Connecting rod shims

sdc eastern ia · Feb 21, 2013

Where can I purchase connecting rod shims. I have one rod that when installed and just snugged will seize the crank. I've battled this thing for two weeks now.

Don-Wi · Feb 21, 2013

Did you mic the crank? Double check that the bearing is right? Never heard of shims for a connecting rod, and to be honest I'd be mad if I found out my engine shop did that.

If you don't have time to do it again, do it right the 1st time.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Anonymous-0 · Feb 21, 2013

Don: Never heard of shims for a connecting rod, and to be honest I'd be mad if I found out my engine shop did that.

You are way too young. Early 77 & 88 Olivers had shims from the factory. The rods were machined when new with a shim pack in place. When the Oliver diesel came along the shim pacs left.

oliver90owner · Feb 21, 2013

Don-Wi,

Older tractors all used shims. Precision bearings were just not invented until ?.

These would be spun-in bearings or thick walled shells, often needing scraping to fit. Wear taken up by removing shims was a normal affair (until the journals got too oval!).

Now it is a bit naughty to be using shims with precision bearings...?

RAB

Don-Wi · Feb 21, 2013

I guess so. He never mentored what he was working on so my mind went to 4 digit & newer. How thick are these shims? .001"? In that case some shim stock would work. Just make them what you need.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Dick L · Feb 21, 2013

Even Ole Chevys had shims under rod caps.

Ken L · Feb 22, 2013

When I have an engine that originally had shims, I take the crank and rods to the machine shop and have the rods machined and bearings matched so shims aren"t needed

sdc eastern ia · Feb 22, 2013

I'm just trying to remove posibilities 1 by 1 of why 1 rod when tightened will sieze the crank. I know which one it is as i put #2 into #5. Same thing happened. My machine shop says everything is fine and it left there place as it should. I must be doing something wrong. I've built motors that went 7 seconds and over 200 mph. This ain't my first rodeo. First tractor engine though.

Tom Rowe-Drake · Feb 22, 2013

Oliver 60 4 cyl. had 3 .002 steel shims on each side of the connecting rod brg cap when it was new. As the brg. wore down the maintenance proceedure was to remove one at a time from each side of the cap to keep the clearance in speck. This has worked well for over 60 + years. I use .002 brass shim stock and trace over an original. ( 3 per side when using std. brgs. ) You have to make shim hole go completely around the connecting rod bolt or it WILL fall out in time.

krm · Feb 22, 2013

Try NAPA.

j williams · Feb 22, 2013

Any chance the connecting rod has to be turned 180 degrees around on that and one other cylinder?

OLarry from MD · Feb 22, 2013

You have matched the numbers on both parts of the rod? I have seen several tractors wrong.In one case a fellow made one engine out of 2 and had to shim several in a s88. They ended up calling me after running the engine some.I found cap numbers that did not match any of the rods.i told them they had to remove all the shims and find the correct caps.Well the old unused parts had been put against the rear wall of an old building and the son had parked something in front and pushed them out the rear wall onto the ground in the cow pasture.

Connecting rod shims

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