigage: It is a controlled product produced to strict standards. It is sold by “Sealed Power” and others and only the color changes. Who cares who invented it, either in the U.K. or the USA, it’s patent is from the 1940’s.
I you Like Micrometers and inside bore gauges and hate “Plastigage” no one cares. If you can afford the tools, fine. Once again, no one cares.
Commercial engines or vehicle engines, works the same.
Just make sure you know the correct readings for your engine. The production date can change the measurements or cam bearing block bores...double check.
What to call it or pronounce it; 0.0015” to a machinist is pronounced 15 thou. If you want to call it 1.5 ten thousands fine. Just don’t expect a Christmas card from the American Machinist!!!
What do I do if it reads ????
#1 When in doubt, take it to a clean well respected busy machine shop and ask them. Guess what? They want to sell work & labor, so they will sell you work and labor! Duh!
You can purchase bearings that are 0.001” smaller ID, and thus thicker. If the bearing journals are nice, polish out mirror or close to mirror finish, these will work great as they have for decades & decades. If you finger nail catches a groove, then you have to decide to cross the 60 year old rope bridge with the 1,000 foot drop, is your choice! How is this engine going to be used!
Mix and match bearing sizes; Yes, thousands of engines have been build this way & repair this way! What do I mean? Ok, Buy two sets of bearings, one set is STD and the other is 0.001” under, place on either side of a rod or crank. Torque to crush and seat, then use the Plastigage. Go from there! It works fine, like it did for Ford V8’s during the 70’s. Plus rings gaps where lined up and had mis-matched rod caps factory numbered. I am not picking on Fords, they paid of my house! It is just a shop who had been there 40+ years & who’s customers were 65-80 and owned the car new and never had the engine apart anywhere. These were customers who had every RO in order i the glove box! Yes! This was when glove boxes would hold 3 chickens.
Two sets of specs; Yes, GM and all others give you new production specs and service specs. Production means this is what they want when new. If your specs are less but above service specs, how far or HP do you want? The tighter the better but a film of oil is only as good as “The Sum Total Of All Leakage Passed All Bearings”
Volume = Pressure; NO! The leakage passed all loose bearings reduce pressure. Volume is there or adding 18% more volume is like putting yesterdays under-ware onto a clean bottom. It works but still smells wrong!
Tight bearing clearance equals high pressure because volume is not lost. Don’t fotget cam bearings, as if copper is showing at the bottom where pressures are highest when opening valves. Study hydraulics and automatic transmissions and don’t fall asleep during the math part!
Plastigage and temperature; While metal expands with higher temperatures and various alloys are different. Alum on average expands twice as much as iron, fine. Is it cast iron? Nodular Gray Iron? LS exhaust are cast steel or close to it. I still elongate the end of manifolds for bolt holes, to allow for movement with flat washers.
You be you! Plastigage is a proprietary blend of plastic but the amount of “Squish” at 72 degrees F is different that 0F or 100F. So pay attention.Yours will vary!
Two, Three or Four pieces of Plastigage at a time: This is measurement of one side under normal circumstances. But engine bearing run on a film of oil all the way around the journal. Using two pieces 180 degrees apart, will measure about 1/2” the normal reading. This was never the purpose of Plastigage. My example is a minimum of 0.0009” or 9 ten thou... With plastigauge on both sides of this 2003 Tahoe rod bearing, it measures 0.00007” on each. Add together and you get 0.00014”. The minimum spec of 0.0009”, now half of the 0.00014”, (0.00007) subtract by 2= 0.000083” wont measure correctly. Never does. Now you can find several spots to measure out-of-round. The problem is the bearing is softer than then journal, so it this variation the crank journal or the bearing? I say the bearing! This is when you get the micrometer out. Please use the friction/ratchet tip to tighten. This is the only way to get true repeatable measurements.
Now, I am not an authority on this subject but also not connected with Eric the car Guy. I am sure he is busy making the next videotape.
I am a retired ASE Master Tech who did every type to repair on imports and domestics. Just trying to help answer a lot of questions going back 6 years. Hope this helps!
car guy great video but is it not 75 degrees? I know early style con rod bolts are 60 and the later ones I thought are 75. anyways good video and info thank you.
Cool, was working on my car and was surprised with a worn bearing so i have to get new ones.
Thank you, your video was very informative!
Just a heads up, you don't have to pull the whole piece out of the packet like that. Just cut the one inch section that has the measurement on it with the plastigauge in it. Then you have your little piece and your measurement
I need to measure thrust bearing clearance on an automatic transmission. I think this will work.Plastic guage.Now just to find different size thrust WASHERS to get in spec.
Nice, I kind of have the same problem with the connecting rods in my 4.8 block and have those numbers on both the connecting rod and caps. Where can I find the information about those numbers from the connecting rods and their caps. Cause I just used plastigage to check my rod bearing clearance and plastigage was gone from during the check. Everything from crankshaft and bearings are standard size. What does that mean?
buen video teacher mi respeto amigo
Good video it will let people know how to use it .
Sorry to get off topic, but I watched your repair on your friends 98 burban? I forget. Anyways I've also had to do exactly what you did (Though you had some awesome steps that could of made my job a little easier.)
I was hoping you could answer a problem I'm having with my 1996 GMC extended SLE 5.7. So my question though that I'm hoping you can answer. My thermometer gauge inside the truck will bounce around from the normal temperature to the max temp. I changed my thermostat (didn't change anything), but I think it is a loose wire somewhere. When driving on a smooth highway the thermostat will go back to it's normal running temp, but when I hit bumps it bounces all around. Got any ideas?
Hi Eric thank you for the fantastic tips!
It would be good to see the plastigage method compared to that using the micrometer and bore gauge and see how similar/different the results are to determine how accurate plastigage is?
hello Eric, thank for the reminder
hey eric ,,, thanks for these great videos ,,,
but I really need your advice now on something in my 150 cc scooter ...
my scooter manual says that I must change my engine oil every 1000 km as It is an air cooled engine and also doesn't have an oil filter ,,, so now I have bought something that would allow me to add an oil filter to the passage of the oil between the oil pump and the oil lines leading to the crank shaft and the cam shaft ...
which will longer the lifetime of that same oil to 3000 km !! which will definitely save me alooot of money ...
but then I realized that it might kill the oil pressure and may damage the engine as well ...
so what do you think of it ,,, should I instal this oil filter or not ?
and will it really damage the engine that bad or not ?
When i do my rod clearances, do i have to measure each bearing half with plastigauge? So i'd be making 8 measurements (4x cap side, 4x rod side)?
You don't HAVE TO, but it could show any machining errors. Or errors in the bearing manufacturing.
This 4 position method would also indicate the rod’s big end or crank, is out-of-round. This is where micrometers come out to measure the rod and crank. But with being said, it reveals more about the fit and accuracy with only plastigauge. This is the “Sealed Power” spells it, as the patent goes back the the 40’s.
1978 ASE Master Tech
Does it make any difference if you place the plastigage on the side of between con rod bearing and crank journal rather than in crank journal bearing to con rod cap bearing?
Please show us how to properly use a bore gauge & micrometers!