Engine rebuilding Problems.

So here is the story on my 1965 Ford 352FE. I got my engine from the machine shop a few weeks ago and started putting it together. Got the camshaft in alright and proceed to put the crank in. Well I set it in and put the caps on and torgue it halfway down (about 50ft lbs) and try to rotate it slightly. It doesn't budge. I finally got it to budge a little but it took a good bit of push.

The bearings I put in are standard, and the crank is standard, just polished. The caps are in the right order and I oiled the bearings and crank before I installed them. Anyone have any ideas how to fix this or if this is normal?

Thanks ahead of time.

 

should spin freely when the caps are torqued.

Did you double check to make sure the bearing caps are in the correct way, both (upper and lower half) tangs on the same side?

 

I'm pretty sure I did. The caps all have arrows facing towards the front of the engine. Course it was getting late and I might has missed one or 2. What else could it be?

 

Did you have it align honed?.... most FE's that come through my shop need it.
But as posted make sure you have the caps on right and the thrust bearing set before you torque it up.
Also was the crank checked for straightness when they measured and polished it?

 

I don't think it was aligned honed. I will have to check though. Also, the machinest didn't polish the crank in-house so I don't know what all they did to it, but the tag says standard on the rod and main journals.

 

Any shiny spots on the bearings after you tried to turn it? could be a bad batch. Also check the number on the box, maybe wrong bearings/ Main journal size is 2.749.

 

Definately pull it apart. Do a visual of each bearing (mic it if you can). Read the size on the back of each for a start.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone. I will definatly check and recheck everything tommorow.

 

Try full torque on the cap bolts. The bearings are not round untill you get to full torque. They are a press fit, and are likly pinching the crank at the centerline. One more thing to check is the thrust. You may need to realign the thrust. The way I do this is not fully torque the thrust and hit the crank forward and back with a good size hammer. Sounds crude but it can really free things up....
Jeff

 

If you decide to pull it apart, measure up the crank with a good micrometer just to KNOW what you have and compare it to the specs.

Bob

 

Did it spin in just sitting in the saddles? It is good practice to check it with every main your install, so if something is wrong, you know where the problem is.

Checking everything with plastigage is also important.

Pull it back apart and inspect everything, look for marks on the bearings and burrs on the crank.

 

did you check clearance with plastic gadge?im not sure what the clearance should be for your motor but i always check each one when i get them back from emgine shop.also make sure you check the rod bearings also..001-.003 i think

 

Wrong size/mispackaged bearings?...

 

Good point here. You should always mic the crank and bearings and check the main saddles for alignment, if the shop had to send the crank out to be polished I doubt the have a line hone.

 

Does this engine use a rope seal? Was it properly installed?


.

 

At work we have seen brand new bearings that have quite a bit of variation in thickness. What we do, is install the bearings without the crank, tighten everything down as it should be and measure the inside diameter. Then measure the crank journal diameter. Subtract the two and see what your clearance is. Of course you will need some precise measuring tools to do this, but we've had teh same problem and it turned out the be brand new bearings with poor quality constraints.

Also make sure the journals are absolutely clean, wipe them down with mineral spirits, then add ***embly lube.

Also some bearings shells end up with tiny flakes of metal on the surface from manufacturing, sometimes you can pick them off with a fingernail and sometimes you need to use water and lighty rub with a scotchbrite pad. These tiny flakes will stop a crank from rotating. Make sure you check the front and back of the bearing.

 

Well, I made a very dumb mistake. Thrust bearings on FE go on the #3 main not the #5. I called my machinest up to ask about it and he drove 30 miles out to my shop this evening to check it out. He pointed out my mistake and boy I felt stupid. The bearing looked alright and we checked everything out and put it back together with the thrust bearing in the correct main and the crank turned easily. While he was down we also put the timing chain on and he decided to put my new rod bolts in and check the rods for roundness at his shop tommorow.

 

OK, you are doing real good! You got a machinist to adopt you!!

 

I had the same problem except that my issue was the rope seal a bit tight but should turn OK. As long as you have clearances on the bearings ( Plastic gauge )Once it starts it will be OK.

Thanks
Frenchy