New shrt block, inspect bearings?

[tooslow]

I bought a 383 short block with 10,000 miles? and i want to inspect the Main and Rod bearings?

1). Is it ok to remove the Caps and visualy inspect the bearings, Mic the journals, then re-install the same caps with the same bolts?

2). would it be better to leave it alone and GO FOR IT!


THANK YOU

 

[moparlover]

i would not totally remove the crank, that is not necessary.

remove the caps (only one at a time). if the journals look shiny, get some plastigauge and use that to measure clearances. you will need to know what the main and rod bearing clearances are for that engine. plastigauge is cheap. basically you remove the cap (only do one at a time) put a piece of plastigauge across the journal, put the cap and half bearing from the cap back on, torque it back to specs. then you take the cap back off a second time, and you can tell by the amount the plastigauge was squished what your clearances are. you will have to do that for each and every main and rod journal.

if you take the cap off to inspect and the journal is gouged or burnt or visibly damaged then it's rebuild time, no need to mess with plastigauge

IMPORTANT: be very careful that you put each bearing and cap back in exactly the same spot it came from in the same orientation. they are not mix and match once the engine has been run and they are mated to their journal. if you mix them around and stuff you can cause problems. also you must have a good torque wrench and everything needs to be torqued exactly to spec depending on which type of journal you are capping. dont use a cheapo cheap torque wrench.

when finished make sure it's spotless and clean, put a dab of motor oil on it before you cap it back down

http://www.plastigaugeusa.com/how.html

also, it's usually a good idea to put a fresh oil pump in there since you have it opened up... especially if the oil pump rotors have any scoring. a $40 investment...

someone else chime in about the rearmost main cap - i.e. the seal i've never replaced one on a big block, but they are like a 5$ part worth changing while you are in there. i'm not sure if it's easy to change the lower part while the crank is still in

 

[bOb shingler]

may i suggest that you spray a bit of wd-40 on the plasti gauge before you torque the cap down. that way it won't stick.
if the 383 has a neophine rear seal just push it in with something flat like a 1/4" dowel as you turn the crank and it will come right out. rope ones are a tad tougher to do.
with 10,000 miles on the motor the bearings should be fine. if after you remove a few caps and everything likes good just close it back up.

 

[tooslow]

Thanks guys ,, i will get some plastic gauge

 

[moper]

You can take it all apart and put it all back if you want. I usually pull the #1, 2, and 4 caps and look at the bearings and a couple random rods. If they look good leave it alone. Chances are it's fine. No sense in making more work.