Stock 218 Rod journal size

[DJ194950]

Just got on the phone and called my local engine rebuilder based on some info I saw in John-T's posted catalog pages to inquire and to the max undersize bearings still available for the 218/230 rod and main bearings. I thought they were maxed out at .030 but one of the catalogs showed that up to .040 -mains and .050 for rods were available at one time!

 

He told me the max he could still get were .040 for both but expensive! $170 for the rod set and $230 for the mains.

I have a cranks and rods to build a 230 but is worn to much I believe for 30's.

So it could still most likely be saved!

 

Thanks for posting John!

 

DJ

[Plymouthy Adams]

those kinda pricy bearing in my opinion......I'd suggest a bit of shopping about....

Edited April 17, 2019 by Plymouthy Adams

[DJ194950]

Tim, I agree and if/when I decide to do this repair I certainly will shop prices.  ?

I have known this guy for about 25 years. The shop where he works does good work on old motors and Hi-Po motors also. Their name is Valley Balancing and Machine in Ceres Ca. They also have a attached business that builds drive shafts.

Downfall they are not the cheapest around the country but in Ca. for USA made parts, you pay!

I will check E Bay off and on a maybe a call to Terrill Machine in Texas, I believe it was from others on this forum.

 

DJ

Edited April 17, 2019 by DJ194950
sp.

[kencombs]

 This seems to have drifted a little bit, at least it confusing to me.  Every manual I have, and I have a bunch, list journal sizes, not bearing IDs.  The journal size is stated, and the clearance is stated.  A little math provides bearing ID and the range of acceptable sizing.

 

.010. .020, and .030 sizes are common.  .040 and smaller available but uncommon.  .001 and .002 used to be commonly available, not so much any more.  I've even seen a .012 on eBay recently for the 218/230!  I've never seen that before. 

[John-T-53]

As for the .001" incremental bearings, I think that's the point of view from which Tim was making in his first posts. These were used at the factory and with new cranks purchased as replacement parts, because, factory-ground cranks weren't exactly perfect. Thus you had the availability of these bearings for "saving an engine" or crank as-is instead of having to regrind it (or discard it). And in these instances, the bearings were "sized" to the (already finished) crank journals. This made sense back in the 1950s when the market for these engines was huge and you could easily get these special bearings.

 

Nowadays, building such engines is an entirely custom job and you wouldn't normally approach setting up your crank like this.

 

If you're building a modern racing engine, that's a different story.

[kencombs]

1 hour ago, John-T-53 said:

As for the .001" incremental bearings, I think that's the point of view from which Tim was making in his first posts. These were used at the factory and with new cranks purchased as replacement parts, because, factory-ground cranks weren't exactly perfect. Thus you had the availability of these bearings for "saving an engine" or crank as-is instead of having to regrind it (or discard it). And in these instances, the bearings were "sized" to the (already finished) crank journals. This made sense back in the 1950s when the market for these engines was huge and you could easily get these special bearings.

 

Nowadays, building such engines is an entirely custom job and you wouldn't normally approach setting up your crank like this.

 

If you're building a modern racing engine, that's a different story.

1s and 2s were used a lot in the garage overhaul process.  The poor oils and filtering in the 50s and 60s resulting in a lot of crank wear.  They were still round, just slightly undersize.  Main bearing tapered shims were even available to reduce clearances even further if necessary.

 

I just googled tapered shims to find they are still available. 

Edited April 18, 2019 by kencombs

[Philoctet]

On 4/17/2019 at 6:17 PM, John-T-53 said:

. . . 

 

Exactly what I am looking for, nice !!!