360 crankshaft end play

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Plato2k5

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Went to pull the harmonic to re seal the timing cover and water pump and find play in the crank. Have not put a dial indicator on it yet but I can feel and see it move so I know it's not in spec.

How screwed am I? Looks like cheap torque converter is to blame here.
 
I would catch it right away before the thrust surfaces of your bearing/block start getting galled up. If you are lucky, the thrust bearing has taken most of the wear and you could change it and fix your converter if that is the root cause of the problem.

If you keep running it, you may start gouging the block surface behind the thrust bearing after the thrust bearing is all gone, then you may need a new block... Catch it now and see if you can save the block.
 
Torque converter is out since trans is needing rebuild. Was looking at new converter with anti Ballooning plate. So I need to pull the engine and pull the crank out then :(
 
You can see and feel less than .005". Did you measure it yet?
Is this a rebuilt engine or something you've had a while? It's not unknown for a convertor to cause a thrust problem but you should not need a baloon plate until you get into really large power figures or large towing loads. What was the problem with the transmission?
 
No dial indicator yet. I'll try that tonight if I can find one to use. Trans lost its rear band.....tore it apart and bellvile washer broke in 3 plAces on my 727.

This is in my 88 wrangler with 40" tires....so it sees heavy loads lol.

Engine is built up a bit, 10:1 compression, .500 lift cam, fuel injection, sees 5500 rpm frequently, head work.
 
Ok - measure it before you pull anything big...
40" tires are not a heavy load. I mean like a motorhome pulling a car trailer heavy, or a 900hp pulling truck heavy.
If the engine was built you could have an issue of the machining is off. How many miles are on it since the rebuild?
 
No real clue. I'd estimate around 20000-25000 miles. Maybe it's less than I think....I hope. I'll measure tonight. What is spec?
 
I pulled a 22 ft searey boat with a 318 .73 van..it wiped out the TBearing and the way I found out was when it was cold on first startup it would knock..loud..it was the harmonic balancer pounding on the front of the motor..it would come and go till the motor warmed..thru it away and put in a 360..the block with the big tbearing..all at 60 thou and a 5500 min load..j
 
It Dosnt make any bad sounds....even starting up in -20 temps. Only reason I found it is because I was pulling the harmonic. I'll pull the pan and check it all out. Was going to pull pan regardless to move the dipstick on the milodone pan (hits my block huggers). I'll also be able to wedge the crank forward with a pry bar to get a good reading.
 
Well pulled pan, put feeler between thrust and crank surface....lowest I had was a .008 and that didn't fit. So looks like I'm good to go :)
 
Yup - you're good. Sometimes a few thou feel (and sound) like a mile when you move something you don't expect to move.
 
I'm very happy about this. Now to buy a new double roller timing set and summit stock style harmonic balancer.

Is it worth to pull the intake and degree the cam?
 
I will always degree the cam. You don't have to pull the intake. You just need a dial indicator that has a long plunger so it can contact the pushrod cup. Or you could pull it and buy the gakets. They'll be cheaper than the dial indicator...lol
 
I don't want to put a damper on you ,but you really should put a dial indicator on the crank snout or somewhere accsesable[spelling].and check it with that..heres why...almost nothing iv ever seen wear flat..a surface like a thrust bearing like an armature will wear with peaks and valleys..if you can get a feeler gauge in there that's what you will be checking from peak to peak.a false reading.then when a crank is pushed all the way one way or the other,it will mesh then you could i have more clearance than you think..002 to 010 aint much..its your motor, but a used t bearing is what you are checking..put a dial ind on it then pry it forward and back and get a true reading on a used bearing..j
 
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