rod bearing clearance

Hello. Just got around to finally taking apart my John Deere E. Seems like there is a lot of sideplay on the connecting rod. Don't know if this is normal or not. What is the clearance between the connecting rod and crankshaft? How do I go about checking this and correcting the problem? Hope that you all can help me out. THANKS!!!

Use plasticgauge to check the clearance should be around .004 -.008 clearance. If the clearance is too high, if your caps have shims you can remove some sims or you will need new bearings. Any automotive store will have the plastic gauge. I have a question on the other end of the rod on wrist pin clearance is a little play ok on this or do I need some machine work done on the rod bushing to take up the clearance. I know the shops heat the rods up to fit over the wrist pins for a close fit. Any thoughts on this.

Scott

Stevie:

Generally "side clearance" is the space between the ends of the bearing and the thrust surface it opposes. If this is what you're talking about, the bad news is that it isn't adjustable without repouring the bearing.......the good news is that side clearance in these engines is not very critical.

If you're talking about the bearing clearance (between the bore of the bearing and the journal it runs on, there are a couple of ways to set it. Plastigauge is one good way to do it but I never seem to have any when I need it.

The way I do it (easiest when the crankshaft and rod are out of the engine) is to remove equal numbers of shims from the rod and replace and tighten the cap until the bearing just starts to feel tight. That is the zero clearance point.

Now if, for instance, you want 0.004" clearance, simply put 0.004" of shims back into each side of the bearing.

Sure, it takes several disassembling, assembling and tightening of the cap but it is accurate.

Hope this helped.

Take care - Elden